In my state, you are eligible for Medicaid if you make less than 10,800 a year (or something very close, I may be off a couple hundred) The place that treats my cancer told me they would not help me with the bills if I made more than that---basically saying I qualify for Medicaid or nothing. Their only other option was to allow me to pay off any balance in 6 months---be that $600 or $60,000. The myth that people like to propagate regarding health care is that there is always help---there is not. Not if you make enough to pay your normal bills anyway. But they push that myth, and the myth of effective emergency room treatment, and all those programs available (which ironically are paid for by those evil tax dollars anyway) and in doing so allow themselves to completely deny that there is any real problem.
The REAL problem is people aren't trying hard enough (according to them) the REAL problem is they aren't taking advantage of what is available. I suppose this makes them feel safe---it could never happen to them---but they aren't. Or the REAL problem is people don't take good enough care of themselves, so they are somehow to blame. This is deep in American culture since we were settled by the healthy wealthy Christians. The only known cause of my cancer is atomic energy. I haven't been exposed to any A bombs. Other causes are simply unknown. It hit out of the blue. It doesn't run in families. There is nothing to prepare or to avoid. It's not caused by poor diet, smoking, nutrasweet---nothing known.
I am uninsurable. Obama made it possible for me to have insurance. Conservatives promise to take that hope away from me. And they offer absolutely nothing workable in return---except "Well you can always go to the emergency room. That should make you happy. If you walk in with a heart attack, you are assured care. Stop whining and running to the government to work this out. We are rugged! We pay our own way."
I started a thread here, to ask the Canadian and British members to tell us how miserable they were with their healthcare systems. You know, cuz FOX news feeds us a steady diet of their horror stories. This mythical healthcare disaster doesn't exist there. They have their complaints, but generally think our system is barbaric. Anxiety of how they will get medical attention is nearly non-existant for them. Yet we continue to act live cavemen here.
This I do know though. This is not going away. This will not go away. We WILL deal with it. Be happy with Obama's capitalistic solution, which health insurance companies should be so happy with since they stand to get lots and lots of money, or push us until the need for universal care is finally accepted by the majority. Because it is only going to get worse. Since we insist on making a middle man rich, it will continue to decline.
So fight against health care all you want. More and more people will be eaten up by the current system, and it will change. I know change is not really favored by conservatives, but things are definitely changing. Most of us don't think the rich, the young, the healthy, or well employed are the only ones entitled to health care. I don't care how big their houses are, or how many pools they own, or if they own 10 vacation houses. Another myth. This isn't about envy. More power to them if it makes them happy. But when it comes down to my country telling me that they are more entitled to medical care than I am, well that's my line.
Oh how the rest of the civilized world must just shake their heads at this stupidity. How can we possibly be great if we continue to have a debate about whether people have a right to health care? I'd be happy about that big old REPEAL if I could just hear about that REPLACE. *chirp* *chirp* Yeah, I thought so.
NC