Some Thoughts on the Healthcare Bill

I really can't fault the newspaper industry on this one. Way to attempt to up circulation!

I Don't Know Much About Photography....

...but to me, I get a different message from this shot than 'I'm really concerned about our health care bill'.

Health Care

So there has been a rampant facebook status over the past couple days:

"No one should die because they (sic) can't afford healthcare and no one should go broke because they (sic) get sick."

It is posted mostly by people in regards to the debate over the debate over universal healthcare (presumably coming from those in favor of a government-run healthcare system).

I have a couple issues with it (grammatical issues aside). Now, I am not sure where I stand on the issue of universal healtcare. And, I am in 100% agreement that our current healthcare system needs some serious help.

However.

This is a blatantly over-simplified statement to appeal to emotion that is impossible to argue. Is anyone out there going to say 'no, people should die because they can't afford healthcare?' No one should die because he or she can't afford food, and that happens somewhat regularly. This statement doesn't argue the merits of whether or not a universal healthcare system would actually work.

That, and I feel this largely discounts a simple fact: good healthcare is expensive. Good, qualified doctors are not easy to come by. Medical school is expensive, and, more importantly, a large, taxing time commitment. There has to be some form of a reward (i.e. a decent salary that will, at the very least, one day pay off the debt accrued) in order for enough qualified individuals to follow through with it. Medical supplies and machines are expensive. Medicine itself is expensive. Sure, there may be some 'price gouging', if you will, but at the base of it all, there's still a decent cost to everything.

Now, if everyone in America is going to have good healthcare, the money to cover these costs is going to have to come from somewhere. Whether it be each individual, employers, the government, or someone else entirely is quite the debate. However, if it is the government, simply, the money is going to have to come from somewhere (read: a large tax). Whether or not that is the only right way to go is another debate entirely. Another thing to consider - despite how many people there are in America without health insurance right now, it is not easy to get into the doctor's office. I am definitely all for everyone having health insurance, however, we are going to need more qualified individuals in the healthcare field when this happens. Anyhow - the bottom line - the idea that we could possibly get 'free healthcare from the government' is simply an illusion.

I know this is one of those boring posts that no one likes or is interested in - sorry. Anyhow.