More Health Care Stuff

[twirlgrrl]

I keep meaning to do a bit of research and compile it into a serious post on this subject, but I never have time. So I'll keep passing on/saving links that I find interesting in the meantime.

Here is yet another article about the fact that people with health insurance are not protected from financial ruin due to health problems, and the kinds of shenanigans health insurance companies pull on people to increase their bottom line. We are in serious need of health care reform, America.

http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_political/3458615.html (link to original story is in the post)

From the bottom of that post, here is a link to the Frontline documentary about health care systems in other countries:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

I strongly encourage you to watch that documentary and ask yourself why we in the US are the only industrialized nation without some form of healthcare system like this.

Comments

[roseredhoofbeat.livejournal.com]

We're the only industrialized nation without some form of healthcare like that because we as a nation have a pathological fear of dependence and of socialism and of government interference. I'm actually sort of convinced that it's part of the national psyche that dependence is bad, and that's part of why attachment parenting is so "woo woo" to most people. ENCOURAGING dependence? FOSTERING attachment? Recipe for disaster!

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

Well, it's certainly true that rugged independence is a huge part of the American mythological identity, and from that perspective, dependence is "bad." I think that there is a lot of fearmongering about the idea of health care in particular; you don't hear much fearmongering about socialized libraries, the socialized postal service or the socialized police force. I know there is a (very nasty, IMO) public and media bias against those people who use any of the social services we have had available in this country since the Great Depression, and I personally find this bias quite overdone given the fact that we are a wealthy nation. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that we would define a floor for the standard of living in our country, even though we're allergic to any sort of ceiling. But I don't think it's this bias that freaks people out about public health care. I think it's the horror stories perpetuated by the health insurance companies through political ads and general rumormongering, even though if you watch the videos and read the polls of people living in countries with universal health care, you immediately find that such horror stories are so far from the norm it's ridiculous. Meanwhile we stand by while we are conned and wrecked and our wallets are raided unchecked by private health insurance companies. I can grok the individual pieces of the puzzle, but when I put it all together I can't quite get my head around it.

I think that's why I keep posting things about it. I like discussing it, and I can't help but think that if more people dug deeper into the realities of both the US system and the systems in other countries, the fear and superstition might fade.

[twirlgrrl.livejournal.com]

P.S. I was agreeing with you; not sure if that came across in my wall o' text. ;)

[two-roads.livejournal.com]

This is SO true!!

[two-roads.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting this!! Andy has been listening to far too much conservative talk radio in his car on the way home from work every day so has it in his head that this nationalized health care idea is a HORRIBLE idea. And then he proceeds to list all of the stupid reasons that came straight out of Sean Hannity's broadcast or whatever. It's annoying. I think I'll show him this video tonight when he gets home ;)