Let’s talk about healthcare protesters. Glad they are speaking their minds, that’s freedom of speech in action. But I can’t help but notice that these folks likely aren’t among the 50 million people in this country who don’t have access to healthcare. They think things are fine because they have access to healthcare and/or haven’t become sick. It’s easy to take this position because from that view, the system isn’t broken – IT’S WORKING FOR THEM NOW.
If there is such a thing as karma these people will experience the downside of the healthcare system starting with some minor, but chronic condition requiring ongoing care and medicine. Then, they will lose their jobs. After COBRA coverage runs out, they will be unable to acquire new insurance at any reasonable price due to the “pre-existing condition.”
Now the minor chronic condition turns major because the treatment hasn’t been continued. Instead of a manageable situation, they are now sick. Really sick. These people will have their investments, life savings, and other assets depleted as they are forced to pay out of pocket to save their own lives. All of this because these people are now untouchables; uninsured and uninsurable with no place to turn.
About this point, one would have to imagine that these people would be wondering exactly why they fought so hard to protect a dysfunctional system that they assumed would work for them when needed. And at that point, it will be too late. And eventually, after enormous suffering personally and for their families, they will die.
For some, it’s difficult to imagine the scenario above. But the odds are more of us will become ill and slowly degrade requiring medical care than will meet a fast end.
When that happens for me or a loved one, I’d like to know there is good, ubiquitous healthcare available despite one’s economic situation. It’s pretty much like the fire department, you don’t need it most of the time, but when you do, you really do and you don’t want to have to hand over the Visa card for them to start extinguishing the fire. Let’s hope the protesters also choose to exercise their brains, and not just their mouths so that the situation above becomes a remnant of the past.
This probably isn’t an entirely fair article the dailymash on healthcare in the US but at least its funny and speaks many truths.
A lot of voices against US universal healthcare have been saying ‘look at the UK and their NHS, a lot of people are really unhappy with the system’ which is right. What they aren’t mentioning is that the solution most people want to that perceived problem is for the government to spend MORE not less money on it.