Alright, I want you to picture a couple things with me. First, my parents. My parents are getting older, but they both exercise regularly and eat properly, and they have maintained healthy lifestyles. The responsible couple gets annual check-ups and deals with issues before they become severe problems. Because they both hold down good jobs, they have good insurance that covers any issues they have; of course, they don’t have many issues because they are responsible adults who take care of themselves.
Next, picture a couple in their early forties. The woman has smoked since she was a teenager, and the man consistently binge drinks. Both are slightly overweight, and thus have other problems like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Because of this, their doctors have put them on multiple prescriptions. The man was recently fired from work for a problem with absences, so the only income they have is the wife’s job at a convenient store, where she is not covered with medical insurance.
Fortunately for couple number 2, the House of Representatives recently passed the proposed national health care bill. Yay!! This means that they won’t be charged tons of money for all their prescriptions.
Now, someone has to pay for couple 2’s healthcare, because they obviously can’t afford it, and that someone just happens to be couple number 1. Yay for couple number 1? I don’t think so.
While this whole “care for each other” thing seems all well and good, has no one read Animal Farm recently? I’ll tell you how it ends – socialism doesn’t work. And like it or not, national health care is pit stop one on the road to socialism.
Let’s make a pro/con list for national health care, shall we?
Pros:
· People who cannot afford medical insurance won’t have to pay directly.
· More illnesses could be prevented because people could afford check-ups and preventative measures, rather than simply seeking help when in dire need.
· Pre-existing conditions would not stop someone from being able to receive medical care.
Cons:
· The government just got bigger.
· Taxes increase for every American.
· If tax increases are not enough, the government will have to take cuts elsewhere, such as education.
· Either way, this will likely increase the national deficit.
· In certain situations, abortions will be covered. This means that your tax money will go toward ending a baby’s life.
· According to the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) enacted by Congress in 1986, it is illegal to refuse someone emergency medical care, regardless of their ability to pay. Thus, emergency is not a good excuse.
· When the government starts predicting medical methods, doctors will not feel the freedom to practice in their own manner, potential resulting in poor patient care.
· In other countries with national health care, such as Canada, wait lines for treatments are incredibly long, and even routine procedures can take months to schedule.
· The government could eventually determine what drugs should be available to the public.
· The government would also have access to all medical records.
· If the American people learn to expect “free” health care, what else will they begin to expect “free” from the government?
· Government workers generally don’t have to worry about keeping their jobs; their hours and salaries are pretty set. Thus, they won’t have to worry so much about staying competitive and working hard to keep their jobs. Will the caliber of health care decrease?
I’m sure I’m missing some arguments for both sides, but you get the point. It’s pretty obvious that the cons heavily outweigh the pros. I don’t know about you, but personally, I don’t have any desire to start paying for other people’s medical insurance. (Of course, I’m still on my parents’ insurance so I’m not really paying much in taxes toward anyone’s insurance, but you still get the point.) While this may help those with chronic illnesses get the coverage they need, the main people this bill will serve to help are those who don’t take care of themselves and need a ton of medical care, and those who do not have good enough jobs to afford their own.
Let’s pray the Senate has enough sense to NOT pass this bill.