How can we not insist that all of our children have healthcare?! It boggles the mind. We're making a huge mistake if we don't deal with our healthcare issues decisively, creatively and swiftly, and we need to get over the concept that it feels too much like socialism or federalism to tackle it as a nation as well. Healthcare is not for the back-burner, and it applies to us all. Yes, we have other pressing issues on the table, most notably, the fate of our military servicemen and women on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and other international addresses around the world. As a country we must fight the advance of terrorism, shore up our emergency response system (as in rebuilding New Orleans), address global warming and the ongoing abuse of our environment, and we desperately need to rebuild our international relationships and friendships - and obviously, I'm skimming the top of the surface here, because there is much more. It takes enormous diplomacy and level-headed thinking to manage a country with close to 300 million people living in it, but at this juncture in our country's lifespan - we should not still be pondering how to handle healthcare, especially as it concerns our kids. Yet here we are - with our lawmakers and our sitting President dithering over how many children to cut from healthcare rosters. There must be another solution.
What if we actually tried prevention? Many of our presidential candidates have begun to notice the wildly out-of-control healthcare expenditures that must be made in order to react to illness, as opposed to the amount needed to proactively prevent them in the first place. Giving kids healthcare coverage is the first step to preventing out-of-control health care costs in the future. What if every child born in this country automatically received a healthcare card that assured them of available, timely and adequate healthcare? That's right - public- financed healthcare. They'd get well-baby check-ups, immunizations, and early diagnosis and treatment of illnesses that left untreated could become more of a problem - not only for them, but for the communities in which they live. Think of it as something society would benefit from - like a cohesive, interconnecting roadway system, and the concept of education for all.
Our society has a chance at running semi-smoothly because certain of our basic needs are paid for by all of us; our police department, fire department, postal services, and many infrastructure items such as roads and public transportation. Elementary education in our country has been established as a right for all kids, and is mandated at most state or city levels. Is it less important for all children to receive health care? We pay taxes so all kids can have an education, but kids who are sick don't learn as well. What happens to them? Kids who are ill miss a lot of school - or, because of lack of care, come to school sick. Kids who don't get appropriate healthcare when they're young may live lives at risk as they grow into adults. Consider the current rates of obesity and diabetes. If kids without healthcare have chronic illnesses that go untreated, society eventually pays the tab - not only in overcrowded emergency rooms, but also by exposure to contagious illnesses that could have been contained, and/or prevented. Society will also be plagued by the missed opportunities - missed school days, missed work days, and unfulfilled goals and dreams. It's tough to be a productive member of society when you're sick.
The idea of leaving no child behind sounds great in theory. Perhaps when we realize that personal health has a lot to do with being able to keep up in the first place, a collective vested interest in the health of our nation will actually make the no child left behind phrase more than a sound bite. What if.
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Don't you know that the poor are poor because it's their fault? They're all buying flat screen TVs and drive Cadillacs and BMWs to the food bank. They can afford insurance. They just don't want to care for their children.
Oh yeah, and health care for children just means that more illegals are going to eat up the tax money paid by God-fearing, hard-working Americans (the few who aren't welfare queens).
And another thing: it's just a slippery slope toward socialized medicine. Can you imagine the horror?
I'm being ironic, but everything I wrote above is simply taken from what I've heard ordinary Americans saying.
Hang your head in shame, America!
You are so right- as far as I am concerned, health care for our kids- that is our future.
Thank you for seeing what really matters.
The one point you're not addressing is that those who have power want to keep power. It's harder to control people with your billions of dollars when their survival needs are met.
I also wonder how a doctor - paid by the state or not - is supposed to prevent childhood obesity. Kids do their eating away from the doctor's office, and they eat what their parents feed them or what they feed themselves.
mike
Let me repeat that - A NOT FOR PROFIT HMO.
It is excellent care in excellent facilities.
I can choose my caretaker if I wish.
I have a fair co-payment.
I am perfectly satisfied.
Now, explain to Americans again WHY HEALTH CARE SHOULD BE FOR PROFIT?