Up-to-date analysis of the local political landscape
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Great Moments in Bloodthirstiness (Take Two)
7 comments:
shyster
said...
The question posits this healthy 30-year old man turning down a "$200 to $300" a month health insurance plan because he is healthy and doesn't think he needs it. He has an accident and goes into a coma—who should pay for it? Paul basically said, "He made his choice, let him die." I say: If he has a shot at a good plan and good coverage at that price and turns it down, he should die become he is too dumb to live. Check the rates for good, low-deductable coverage and find a policy in the $200 range. The issue is not whether there is insurance, the issue is whether there is affordable insurance that will cover your needs with a reasonable deductible at a price that does not equal your mortgage.
Syd, I agree with you. Equal access to health care may not be a human right, but it is essential for a civilized society. We are all diminished when any person dies or suffers unnecessarily. A social safety net is good for everyone, including those who may never need it. Anonymous, your comment betrays a mean, nasty outlook, and your brand of social Darwinism would create a miserable violent world.
Also, Anon should know that he's already paying for other people's health care because under the current system ERs cannot turn patients away (a policy signed into law by Ronald Reagan, by the way), so they treat the uninsured and we all pay higher premiums because of it. Under Obama's plan at least everyone would be required to take personal responsibility by buying their own health insurance, or paying a fine if they don't.
Is there anything you can think of that I am forced to buy, and fined if I refuse? Sure, tax dollars are spent on public works projects, but no matter how I toss the "forced health insurance under penalty of fine" thing around in my mind, my mind keeps kicking back that this is totally unacceptable in a free society.
Freedom is far more valuable than a guarantee of unlimited doctor visits.
Mike, you are forced to pay county and city taxes on your property and your property is subject to confiscation if you refuse. This makes waste disposal and fire protection available to you, even if you never need those services. Health care is best delivered under a federal program and should be funded by a federal tax, in my opinion. I wish President Obama's program had ditched insurance companies altogether, but he had to keep the insurance companies from spending a fortune on propaganda as they did when President Clinton was trying to reform the system.
J.W. Williamson was the founding editor in 1972 of the Appalachian Journal: A Regional Studies Review, which he edited until July of 2000. He has taught college classes in Appalachian history, cultural politics, and literature, and he has lectured widely on the pop-culture history of "Appalachia" in the American consciousness. His books include Interviewing Appalachia, Southern Mountaineers in Silent Films, and Hillbillyland: What the Mountains Did to the Movies and What the Movies Did to the Mountains. He has won the Thomas Wolfe Award given by the Western North Carolina Historical Society, the Laurel Leaves Award given by the Appalachian Consortium, a special Weatherford Award given by Berea College, and the Cratis Williams-James Brown Award given by the Appalachian Studies Association.
The views expressed on WataugaWatch are solely those of J.W. Williamson or individual contributors and are not necessarily shared nor endorsed by the Watauga County Democratic Party nor by any other adults of sound mind in this or any other universe.
7 comments:
The question posits this healthy 30-year old man turning down a "$200 to $300" a month health insurance plan because he is healthy and doesn't think he needs it. He has an accident and goes into a coma—who should pay for it?
Paul basically said, "He made his choice, let him die."
I say: If he has a shot at a good plan and good coverage at that price and turns it down, he should die become he is too dumb to live. Check the rates for good, low-deductable coverage and find a policy in the $200 range.
The issue is not whether there is insurance, the issue is whether there is affordable insurance that will cover your needs with a reasonable deductible at a price that does not equal your mortgage.
No..the issue is why should anyone be denied healthcare because of money? Healthcare is a human right, not a commodity.
Syd, you have got to be kidding. You have no right to make me pay for your health care.
Syd, I agree with you. Equal access to health care may not be a human right, but it is essential for a civilized society. We are all diminished when any person dies or suffers unnecessarily. A social safety net is good for everyone, including those who may never need it. Anonymous, your comment betrays a mean, nasty outlook, and your brand of social Darwinism would create a miserable violent world.
Also, Anon should know that he's already paying for other people's health care because under the current system ERs cannot turn patients away (a policy signed into law by Ronald Reagan, by the way), so they treat the uninsured and we all pay higher premiums because of it. Under Obama's plan at least everyone would be required to take personal responsibility by buying their own health insurance, or paying a fine if they don't.
Not Really,
Is there anything you can think of that I am forced to buy, and fined if I refuse? Sure, tax dollars are spent on public works projects, but no matter how I toss the "forced health insurance under penalty of fine" thing around in my mind, my mind keeps kicking back that this is totally unacceptable in a free society.
Freedom is far more valuable than a guarantee of unlimited doctor visits.
Mike, you are forced to pay county and city taxes on your property and your property is subject to confiscation if you refuse. This makes waste disposal and fire protection available to you, even if you never need those services. Health care is best delivered under a federal program and should be funded by a federal tax, in my opinion. I wish President Obama's program had ditched insurance companies altogether, but he had to keep the insurance companies from spending a fortune on propaganda as they did when President Clinton was trying to reform the system.
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