On the Universal Health Care Debate in America

Most of the posts here are not written by me but are links to what I deem to be informative, educational or entertaining articles and videos created by others. This is an exception. It is my opinion expressed in response to an email buddy of mine in America on the subject of universal health care.
I have a couple of basic beliefs that underpin the thoughts that follow. One is that by and large we are cause. Not only for what we do but also what happens to us. Whilest one can argue the case for being an innocence bystander who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, one can usually, if pressed hard enough, identify those thoughts or actions that led to them making the decisions that put them in the wrong place at the wrong time. I acknowledge that this high level of personal responsibility is something that is extremely unpopular and strenuously avoided in this culture at this time. Most people would rather blame anyone than take responsibility for what happens to them. But if you look at the degrading things that are the most popular, promiscuity, pornography and drugs etc., then I am far more comfortable being unpopular than fitting in with the majority.
The second belief is that the more removed is a person in time and space from the direct observation of cause and effect then the less responsibility they can be observed to take for their actions. For example, despite graphic pictures on anti-smoking TV and print ads, people continue to smoke. The present time pain of giving up the addiction is greater than the future potential pain of a smoking-related illness and early death.
I must confess, I don’t see anybody game enough to implement an immediately workable, optimum solution to universal health care. As somebody who eats well, exercises and tries to maintain a healthy lifestyle I strenuously object to the idea that my taxes will largely be paying for medical aid to those who eat junk food, smoke and do not exercise. Those people are consciously and deliberately and continually making anti-survival choices that will increase their medical costs that will be a direct burden on others. This leads me very much to favour a “user pays” funding model.
I also object to my tax dollars paying for things like chemotherapy let alone psychiatric drugs and counselling – proven conclusively to do no good and a great deal of harm.
On the other hand if there was a medical situation that affected the life of a newborn for which the parents did not have the means to fund the cost of handling, I don’t see the justice in that at all.
If you then start getting into the “who should get what care under what circumstances” you are elevating yourself to the status of God. And I really see that working well with a medical committee – not!
It occurs to me that a person, family, company or nation that lives beyond its means is making non-optimum decisions with its resources and heading for financial disaster. So the deciding factor, like it or not, would appear to be “What can the person, family, company or nation afford?” I know for many this is a distasteful viewpoint with regards to health but violating it would appear to be violating natural law. You cannot for long consume more than you produce without eventually becoming too great an economic burden on those resources subsidising the shortfall. So went Rome, so goes America.
So if the individual cannot afford the cost of the medical care he needs then the responsibility for doing so falls to his family.
If the family cannot afford it and they are insured through employer or private insurer, then the insurer foots the bill and the premium payer wears the ultimate cost. If the individual, family or group cannot pay for the cost of the needed care then responsibility for it moves to the national level for those countries who provide universal health care. Essentially a system of insurance where the tax payer pays the premium. Currently, if a nation cannot afford it, as most in the world cannot, it does not go to the next logical level, the international community.
One could ask, “Why not?” The answer, “Because the international community could not afford it.” turns out to evaporate under the cold hard scrutiny of the things on which the population of planet earth currently spends their income. When you add up the wasted billions on war, crime, drugs (legal and illegal) etc. you see the resource are available, they just need to be rechannelled.
So then the ultimate optimum solution would be to divert some of the billions that are wasted on war etc. to educate the entire population on the true data as to:
1. what is the correct way to feed and maintain a body for optimal health and longevity
2. how to solve the problems of life without having to resort to drugs and alcohol.
That would severely alter the economics and resource allocation of food manufacture and distribution, medical research and treatment as well as drying up the demand for most medical and illegal drugs. The Monsanto, Elly Lily and Pfizer’s of the world would have to have a radical change of heart or perish. What a shame!
Disease, illness and early death rates would plummet, as would the cost of funding even better health care than we have at present.
Sanity and happiness levels would skyrocket. It would be a different world.
But that’s not going to happen any time soon. There are too many heavily moneyed, greedy, vested interests that profit from war, crime, immorality and insanity and the rest of what is the status quo.