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If you are fortunate enough to have it and not pay a fortune, consider yourself blessed.
I am really curious as to the No's, as I am thinking of just letting mine lapse.
OOPS, as usual I forgot a category - Medicare, aka socialized medicine, but you can just share that.
my jobs offers it..but they charge $259.00 every two weeks..and they have given us paycuts..so had to decline it..
To those who can afford it...consider yourself lucky and fortunate.
So you don't believe that we should help to take care of our people who get ill & can either not work until they are well or become permanently disabled? How about chronically ill children of those who are barely earning enough to keep a roof over their heads?
What do you think we should do with these people?
I simply stated what I believe to be the nature of Rights.
With regard to helping others:
I believe in helping those who can't help themselves. i.e children & those who have contributed their entire lives and now need assistance
I am less inclined to help those who won't help themselves. i.e those who make poor choices with their health and wealth.
For example: I have health insurance and an older, paid off vehicle. I don't want to provide assistance to someone who smokes 2 packs a day and drives a pricy new vehicle but "can't afford" health insurance.
I agree. But when self-employed and my insurance premiums creeped up to nearly $1200 a month, I was done.
Why do people think that if one doesn't have insurance they don't pay their bill? No one "foots my bill".
On a visit to my doctor, there were a very young family in the waiting room - they were on public assistance (Oregon Health Plan). It did irritate me that I had to pay upfront (half at time of visit, half within one week), yet they saw this [expensive] specialist for free. Excuse me, since I pay my bills and my taxes, I paid part of their visit(s). I'm sure everyone has a lot anecdotal evidence.
One may get emergency, life-sustaining help without insurance, but there will be no follow-up and no rehabilitative care. It's hardly a free-for-all.
In the past I've been qualified to get unemployment insurance, but I work too hard to get any health care assistance. As long as I can work, I will refuse anyone to 'foot my bill.' This is the way we were raised. If you can walk, talk, watch tv, type on a computer, then work.
So, to a lot of posters on this thread, health is up for sale and they think that's OK. I don't know what the answer is, but yes WE are out brothers' keepers.
It has absolutely nothing to do with our current Administration and for those of you who think it does, I'd ask where the heck were you for the last twenty years or so? Not paying attention?
Health care in this country is similar to the court system - if you don't have a lot of money to buy, then you're out of luck.
One great thing about self employment is being able to write off all medical.
I know you have to have the money in the first place.
I simply stated what I believe to be the nature of Rights.
With regard to helping others:
I believe in helping those who can't help themselves. i.e children & those who have contributed their entire lives and now need assistance
I am less inclined to help those who won't help themselves. i.e those who make poor choices with their health and wealth.
For example: I have health insurance and an older, paid off vehicle. I don't want to provide assistance to someone who smokes 2 packs a day and drives a pricy new vehicle but "can't afford" health insurance.
I apologize then. I also happen to agree with your last sentence.
I think I get hyper-sensitive to those who do not want their tax dollars going to help for medical programs that would actually save others lives.
Here in the states, "Rights" are things that an individual posesses which cannot be taken away. For me to maintain my "rights", no one must give me anything.
For example"
Freedom of speach - got it (no one gives it to me)
Freedon of religion - got it (ditto)
Right to bear arms - got it (no need to give me a gun, got em)
Right to Life - got it (don't try to take it, see above)
Liberty - got it
Pursuit of happiness - got it
etc..
Free health care / insurance ... uh , someone else would have to provide that to me. Therefore not a "Right".
That is a subsection of rights known as liberty rights. You would seem to imply that they are the only rights posessed by US citizens. This is grossly wrong.
There are also claim rights, which are things like the right to education, the right to property, the right to the work of an employee if you have paid him wages for it etc.
(Plus some other special case rights, for example to right of Congress to change citizens legal rights.)
People who believe that health care is a fundamental right believe it to be a claim right. Personally, I belive it to be a legal right that most first world countries provide for their citizens. Some countries chose not to, and generally pay through the nose for that.
EDIT: The right to a lawyer if you are put on trial is perhaps the best example of a claim right. Someone has to provide one if you can't afford one yourself.
Last edited by Grim Reader; 01-20-2011 at 12:22 PM..
If you are indeed your brothers keeper...then me not having insurance and you paying for my health care is okay correct?
I am indeed, as are you. Do you think not having insurance is always a choice?
No, it's not correct and you're asking a simplistic question; the answers are in previous posts. That is, if you can afford it, you should buy it.
In terms of being our brothers' keeper, I mean that insurance should be made available to everyone and not be priced so that a catastrophic illness bankrupts a family, not be priced so overwhelmingly high that there are some 40+/- working uninsured in the richest country in the world. That is a disgrace.
I fit two catagories and could only check one. I can't afford it after I lost my job and I have pre-existing that I couldn't get coverage for and if I could it would be way out of my price range. At 60 I'm not elegible for Medicare so I do without my much needed Rx's and anything but emergent HC.
I know you have to have the money in the first place.
Getting personal already? You know absolutely nothing about my living situation or where the money I earn goes. And as such, your statement is incredibly ridiculous and foolish.
Getting personal already? You know absolutely nothing about my living situation or where the money I earn goes. And as such, your statement is incredibly ridiculous and foolish.
Just a fact.....if you don't buy the insurance you can not write it off.
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so I do without my much needed Rx's and anything but emergent HC
