Well, another week has passed and health care is still a hot topic in Washington. A question was posed "Is Heath Care a right or a privilege?" That’s a very good question. Waaaay back in the day when my mother was a little girl, my sweet Great- grandma Beatrice would put some pine tar, mixed with rain water, on any cuts and bruises that she had. She would also give her a couple teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to relive bad coughs. Some of these remedies worked and some did not; home remedies was always a hit or miss because they had no choice. #1 good clean hospitals were segrated back then. #2 if you did need a hospital, they were not accessible without a car. Do I use some of these remedies? Yes, Do I want to? No. I do what I need to do to get by simply because I am one of the 45.7 million persons uninsured. If you asking me if Healthcare is a right, Yea! A human right. Unfortunately GREAT Health care is a privilege. The working poor has increased as people struggle to keep their jobs and precious Health benefits. They work jobs and contribute to society, but most don’t have access to good health coverage, so we wait for important procedures. Now that ain’t right!
The current state of our health care is appalling. I’ve read stories of Patients being litterly dumped on the streets for lack of insurance. Young children dying for lack of surgeons within certain HMO’s. The greed and arrogance of our elected representatives is sicking, so what’s to be done? The average person with an average job that wants average Health care, simple. At least if we had a single payer plan we could keep some of the Trillions of dollars that pharmaceutical industry and health plan companies pocket each year. We’ve got to take a stand and demand that congress stop playing the blame game and work on a affordable Health Care plan bill TODAY! Health Care should be a right for all Americans. Anything less is just plain uncivilized.
Desi,
ReplyDeleteI am in complete agreement with your views that healthcare should be a right and not a privilege for American citizens!! I am also one of the 45 million people in this country currently without health benefits due to being layed off from my job a year ago. It is a very scary and unsettling feeling, and I am thankful and blessed that I am in good health...now!!!
I love your examples of home remedies and I know many people including myself who are having to resort to such things in lieu of going to the doctor because of the high out of pocket expense.
What angers me is that I have worked since the age of six-teen, pay taxes, am educated, and have always had good jobs. Now I am unemployed and have no health insurance, and can't afford a private policy at this time. However, individuals who are not even legal in this country have more benefits than I do!!! Of course that is another topic all its own and I won't even go there!
I like your passion and am all for getting involved to do whatever it takes to get our country back, and equality for everyone regardless of race, culture, socioeconomic status etc... Despite the weakening economy, America is still a wealth of resources including the good, hard working citizens, and no one should go hungry, not have insurance, or be discriminated against to name just a few issues!
Michelle
Desi,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post on the question "Is Heath Care a right or a privilege?" I like that you put a personal story/example about your great grand mother to start your discussion. It is always interesting to hear about those home remedies whether they work or not. I think that it was a good choice to use this example to state why you believe what you believe in. I wondered while reading your blog where your great grand mother was from and if this was part of the reason they did not have clean hospitals and no quick way to get to the hospitals due to the great distance. I thought at first she might be from another country but then you stated that the areas were segrated back then so I assume she is local to the states? I understand that you do not want to use these old family remedies and agree that gives more of a reason to think about medical care as being a right for everyone in the future. I was glad that you shared with us that you were uninsured and it got me thinking about how you seek medical treatment and obtain your necessary yearly checkups to maintain good health. I could not imagine my life with out the accessibility of healthcare. I understand your point on keeping a job, struggling, and having access to GOOD healthcare. It seems to me that everytime I get a raise I don't see much benefits from it because my health insurance also goes up that year! Your last paragraph summed up your point and I agree with your assessment that something needs to be done with our high medical costs and lack of available medical.
Thanks Guys, I really appreciate your comments..they really do help. :)
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