Healthcare Part 1

I'm not sure how many posts it is going to take to get through this issue, but we'll start here and see where we go. I'll say up front that I am not one for facts and figures. They are often interesting, but they can be manipulated to support many varied and opposing opinions. We have come to rely on "the numbers" to provide us with the information we need, for example we say 46 million Americans are uninsured, there was $81.2 billion in damages from Hurricane Katrina, there was .915% population growth in the U.S. between 2005 and 2008. All of these are interesting statistics, and they do tell a story. But statistics and numbers don't often get to the heart of the matter. Even in accounting these days, the numbers don't often add up to indicate real performance. So, don't expect a lot of numbers from me. That is not what this blog is about. This blog is about the real story.

Health care in our country is a huge issue, and President Obama is bringing it to the forefront and trying to make a difference. The concern I have is that the President will not be able to make enough changes in health care to really have a positive impact on the American people. The problem is that we have come to lack the ability to look at the real opportunities we have. Instead we take broken systems and try to tweak them a little here and a little there and hope that the outcome will be better than what we started with (Oh, and don't forget all of the influence from special interests and big business). From the information I have reviewed on the current health care debate, that is exactly what we are doing, again.

So, what is the real problem with health care as it currently exists in our country? For starters, there are millions of uninsured and under-insured individuals and families. But why should we care? I have insurance through my employer. It isn't the best insurance by far, but it is adequate for me right now. If I develop a serious illness I may have to revise that assessment, but for now, my insurance suits my needs. So, again, why should we care that there are uninsured and under-insured people in the U.S.?

Let's start with basic human rights and respect. Now, there is nothing in the Constitution that says that health care is a basic human right. In fact. ours is one of the few constitutions that doesn't have a general rights clause or amendment. Even China has a rights clause in their constitution, but that's a topic for a different post. Now, there's that "...life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." business in the Declaration of Independence, but nothing specific about health care in either document. I'll assume that everyone knows that our constitution is not a fixed document, in other words, we have the right and the ability to change it. Why should we change it though? Well, we've changed it in the past to include things like abolishing slavery and giving the right to vote to women and minorities just to name a few things.

As we evolve and understand that regardless of gender, skin color, oh there are so many things I could add, we come to understand that each of us is not so different from one another. We all have the right to be treated fairly and equally. And that's where the respect part comes in. If I have a friend or neighbor who is ill and needs medical care, I would like for them to receive it, regardless of whether they have health insurance or not. It's a basic respect for human life. We all have the right to live and be healthy. We all have the right to get that heart operation, cancer treatment, antibiotic, or whatever, and you may agree with me on that. The part you may not agree with is who will pay for it. Go, go to the doctor, get well, but if you don't have insurance, don't expect me to foot the bill. I have myself and my own family to take care of, why should I pay for your medical care. That is the selfish viewpoint that we hold. Survival of the fittest (just to point out-that is another evolutionary concept). If you can't take care of yourself and pay your bills, it's not my problem. The problem is that if we took that stand in all subjects, we would have anarchy. Some might like that, but it's really not a good thing. So, we must make the choice, is healthy human life worth preserving? and can we look beyond our own selfish wants and needs to recognize that everyone deserves equal and available health care? Don't think about any of the other issues concerning health care. Just think about those two questions. That is the first step.

For your entertainment, a little Groove Armada: