Health Care – I Got Mine
By Wink
Do you like specious arguments? If so, just bring up the issue of national healthcare with the average citizen. Be ready for red herrings galore:
- It will ruin the current system
- Drug companies will not be motivated to create new drugs
- It will cost way more than our current system, because government is wasteful
- We have the best healthcare anywhere
Let’s take these point by point.
It will ruin the current system: It wouldn’t even change the current healthcare system. The type of coverage being proffered is identical to what government employees already have. Do you know how many government employees there are? Millions. Since the coverage for these millions of people is not currently ‘wrecking’ the system, why would expansion of the same coverage?
Drug companies will not be motivated to create new drugs: New drugs are always right-protected, and the creator can literally own that category/drug for years. Nobody is suggesting removing this right. Since all companies, including drug companies, are motivated by profit, they will not stop trying to create new, highly-profitable, drugs.
It will cost way more than our current system, because government is wasteful: Granted, government can be wasteful, but no, the cost won’t be more. You are paying for health insurance now (assuming you have health insurance). You will have the option of keeping that insurance, thus, no ‘government-induced’ rate increase.
But wait, even though you DON’T have government insurance, your private insurance rates have been skyrocketing. And in spite of the higher premiums, your policy regularly requires YOU to pay more and more of your medical bills: higher deductibles, higher coinsurance, higher copays. You think government would screw up THAT system?
Also note, the middle man, insurance companies, have a ‘profit’ motive. They must pay high-powered exec’s and still have a little left to give to stockholders. Even streamlined, well-run companies must profit each year. Profit comes in the form of premiums. Your money. The government doesn’t have the ‘profit’ motive that insurance companies have.
We have the best healthcare anywhere: (I call this argument “I got mine”) Well, we don’t have the best healthcare, and this is sad. First off, about 50 million people have no healthcare, so it is certainly not the BEST for them. Secondly, if we have the best healthcare, why do we have such a high infant mortality rate (ranked 29th in the world, tied with Poland and Slovakia)?
Why do I call that final point “I got mine?” Because it is really saying “I have great healthcare, and I don’t care who else has bad healthcare or no healthcare. After all, it really is only about ME.”
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
