Health care reform: your opinions
Monday, August 17, 2009
By Megan Sweas
Comments (15)
Do you believe that health care is a human right? How does your faith influence your perspective on today's health care debates? What would you like to see reform include or not include? What issues are you willing to compromise on?
Share with us your thoughts, concerns, and hopes about health care reform here.
Comments (15)
Jesus healed the sick. He
By earthenvessel (not verified) on Wednesday, September 9, 2009Jesus healed the sick. He was interested in the whole person knowing that sick people cannot live to their potential and be the whole person God intended. We have a moral imperative as Catholics who follow Jesus to do as he did and make sure that healing of the body is available to all.
I cannot understand this idea of President Obama and socialism. He would have to throw out all the members of congress and get the military to follow him blindly in order to turn our country into a socialist state. It won't happen because first of all, he doesn't want it and second of all because our country won't do it. A socialist government is NOT the same thing as some social legislation. Our highways are social as in taxes were raised and conditions laid out so we can travel from state to state on good roads. We have socialized our food service in that the government puts down rules for what constitutes nutrition and safety. We have many, many social things in our country but we are NOT a socialist state.
Wake Up
By Anonymous (not verified) on Saturday, October 31, 2009Wake Up. Socialism is death and it is in disguise. It is estimated that a quarter of a billion people have been murdered under the leadership of socialist "heroes". The Russian scoialists chipped away at the Russian government for years before they finally took control by force. Then the killing really began. To discern the truth you can judge the tree by it's fruits. Would a God centered approach to healthcare allow the allocation of that healthcare based on age or a panel of experts to decide who is worthy. In God's eyes everyone is worthy.
As far as President Obama, look at the people he surrounds himself with. Even his communications director, Anita Dunn, looks up to the strategy of Mao as something good. Mao was only overshadowed by Stalin in the scope of his atrocities.
HEALTHCARE REFORM
By Anonymous (not verified) on Sunday, February 7, 2010IN 1936, Karl Marx was interviewed a NY newspaper and talked about "human capitol" Human Resource departments are a part of every institution and corporation today. Is the use of human capitol in beneficial and financially product ways solely a money making use of people? Ayn Rand who wanted no controls on the "free market," capital ventures,did not leave all the tenants of socialism behind when she started teaching Mr. Greenburg fiscal policy. The economic model we have used these last ten years is right from that influence and does not judge moral, ethical,or social justice ideals. It is as secular as accounting 101.
However, it is not without costs.
To provide data for this structure we have all citizens with social security numbers from birth and credit scores before leaving college. PRIVACY IS LOST
To support this system when you buy stocks, your certificates are held by the SEC for swaps, and trades to be expedited. TRY GETTING THE STOCK CERTIFICATES YOU OWN YOU CAN'T
To support private insurance companies providing health care insurance, we subsidize and allow medical bankruptcies from the 20% co-pay, or have uninsured people go through the more costly ER
TAX PAYERS ARE PAYING THE BILL FOR BANKRUPTCY AND ER COSTS
Lets look at the balance sheets realistically when talking costs and saving, to "ism" is not the answer.what ever "ism" you want to call it
Libertarianism, Utilitarianism, socialism,ETC
Moral Imperative
By Maura Flood (not verified) on Wednesday, September 9, 2009No, we are not a socialist state, and nothing that has been proposed by the President would make us one. What has been proposed for healthcare reform is a first step -- a big first step, admittedly -- toward making sure that everyone in this country has adequate access to healthcare. As Catholics, we should rejoice in this and support the President's endeavor. It was just recently that we heard the gospel reminding us: I was sick, and you did not visit me, naked and you did not clothe me, etc. How easy it is to forget those words when we leave the church building, but how important it is to try to remember them. And, difficult as it may be, it is just as important (I think) that we try to live by Jesus's directive to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and provide care for those who need it.
There are millions of people in this country who go without medical care when they need it. Why do we continue to allow this to happen? If your answer is that it is too expensive to care for them all, think again. The fact that all these uninsured use hospital emergency rooms for healthcare when they can no longer ignore their injuries or illnesses means that we are all paying a very high price for their care each and every day. But it is insufficient and inefficient. The President's plan gives us a better way.
Health Care?
By Al (not verified) on Wednesday, September 9, 2009The Catholic Church believes we should all have universal ACCESS to care not universal health care. It also, if you research it, believes it should be given at the lowest level (local vs federal) possible. One of many confusions in today's discussions with health care, health insurance, delivery etc. Megan's suggested read (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care/.) is a very good article to consider.
In the Obama administration universal health care(UNC) is really the means, among others, to move us toward a socialist government. If you look at what is going on in most countries with UNC it is definitely not the answer from either a Catholic or citizen point of view.
We need to either follow an approach like that mentioned on pg 6 of Megans article or take our current system and fix the problems like portability, pre existing condition, pooling for better cost for small businesses and individuals, tort reform etc. We do not need or want a government run system. The gov then becomes the insurance company, making the decision with bureacrat run panels etc. and who will be the honest broker?
Consumer-based health care system?
By Megan Sweas on Thursday, September 3, 2009Here's a politically unfeasible idea (because it challenges the current structure of the entire health care and insurance industries): http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/health-care/.
The basic proposal (read page 6 of the article) is to put decisions in consumers' hands by making them pay for most medical treatment out of pocket, through health savings accounts (HSA), and reserving health insurance for catastrophic coverage. Getting rid of structures such as Medicare/Medicaid would allow the government to pay for HSAs and catastrophic coverage for those who couldn't afford them, as well as a routine check-up every two years for all of us.
I certainly don't trust insurance companies to make medical decisions, and while I personally think it's important to have a public option to balance out insurance companies, I'm skeptical that it'll do any better than the insurance companies. This new plans seems promising, but I still worry that people would forego treatments that might lead to better health in the long run because of cost, or how ordinary people with chronic but not yet catastrophic conditions (allergies, asthma, obesity, diabetes) would afford their treatments. A large percentage of Americans will need to take advantage of catastrophic care insurance if the obesity epidemic continues at its current rate.
What do you think? Is this a better plan than the ones currently being discussed and is there any way to actually achieve it?
Hi, This is the
By kevinjohnson (not verified) on Tuesday, February 23, 2010Hi,
This
is the suggestion develop good concem.
Health Care
By Colleen (not verified) on Saturday, August 29, 2009Every Catholic should be rabidly backing universal health care access. Like Ted Kennedy, we should rally behind any change and seek to make further gains or tweak the system over time. Yes there are problems - like not enough primary care docs & the perceived cost-savings not really being enough to cover the new expenses. But WE are already paying for the uninsured, and the uninsured and poorly insured are ALREADY dying because they don't have access to adequate health care. I am willing to pay more taxes to ensure all people in this country (legal and otherwise) have access to health care.
Healthcare Reforms: Your Opinions
By CD (not verified) on Friday, August 28, 2009Jerry, in addition to getting your facts from youtube, internet sites and emails, maybe we should be praying with those that don't think like you to come up with a solution to the current healthcare situation.
I am for healthcare reform but I have serious concerns about some of the proposals. The real healthcare debate is being drowned out by people on both sides screaming the factioids they get off the internet, emails and news outlets.
When you prayed to God about healthcare what did he say to you?
People without lazy minds
By jerry d (not verified) on Friday, August 28, 2009People without lazy minds can distinguish between bogus chain mail and actual speeches. Just because the Democratic Party operatives that run the mainstream media do not report something, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Furthermore, a link to distinguished economics professor Thomas Sowell should not be written off as just an internet site. Under the banner of the caring for working people and the poor, useful idiots in the U.S. have gone so far to defend Stalin, Mao and Castro. Today they praise Hugo Chavez.
While there are clear cut issues on morality, I don't claim that God has given me the blueprint to establish utopia. I do pray for our country every day.
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