Yes, absolutely. I think health care is a right. There are many details to work out after that, but I think our society should agree that health care should be accessible and affordable to everyone and then go forward from there.
The problem is, we haven't always agreed on this. The ACA was an (imperfect) step forward. A fair percentage of Americans believe that health care is not a right. I think we need to straighten out more of our philosophy on this subject before we can move forward. Basically, we need to get Republicans on board with the concept that every person has the right to healthcare and should have access to affordable medical care. But how can we do this? Many red states slash Medicare benefits year after year.
Personally, I advocate for a single-payer health care system. The wealthy countries that employ this system have better health care outcomes than us and spend way less money on healthcare. Obviously, there are a lot of economic and cultural factors at play here, but I think the US could also benefit from a single-payer health care system.
Quote (Handcuffs @ 20 May 2016 00:05)
Absolutely. The idea that people should be, or could be, refused healthcare due to a lack of funds is antithetical to what I believe marks a society as morally well-developed. This includes scenarios in which people contribute to their own health issues too.
Beyond this though, we need a stronger shift in paradigm from viewing medicine largely as an entity that treats, cares and cures, to also being about preventative health.
Well said.
Quote (thundercock @ 20 May 2016 00:52)
I think we should have a universal baseline (taxpayer funded checkups, preventative care, broken bones, etc.) and then ration expensive treatments (heart surgeries, cancer treatment, etc.) based on need. You should also be able to use money to get "ahead in line."
Interesting idea. Something like this seems feasible.
Quote (Plaguefear @ 20 May 2016 03:23)
I had/have cancer, i have full health insurance, i used the public system here to beat it because i couldn't be bothered with the paperwork and i ended up still getting the best oncologist in the country.
In my experience universal health care is a must.
Quote (Skinned @ 20 May 2016 06:21)
I was severely injured and needed spinal surgury...by some twist of fate I was in Germany instead of the United States. Got superior health care, built in physical therapy, and recovered in the hospital for three weeks afterward, before they released me when I felt ready.
In the US I could have been wheeled in, sedated, woken up, and sent home on the say day or next day. I would still be in debt almost twenty years later. I would have gotta health care that was inferior as the for profit system nickled and dimed me into oblivion while doing their best not to actually provide the services I've paid for in a health plan.
Not as bad as the minor surgery I had at the Veterans hospital here. That time I woke up from the anesthetic alone and naked in a freezing room with an open wound on my wrist where the pins were sticking out and I wrapped and dressed myself before stumbling out of the operating room and driving myself home. Nobody has ever said anything about it...no "where did you go" or anything. Everybody just left and forgot me, and when I went missing, if anybody noticed, nobody bothered to call and look, or notify my family, etc. I showed up a couple months later and a guy in the office pulled my pins out with a fucking leatherman multitool.
I would take the high quality European health care over the fast food quality American health care and the negligent VA health care any day. Any intelligent person would.
Anectdotal but certainly puts things in perspective. The US desperately needs to improve the affordability and access to quality health care. As I mentioned above, I think a single-payer health care system is one idea.