The Myth of "Socialized Medicine"
The conservative movement in this country points its finger at more-progressively minded people for attempting to socialize the American medical and insurance systems. This sentiment was echoed recently by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour when he complained about taxpayers having to “pay for free health care for people who can… take care of themselves and just choose not to.”
I am required to pay tremendous premiums for health insurance coverage. This money is not being set aside for my exclusive use in the event I might have to draw from it in the future. It is used to pay for the present health care costs of countless others, all of whom are already insured. And the kicker is, over 75 cents of every dollar of my insurance premium goes to pay for those suffering from illnesses that are within their ability to control and even prevent. It is common knowledge that many of today’s leading – and expensive – health problems can be slowed, halted, and even reversed through dietary and lifestyle changes. These illnesses include obesity, Type II diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and many forms of cancer. Smoking and excess consumption of alcohol and dietary fats are behind millions of chronic and acute illnesses in the United States each year. And the cost of treating these illnesses is prohibitive. Most people now know enough to make solid changes in their diets and lifestyles but, in Governor Barbour’s own words, “just choose not to," including, I suspect, the governor himself. The financial burden of caring for them then falls upon the rest of the insured population.
Conservative-minded people do believe in socialized medicine – but their own particular version of it, and one they personally benefit from. No, they don’t want their hard-earned dollars to be taxed to pay for those who lack health coverage; but, yes, they expect my hard-earned dollars to pay the health costs of those who are adequately insured but neglectful of their health. This is the nature of socialized medicine and insurance. Don’t be misled: it is not only those who have no insurance coverage who cannot afford to pay for today’s medical costs. No one can afford to pay for today’s medical costs.
Conservatives can stand up and pound their chests over our present-day medical/insurance system, but just know that it is socialized medicine of which they speak. And, personally, I am more willing for the government to use my tax dollars to pay for those people who are without insurance of any kind, especially the children and the elderly, than I am for my premiums to pay for those who are adequately insured but neglectful of their health. Someday, as we embrace preventive health practices and lifestyle choices, we will provide the answer needed to lessen the cost of health care – by lessening the need for it. Until then, socialized medicine is here to stay, in one form or another.
Just ask John Donne.
I am required to pay tremendous premiums for health insurance coverage. This money is not being set aside for my exclusive use in the event I might have to draw from it in the future. It is used to pay for the present health care costs of countless others, all of whom are already insured. And the kicker is, over 75 cents of every dollar of my insurance premium goes to pay for those suffering from illnesses that are within their ability to control and even prevent. It is common knowledge that many of today’s leading – and expensive – health problems can be slowed, halted, and even reversed through dietary and lifestyle changes. These illnesses include obesity, Type II diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and many forms of cancer. Smoking and excess consumption of alcohol and dietary fats are behind millions of chronic and acute illnesses in the United States each year. And the cost of treating these illnesses is prohibitive. Most people now know enough to make solid changes in their diets and lifestyles but, in Governor Barbour’s own words, “just choose not to," including, I suspect, the governor himself. The financial burden of caring for them then falls upon the rest of the insured population.
Conservative-minded people do believe in socialized medicine – but their own particular version of it, and one they personally benefit from. No, they don’t want their hard-earned dollars to be taxed to pay for those who lack health coverage; but, yes, they expect my hard-earned dollars to pay the health costs of those who are adequately insured but neglectful of their health. This is the nature of socialized medicine and insurance. Don’t be misled: it is not only those who have no insurance coverage who cannot afford to pay for today’s medical costs. No one can afford to pay for today’s medical costs.
Conservatives can stand up and pound their chests over our present-day medical/insurance system, but just know that it is socialized medicine of which they speak. And, personally, I am more willing for the government to use my tax dollars to pay for those people who are without insurance of any kind, especially the children and the elderly, than I am for my premiums to pay for those who are adequately insured but neglectful of their health. Someday, as we embrace preventive health practices and lifestyle choices, we will provide the answer needed to lessen the cost of health care – by lessening the need for it. Until then, socialized medicine is here to stay, in one form or another.
Just ask John Donne.
posted by Jeffrey Reel at
11:30 AM
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