John,
Yes, we need to increase preventive health care and physical exercise. But that doesn't mean we can ignore health care for the uninsured.
The goal is not getting sick. All of the conversation is what to do when we are already sick. Tinkering around the edges as far as Big Insurance or Big Government is not going to make any difference.
Ok, we go from devoting 14% of the GDP (either heavily subsidized or paid directly by the government) spent because you are too late (the patient is sick already) to spending 17% on people who are already sick.
What you are doing in effect is taking 3% of an average person budget (some of which is devoted to health, wellness, nutrition and healthy lifestyle) and you put it in the sickness budget. I think the opposite should happen.
Remember what so many continue to forget on this thread. We are not talking about socialized medicine, we are talking about socialized medical insurance. Frankly the government seems to be in a better position to promote "healthy lifestyles" than the insurance industry. At least you could assume that from the present system.
Oh, so you would entrust your government in deciding and promoting "healthy lifestyles"? The same government that says our diet should be based on grains, plant derived fats (wheteher in normal rancid state, hydrogenated or in trans fat form), foods that have not been part of humans (or our immediate ancestors), the government that subsidises sugar tobocco, says it is ok to irradiate foods, geneticaly modify foods, allows these foods to be sold without proper labels? How about the government that not only allows cloning of animals, it allows product from cloned animals to be sold without being labeled as such?
The government that approved mercury - the most poisonous substance - to be used as a preservative for vaccines given to humans in infancy - the most volnurable period of life? The same government that still allows mercury to be used in tooth fillings, slowly poisoning ever person who has them? And how about the latest: Government promoting use of fluorecsent and compact fluorescent lights that high mercury content.
As far as government vs. insurance industry promoting "healthy lifestyles", at least the insurance industry knows its limitations, and does not step outside of being a middlemen. That's why I ranked the insurance industry as second from the bottom and government at the bottom as far as making a positive impact.
Joe |
