One commenter posts:
"Currently in Mass. the state has spent over $50,000 fighting an inmate's demand for a sex change operation paid for of course by the taxpayers. In your utopia what does the system pay for and who decides, the legal system?"An interesting question as it gets to the heart of the argument. There are those who cannot stand the idea of anybody getting anything "for free." They are horrified that a prison inmate demand a sex change operation. Why if you give in to him, soon you'll have 30,000 inmates all demanding sex change operations, some might argue. I rather doubt that very many inmates are demanding such a thing and I would point out that the money Massachusetts has spent fighting the operation could have paid for two and a half such operations.
Personally, I don't care how many inmates need sex change operations or new sets of teeth. If a medical professional says they need it, then they should get it. We saw in Sicko that even detainees in Gitmo have all their medical and dental needs taken care of (no word on possible sex change requests in that facility), so why not your average American citizen? If 45 million people in this country do not have health care and many more find their claims denied or up to their ears in medical bills and eventual bankruptcy, then it is pretty darn clear that our medical system is indeed sick and in need of some radical medicine.
Excise all those for-profit insurance corporations for starters. Single payer universal coverage is the way to go. There are a few libertarians screaming that it is unfair that they would be forced to accept govt coverage under such a system. Then I guess they should go looking for another top industrial nation that has private insurance. Hmm. Where could that be? Guess we are the only one left. That's probably why they scream so loud against any thought of change.
Meanwhile, the country that conservatives love to hate -- France -- provides the best health care on the planet. I'd stay away from Panama, that's for sure, and any other country that buys drugs from China.
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In my email today, a message from Michael Moore includes a leaked memo from a Blue Shield executive who went to see Sicko. The memo includes proposed talking points to help deal with any negative backlashes the film may provoke. The memo begins with this line, " You would have to be dead to be unaffected by Moore's movie..." To read the rest of the memo, go here. Also at Moore's web page, a point by point refutation of the sickening AP "review" of his movie. I was glad to see that as the AP memo lingered among the headlines on my home page for over a week!
2 comments:
Thanks for the link.
I still can't understand how people are ok with paying taxes for others to be insured, while they also pay for private insurance that may or may not cover them if they become injured or sick. Why not pay taxes instead of premiums, and be able to receive care whenever and wherever one wants? It's bizarre. Not to mention the idea that we're all in it for ourselves. Let's just help each other out... we'll all be better off for it.
Yeah, as Lennon once sang, "Imagine" all the people not having to worry about their medical care.
There are some very deep themes in Sicko that need to be explored. Like how Americans allow themselves to be worked to death just so they can pay for all the excessive accessories and three car garages. I loved the moment in Sicko where the French doctor is advising the patient he needs three months on the beach to recover completely. Yes! That's what we need here and a no guilt attitude about taking good care of ourselves, each other and our communities.
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