Health Care is a basic human right
It’s no secret that the Weasleys lack financial resources. Draco Malfoy is constantly reminding Ron of this fact. And yet, when Arthur Weasley gets bit by a snake and almost dies, he is able to go to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and not once do we hear Mrs. Weasley talk about the strain of hospital bills . That’s because their aren’t any hospital bills. Every student at Hogwarts has equal access to the Hospital Wing and every Wizard has equal access to treatment at St. Mungo’s. There is no middle man insurance company that is betting against the patience life. In the United States there are approximately 50 million people without health insurance. If those people were bitten by a snake, they may not have access to the hospital and die. And if they don’t die, then they’ll accrue medical costs that will force them from their homes (imagine the Weasleys being kicked out of the Burrow) and not allow their children to attend university, etc. It is time for the United States to take a page from the world of Albus Dumbledore and allow for health care as a universal right not simply a privilege for families like the Malfoys.
I’m glad I live in Canada where I don’t fear huge medical bills. When I am sick, I simply go to the doctor. I don’t have to pay for anything at the hospital unless it is not medically necessary. While I love the USA, under its current system “health care” system, I am very hesitant to even consider living there and I don’t understand why so many people seem resistant to fixing an obviously broken system. I see health care as a universal right too.
Amanda, as an American I have to agree that our health care system is sadly lacking. I have great medical, but unfortunately I don’t have very good dental…..I dread going to the dentist because I know it is going to cost me an arm and a leg no matter what the procedure. While there is a downside to a social health care system, higher taxes, I think in the end it would behoove our society greatly if everyone knew that if they got sick etc. they would had some recourse.
Agreed, Amanda. As a Canadian, I’m thrilled that I do not have to pay for my medical bills. I fear moving to the USA, because I really don’t want to have to deal with that. I hope the health care system can be fixed soon, it really is a very basic human right.
I agree, too. I have Crohn’s disease, and while I do have really good insurance through my dad, I still pay a heck of a lot just to see my doctor. Even the medication costs a lot, and so far, none of them have helped, so I’m just out $60.
It also sucks because the disease makes it hard to work. I only made like $4,000 last year, while also going to school full-time. I’d guess about half of that went to paying for medication and doctor visits. It’s ridiculous.
I totally love the idea of WWDD, but I don’t think you guys have it right on this one. While humanity needs to work on a way to provide healthcare for all as a basic right, I don’t beleive it should becoem a government issue. I see it this way: DUmbledore would want everyone to have healthcare, but he would also see that for the government to take over would only give us an inconvenient, intrusive system that could possibly even be detrimental to the population’s health. Medical decisons that should be made by doctors would ultimately be decided by politicians. Taxes would raise, possibly making people poorer than if they had to pay for their own care. So, while Dumbledore would want universal healthcare, he would also see that it’s not acheivable without sacrificing other very important things, and it’s not worth it.
Really? Government rationing of health care services? Higher deficets and taxes? Is that what Dumbledore would want? Oh, well I see the negatives of state-run health care were ignored. Listen, what we is for the government to regulate health care, not pay for it.
I agree, as well. Every time we go to the doctor’s, we have to pay, even if it’s for an annual checkup (which is required). Cost builds up fast. We don’t go to the doctor’s much.
Health Care may be a Human Right. I agree. But that does not mean it should be free. Being able to have food and drink is a Human Right, but that doesn’t mean we can go to the grocery or a restaurant when we are hungry and get our food for free. The 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says we are given the right to bear firearms, but that doesn’t mean that the government should buy everyone a firearm. Where will we stop? Everyone deserves a car so they can get to work, so let’s buy everyone a car! Everyone deserves a place to live, so let’s buy everyone a house!
Of the 50 million (out of 300 million) people in America without health insurance, a vast majority of them CHOOSE not to have it. For these people they could have insurance, but they don’t want to pay for it and just pay their medical bills should they go see a doctor. Nobody in America is EVER denied health care just because they don’t have insurance. It is a huge misconception that people sitting in the Emergency Room without health insurance will just be told to go home and hope it gets better. That only happens in countries with socialized medicine because the waiting list is days and sometimes weeks long!
The health care bill that Congress and the President are trying to push through is simply a means to insure ILLEGAL aliens in America who are the main reason our economy is so bad because they have taken advantage of our government programs and they aren’t even here LEGALLY! People came to this country to get AWAY from government-controlled health care, religious persecution and taxation without representation. Sadly, this is where America is headed today.
Blake: I am not here to debate with your opinions on Congress and the President. But to suggest that universal health care is to protect “illegal aliens” is an insinuation that carries with it inaccuracy and bigotry. First of all, this is a ridiculous debate. Why is it ridiculous? Because the main reason we’re having it is because health care is not a given in the US. And when someone suggests that it should be there are irrational accusations made about something called “socialism.” isms are a thing of the past. Here’s what’s new and cool and hot: caring about humanity.
But let’s explore this red scare notion that the commies are coming if we allow for universal health care. We allow for libraries, highways, police, firefighters, and school to be “socialized.” The right to read, to be protected, to drive are all things funded and regulated by citizens and their elected representatives – not companies whose bottomline is profit. That’s fine if that’s a companies primary aim. But I don’t want my life and the life of people I love or people I don’t know in the hands of faceless King George like companies whose only interest is money. And so how does health care matter any less than reading or driving on highways or police or fire fighters? This is a silly debate that is happening because lobbyists from big companies have been stalling us on moving us to be a compassionate nation in regards to health care.
And far as compassion goes: immigrants have generally and continue to help the economy of the US. My family were immigrants 100 years ago and American citizens hated them for it. It’s a nation of immigrants. If you don’t like that, perhaps you don’t like the tradiitions and fundamental principles of this nation. There are plenty of theocracies and dictatorships that will welcome closed and bigoted ideas with open arms. I suggest you open your mind to democracy and humantiy.
Blake,
Please provide backup for your claims.
Specifically, where in the bill is coverage provided for undocumented immigrants?
You can search here:
http://help.senate.gov/BAI09A84_xml.pdf
Also, regarding your statement: “a vast majority of them CHOOSE not to have [health insurance]” – citation of facts, please?
A clip of Bill O’Reilly doesn’t count as ‘facts,’ sorry.
I am quoting the Census Bureau report “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005;” which is the most recent data we have on the uninsured. In the report (might I add that this is a report BY THE GOVERNMENT and not by Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or any other right wing nut I can think of) we are told that the number of people living in America without health insurance in 46.577 million. According to the report, of those people 9.487 million are “not citizens.” So let’s take 10 million from 47 million and we now have 37 million Americans without health insurance. Sounds pretty dire compared to the other 263 million who do have health insurance.
Now, of those 37 million Americans (from the same Census report), 17 million (not exactly a majority but really close) make anywhere above $50,000 a year which is substantially more than the median household income and could AFFORD insurance, but choose not to have it.
That puts us at 20 million Americans without health insurance. But, according to the same Census report, 45% of those people will have insurance within a few months of the report. So that puts us at about 11 million people without health insurance who can’t get health insurance. And yes, I see this as a problem. However, I have my problem with the people who support this bill saying we have 47 million Americans without health insurance. And yes, they are getting that number from the same report I have been quoting.
But wait, it gets better. The President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Bill into law back in February which insured 4 million children. So now our number is at about 7 million Americans without health insurance. That’s 2 percent of the population. In other words, we are going to completely overhaul a program that is working for 98% of Americans. Sounds brilliant.
And on a side note. My family came from immigrants too. That’s not who I’m talking about leeching our economy. I’m talking about people who come to America illegally and live off of our government programs in California and other states. I’m talking about the ones who come and kill our women and children in drunk driving accidents and only get deported and come right back the next week. I’m talking about the people invading people’s homes and killing them and taking their jewelry and money. Illegal Aliens. Not people who come here the legal and right way so they can have a new life in America. The same people who are being lumped together by Congress as part of the 47 million without health insurance that they want to cover. It may not say it explicitly in the bill to insure illegal aliens, but there are illegal aliens on Medicare and Medicaid right now. I’ve met them.
Blake, I really doubt that *anyone* would suggest that the health care system is working for 98% of all Americans. That’s a HUGE number.
“It may not say it explicitly in the bill to insure illegal aliens”
–can we focus on what *is* in the bill?
Yes, some people *choose* not to have health insurance, and those people cause problems. They wind up in emergency rooms, where their illnesses and injuries are much more expensive to treat: they don’t get vaccinations and they spread disease. A nationalized health care system that provides urgent care clinics and preventative care saves a lot of money in the long run. And if someone makes over 50,000 a year, then they do need to buy health insurance, just as people who want to own a car need to pay car insurance.
I have lived in a country with “socialized medicine”–Britain. The system is not perfect, but it is better and FAR CHEAPER than what we have now.
Republicans offered an amendment that said that no illegal aliens would be insured under this health care bill. Democrats refused to add it to the bill. Here’s the link to a story talking about it: http://www.examiner.com/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2009m7d21-White-House-health-care-bill-set-to-insure-illegals
OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE!
Why is it that people from countries with socialized medicine come to America to get treatment? Is it because our health system is in dire straits and isn’t working?
Why do we have hospitals and health care in the first place?
To help sick people!
So why are hospitals refusing to help sick people? It’s beyond my understanding. Ought we let someone die because saving their lives doesn’t put money in our pocket?
I don’t understand it. None of the little girls dream about being a doctor because it will get them money! You may say it’s childish and idealistic, seeing as they are children, but children are a lot more insightful than people give them credit for, and I think they have the right idea here. They want to grow up and help people–all children inherently do, I think.
Blake, I didn’t want to get into the legal argument you’re perpetuating, because for one thing that’s not the point of this lesson–saying everyone should have the right to health care is. But I must comment on how insistent you are on providing health care to everyone except illegal ‘aliens’ (a misnomer, I think–they’re just as human as we are). They may be a problem to society, but they’re more than a statistic or a name on the news–they’re people, and that’s something we tend to forget. They’re people whose lives weren’t good enough to support them and they looked to USA, sensing that there would be hope there. Is that a sin? Indeed, this is the self-proclaimed land of freedom. Why shouldn’t people be free to go through unbiased processes to become citizens? Why are we turning out the needy at our own doorstep, while we are fighting for the freedom of people in North Korea and the Middle East? And why aren’t our own citizens free to health care, even the children?
The issue is NOT health care. It is insurance. And illegal alien means that they did not come here through the correct processes. If someone is here LEGALLY that is GREAT. I have ZERO PROBLEMS with that. Why should we provide insurance to all of the illegals in America at the cost of not being able to provide better insurance for those who are actually legal residents/citizens? Republicans had an amendment ensuring that illegals would not be provided free health insurance and Democrats said no. They voted it down. My ancestors came to America and became citizens the legal and proper way. Why should we provide any government service to someone who refuses to do that other than the service of sending them back home until they decide to come in the proper way.
Secondly, find me a hospital that is telling people “No” at the door and I will say that they should be shut down and the doctors’ licenses stripped. What we are looking at here is providing health insurance, not health care. I could walk into a hospital tonight and get treatment with or without insurance. Everyone deserves health care. I have never argued otherwise. The basic idea of this from the original post at the top of the page is that no one should have to pay for it. That I disagree with. Just because something is a right that we as Americans are given doesn’t mean that we should get it for free. I have the right to bear arms. Where’s is my free gun? I have the right a college education. Where’s my $200 thousand scholarship?
Doctors become doctors to help people. But it is also the way they make a living. How can you suggest that doctors or anyone who provides a service to help people should not make money from it. If they didn’t make money, then how would they provide for their own families or themselves? Making money is NOT evil! For some reason liberals believe that people turning a profit is inherently selfish and evil. I call it capitalism (which just happens to be the economic standard of America!). If you don’t want people to turn a profit, move to Russia or China or some other communist/socialist nation. That’s what is great about America: NO ONE IS MAKING YOU STAY!
What the government is wanting to do is insure everyone alive in the United States. That simply is not possible. That is the reason California is/was making payments with IOU’s. California decided that they would offer all of their government programs to anyone with their hand out. It simply cannot be done. I might be able to take 2 new people into my household and provide for them and make it (but barely). Throw 20 people into my house and expect me to provide for them and we have a major problem. I would go bankrupt and lose everything – just like California is going through.
I give to the needy all the time. However, I cannot give to every need that every person has. That is what you are suggesting we do in your statement. Also why not turn the needy away at our doorstep when we can’t even provide for the needs of those who are in the country in the first place? There are people who have lived in America their entire lives and are at need, but we still can’t help them and you want to invite more people in to eat the food that we don’t even have to feed them in the first place. Further, Obama signed into law that children will be insured back in February. The children are insured. All they have to do is sign up.
Not entirely accurate: hospitals in the United States by law cannot refuse to treat a patient, even if they cannot pay. Not to mention that many people choose not to have it. Personally, I don’t want the government running health care. Regulating it? Certainly. But running it? I seriously doubt St. Mungo’s was under complete Ministry control, because I think we’re agreed that the Ministry hardly did anything right throughout the entire series. And even if it did run St. Mungo’s and did a good job, that doesn’t mean that the US government would do it right. Wizards obviously don’t have to cope with quite the same issues as us Muggles, considering they use spells and potions instead of expensive medical equipment. It’s a book, guys.
Somehow I don’t think Dumbledore would have appreciated his name and his memory used to push liberal propaganda…or any propaganda, for that matter. He’d be smart enough to know that the problem isn’t answerable with a “y
…a simple “yes or no”. (Sorry, hit enter too soon.)
Blake, I’m not sure you were replying to my comment, but in case you were, that wasn’t what I was saying at all. I know you’re okay with people here legally. I’m just pointing out that the ‘correct processes’ might need to be changed. I know from multiple news sources that the processes taken to become a citizen are incredibly hard–biased against these people. I never said that legal citizens should be ignored, or that we should spend all our reserves for them on illegal citizens–it confuses me that you think such a thing would ever happen–that we would give illegal citizens the priority? I’m just saying, I don’t think it would be very constructive to our country’s growth as people to deny them entirely.
I never said that they weren’t doing this to make money. I never said that they shouldn’t be paid, or that it would be wrong to pay them, or that I hate capitalism and like socialism and communism. You are twisting my words. I’m just saying that making money shouldn’t overshadow the purpose of health care entirely–that’s the point I’m trying to make.
I know that nobody is being refused here. I’m sorry that I lose sight of that easily. But people struggle with medical bills nonetheless, and I think that’s the problem this lesson is addressing. You even mention this problem by saying you’d barely make it by–how can you not realize it is a big problem!
I am not saying we should give a car to everyone that needs transportation or any such thing. Health care, however, is a basic human right–that’s all we ask.
Why shouldn’t we help others or give some of our money? After all, even our lower-class is among the richest in the world. And what about the rich in our country? The truth is, they keep their wealth because we don’t put enough emphasis on giving in this country–at least, that’s my opinion.
I wasn’t aware of that. Well, then, I’m incorrect. I apologize.
I don’t know, I don’t want to argue any more. Why don’t we just lay our differences in opinion down and agree to withhold the idea that everyone deserves health care?