I'm not writing this to try to change anyone's mind or be argumentative, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents as a doctor-to-be.
The US ranks 24th in life-expectancy among industrialized countries and has the highest mortality due to chronic and preventable illness.
We spend more than 3 times the percentage of GDP than the next most spendy country on health care(which I believe is the UK, but I don't remember).
Studies indicated this long before Obama took office or the issue began debate a year ago, and I can provide scholarly references if you care to read them.
I have personally been denied health care and my wife has been denied coverage and partial coverage for necessary procedures, leaving us with ridiculous bills that citizens in Germany, UK, Switzerland, etc. just don't have to deal with.
By the way, citizens and immigrants of/to Germany and Switzerland are required to have insurance, and neither is a socialist country, I'm using those countries as examples since I've lived in Germany for 3 years and am more familiar with the German-speaking world than other European countries).
As far as the healthcare mandate goes, I think it's necessary if you are also simultaneously forcing insurance companies to cover people who pay into the pool (which they should have been doing, by definition, for the last few decades anyway; it's not insurance anymore if you pay for more than you use or have to pay more when you DO use it).
If you force an insurance company to cover someone despite pre-existing conditions, you would risk having people abuse the system by acquiring insurance to get treatment for a pre-existing condition, then drop the insurance right after the procedure or treatment.
With the proposed regulation on insurance companies (which I, as a medical student and future physician, strongly support), it would be unfair to people who always have insurance and pay into the pot to have someone come in and pay for 1 month and get the surgery or pills they need and take off.
The mandate is designed to negate this potential abuse and to reduce OVERALL healthcare costs, which it will do since ERs and hospitals in general will no longer be financial black holes due to insurance not covering conditions or uninsured patients being treated.
Again, I'm really not posting this to be combative or anything, I just grew up in a family where simple things like having insurance weren't exactly a privilege.
If you've ever needed insurance and not been able to have it, it really does change things, and some people (myself included) really have not had access to healthcare at different points in their lives.
It is interesting that some people do not see the horror and doom and gloom of the health care reform that seems to be in or midst. The notion that this was*force fed* to Americans does not accurately reflect my experience.
Having lived for a year myself when I was 25-years old and no longer on my parents insurance policy, I'll never forget the afternoon I was student teaching and wound up having an exposed nerve in my mouth. I was in excruciating pain and immediately left for home. But I was in a dilemma because I could not afford an emergency medical procedure at the dental office, yet I had a nerve exposed in my mouth. Ever had that problem before? Try putting your hand in a cheese grater and see how that feels?
Luckily, this Japanese dentist in the adjoining dental office overheard my problem at the front desk. My dentist's office shared a front desk with the neighboring dental office. Anyhow, my regular dentist was out of the office, and the front office was trying to assess how this would be handled. The dentist of the other office simply said to me, "Please come in to my office."
I went in and was seated in a chair. He came in and sat down, numbed me up, and matter-of-factly treated my exposed nerve. And when he had finished the procedure, he made sure to let me know that there was no need to pay for anything.
The point of this story to me is how lucky I was that I did not have to deal with an outrageous dental bill, because I quite easily could have. Under this new health reform bill I would have still been on my parents' plan until I was 26-years old, which would have prevented that problem in the first place.
It has amazed me to see how over-the-top many people have become, and I can't lie, I was right there watching as history was made on Sunday afternoon and evening. I saw how this spilled over into Monday and today, where people are writing some of the most powerful, emotional, appeals for reason, common sense, and what-have-you than I've ever seen in my life.
I can see both sides of the coin here, but I simply have had a gut feeling that this is what is right for our country at this time. It felt historic. It feels right even now as I am typing. I am just proud of our country for doing what is morally right and taking steps towards taking care of our fellow citizens.
It is interesting that people would equate what is going on here with socialism, that we wold want to provide health care to all Americans. There are those that feel that providing health care to Iraqis right now is patriotic. But somehow wanting to provide health care to all Americans is socialistic? I'm not sure I buy that. No, I am much more of the opinion of the Lord who told us, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40)
May we strive to get along as we move forward, is my prayer.
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