Watch now | We built a civilization that requires electricity, insulin, and a working car to participate in... Then handed the pricing mechanism to people whose legal obligation is to their shareholders.
Love, love, love this essay. You express the problem so well. I lived in a nation that has a national health care system. EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO THE HEALTHCARE THEY NEED. This is a nation that is not even close to having the wealth that the US has. This is how it works: if you need to see a doctor, you go to your local clinic. It's first-come, first-served. If the doctor prescribes treatment or a medication, you get the treatment or medication your doctor prescribes. There is NO CHARGE at the point of service. The system is funded by universal taxation. It includes dental care.
In the county next to the one in which I live -- it is in Maryland and is a suburb of DC -- a little boy DIED because his family did not have dental insurance and they could find a dentist to treat an abscess in his tooth. He died from that. That is NOT acceptable. We can do better and our health care does not have to involve the ridiculous bureaucracy over which we have no control.
Thank you for addressing this topic. Of course, it isn't only health care as you so eloquently point out.
Thank you for sharing that perspective. Stories like that are exactly why this issue frustrates so many people.
Regardless of where someone stands on single-payer, public options, private insurance, or some hybrid system, I think most Americans agree on one basic principle: no child should die because their family can't afford care.
The wealthiest nation in history should be capable of guaranteeing access to essential medical, dental, and mental health care while still debating the best way to deliver it. We seem to spend far more time arguing over ideology than solving the actual problem.
I appreciate you taking the time to read and contribute to the discussion.
Love, love, love this essay. You express the problem so well. I lived in a nation that has a national health care system. EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO THE HEALTHCARE THEY NEED. This is a nation that is not even close to having the wealth that the US has. This is how it works: if you need to see a doctor, you go to your local clinic. It's first-come, first-served. If the doctor prescribes treatment or a medication, you get the treatment or medication your doctor prescribes. There is NO CHARGE at the point of service. The system is funded by universal taxation. It includes dental care.
In the county next to the one in which I live -- it is in Maryland and is a suburb of DC -- a little boy DIED because his family did not have dental insurance and they could find a dentist to treat an abscess in his tooth. He died from that. That is NOT acceptable. We can do better and our health care does not have to involve the ridiculous bureaucracy over which we have no control.
Thank you for addressing this topic. Of course, it isn't only health care as you so eloquently point out.
Thank you for sharing that perspective. Stories like that are exactly why this issue frustrates so many people.
Regardless of where someone stands on single-payer, public options, private insurance, or some hybrid system, I think most Americans agree on one basic principle: no child should die because their family can't afford care.
The wealthiest nation in history should be capable of guaranteeing access to essential medical, dental, and mental health care while still debating the best way to deliver it. We seem to spend far more time arguing over ideology than solving the actual problem.
I appreciate you taking the time to read and contribute to the discussion.