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| charlie (profile) wrote, on 4-26-2004 at 4:59pm | |
| the united states is the only western nation to not have a universal healthcare system. even Israel has a universal healthcare system for all their citizens and they get $4 billion in aid from the american government each year. america has a universal education system but no healthcare. where do you draw the line and say "everyone needs an education but not everyone needs to be able to see a doctor when they are sick or injured." it doesn't please the large corporations who pledge millions to the parties. they've blocked the healthcare initiative for the last 20 years because when healthcare is left privatized and expensive an employer can offer substandard wages but compensate with health insurance (something called a "golden handcuff") which will bind the employee to the company. they may not be making a living on which to support a family but they have insurance. and, those of us (45% of the population) who are either uninsured or underinsured (that's where you have insurance but it's so crappy you can't even afford the copayment) are left out in the cold. someone can go to work everyday in a physically demanding job and after the physical work wears down their body they have no relief, they're underpaid and can't pay for their needed healthcare and they aren't insured because the company doesn't offer insurance. where do you turn when you have no money and no safety net? you may suggest "medicaid" but are you familiar with the restrictions on this? a young person who is unmarried and has no children is ineligible for medicaid if they make more than $3000 a year. $3000 is $57 a week, and at the federally mandated minimum wage that's only 10 hours of work a week. i want to work, but i want to see a doctor too. they say welfare encourages people not to work and it does, it's so limited that even if you tried to do a little work you wouldn't be eligible but at the same time couldn't afford the essentials. open your eyes, it's everywhere. |
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crazygirl | 04-27-04 7:06pm wow. thank goodness one of my jobs is union. you can go on my health insurance if we get hitched. hehe. |