Daily News Updates - Health Insurance News

Health Insurance vs. Socialized Healthcare, Pt3 -- What Difference?

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This is the continuation covering Kevin Freking’s clarification of this controversial issue…

Still on the subject of Democrat health insurance proposals, lest we forget the immortal words of one of our country’s most memorable leaders, as quoted in the previous article of this series, recall they start out with “Ask not what…”. In that vein, both candidates are planning on funding these health insurance benefits partly by discontinuing the enormous income tax cuts for those with incomes exceeding $250,000, which were passed in the first term of the Bush administration. Some believe, if you can afford market-priced insurance, you can have it…otherwise not. These may decry the fable that ends with ‘The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I have worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!’ The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the xxxxxxxxx xxxx.”’ Others draw from Debra Saunders' recent article ("Health care truth: You appreciate what you pay for," Wednesday, The Record).  Still others like Rodney J. Mara – (Stockton) will say “ I'm not sure where this animosity toward the average American originates. Again, no one wants someone else to pay the tab; they just would like to have a broken system, which is bankrupting many American individuals and businesses, reformed.”

There are some who ask “What about the air we breath? How much do we appreciate it, since we pay so little for it?  Some believe that health care is a basic human right in a modern, developed country, you know “promote the common welfare” and thoughts like this. Not in the same category as receiving a Mercedes-Benz for freeloading (we all agree that’s wrong, of course.). With some 47 million Americans without health insurance, we may want to re-examine our course. The Institute of Medicine gave estimates that in 2000 18,000 died nationwide because of not having health insurance. In 2006 the Urban Institute reported at least 22,000 adults died for the same reason. Were all these freeloaders, or have we missed some landmarks along the way?

To be continued…