UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE — Possible or impossible? It’s already happening, to a limited extent. Where I live, in a remote corner of Maryland, the hospital has been providing free flu-shot clinics on multiple dates and locations throughout the county, every fall for several years. Highly efficient, low-cost, preventive health care. Are you for it or against it?
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Living Simply And Still On The Grid 
In Australia we already have this system of health care and it works.
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It’s very frustrating that we Americans are so far behind countries like Australia, Canada, England, France, and Japan, to name a few.
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It would be John. Especially considering that America is viewed by so many as the land of opportunity. I’ve tried to explain to my daughter, who has a deep love for all things American, that all things being equal, we could never afford life in America. Not having a son with Autism. The cost of medical care would simply be too much. As much as we Aussies grumble about hospital waiting times we still appreciate the ability to receive medical care at no cost.
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I’m so for it. While I was unemployed and COBRA ran out, I had a year or more of pure pay as you go medical care for myself. Like living without a credit card, (yes you can rent a car and buy airline tickets), you can afford to go to doctors who will lower fees for what they called self-insured individuals, and to your point, there are plenty of private and public sector opportunities available for preventive care. Flu shots and screenings offered by hospitals at malls and special events for everything from blood pressure to breast cancer, it just takes a little research and the willingness to accept that visiting a doctor’s office is not a necessity for many routine things. My county has a prescription discount card, the hospital offers classes, the list goes on and on. That’s what I find so laughable about the fear and resistance to “Obamacare.” It already exists on some level and people have been taking advantage of it for years and yet, it’s socialism? The sad thing is, many people who might benefit aren’t taking advantage of the medical care that is available for them right in their own backyards or close enough. And although I no longer have young children, I’m sure there’s an even higher level of free or almost free care for them.
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Thanks for your thoughtful comment. You’re right about the wide availability of free screenings. In my community, where there are a lot of older folks, health fairs for sr citizens are common. I wonder about these free screenings though. I’ll bet they’re an excellent marketing tool for local hospitals and doctors. Undoubtedly the free screenings reveal many results which require followup. In U.S., if you’re old enough to qualify for Medicare, you can get the followup care. If you’re uninsured, you may be in a world of trouble if the free screening reveals something serious or chronic. But all in all, I have to consider free screenings a good thing.
Health care for poor children is widely available in U.S. through various government programs. But parents who aren’t poor enough to qualify for free care for their children and who also don’t have health insurance where they work are in a bind. One area of health care that is not always available is dental care for poor children. We’ve had some cases where dental problems develop into a serious infection.
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An excellent point about this free screening racket. I do believe it is a racket. Medical care when needed is, obviously, lifesaving; medical “care” foisted on people who have, at best, a slightly high cholesterol number for example, is a form of extortion. I have a large soap box about the way that the medical complex pursues people as they age to become medical consumers; the assumption is that anyone over 50 needs to be on some medication or other. Paired with our non-system of health care, it’s a recipe for wrecking live.
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You are so right, Ms. Sled. The medical profession is belatedly recognizing that false positives and unnecessary but potentially dangerous invasive procedures can do more harm than good!
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@ Seventh Voice — I agree. Waiting for an appointment or waiting in line is a small price to pay for equal access to health care for all. In the modern world, and especially in America, we’ve started to believe that we’re “entitled” to instant gratification in all areas of life.
It’s worth noting that long lines are not inevitable. I heard one observer point out that we could solve the problem of accessibility and delays by simply making a commitment to DOUBLE the number of medical doctors. Now that’s a radical idea! We’re already making progress with more reliance on physicians assistants and nurse-practitioners, but there’s no reason that access to a medical degree should be purposely limited to maintain the high status and income of doctors.
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