What Health Care Crisis?

[kiFF]

An article in the Wall Street Journal recently mentioned, "Of the nine million children in the U.S. considered "uninsured, "six million are already eligible for government programs such as Medicaid or Schip, but their parents have not signed them up” (McCaughey, 2008, p. A15).

Furthermore, Gregg Jackson, national best-selling author of Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies and co-host of Pundit Review Radio, said in an online article, of the 45 million uninsured, according to the US Census Bureau:

• 37% are households earning more than $50,000 per year;
• 19% are households earning more than $75,000 per year;
• 20% are non-US Citizens (“Undocumented Workers"/Illegal Aliens); and
• 33% are eligible for Government Programs (such as Medicare) but not enrolled.*

So why should taxpaying citizens have to pay for health care for the 17 million Americans who are able to afford health care but choose not to buy it? Why should they be forced by the government to buy something they choose not to buy? (Jackson, 2007)?

*Obviously it does not add up to 100% as "more than $75,000 per year" is included with "more than $50,000 per year."

[Sideshow Matt]

I know that US health care is somewhat different to Australian health care schemes, but surely you can't say that because people can afford health care and don't buy it, its a crisis.

We have health insurance here in Australia, and I am guessing 50% of Australians have this insurance. Now, the insurance doesn't cover complete cover of all expenses whilst in hospital, but it does subsidise it somewhat. Still, you have to pay a premium per month.

Can someone give me a brief run-down on US health care, and why and how you "buy" health care.

[kiFF]

Politicians are telling Americans that there is a "health care crisis" solely based on the amount of uninsured people. That's not a fair analysis, because health care and health insurance are different. Just because a lot of Americans are uninsured doesn't mean they go without health care.

Can someone give me a brief run-down on US health care, and why and how you "buy" health care.

Most people have health insurance, either through their employer, individually, or by government programs for the poor and elderly. People buy it because they feel "covered" for anything that might go wrong. Especially if they have chronic illnesses and think they need to go to the doctor often, your health insurance company pays for it all. However, if you feel like you don't get sick very often, you might choose to forgo health insruance and pay out of your pocket when you need a check up. This is what many Americans are doing, and because of it, politicans are telling us there is a crisis! They're trying to make us believe that because they have no health insurance they have no health care. It's ridiculous.