The current healthcare debate really starts with the determination of whether healthcare, or the specialized medical service that provides for your optimal health, is a right or a privilege. Some believe it’s a “basic human right.” Is this really the case? Is Healthcare a right or is it a privilege? Is it an essential government-insured guarantee, or is it a product or service?
The next determination we have to make is that if it is a basic right, how and why is it one? To say “yes” to this would be similar to saying the government owes us a college degree, successful career, and padded 401K. This thinking does not consider either personal responsibility or merit.
The next question is this: when has health, in the realm of your general upkeep, NOT been YOUR RESPONSIBILITY?
Most or a considerable proportion of medical issues have a conceivable cause, and many times that cause is a result of things like poor diet, lack of exercise, stress or anxiety, sleep schedule, or even very spiritual things like anger, unforgiveness, or taking on guilt, shame, or condemnation. In these cases, your health is very much your responsibility in the sense of what you reap, you likewise sow. (Galatians 6:7-8) In a sow-and-reap reality, how is it just for your health NOT to be your responsibility?
(See also Ephesians 6:2,3, Luke 21:26, & Proverbs 17:22 on our personal health & well-being)
The next major question that we need to answer is what form of healthcare works the best and costs the least. The debate in America seems to be between the free market version of healthcare vs. the government-run, socialistic single payer version. Here are pros and cons of the single payer method.
CONS to Single Payer Healthcare
- There is little to no incentive to stay healthy
- Healthy people by default will shoulder the burden for people that are sick. - Extremely long wait times for specialized care/treatment - Countries with single-payer systems pay much more in taxes - It’s actually NOT FREE, either. Most single payer systems still require copays or modest premiums.
- Obamacare, our country’s first taste of a form of socialized medicine, failed miserably. In charts A-D on the following page, you can see a breakdown of cost, according to individuals’ premiums (A), deductibles for covered workers (B), aggregate total cost of healthcare (C), and total annual cost in extra taxes (D). All of this with no conceivable improvement of health or care.
PROS to Single Payer Healthcare
- Good preventive care – more illnesses are caught early with mandatory doctor’s visits.
- Relatively good general care. People are seen fairly quickly and treated for general ailments.
- Countries with single payer systems have good life expectancy numbers worldwide. Australia, Canada, & the Norwegian countries are at the top of this list, with an average life expectancy of around 82. America is still near the top globally, however, with a life expectancy of 79.
*It’s important to note that life expectancy is not a comprehensive measurement of health, rather a measurement of how long people live.
Democrats on Healthcare – “Democrats believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege…we took a critically important step toward the goal of universal healthcare by passing Obamacare.” DemocraticParty Platform
Republicans on Healthcare – “Any honest agenda for improving healthcare must start with the repeal of the dishonesty named the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare.” Republican Party Platform
JF D'Orsie - Communications Director
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