
Originally Posted by
ValleyGal
This is true for the American system. When it was first talked about, I thought it was going to be similar to the Canadian system, using funds from federal and provincial taxes, and giving oversight to those in the medical profession - iow, doctors make the decisions as to what is medically required to diagnose and treat patients. But... that didn't happen. I learned that the full medical cost for the poor is actually paid for by those who are not, and that oversight is still in the hands of the insurance companies. That does not work, and is an unfair system.
I have socialist leanings. Jesus said to give to the poor, feed the hungry, don't neglect those who are imprisoned, he healed those who were sick, etc. Iow, take care of those who are marginalized in society. Since we live in such an individualistic and egocentric society, those who are marginalized were suffering and needed someone to step up and take care of them. The general public does not contribute enough to the church, so imo, the government had to step up to the job and use taxes to do it.
So I don't mind if Oprah wants to help out a few people who are in need, but I do question her motives. Everyone sees her as generous, but her giving is a mere token (likely for tax write off, so giving is now motivated by saving money), when it could be much more than that.
I think the key thing is that the universal healthcare system as practised in the UK is badly broken as it is ripe for abuse and riddled with waste and inefficiency. The healthcare system in the U is badly broken and Obamacare fixed it for some while making it far worse for others.
What would seem to make sense, if it could be defined and enforced (which is a huge if), would be some kind of system that would treat life threatening illnesses courtesy of a centrally funded insurance scheme while providing much more choice for things that were essentially elective or low-level. If you want to see the doctor because you've got a headache, be ready to pay their bill. If the headache turns out to be brain cancer you don't have to worry about finding deductibles and copayments and all that other ugly stuff.
Where such a scheme is likely to break is down to the definition of what is treated centrally and what is not. Before long the chances are someone is going to want IVF, or gender realignment, or cosmetic surgery, claiming that their quality of life is ruined by not having whatever treatment they seek.
To be honest I think what the US system needs most of all is a sensible discussion of just what insurance actually means, and why it's so expensive to get such basic medical treatment. Insurance is clearly a part of the problem, as well as potentially a part of the solution.
"Do what thou will shall be the whole of the law" - Aleister Crowley
"If you love me, obey my commandments" - Jesus Christ
The Bible comes as a complete package. If we want to pluck verses out of context so make them mean what we want them to mean, if we want to ignore the passages that are inconvenient to our outlook, we should be intellectually honest enough to throw our Bibles in the trash and admit we are following Crowley and not Christ.
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