Today my mother found out that she is losing her job come October 10. My mother works in the health care field as a registered nurse. She's worked at this particular hospital for 30 years. How are we going to fix health care when we can't even keep our high quality nurses (who I believe are the backbone of the medical field) in their positions? My mother works in the Skilled Nursing Facility which provides long term care for the chronically ill (usually elderly). Where are these people going to go? How did we let this mess get this big? How stupid can America be? Does it make me a terrible American to criticize my country? I think critics are the ones who care the most.
On another note, after watching Obama's speech on health care last night, I got to thinking about those who knowingly participate in unhealthy activities. Let's use smoking as an example. Now we all participate in activities that are dangerous to our health such as driving down the highway or flying in an airplane, but smoking greatly increases one's chance of developing cancer. I am a non-smoker and consider myself relatively healthy, so why should I have money taken out of my paycheck to help pay for those individuals who have developed cancer knowing full well that it was from smoking for thirty years? As a country, should we add more taxes on cigarettes that lead to "smoker's insurance" specifically for the health problems that arise from smoking? Would these increased taxes help prevent people from starting the habit or cause others to stop?
Opinions welcome!
Edit: Because laughter is the best medicine.
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Should we have a tax on unhealthy food too, given what effect obesity and bad nutrition have on health care costs? How does that impact access to food to the nation's poor, who can often only afford unhealthy food because it's so cheap? Should healthier options be subsidized by the government? Could we really institute all of this at once?
ReplyDelete:) I like your post, Heather.
In theory these ideas sound like an excellent way to create funds specifically for that particular demographic (smokers, unhealthy eaters)and curbs the development of said habits, but in reality, such an implementation would be difficult to enact. Since there is no nutritional value or healthy benefit to smoking, it is much easier to make an example of, but then it has to be decided how many cigarettes are unhealthy. One a day? One a week? My biggest issue is that it seems the health care debate is a reactive one. Let's fix the problems as they occur. What we need is a proactive attack on poor health and more personal responsibility on the part of parents, educators, health officials, etc..
ReplyDeleteAlso, since I am a firm believer in maintaining our personal liberties as Americans, I note the uncomfortable balance between telling people what they can and can't do and fixing the messes that may be created due to those personal liberties.
Thanks for responding! :]