Universal Health Coverage

[Camp Creek Kid]

Forcing people to eat certain things may be tough to actually do but you are on the right track.

You might as well be in the Soviet Union circa 1980.

 

[Beemn]

You got off subject fast. How about we tax the war profiteers and use that money to pay for health care? I don't think that people in this country should go without care because they don't have money, while dubya pisses away the entire countries fortune on a failed policy of lies.

 

[hnooe]

So you would be comfortable forcing people with high cholesterol or type II diabetes to eat what you (or some government 'expert') think is appropriate for them?

Yes, in my world view.

 

[JustaLocal]

You got off subject fast. How about we tax the war profiteers and use that money to pay for health care? I don't think that people in this country should go without care because they don't have money, while dubya pisses away the entire countries fortune on a failed policy of lies.

 

[Jennifer Steele]

Wouldn't it make sense to tax the living bejeezum out of organic foods and divert that money to federal healthcare? After all, people who spend all that money on expensive organic foods are obviously rich so it will not hurt them to pay for poor people to get health insurance. Right?

I agree with you on both of these. The tax on the organic food would be a fairer way of distributing the burden to those who deserve and can afford it. Forcing people to eat certain things may be tough to actually do but you are on the right track.

Right...and make sure the poor folks will never be able to afford organic food, thereby ensuring they will always need federal health care?

I am in no way rich, but we do spend our dollars on organic foods whenever we have the option and would hardly be able to afford it if they were even more expensive.

 

[Jennifer Steele]

You got off subject fast. How about we tax the war profiteers and use that money to pay for health care? I don't think that people in this country should go without care because they don't have money, while dubya pisses away the entire countries fortune on a failed policy of lies.

Yes, I would say this is fairer than taxing organic foods...

 

[hnooe]

Wouldn't it make sense to tax the living bejeezum out of organic foods and divert that money to federal healthcare? After all, people who spend all that money on expensive organic foods are obviously rich so it will not hurt them to pay for poor people to get health insurance. Right?

I actually love that Idea--and tax cigarettes and alcohol through the roof too!

 

[raven]

You got off subject fast. How about we tax the war profiteers and use that money to pay for health care? I don't think that people in this country should go without care because they don't have money, while dubya pisses away the entire countries fortune on a failed policy of lies.

despite what filmaking genius michael moore is espousing to the world, america has had socialized medical care for years. it's called the military medical system.

anyone who has experienced healthcare under the UK's NHS or the military care knows the the government having any say in healthcare does not serve the public best. many military families know that while having a base of care is important there are many cases where living in a country where privatized care is available is crucial. furthermore, most americans are so naive about what socialized medical care means. i can't tell you how many friends and family who have suffered at the hands of the NHS. waiting years to get tests that could have prevented their deaths including routine testing like pap smears, mammograms or bloodwork for heart disease. when you live in the uk or europe and see people suffering for years from treatable and preventable illnesses simply because we have no option but to wait, then perhaps you won't live in such a rose-colored view of europe. when you see a 28 year old die of stomach cancer because he can't even get an appt with a specialist, or a young woman in her 30s die of breast cancer because ob appts aren't scheduled excpet for every 3 years or when you see a guy who has been addicted to morphine for 15 years because a hernia got misdiagnosed you'll understand. and these aren't RARE or unusual cases. these are TYPICAL.

 

[30A Skunkape]

Right...and make sure the poor folks will never be able to afford organic food, thereby ensuring they will always need federal health care?

I am in no way rich, but we do spend our dollars on organic foods whenever we have the option and would hardly be able to afford it if they were even more expensive.

You have to realize that my tongue was planted firmly in cheek. Usually if you wait long enough somebody will come up with the proposal to tax cigarettes, booze, fatty foods, etc to pay for health care (and sure enough, Hnooe came through for us). Of course, this leads to a slippery slope of somebody else determining what we should and should not do in order to remain healthy. I know tobacoo kills people, and I urge my patients to stop smoking and offer to help...but some people actually derive pleasure from smoking...I don't get it, I hate the way cigarettes smell, but who am I to tell somebody else what they should or shouldn't do? So why not propose taxing organic foods? Of course it is absurd...and it ought to scare the living hell out of everyone that while I joke about it, some people (on this board no less) readily admit they are comfortable with somebody dictating how we should behave in the name of health.

 

[scooterbug44]

I don't know about sin-taxing high cholesterol, high-fat, or "unhealthy" items, but there are companies who give rewards for healthy behavior. A friend's health insurance gives her a refund/bonus if she goes to the gym a certain number of times a month.

There are a lot of unhealthy behaviors that are universally agreed upon, so I would definitely be for proactive credits or discounts that encourage healthy behavior. A lot of people will be in a great deal of medical trouble due to obesity and poor eating and exercise habits.