imagine a place and time where if your house caught on fire a call to 911 would not be enough to give you hope. imagine that one had to purchase "fire insurance" for one's home (and i don't mean to replace lost goods). imagine if firefighting was a competitive business market with different providers. and imagine if upon arriving at the scene of a fire, before letting even a drop of water fly, the firemen would first stop to check if you were insured by their particular brigade, and if they discovered that you were not insured or insured by another company, they would simply hop back on the truck and drive off into the night as your possessions roasted to a crisp and loved ones writhed to an agonizing death. does that sound like a world you'd like to live in?
to us in the 21st century such a tale seems cruel and impossible. allow human beings to suffer a miserable death simply because they haven't signed up for the right company's services? to put the dollar above the worth of a human life? for-profit emergency rescue? "absurd!" we cry. quickly we recognize the attitudes and ideas involved in such a scenario as inhumane, mercenary and down-right evil. but in fact, that is the way that things used to be in the not-so-distant past, both in the US and many other western countries.
until the late 19-th century and early 20-th in some US cities, fire brigades were a paid service that one had to buy insurance for. as different brigades formed and competed for business, there were even cases where one brigade would obstruct another brigade's arrival to the scene of a fire. soon people began to see the dangerous road they were headed down and cities began to make firefighting a government service, a basic provision of life for each and every citizen.
but have things really changed in america? now imagine a different scenario: a man who discovers he is dying of cancer walks into a hospital. his situation is indeed life-threatening, but before a doctor will even step within 10 ft. of him, he must prove that he is a subscriber to an insurance company. and if he is subscribed to a company that particular hospital does not accept, he is sent out. and if he has no insurance? will he be left to writhe to an agonizing death at home in his bed as the victims of a fire in less enlightened days? protect and save human life... for profit!?!? yet, where are the cries of "absurd"! how come americans have come to accept this as a perfectly normal part of life?
ah, but let's go back to our original story: what if that same fire brigade upon arriving, finds that the house ablaze is indeed one of its clients. yet, before expending any of its energy or water it discovers that your house had hazardous electric wiring before you bought your insurance policy. imagine then that despite the fact that you are its client, the brigade still turns around and drives off into the night because your house had a "pre-existing condition" that you did not warn them about before purchasing their insurance.
thankfully things never got that bad with the fire dept. but in the states people are all too familiar with that excuse from health insurance companies. is it not just as mercenary that the insurance companies are willing to sacrifice human life to generate more profit? is it not sickeningly ironic that places with names like "good samaritan", "st. luke's", and even "holy redeemer" are ready to turn away a dying man whose life they could easily save, simply because he cannot cough up the ridiculous amount of money they ask? somehow i don't think that's the same "good samaritan" Jesus spoke about, who gave out of his own pocket to care for a wounded fellow human being.
the US is the only country of the industialized nations that does not supply health care to its citizens as a basic human right. US citizens pay the highest per capita average for health care IN THE WORLD, and yet in a 2000 worldwide study by the World Health Organization, the US ranked only 37 out of 191 countries in overall health care; beat out by even columbia, morocco and costa rica. (read the article here)
you may have noticed on my "currently watching" michael moore's sicko which is about the health care system in america. now, i'd like to give the caveat that i do NOT agree with the huge majority of mr. moore's political stances and generally lop-sided, partisan rhetoric. however, the information in this movie is VITAL for every american to stop and think on. (and he takes a swing at hill as well as george w. in the film) if you watch it, try to forget the other things he's produced and just take it as-is and weigh it in your own mind. the information about the fire dept. is not mentioned in the movie. that was my own research. this documentary simply made me interested to find out about the situation.
i think its interesting that i've not not heard one single american evangelical christian i know talk about this issue. plenty about prayer in schools, abortion, immigration laws and other such hot-button issues. but doesn't callously allowing men to die, denying them the treatment that could save their lives just to make one's wallet thicker seem a crime on the same level as abortion? if Jesus were a doctor (and indeed He is the Great Physician) would He let that happen? there are ways to get involved and find out more. if you're interested, google: "US National Health Insurance Act" (also known as HR676 - read full text here) - a bill in the House of Reps. now that has gained much momentum in the last few months which proposes health care for every US citizen as a basic human right provided for by the government.
i live in a country with a "universal health care" system and though there are flaws it is pretty great to be able to go to the pharmacy and know that i can purchase just about any kind of drug i need for under $6. its nice to be able to go to the hospital whenever i feel i need to without worry about if my insurance company will cover the cost. when we first moved to svitlovodsk i got sick with something crazy and had a fever of 104 (40C). my wife call the "ambulance" and they came within 20min. and administered the shots i needed to bring the temperature down and gave me a prescription to get.... for FREE. ukraine's flaws with its health care system are largely a result of lack of resources and rampant corruption in the government in genereal (both problems which are absent in the US). and even with all its problems, the concept itself is pretty great. watch the documentary, check out the subject matter, take a stance. peace out.
btw, i'd be very interested to hear people's thoughts on this.
7 comments:
you have been granted access.:)I haven't seen Sicko, but I've wanted to for a while... I'm pro-universal health care, myself. I've heard the biggest downside is extended waits for certain procedures. I imagine doctors are opposed to it, because it would limit income. One thing that drives me crazy is that we have lots of friends who use medicaid for pregnancies,labors, deliveries,and their children's health insurance-- and they receive everything for free. On the other hand, I work to provide health insurance, pay around $800 a month for health insurance, and I STILL had to pay $3000.00 of out of pocket expenses to cover my c-section. All of this, and I know my taxes are paying for my friends' health insurance (who, by the way, COULD work.) I don't want to take advantage of the government, but I'd love to be a stay at home mom. I guess I see universal health care as my way to do that.
erin - that's a bummer. that's exactly the kind of true story that sicko explores. it focuses not so much on the uninsured, but on those who have insurance, but who are denied payment. so you feed the insurance beast and then it bites your hand. the "long waits" of a universal system that the US insurance companies try to scare americans with are primarily for elective or at the very least non-emergency surgeries. and that is compared with the canadian system primarily. there are many factors that affect the canadian system. there's actually a really good, objective article comparing US and canadian systems on wikipedia (click here) there are other countries that perhaps do universal health care better than canada. there is no perfect system, but there is certainly a lesser of two evils and universal coverage seems to be it. thankfully one of indiana's two congresspersons already is backing HR676 for universal care in the US. we were on medicaid while in the states last time. and i definitely didn't feel guilty for it. don't worry about "taking advantage of the government". supposedly it is designed to be "by the people, for the people." the advantage in a universal system is your own taxes pay for YOUR health care, not just some one else's. it should be as simple as having the city provide firefighting services. sadly, its not yet. it'd be nice to see some "for the people" in the health care industry.
Ok... This is a little more than I bargained for when I clicked on your site... but... yeah.Thanks for the prayer on the prophecy.
Great thoughts, Ben! I love your fire analogy -- poignant and appropriate. Allison and I have been wanting to see Sicko since it came out... hopefully we will soon. Here's a link to a great article from Jim Wallis about his encounter with socialized medicine in England, and I actually just watched Michael Moore and a bunch of other healthcare professionals on Oprah the other day (yes, I know) and it was wonderful. You can check that out here if you like. Hope to see you soon!
Im totally with you. Will have to check more into it.
Haven't seen sicko yet, but want to. I hate how health care is an industry and deemed a privelidge here in the US, and not a need open to all. I am one of the ones who cannot go a day without it, but cannot get it unless through a job (my husbands, now that I stay home), because I have a preexisting condition. We did use medicaid for my pregnancy, and I have no problem with having done so. At the beginning of my pregnancy, we both were working and neither of our jobs provided insurance that covered pregnancy, so we had no choice. I feel like it's there for people in a situation like ours.
RYC- 1900 sq ft is huge to us too! Our apt is 900, so it'll be a big jump for us as well.
Hope you all are well!
@Greg - hey greg. thanks for your thoughts! yeah, the problem is not the uninsured (though there are a few who are uninsured because they make too much to get welfare but not enough to buy insurance, esp. if its a small business-type set-up). its those who are insured NOT getting the coverage they shell out massive amounts of money for. the insurance beast needs to be slain. (seriously, give "sicko" a chance.... i think you'll like it).on the idea of the analogy with fire rescue - yes, ambulances show up and provide emergency care for those in car crashes and in potientially fatal "accidents" without questions. but they will kick them out of the hospital long before they are well if they then discover that person is uninsured, or if the insurance co. refuses payment. and what about those with fatal diseases? there was a story not too long ago in the US about a girl with cancer that needed a liver transplant to live and the insurance company denied her saying it was "too experimental". she died at age 17. and that's just one of many such cases. and no, i'm NOT saying the system in ukraine is anything other than primarily frightening. my point was that the idea in theory is great and applied to small things works even here. for a good, functioning example of socialized medicine, the UK or france would be a great model to work from. btw, some of ukraine's problems with the medical system are now arising because of the introduction of paying for treatment (but when the alternative is in such poor shape, what else can you do?)is it possible to go 100% to universal health-care in the states? it is if the right candidate gets elected. but more likely would be a HR676 type plan. or obama's proposal to hook everyone who wants it into the gov't's system (though i honestly think we could do better than just a tag-on.... that won't change the actual costs, just cover them differently). but ultimately, as sick as profiteering off another person's illness is, killing a perfectly healthy unborn child for convenience sake is sicker, you're right. if only we could get a candidate with obama's health care plan and mccain's anti-abortion stance!
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