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Is anyone following the US health care debate?

It’s completely baffling watching such a heated political debate over a lesser version of something we’ve taken for granted (universal health care) for 30+ years, though of course it’s not the first time they’ve had this debate.

The left in the US protested the war.

The right protests health care for the poor.

That’s pretty darn evil in my book. Making political capital, or looking to boost your ratings (Fox) on the continued suffering of ~50 million poor is all kinds of evil. Not to mention the right-wing propaganda machine in full swing about ‘death panels’, which is kind of ironic when you’re actually advocating for more people to die in their current crappy system. 

It’s amazing how people get manipulated and scared into acting against their own interests.

Imagine what those people would be like in power? Oh, yeah, right..

Yes Luke, my wife and I have been following it - and are aghast at what a stuffed up system it is. It certainly has polarising policies on both sides - and cannot believe how political ( and profitable ) such a basic thing as people’s health has become.

Seems a far cry from the implied sentiments written on the pedestal of the Statue of lIberty :

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of you teamming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door !” 

( This poem is called the New Colossus and it was written by Emma Lazarus. )

Robin Williams has suggested this update :
“The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying ‘Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.’ She’s got a baseball bat and she’s yelling: ‘You want a piece of me?’”

We are so grateful that we live in Australia.

I have a friend who is from the US and I asked her what she thought. Her view was that people fear that the government will bring down the private sector by their meddling. The view of people in America about freedom cannot be underestimated and I think people fear government control. I’m pretty sure Obama’s preferred option was not like ours either; he wants a government run heath insurance provider, rather than just funding doctors and services like Medicare does for us.

What’s death panels?

I don’t know about how other OECD countries fare in terms of health care, but America’s past in this area certainly makes our grumbling about hospitals quite hollow.

Medical boards that decide to kill you apparently. It was something Sarah Palin coined I think.

There is a rather funny article by Emma Tom in today’s Australian talking about this very issue.

I thought this was interesting, more because of the scenario:

Why Is Universal Health Care ‘Un-American’? by Rev. Jim Rigby

Last week supporters of health-care reform gathered around the country, including in Austin, TX, where 2,000 people crowded into a downtown church to hear speakers talk about different aspects of the issue. Asked to speak about the ethical dimensions of health care, I tried to go beyond short-term political strategizing and ask more basic questions. This is an edited version of what I said.

Big ups to the minister for taking the ‘ethical’ stand, but minus points for being a minister in a church talking about what it means to be American, not a follower of Jesus, which is kinda weird as Jesus would be on your side!

Anyway, can you imagine having thousands of people cram into a church (of all places) so we—including ministers—can debate the rights and wrongs of having the federal govt introduce Medicare, when the only other option is for-profit, private insurance, which neglects 3 million poor, uninsured Australians?

As they say, only in America…

Finally ( almost ) :

US Senate passes health care reform Bill

By staff writers         From: NewsCore December 21, 2009 5:38PM

THE US Senate has passed the health care reform Bill with a total of 60 votes to 40.

The Senate version of the Bill must be reconciled with a House version before it can become law. President Barack Obama set the issue as a key plank of his first term and wanted the Senate to pass the Bill by year’s end.

The legislation - designed to secure coverage for millions of uninsured Americans - could lead to the biggest changes in US health care in decades.

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