When you look at the issue of the American Healthcare system, it becomes apparent that we are facing an issue of differing, yet similarity valid, ideals. On one side, representing the more liberal mindset, we have the American Dream in the form of a government supporting its people so that they may have the opportunity to rise above the challenges that face them. The question for government-run, all-encompassing health insurance was the cornerstone of Obamacare, where the Obama administration sought to make health insurance a standard for all Americans, not just those who can pay.
On the other side, we have largely conservative voices calling out the flaws of the well-intentioned, yet inevitably inadequate plan. Despite being mostly liberally-minded, I have come to recognize that Obamacare has not served the purpose it was intended for, nor the values that American represents. The idea that every American, whether or not they want to, are legally forced to buy health insurance contradicts the right to private property, as law-abiding citizens should not have to buy into a (more expensive) system that they do not believe in. Having centralized instead of privatized health insurance makes it impossible for citizens to manage their own medical finances, and oftentimes leads to dangerous loopholes within its own blanket method.
Take the current situation of my family. My father, a successful salesman and software architect, recently sold his company and has spent the last nine months unemployed, something that him and my mother planned for. Though we are able to live comfortably using my father's share from the company's sale, and face little to no financial troubles, the State of Connecticut lists my father as unemployed, rather than temporarily retired. As such, for the remaining month of this year before my father goes back to work in July, my family is being forced by the state to go on government Healthcare. Morally, this is not correct, because essentially now our neighbors are paying for my family's Healthcare, even though we are more than capable to pay it on our own. However, due to the one-size-fits-all Healthcare system in the country, we don't have a choice.
Forcing Americans to participate in and pay for a flawed institution such as current Healthcare insurance is not the way that we combat poverty in this country. The promotion of free clinics, free hospital visits, and privatized Healthcare is how we solve issues.
Those are my thoughts, largely based on my experiences. What are yours?
Hey Jacqui! Great thoughts--I love how you shared your own personal experiences. I agree with you on that health insurance should be privatized rather than centralized; while I believe that Obamacare had a strong concept, a privatized healthcare system would have been more beneficial to American citizens. The independent management of medical care is how we can maintain our own financial self-sufficiency, and the way we combat poverty isn't through creating a generalized healthcare plan that cannot apply to everyone. When it comes to healthcare, I think that the system should be individualized to fit the needs of each citizen. That being said, there's also much that can be done about the disparities in the healthcare system based on social class--as well as the intersection of race and class--that could be further explored.
Low-income clinics and free annual check-ups and the like along with community education on health seem like possible options to improve our country's health and health outcomes in a cost-effective way.