Posted on 05/09/2005 5:49:33 AM PDT by FNU LNU
America's 44 million uninsured: Who are they?
By Samuel G. Dawson
Opinion
We constantly hear of the need for a national single-payer medical system because of the 44 million Americans who don't have medical insurance coverage. Since the election, politicians wanting to address moral issues speak of the "immorality of the 44 million uninsured." While some are concerned about shortfalls in Social Security, others point out that Medicare and Medicaid shortfalls are already many times worse! Before we let the politicians commit us to universal medical coverage, it might be wise to find out who these millions of uninsured are.
A significant percentage are not Americans at all, but illegal immigrants and other non-citizens. Should we be obligated to pay for their medical care? I'm nearly afraid to ask. If my next-door neighbor didn't buy insurance himself but came to my house with a gun and forced me to buy it for him, it'd be a crime and he'd be prosecuted. However, if legislation is passed to make the responsible among us buy insurance for the irresponsible, if we don't toe the line, the guys in the white Fords will come for us with their guns. And if we resist, they won't be prosecuted.
Another large group comprises children whose parents either cannot or will not provide medical insurance for them. Nowadays, that means the ones who work and pay for such for their own children should work even harder and longer and pay for the children of the irresponsible, too.
A significant portion of the medically uninsured are adults under 35. At that age, I thought I was invincible, too, but I didn't expect others to work hard to pay for my medical care.
Another significant group is the chronically uninsured - people who go without insurance either because they have not needed it or do not believe in it. Why not make them buy it rather than making the rest of us pay for it?
Also included in the 44 million is anyone unemployed and uninsured for one day during the year. Also included are those who won't take a job that provides "good" health coverage because they smoke dope every day and can't pass a urine test. So, we make the real dopes buy it for them. What an argument.
The number also includes the wealthy who self-insure. For example, Rush Limbaugh - worth hundreds of millions of dollars - is uninsured. He pays out of pocket. There are many wealthy like him. No matter how much you like Rush, do you want to work harder and longer to pay for his health care?
Also included are those who choose to spend their money for an SUV or tattoos instead of health insurance. Most of the "employed" uninsured make a conscious decision not to be insured. They want cable TV, cell phones, new cars, expensive vacations, and generally think that medical care should be "free" because it's a "right." Suppose these types don't want to insure their SUVs - should we buy that for them, too?
Among the 44 million are medical consumers who have "wised up" to the fact that paying cash for medical care is cheaper than insurance, as their doctors charge them as little as one-third of what they bill insurance companies for the same services. This can't be right. We should work harder to give them medical insurance so they can pay the full price!
The 44 million includes low-income people who are eligible for state-provided free or nominal-cost insurance but who don't bother to sign themselves or their children up for it. Does this justify flogging the ants into buying insurance for the grasshoppers?
Providing these numbers would be a good task for an enterprising investigative journalist, wouldn't it?
Does the number of uninsured even matter? No one can be denied health care. In that sense, there are no uninsured, as everyone has access to health care.
Why is it good to add another enormous government organization that collects a fee for managing (read:restricting) the normal relationship between doctor and patient? What is the value added?
Dr. Thomas Sowell has pointed out that probably the first country to have universal health care provided by the government was the Soviet Union.
After decades of socialized medicine, what was the result? In its final years, the Soviet Union was one of the few countries in the world with a declining life span and a rising infant mortality rate.
If universal health care is so great, why don't we add another layer of government control and improve things even more? While we're at it, we could add universal coverage for home, auto and life insurance. To pay for it all, we could even have income insurance.
Samuel G. Dawson of Amarillo is a recent retiree from the aerospace and software industries.
Who went out and counted them?
BTTT
I've got a friend that makes good money. He chooses to buy all sorts of gadgets and goodies for his house, but chooses to go uninsured. I suspect his scenerio is not an isolated one.
One of the reasons so many under 35 are uninsured is that liberals in many states have enacted "community rating" requirements. That means everyone pays the same rate, regardless of age. And that means healthy younger people pay the same rate as people much older who are, on average, less healthy and more costly.
That means a young person would end up paying a rate that is much higher than his/her actual expected costs. So the rational choice is to go without insurance. Then we hear the same liberals complaining about all the uninsured.
Private, high deductible insurance ($2600/$5000 deductible a year) can be as little as $70 a month for a single person, $150 for a family. Most of these "uninsured" people could afford $ 70 a month.
We would be way better off if nobody had health insurance. Then we would just go to the doctor and pay him. Less paperwork. Less government control. More doctors. Less clerks. Less cost. Less hassle. Better health. No HMOs.
It's irritating to listen to people who state they can't afford health coverage. Many simply refuse to buy coverage because it isn't something tangible.
A girl in my office refused to buy health insurance but signed up for a Bally's membership for "her health." When she got pregnant Bally's understandably did not cover her prenatal visits.
Last time I heard it was 45 million...no 43 million...okay it's 45 million, now.
Have you ever noticed that any Democrat created "crisis" usually "impacts" 40-45 million people? Somewhere there is a DNC memo that dictates that the number of people affected by any problem must be 40-45 million.
The same "Three Stooges" outfit (themselves existing on tax money) who counted 15% of the population as gay and "only" 3 million illegal criminal aliens in California...
"No one can be denied health care."
Not quite true. No one can be denied health care if they come into a hospital emergency room needing critical care. Now, if an uninsured person goes to a private physician's office, he may be denied elective care or asked to pay cash. So be it - nothing is free.
But too often, my neighbors vote for a clown who cares more for salamanders than for people.
DING, DING, DING!
You got that right...the primary peril (in my humble opinion) is the slippery slope we go down once this entitlement is passed...liberals will NEVER stop with healthcare...next will be housing and after that food...it will never end, and they will tax us into oblivion.
"After decades of socialized medicine, what was the result? In its final years, the Soviet Union was one of the few countries in the world with a declining life span and a rising infant mortality rate."
Isn't this what the watermelons want? A declining population to rid Mother Gaia of excess humans?
Many young upwardly moble workers choose to be uninsured. Just another Liberal talking point that is total BS!
I don't know if I would agree there. Insurance (by a non-government entity) is a good thing. Can everyone afford to break a leg and spend $5300 for a cast?? Or get cancer and spend a half-million bucks?
"I've got a friend that makes good money. He chooses to buy all sorts of gadgets and goodies for his house, but chooses to go uninsured. I suspect his scenerio is not an isolated one."
Sounds like me through most of my 20's and 30's. I'm not sure I knew more than a handful of people my age who cared about health insurance when I was in my 20's. We just paid cash at the doctor.
Good point. I have medical ins. but no dental. My dentist gives me a 30% discount for cash. The insured patients are paying 30% more than me.
LOL. Health insurance costs less per month the Cable TV and Cell phone payments.
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