Posted on 10/27/2014 11:54:32 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Since January 1 of this year, James Barnes has had pretty decent health care. He gets insulin for his diabetes and the needles to inject it, blood pressure medication, access to a psychiatrist and counselor and optometrist, and frequent visits to the doctor, all for free.
Barnes lives in Maryland, one of the dozens of states that expanded Medicaid to people with incomes at or below 138 percent of the poverty level as part of the Affordable Care Act. For Barnes and thousands like him, that expansion has meant access to services like physical therapy, mental-health treatment, x-rays, dialysis, hospice care, eye exams, substance-abuse treatment, podiatrists, and oncologists.
What Barnes does not have, however, is a place to live. Since getting out of jail a year and a half ago, hes stayed at half a dozen homeless shelters in Baltimore as hes looked for work. He carries his belongingsand his insulinwith him in two plastic bags, the type youd get at CVS.
Being homeless doesnt exactly help Barnes, who is 51, become healthier. When he first started living on the streets, hed have to borrow a few dollars to buy food to keep his diabetes in check. Even now, he isnt allowed to bring food into the homeless shelters, so he doesnt often eat produce or healthy food, instead relying on the starchy, heavy food at soup kitchens. He avoids taking any of his medications that could make him urinate frequently, since its so hard to find somewhere to go to the bathroom, and people at homeless shelters often steal his needles and medication....
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
LOL.... Yes, the Austin Greenies would snatch those plastic bags out of his cold hands and tell him to get a tote bag.
I’m just pointing out if you want the hospital to room and board these people, who is going to pay for the room and board?
Whatever we do involves some cost shifting. Subsidies take the burden off already highly stressed hospitals.
But you are A: making a straw argument (that the choice is housing or hospital room and board) and B: buying into the liberal assumption. (Gov must do this) I never do either. Please justify.
Maybe we need “Orphanages for Adults”, where adults can be put up in college dorm sized rooms and they can work simple jobs....????
But such a program should be locally operated ONLY!
It really seems like there is a class of people who would be happier living on a plantation with free food and housing.
A collapse of the US dollar and debt default would ultimately be a very good thing for maintaining individual liberty in this country
[ Lets just give everyone a million dollars a year - everyone on the planet - and be done with it. We will all be rich and infinitely happy.... ]
Why a Million, gove everyone a trillion or even a quadrillion then they can afford to build their own starships and fly around like in star trek or star wars.....
HA GOOD ONE!
Best post on the thread. I am glad I didn’t just take a big drink!
As I was first reading the comments, my first thought was that perhaps we could give him a couple “nicer” bags; would cost much less than free rent and utilities.
The argument is that in a world of scarce resources, we ought to utilize as a matter of principle, the least expensive and most cost-effective means of addressing a problem.
This isn’t a conservative or liberal argument - this is economics 101.
Someone pays the bills of the poor: non-profits, charities, hospital funds set aside for that purpose, or the government through public insurance.
Like I said, hospitals already have a lot on their plate these days and that is not a strawman argument.
[ It really seems like there is a class of people who would be happier living on a plantation with free food and housing. ]
I saw we giver those people the option of entering the “Bum-Trix” which is like the “Matric” only you get put into a pod, you get a feeding tube put into you along with a waste extraction tube, then you are wired into a Virtual Reality system and live a virtual life of your choice...
It only would take the amount of energy of a 100W light bulb to keep you alive in the “Bum-trix” and we get to use up to 20% of your brain capacity for sceintific calculations.
The Rat Party has turned the “safety net” into a hammock.
If its free housing he wants, the simple solution will be to rob a bank and get caught.
That could be a problem considering the Baltimore City PD.....
And those bad wacist soup kitchens!
How DARE they serve “starchy, heavy food”!
This is plain and simple discrimination against Martians!
everyone else who pays more is paying for these people and they are now demanding more and more from your wallet.
“And a personal trainer.”
We had some gal in our church come up with an idea to help out the local tent city that we bring dinner to once a month. Memberships for all 60 of them at the nearby gym! (It didn’t fly.)
I want a pony.
wow, you’re on another planet. And it is most definitely a conservative or liberal argument. And you’ve bought into the liberal template and DONT EVEN REALIZE IT.
That makes you dangerous....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.