It’s a bit unnerving to watch the Supreme Court’s deliberations on health care reform and in one’s mind graft their comments onto our narrow superstitious belief systems.
Yes this is the country where there are large numbers of people who believe in miracles, doubt evolution, global warming and believe in American Exceptionalism– a “city” on the hill. We are a country who can defy gravity.
Why not also believe that there is something “unamerican” in sharing risk of health care costs through insurance. After all we are responsible for our own lives and well being. Why share—we can always go to an ER for free.
Sadly, the battle at the court was not about health care, well being or assuring access to care for sick American citizens but rather about making ideological points.
How else to explain Scalia’s and some of his colleague’s apparent other worldly view of insurance (shared risk) and the notion that people will buy it when they “need” it.
He’s never seen patients who can’t get or afford coverage because of pre-existing illness; or patients who delay care because of lack of funds; he’s never seen neglected breast cancer masses on the chest of women with incurable disease; he’s never had to tell families they have to divest themselves of assets to become eligible for medical assistance; he’s never seen families go bankrupt from health care costs. He’s quite a guy.
Medicynical Note: The U.S. is unique. We are the only industrialized county without a national health insurance scheme (all other countries have a mandate, one way or another) We are the only industrialized country that has bankruptcies from health care costs. We have the most expensive and inefficient health care non-system in the world. We are indeed a City on a Hill….
Medicynic 