Why is it my fault you do not have the money or work for an employer that does not provide health care insurance? Why should I have to work an additional job and make sacrifices?
I do realize there is the needy and those that need a hand up and NOT a hand out. Unfortunately, giving people what they need has never nor ever worked. The " Great Society" is the worse thing that ever occurred. We have made people dependent upon others to "provide" for them.
There is programs that will provide preventative medicine, but unfortunately this is NOT what the society wants. They much rather go to a ED to be treated because why? It's faster and there is no payment required!
I have worked IHS hospitals where there is free preventive and even free medicine and care and majority was non-compliant. Free health care, free medicine, even a paid van or ambulance to transport and still will bombard the ED.
I have triaged patients to the clinic because their condition was not warranted as "life threatening" yet, they refused to go because: 1) They would have wait to be seen by the PCP (even though they had an appointment for that day) 2) The PCP can actually charge (nominal) fee.
I will be all for governmental free health care as soon as :
They have to ensure no bad habits or deterrents such as smoking, alcohol or substance abuse is causing or affecting the outcome of the disease process.
They are placed on a limited time schedule. Unless a catastrophic illness then one should only be allowed so much.
I am sure the ideas are well intention but realistic it is not. Remember, where Obama was an attorney for.. Revco.
R/r 911
I hear where you are coming from Ryds and I've been there too. The world is full of bludgers, spongers and opportunists. If we are to have free anythings there must be filters in place to weed out these kinds of individuals but not to disadvantage the genuine.
What you are expressing is frustration - the same feeling any EMT with a taste of a few years in the job has felt many times. And government systems are open for abuse that is clear - always have been.
But for every occasion where I have seen some knuckle head get a free ride out of the system I have seen decent hard working people get value for money out of "free" public services. (And don't kid yourself that they are truly free - they never are).
Some are old, some young, some very deserving others who could have found a better alternative.
I have even seen the very rich benefit, deservedly, from free health care particularly in emergencies and have nothing but praise for every component of the system, often surprised by how effective it was.
From the ambos who met them at the door, to the equipment and training we possess, to the nurses, doctors and facilities at their disposal for themselves or their loved one in crisis - and this time no-one said - "do you have private insurance" or "you have to sign this payment schedule before we can provide treatment".
There are filters against abuse and perhaps this is where the system is often let down as the respective ideological positions argue over who is deserving, where you should discriminate and above all how we judge who gets the freebies.
And you're right about dependency. But this is not a failing of the system itself but of society as a whole. Press a button, make a call, fill in the form and the pizza will be delivered to your door courtesy of the taxpayer.
Getting some sort of health service is often no different that setting up a mobile phone account.
What happened to self reliance and common sense? Perhaps we've had it too easy for too long but tell that to the have nots.
It's too easy to judge all by the actions of the few. The majority of calls for EMS are genuine even if sometimes misplaced. Education is key and those few EMS services who have taken the plunge and dared to tell the public how to use the system wisely will reap the rewards in reduced demand. But of course it doesn't end there.
There has to be a mindset among the population (this is where doing the right thing comes in) that it is "un-american" to abuse the "system". This can start with the kids telling mom that they were shown at school that EMS is very busy and only for emergencies not sore throats right through to if necessary billing, penalty and other more punitive measures.
As for smokers, drinkers and drug takers - I wonder if we start being selective about who pays what relative to "poor lifestyle" decisions we might at the same time bill the companies that have marketed, pandered, indoctrinated, lied, conned, abused, denied responsibility but in the end still made billions out of those idiots (like me) who got sucked into the dependent substance maelstrom?
You talked about why should you have to pay for others? Were they too dumb, poorly educated, cheapscapes, mistaken, overanxious, not aware of alternatives - it's hard to know which at times. But this is our perspective not theirs at the time crises happens or the point where they call upon a service.
You might be on a decent wage with no major debts, a reasonable and comfortable lifestyle but when your kid gets that rash that you're not sure about what will you do? If he falls over, bangs his head seems OK but you read about the insidious progression of extra dural haemorrhage what will you do?
You may well shell out the bucks happily for the care. Others can't. Others can but will endure some level of sacrifice anywhere from missing out on the six pack this week to mortgaging the family home so the child makes it through the night.
Many taxpayers are irritated by the idea of paying for others and often justifiably so. But it's all a matter of context and situation.
We all make sacrifices under public systems. You may well be surprised how big some of the sacrifices are for the users on the other end of the line.
MM
