Healthcare for All

Having good healthcare coverage is one of the most important things each and every one of us can do for ourselves and for our families. Its one of those monthly bills that seems like such a burden, such a pain, until you or a loved one actually need it. No one likes to pay a high premium but anyone who has ever had an appointment with a specialist, has ever had a surgical procedure or a trip to the emergency room knows what the astronomical bills associated with them looks like; it requires a moment of silence and then a slap back into reality as you gain an awareness that without your health insurance policy you would be, if not definitely then most probably, covered in debt for the rest of your life. But this is a burden and worry not shared by most other developed countries. It seems odd that in a country built on democracy, wealth and a sense of solidarity, getting care that someone needs and often when their lives depend on it is something that could potentially render them indigent. So why is it that the United States differs so greatly in this respect compared to the whole of Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, etc...

Well, for one, its really difficult to make policy changes that would take away a multi-billion dollar business from corporations whose infrastructure is so delicately intertwined with that of the domestic government.

While there is no singular reason to blame for this mess, I think a couple of factors could or may be playing a role; two things actually that combine into one major obstacle to the United States ever instituting universal, government run healthcare. I think that our sense of solidarity, of which I mentioned earlier, is very superficial. And the reason for this, aside from the obvious (greed), could very well be the size of our nation. Many countries are the size of one of our states. We are spread out and that takes the problems and suffering of our fellow countrymen out of our immediate view. Out of sight, out of mind right? Its easy not to take pity on people with an issue that you don't ever come into direct contact with. I think we lack a sense of community and thereby the collective, communal consciousness that characterizes so many other countries. The second factor that I think is at play here is the overshadowing role that lobbyists play in policy decision. In the film someone mentioned that the American people are scared of their government but in many other developed countries (I think this was in reference to France) the government is scared of its people. This means that other governments do things (like provide access healthcare) to keep its people happy. It seems like the American democratic system is a little off balanced.

But this needs to change, and seeing a way out is difficult in the current political system.