The covid pandemic has showed at least two ways that our for-profit healthcare system fails: when people arbitrarily lost their jobs and it meant losing their healthcare, during a national medical emergency. I keep wondering how many costs- life insurance payouts??- these companies avoided by being tied to employment. On the note of keeping employer insurance after leaving a job- Cobra- this is a very expensive option that most people don't have the means for. While paying for Cobra coverage with Biden's pandemic relief funds helps in the short-term, it is a really expensive way for our government to agree that everyone deserves to be covered- and that it's the gov's job to support that. Second, in the same vein- the DHS has guaranteed access to vaccination regardless of immigration status, and has guaranteed on ICE activity at/near vaccination sites. This is being done because the government will maximize health and prosperity by doing so- just like universal healthcare would. Lastly, the fact that insurance rec. through work is dependent on employment and carrier & coverage are decided by employer... that's not so focused on individual freedom. My friend just had her company switch providers after a buy-out and her premiums went up while her deductible and coverage went down. She had zero control over the choice of provider which determines network of doctors & obviously the quality of coverage. I was at a company a while ago that had Universal Healthcare, the worst cheapest option that won't cover anything; yet that's what the employer decided we were worth, based on the portion he would be paying. That didn't feel like any empowered individual choice to me and was a big reason I left the company. I did the books so I knew the boss had a different insurance company personally. Thank you Professor for your insights and showing us how to be free.
I like what Paul Farmer has to say about advocating for health care as being a human right and accessible to all in reference to his group Partners in Health (PIH): “We’ll take risks if we have to. We’ll be unreasonable, shrill even, if that is required to carry out the corporal works of mercy among the poorest.” He goes on to say PIH cannot say they would have the courage to face prison or worse, but to “continue in these works and hope for the courage to avoid becoming worn down, condemned to ineffectiveness. And even as we expand our projects, sometimes we hope only to hold fast.” (From “To Repair the World”, “Service, Solidarity, Social Justice”, “Who Stands Fast?” A speech to Union Theological Seminary, Union Medal Acceptance Speech, December 6, 2006.
The ACA was President Obama’s attempt for the US to enjoy better access to health care. Unfortunately, Obama used a very flawed model put out by the Heritage Foundation, a Koch entity. The Heritage Foundation’s “mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.” The Kochs are also well-known for Citizens’ United which has spawned the runaway power of corporations and the wealthy to influence elections we see today (this makes us less free because groups or people with lots of money have more influence and call the shots). The Kochs wish to use their Dark Money and go back to the Robber Baron days when the wealthy were under no constraints of government. FDR’s Administration put the brakes on the Robber Barons and used Government to help the people. Social Security was born. Universal health care was proposed by Truman in 1945. “The plan Truman envisioned would provide health coverage to individuals, paying for such typical expenses as doctor visits, hospital visits, laboratory services, dental care and nursing services.” (Wiki), But it wasn’t signed into law until 20 years later under Johnson and it was restricted to people 65 and older. Truman had the right idea. Just think if his plan had been enacted during that time when many people had more confidence in government? Nowadays, there is so much untruth blowing around, people are more suspicious of the government and it seems many people do not understand what representative government means. They keep voting contrary to what is good for them. Unfortunately, as you say, the attitude is that something or someone else must be denied if we are to get healthcare. We build our own cages and we are less free. I think the key might be to convince people that they ARE the government and they can have what they want by telling their representatives what they want. But we have to educate people to understand and use their power. And we have to discover and try different ways to enable us all to have healthcare. I wonder if we can use the structures being created for the pandemic response to build a sturdy health infrastructure for us all?
Timothy mentioned the free press here before tackling Freedom and Health:
'Imagine that your government guarantees a free press, and creates favorable conditions for investigative reporting. Thanks to local reporters, you learn that your water supply is polluted. Access to the facts has made you more free and more secure.'
'Imagine' was an apt word to start the paragraph. Imagine that the USA had local free press as we did in the past. Imagine if there had been a solid newspaper or news outlet in Flint, Michigan in 2013 or 2014 to report the sky high levels of lead in the drinking water before it finally received some attention in 2016. Imagine what we need to know and don't know it? I hope that in the near Timothy will be 'Thinking about... ' the paucity of local free press and national, too, here in the land of the free.
When reading comparisons made in the piece about our liberty versus other countries, I thought not only of Dark Money, White Supremacy, powerbrokers and the ways in which our current system favors corporations and the wealthy but also about immigration, the mix of races, ethic groups, cultures, etc., that is the USA. Immigration is a great and defining aspect of the country. If the goal of a democracy is providing liberty and equality, how much more difficult is it to curb racism, discrimination, biases and scapegoating here than in much more homogenous counties? We are also the masters of 'exceptionalism', myth making and hiding our historic truths from the people. No excuses are intended in this comment. We go through crisis' of democracy when we are at the a tipping point as we are right now.
The covid pandemic has showed at least two ways that our for-profit healthcare system fails: when people arbitrarily lost their jobs and it meant losing their healthcare, during a national medical emergency. I keep wondering how many costs- life insurance payouts??- these companies avoided by being tied to employment. On the note of keeping employer insurance after leaving a job- Cobra- this is a very expensive option that most people don't have the means for. While paying for Cobra coverage with Biden's pandemic relief funds helps in the short-term, it is a really expensive way for our government to agree that everyone deserves to be covered- and that it's the gov's job to support that. Second, in the same vein- the DHS has guaranteed access to vaccination regardless of immigration status, and has guaranteed on ICE activity at/near vaccination sites. This is being done because the government will maximize health and prosperity by doing so- just like universal healthcare would. Lastly, the fact that insurance rec. through work is dependent on employment and carrier & coverage are decided by employer... that's not so focused on individual freedom. My friend just had her company switch providers after a buy-out and her premiums went up while her deductible and coverage went down. She had zero control over the choice of provider which determines network of doctors & obviously the quality of coverage. I was at a company a while ago that had Universal Healthcare, the worst cheapest option that won't cover anything; yet that's what the employer decided we were worth, based on the portion he would be paying. That didn't feel like any empowered individual choice to me and was a big reason I left the company. I did the books so I knew the boss had a different insurance company personally. Thank you Professor for your insights and showing us how to be free.
I like what Paul Farmer has to say about advocating for health care as being a human right and accessible to all in reference to his group Partners in Health (PIH): “We’ll take risks if we have to. We’ll be unreasonable, shrill even, if that is required to carry out the corporal works of mercy among the poorest.” He goes on to say PIH cannot say they would have the courage to face prison or worse, but to “continue in these works and hope for the courage to avoid becoming worn down, condemned to ineffectiveness. And even as we expand our projects, sometimes we hope only to hold fast.” (From “To Repair the World”, “Service, Solidarity, Social Justice”, “Who Stands Fast?” A speech to Union Theological Seminary, Union Medal Acceptance Speech, December 6, 2006.
The ACA was President Obama’s attempt for the US to enjoy better access to health care. Unfortunately, Obama used a very flawed model put out by the Heritage Foundation, a Koch entity. The Heritage Foundation’s “mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.” The Kochs are also well-known for Citizens’ United which has spawned the runaway power of corporations and the wealthy to influence elections we see today (this makes us less free because groups or people with lots of money have more influence and call the shots). The Kochs wish to use their Dark Money and go back to the Robber Baron days when the wealthy were under no constraints of government. FDR’s Administration put the brakes on the Robber Barons and used Government to help the people. Social Security was born. Universal health care was proposed by Truman in 1945. “The plan Truman envisioned would provide health coverage to individuals, paying for such typical expenses as doctor visits, hospital visits, laboratory services, dental care and nursing services.” (Wiki), But it wasn’t signed into law until 20 years later under Johnson and it was restricted to people 65 and older. Truman had the right idea. Just think if his plan had been enacted during that time when many people had more confidence in government? Nowadays, there is so much untruth blowing around, people are more suspicious of the government and it seems many people do not understand what representative government means. They keep voting contrary to what is good for them. Unfortunately, as you say, the attitude is that something or someone else must be denied if we are to get healthcare. We build our own cages and we are less free. I think the key might be to convince people that they ARE the government and they can have what they want by telling their representatives what they want. But we have to educate people to understand and use their power. And we have to discover and try different ways to enable us all to have healthcare. I wonder if we can use the structures being created for the pandemic response to build a sturdy health infrastructure for us all?
Great points!
Timothy mentioned the free press here before tackling Freedom and Health:
'Imagine that your government guarantees a free press, and creates favorable conditions for investigative reporting. Thanks to local reporters, you learn that your water supply is polluted. Access to the facts has made you more free and more secure.'
'Imagine' was an apt word to start the paragraph. Imagine that the USA had local free press as we did in the past. Imagine if there had been a solid newspaper or news outlet in Flint, Michigan in 2013 or 2014 to report the sky high levels of lead in the drinking water before it finally received some attention in 2016. Imagine what we need to know and don't know it? I hope that in the near Timothy will be 'Thinking about... ' the paucity of local free press and national, too, here in the land of the free.
When reading comparisons made in the piece about our liberty versus other countries, I thought not only of Dark Money, White Supremacy, powerbrokers and the ways in which our current system favors corporations and the wealthy but also about immigration, the mix of races, ethic groups, cultures, etc., that is the USA. Immigration is a great and defining aspect of the country. If the goal of a democracy is providing liberty and equality, how much more difficult is it to curb racism, discrimination, biases and scapegoating here than in much more homogenous counties? We are also the masters of 'exceptionalism', myth making and hiding our historic truths from the people. No excuses are intended in this comment. We go through crisis' of democracy when we are at the a tipping point as we are right now.