These stories come from the real people who live with a broken health care system. Some have health insurance and some do not. Many of these stories suggest potential solutions* that lead to quality, affordable health care we can count on. One thing we all agree on is that the we cannot trust the insurance industry to fix themselves. To learn more about what Health Care for America Now stands for read our Statement of Common Purpose.
We wanted to give you a chance to speak for yourself, in your own voice, about the need for Health Care for America Now. Do you have something to say? Tell us your story.
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Anonymous
Austin, TX
It is all too easy for anyone in America (and the rest of the world) to fall through the ever-widening cracks in our crumbling social systems. I have some personal experience of this phenomenon, having in the past gone for months at a time with no work, no prospects for work, no health insurance, and only the good fortune of a supportive family to help me in my plight. This is with the benefit of a college education, which I once viewed as a kind of insurance policy against financial hardship-- yet I have learned that in reality, one's education and natural talent may have absolutely no bearing on one's economic status. I have learned that in reality, our economic and social systems have no concern whatsoever for the well-being of individuals or of society as a whole. Our leaders have given over our social systems to the vagaries of market forces, which are impersonal, and totally devoid of morality, empathy, compassion or love; and as we all know, it is love that holds the world together.
It is not uncommon for Americans to find themselves in a position of being too ill to work, and too poor to pay the doctor-- with the high likelihood of job loss, homelessness and even death as possible results. Such unfortunate Americans are just as deserving of health and well-being as those who profit hand-over-fist from the current state of the insurance industry, which now has a stranglehold on much of the medical profession. Millions of Americans have no health insurance, and face the very real possibility of untimely health crisis, with no real recourse as long as the government and the leaders insist on maintaining the current state of the health care system. This is a most undignified way to run a society.
Surely, it must be plainly obvious that in the first place, everyone has a right to live; therefore, it stands to reason that everyone deserves to be as healthy as possible. Health care is therefore a right, not a privilege; and any society which seeks to maintain the welfare of itself and its posterity must acknowledge that a truly healthy society must collectively absorb the cost of providing for each and all of its members. That this would likely require a re-organization of our economic system is a very important point.
Clearly, our current health care system does not serve the health of each and every American, rich or poor; and therefore it clearly does not serve the common good. It is not for any one individual or group to benefit at the expense of the majority; yet this is exactly what is going on in the health insurance and medical industries. This sorry state of affairs must be changed. We must change our view of the health care industry, so that instead of seeing it as a racket in which the most competitive reap the greatest wealth, we see it as an invaluable and necessary public service that everyone is entitled to.
The American people deserve to be healthy. So does every living man, woman and child. America now has a trememdous opportunity to change the health care system for the better-- to establish firmly the institution of health care as a right for all, and not the privilege of a wealthy few. In creating such a reform of this important social institution, America can pave the way for tremendous improvement in the lives of literally billions of people all over the world. For, once it is generally recognized that health is a right and not a privilege, it is not too far a step to recognize that the basic necessities that support health are also the right of all. This includes healthy food, adequate shelter, medical care, and quality education-- education geared towards providing students the tools to pursue their own natural talents and inclinations. Without these things, humanity is reduced to the level of animals, scavenging and fighting each other for survival, never knowing the joys of harmonious relationship nor realizing the tremendous potential latent in each and every individual.
So we have a tremendous responsibility as Americans to set the precedent of revolutionizing the health care industry-- making health care a universal right. The question then arises, how do we go about changing this institution across the board, everywhere? It will require a re-orientation of priorities in the political and economic arenas.
First, we must make the distinction between what is actually needed for the benefit of society as a whole, and what is extra, or in surplus of that need. This means recognizing that a healthy society naturally includes the least of its members, and leaves out no one. Second, we must recognize the rightful place of the markets not as leaders but as servants of the people. We must recognize that market forces are too unpredictable to serve as any kind of basis for organizing a society. Certainly, markets are useful and have their place, but if we are to maintain a stable, healthy and just society, we must let the free market operate only within the realm of surplus. In other words, first we must take care of the basic survival needs of all, and then the free markets can be allowed to operate correctly. Only then can the basic survival needs of all be guaranteed for all. With this kind of approach to the economy, it becomes clear that in order to meet the basic needs of all, the international community must co-operate to share the resources of the world. Once the equitable distribution of resources is beginning to be implemented, we will see all manner of previously intractable problems start to dissolve.
But that's another subject. For now, America would do very well to implement major reforms in the health care and insurance industries.
*Health Care for America Now is not responsible for the content of these stories. These stories are submitted by individuals in the online audience and have been edited in some cases. Health Care For America Now does not endorse any of the solutions or policy positions suggested in the content of these stories. Health Care for America Now is a coalition of organizations that agree to the Statement of Common Purpose.
See our coalition partner list.
Read the Statement of Common Purpose.
