I Don't Get It

[eumelia]

I don't get it.

Really, I don't.

I've been to the States and I didn't get it then. I've been reading up on the subject because the Interwebs are busting with the "health care" discussion.

My country has socialised medicine, we get the choice of four different HMO's, they compete with each other and have supervision and controlling rights over different hospitals.
There is a Health Basket that includes various kinds of medications that would have been unattainable for many people, but through prescription you can get your Insulin, your Xanax, your (practically) whatever you need for an affordable price.

We pay for this service along as well as for national security (so that in case we are unable to work we will still be able to afford health care) through our pay cheques or certificates if one is an independent.

Is it perfect? Hell, no. Most of the time, it is more aggravating than not.

However, this year due to an actual medical necessity I saw the health care system work and we actually got money back after the treatments my mother had to go through were done.

I understand that this sounds like luxury for some and it is. In Third World counties (not all) and in the United States.

That's really fucked up.

Also? Crazy Americans comparing Universal Healthcare to Nazi Policy, WHAT?!

Barney Frank says it better than me (via mizzpyx)

I mock.

That's what I have to say about this really, really redundant debate (it's a debate!!!).

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Yep, its one of the (sadly many) ways in which the UK has followed the US lead. The other big and damaging example that springs to mind is the banking system.

(And there are continued rumblings that they want us to follow the US health system too. But, I hope to hell there is bloody revolution in the streets before we the people will allow our political masters to dismantle the NHS.)

Studying history in Scotland always annoyed me a bit, because they insisted on doing scottish history. So we got the scottish bit of the vikings. The scottish bit of the romans. The scottish contribution to the Great War. How the industrial revolution impacted Scotland. It was all terribly parochial sometimes. But I think all nations do this in schools, teach kids their own nations history.

Particularly those nations that are fundementally insecure. As Scotland is.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_yggdrasil/]

That's the issue with teaching our children history, isn't it? It's biased based on geography but also by the victor, so we end up actually teaching politics.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Yes, very much so. And it must be difficult for history teachers because they must be aware what they are doing. (Mind you, many of my scottish history teachers were quite devout scottish nationalists, so they really enjoyed teaching their particular version of scottish history where the English were consistantly painted as barbaric homicidal thugs who constantly came up here to oppress us.)

Its always been true hasn't it - they who control the past, control the present.