Uninsured "twenty-somethings" are creating a new medical crisis

[SoCalDem]

They are the MOST likely to get an injury from "fun activities", and they are also the most likely to be involved in a pregnancy , or to have small children..They are also the most likely to have a lot of college debt and entry-level jobs with minimal or NO health insurance.. Or if it's offered, they cannot afford it.. They are still in the risk-taking frame of mind, and often don't even think of the need for it until it's too late..

Some states DO offer care for babies and children, but what about their PARENTS?? A Mom who's dragging around because she's sick, will only get worse if she gets no care..Or a Dad who's sick will miss more work in the end if he only gets worse and worse...and then has to go to the ER and use a credit card to pay for an illness that could have been handled on day one...for much less..

People all over the US are spinning the wheel and hoping they will get better on their own, just because they don't have insurance or the money to see a doctor..

The issue isn't even INSURANCE, because just involving "insurance" , adds a middle-man to the issue. We need to start looking at medical care as a RIGHT...and as part of our national INFRASTRUCTURE...just as we do education..

I am NOT saying that doctors need to be paid LESS..In fact I think they should be paid MORE, and probably could be paid more by cutting out the sharks who guard the "middle" now..

Insurance helps some people, BUT for people who are not poor enough for medicaid, BUT have no "extra" money for another insurance premium, insurance is not going to fix the problem,..

This is one case where citizenship would be really worth documenting. A medical system that works for ALL citizens would have to be somewhat exclusive, or the whole thing would break down (Canada does not allow Americans to cross the bridge and get free medical care)..No doubt there would be a level of some care available for people who could not prove their citizenship, and there would still be "Ultra chi-chi" care for the gloriously wealthy among us...BUT the majority of the "middles" need a system that looks out for their health..and they need it YESTERDAY..


Will it cost money?? SURE!.. Are we worth it?? Hell YES!.. Like the "man" always says.. "IT'S OUR MONEY"!!!

If we do nothing, it will only get worse.. What's happening is that the "recently launched" young people are showing up at Mom & Dad's house, sick, with no way to get care and Mom & Dad are paying for their care...because they love their kids, and this is just another reckless way for the government to "hide" the facts..

What would YOU do, if your 24 yr old showed up with a fever and a cough that he/she had had for a week or two?? You would give them money or your credit card so they could go to a doctor.. THEY can't afford a couple of hundred dollars for tests and medicines..

It's faith-based medicine with a twist.. The government knows that most 50-60 somethings will continue to pay bills for their grown-up children....just as sure as they are about churches & charities picking up the slack in disasters...


Some interesting articles that touch on this problem

A changing nation
http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OPINION/60304003/1030/OPINION

Small businesses bearing brunt of health cost surge
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11693886/

Uncertainty and Its Exigencies: The Critical Role of Insurance in ...
http://www.mises.org/story/2021

Looking Beyond Our Health Care Myth
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2006/03/nursing_oped.html