On my way to pick up my tickets for the jazz festival at lunch, I was listening to my wonderful CBC Radio, going on and on about the recent Supreme Court decision that, depending on who you listen to, means the end to Tommy Douglas’ dream or means absolutely nothing. When it comes to the rantings of pundits, my post-university days have revealed the latter to be the case 99% of the time.
I was pondering the meaning of private, and how ironic that the privatization of health care, more specifically, a two tier system which would allow private payment, may have such a serious impact on one’s privacy. Let's all start getting a bit paranoid about those medical records and who you've told about your blood pressure...
I have to admit, that if something were to happen to a member of my family, or a good friend and I could pay to have faster treatment, even if the treatment itself was no more promising than what was available in the public system, I would mortgage all that I own. Health is a profoundly and intensely emotional thing.
Which is also the thing that makes it a private matter, but not in the direct sense of $$. If I can buy insurance that will get me treatment faster, hey why not? Sounds like a good investment. But what if I can’t get the insurance? Insurance companies, by their very nature, are keen to limit liability. And liability, by its very nature, requires judgment.
And all this brings us back to Tommy Douglas. Because if I can’t get the insurance, then I *will* have to mortgage all that I own for care. And it might not be enough. The advantage of a public system is that you don’t have to worry about non-coverage for ‘pre-existing conditions’. And you get to live, or even die, with dignity: even if you were born with a genetic disease that an actuary has a table for, even if you’ve made bad choices in your past. Because it’s all fine and dandy to say that smokers deserve what’s coming to them, but try to keep up that line when it’s your mom.
Dollars *and* doughnuts, I prefer the public, with my privacy. The only problem left is to figure out why the whole thing is such a mess and how we can fix it. There may be room for something private, some of which already exists, but let's leave the actuaries at the doughnut shop, okay? Let's invest in us.
I was pondering the meaning of private, and how ironic that the privatization of health care, more specifically, a two tier system which would allow private payment, may have such a serious impact on one’s privacy. Let's all start getting a bit paranoid about those medical records and who you've told about your blood pressure...
I have to admit, that if something were to happen to a member of my family, or a good friend and I could pay to have faster treatment, even if the treatment itself was no more promising than what was available in the public system, I would mortgage all that I own. Health is a profoundly and intensely emotional thing.
Which is also the thing that makes it a private matter, but not in the direct sense of $$. If I can buy insurance that will get me treatment faster, hey why not? Sounds like a good investment. But what if I can’t get the insurance? Insurance companies, by their very nature, are keen to limit liability. And liability, by its very nature, requires judgment.
And all this brings us back to Tommy Douglas. Because if I can’t get the insurance, then I *will* have to mortgage all that I own for care. And it might not be enough. The advantage of a public system is that you don’t have to worry about non-coverage for ‘pre-existing conditions’. And you get to live, or even die, with dignity: even if you were born with a genetic disease that an actuary has a table for, even if you’ve made bad choices in your past. Because it’s all fine and dandy to say that smokers deserve what’s coming to them, but try to keep up that line when it’s your mom.
Dollars *and* doughnuts, I prefer the public, with my privacy. The only problem left is to figure out why the whole thing is such a mess and how we can fix it. There may be room for something private, some of which already exists, but let's leave the actuaries at the doughnut shop, okay? Let's invest in us.
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