Timothy Egan at the NY Times says we’ve reached a historic legislative moment in the U.S. He’s talking about the actual possiblity that health care reform will be passed by Congress. It probably won’t be the version of reform that everyone wants—even so, he argues, it may still lead to a health care system that Americans will someday take for granted and come to see as absolutely essential to their security and quality of life.
Politics is so often a salon sport, with its up-and-down arrows, weekly winners and losers, and reliable hypocrisies providing sustainable entertainment for the permanent class in Washington. But every now and then elected officials do something that has deep and lasting consequences — a generational life-changer.
This happened 44 years ago, with the creation of Medicare, the socialized health care plan for the elderly. At the time, the poorest Americans were more often the oldest Americans. And half of all seniors had no health care coverage.
Are you too cynical at this point to care, do you want things to stay just as they are, or do you actually feel some real hope?
I would love to have a discussion on this. So far I can’t find anyone who cares to discuss this. I’m shocked at the mindlessness our fellow nurses are exhibiting. Maybe you’re all kept so busy that you haven’t had time to look at this. Please let me know if there are others who are not taking this hook, line, and sinker.
You’ve got to be kidding me … citing Medicare as the reason to do this socialist experiment? It will be the elderly who will be the victims of this eugenics program. Counseling on how to accept dying because it costs too much to care for elderly patients with comorbities. What nurse worth her salt could stand by and say “this is a good thing”. I can’t believe how “on board” the nursing associations are with this. Hospitals will look like VA clinics and we will be asked to do a whole lot more with a whole lot less for a whole lot less pay. Let’s discuss how we are going to pay for this. Borrow from China to provide healthcare to a fraction of the population? Have any of you read the proposed bill? They are trying to do away with all private insurance carriers and even if you have cash, you will have to conform to the standards of practice so everyone is equal. When did we become a socialist nation??? I’m digusted.