Universal Health Care in an Unhealthy America

Everyone deserves to get treatment for health problems, just as everyone deserves police and fire protection, and every child deserves an education. Hospitals already use triage, where the people with the most dire problems get treated first. What happens after treatment is either people get back to their lives, or they go bankrupt from hospital bills, this is the difference between universal health care and our current system. Some people don't even get treatment, such as the man shown in Michael Moore's Sicko, who lost two fingers in an accident and had the option of sewing them back on at a cost of $10,000 for the middle finger and $12,000 for the index finger, he couldn't afford both, so he had to choose which he would get reattached.

This is all background for universal health care, which I hope we can agree is a good thing for society. It certainly works well in other countries around the world.

There is a problem for universal health care that I've been pondering, and that is how unhealthy many Americans tend to be lately. It seems that the people who would be using the health care services the most would be those who sat around eating junk food until their arteries start bursting. The tax burden of universal health care is equal, but the people who live unhealthy lifestyles would be using the greatest share of the health services.

This is why there needs to be reform in the health care system first, specifically, instead of doctors getting kickbacks for prescribing cholesterol drugs, doctors need to focus more on preventative care, telling patients to adopt healthier lifestyles earlier.

The consumption of meat and dairy creates so many health issues, and these issues are well known, so perhaps the solution is to make treatment of illness related to these unhealthy lifestyles something that wouldn't be covered under universal health care. This is a measure that really shouldn't have to be taken, but given the current state of health in this country, I am beginning to think universal health care wouldn't be so great after all.

Perhaps a good first step is to only guarantee coverage for accidental or non-preventable issues. Breaking a leg or cutting a finger off shouldn't bankrupt someone, and the injury should certainly be fixed, so the person can get back to their life. Diseases relating to genetics should be covered, but there's certainly plenty of questionable areas. Liver disease in alcoholics? STD's? It would really be easier just to give everyone the health care they need, but with so many people who seem so determined to eat themselves to death, it doesn't seem like something we can afford.

Update: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2009%2F03%2F17%2FED3K16FAI8.DTL this is a similar and excellent article.