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218468 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-about-health-care/What+about+health+care%3F2010-04-23+04%3A56%3A00Sam+Richards to What about health care?
Here is my personal problem with the Obama administration and this new health care reform policy that has happened. I am not completely educated about the policy-partially because they wont let people know what is in it- but his next move is what we talked about today, make everyone here citizens. Has anyone really thought about what this means? Not only will it create a rush for our boarders, but it means we (tax payers) will be paying for these immigrants to have health care, which means even more money is being taken from us and them!
Most people that come here seem to be coming here to get away from something in their own country, or they would just stay in their homeland where their family is. Perhaps something awful is happening, or maybe they just believe that they can have a better life and will have more opportunities if they move to America. Either way most people coming here are not in great financial situations, and will not be able to pay substantial enough taxes to cover to cost for the US to provide them all with health care. This is the problem with this sequence of events.
However, I could never look at a human being and tell them that they can’t be taken care of because they don’t have health insurance, and that they must stay sick. SO here is the problem, and it ties back into the issues we discussed in class today. Is there a solution? Maybe there is just simply no way to fix all of these problems because when you fix one it seems to make another problem worse.
In the end everyone deserves to be healthy and happy and to be able to be taken care of by a doctor if need be, but I don’t think the way that people are going about it is helpful at all. I don’t have a solution, and the is the humility that Sam was talking about today in class. I know that I don’t have the solution, but at the same time I know that what is happening now is not the answer.
In the end it all comes down to the fact that we are all humans, and I can’t imagine denying people healthcare or medical help when they need it just because of money, and at the same time its all about money.
Being that I am coming out of college and realizing I have to pay healthcare that I won’t even see immediately it does make me feel some kind of way about that fact that I am going to have to pay even more to cover them. It is a hard struggle.
I think that legalized immigrants should have the same rights to healthcare as everyone else. Though I do not know a lot about citizenship and certification, I am sure that there is a line that the government could set and decide that immigrants are legal, because it would obviously be a stretch to wait until these immigrants got their green cards or actual citizenship. I do not believe that there should be any difference in health care between immigrants who are certified to a certain degree and other U.S. residents as it does not seem that the immigrants would have lesser heath conditions initially, so there seems to be no reason.
Well the moral answer that a lot of people are responding with is that yes, they should also be afforded healthcare. If you purely are looking at it from a human perspective, then sure everyone who is physically in the borders of this country should be afforded the same benefits of this new healthcare bill. But, the world (however unfortunate this is) doesn't really govern itself based purely on moral issues. My question is, if an illegal immigrant was in this country, wouldn't getting healthcare kind of put them at risk of getting caught as an illegal? Obviously I'm inadequately knowledgeable about the ins and outs of it, but in general I think if our government said they would give healthcare to illegal immigrants, there would be a huge uprising within the country.
I think this is a hard question. Because it would be very unnerving to turn away a person who needs medical help, just because they are an immigrant. But then again I do not think it is fair to give illegal immigrants health care when they are not paying those taxes. I do not feel that the people here illegal should get to benefit from our tax dollars when they are not paying them. However, what kind of country would this be if the hospitals turned away people in need of care? I cannot imagine doing that. So I guess this kind of just puts people in a tough situation.
I honestly do not think health care should be an equal right to everyone. If you are here illegally and you’re not paying taxes and you’re not on the books, then why should you get the same size slice of the pie as everyone who has been doing it the right way? American citizens pay taxes and fees for a reason, including to obtain these rights for health care, and to reap other benefits of the government. If illegal immigrants were to still receive healthcare, it’s almost as if they’re cheating the entire system and unrightfully receiving these benefits. Therefore, I personally think if immigrants want to come to America and make money and improve their lives, as well as receiving other benefits that other citizens receive, then they should realize that they can’t take the easy way out, and have to become a citizen just like everyone else.
I think our health care plan as it is right now should be offered to all Americans who pay taxes and who are legally in this country. Illegal immigrants should not benefit from the hard work of Congressmen and Senators who worked for years to bring a plan like this to America. I understand that a lot of illegal immigrants work extremely hard and live their daily lives "the right way", but not paying all the taxes that naturalized American citizens do really cheapen this health care plan. The Americans who struggle to pay all their taxes and cannot afford privatized health care should be rewarded.
I believe access to healthcare should be a right for all legal citizens of the United States. Immigrants who come to the United States and follow the proper protocol should have every right every other American citizen has. However, I do not believe that illegal immigrants have a right to healthcare. Don’t get me wrong, if someone is sick or hurt I believe they should be treated without question, and not denied help, but that should only go as far as stabilizing them. American citizens pay taxes and some of those taxes are used to pay the hospitals bills for those who cannot afford to pay for their treatment. I do not think it is fair for non-citizens to benefit from the taxes of working American citizens.
In a perfect world this would be an easy question to answer. Of course, everyone should have healthcare! How can we possibly deny any human being the right to medical services? If a person is in our country, whether a citizen or not, whether illegal or not—they are still people and should receive the very basic elements of humanity. But, we do not live in a perfect world. The altruism reflected in these sentiments is noteworthy but are we really prepared to face the consequences of our selfless decisions. The reality is that it has taken decades to pass the recent health care law that mandates health care coverage for uninsured Americans. I believe that the issue was first discussed by Franklin Roosevelt when he was President. The American people still remain divided on the very simple proposition that all Americans should have coverage. Raising the issue that all immigrants should have coverage significantly raises the ante on this topic, both in social terms and economic cost.
I think that it is important to distinguish between ideal world and the practical world. Much of the debate over insuring the 30 million uninsured American citizens has been over whether offering coverage will overwhelm our health insurance system and who will pay the cost. President Obama’s response has been that our healthcare system can pay for the additional coverage itself. The system can be streamlined, fraud can be eliminated, and the savings from eliminating uninsureds’ visits to hospital emergency rooms, for minor problems, will all result in substantial savings. If the President’s projection is correct we may be back to the perfect world. My guess is that the world is not that perfect and it will take a substantial infusion of money to fund the coverage implemented by the new law. So now we are in the practical world. I do not know how much it would cost to insure everyone on American soil but I know the cost would be significant. Who would pay the cost? Should only legal immigrants obtain coverage or should everyone be covered just because they are here?
Being practical certainly has its drawbacks. I feel terrible, but I think I would vote against healthcare coverage for immigrants who are not legally in the United States. Even if only legal immigrants (or visitors) were granted healthcare coverage the cost could be immense, not only in terms of dollars but also the system’s ability to provide medical services to so many people. Maybe we should start by just complying with our current law and offering medical services to good, old fashioned, legal Americans, and see how it goes. Perhaps it will work out to be cheaper and better than many seem to think. If this is the case I am all for altruism and healthcare for all—as long as it does not cost me too much!
I personally feel that healthcare should be an equal right to everyone just because it’s just not right to me knowing that there are people out there who can be seriously hurt or in dangerous working situations with absolutely no assurance that they can do anything about it if they get hurt. However, I see lots of problems and objections to this sort of idea. People who pay taxes would object to allowing illegal immigrants to receive these sorts of benefits. A lot of people who believe they shouldn’t even be here would also object, because as it is they don’t believe they are here, what if they are getting rights. I hope that healthcare for illegal immigrants is a possibility but I’m currently skeptical of its feasibility.
Here is my personal problem with the Obama administration and this new health care reform policy that has happened. I am not completely educated about the policy-partially because they wont let people know what is in it- but his next move is what we talked about today, make everyone here citizens. Has anyone really thought about what this means? Not only will it create a rush for our boarders, but it means we (tax payers) will be paying for these immigrants to have health care, which means even more money is being taken from us and them!
Most people that come here seem to be coming here to get away from something in their own country, or they would just stay in their homeland where their family is. Perhaps something awful is happening, or maybe they just believe that they can have a better life and will have more opportunities if they move to America. Either way most people coming here are not in great financial situations, and will not be able to pay substantial enough taxes to cover to cost for the US to provide them all with health care. This is the problem with this sequence of events.
However, I could never look at a human being and tell them that they can’t be taken care of because they don’t have health insurance, and that they must stay sick. SO here is the problem, and it ties back into the issues we discussed in class today. Is there a solution? Maybe there is just simply no way to fix all of these problems because when you fix one it seems to make another problem worse.
In the end everyone deserves to be healthy and happy and to be able to be taken care of by a doctor if need be, but I don’t think the way that people are going about it is helpful at all. I don’t have a solution, and the is the humility that Sam was talking about today in class. I know that I don’t have the solution, but at the same time I know that what is happening now is not the answer.
In the end it all comes down to the fact that we are all humans, and I can’t imagine denying people healthcare or medical help when they need it just because of money, and at the same time its all about money.
Being that I am coming out of college and realizing I have to pay healthcare that I won’t even see immediately it does make me feel some kind of way about that fact that I am going to have to pay even more to cover them. It is a hard struggle.
[Reply]
I think that legalized immigrants should have the same rights to healthcare as everyone else. Though I do not know a lot about citizenship and certification, I am sure that there is a line that the government could set and decide that immigrants are legal, because it would obviously be a stretch to wait until these immigrants got their green cards or actual citizenship. I do not believe that there should be any difference in health care between immigrants who are certified to a certain degree and other U.S. residents as it does not seem that the immigrants would have lesser heath conditions initially, so there seems to be no reason.
[Reply]
Well the moral answer that a lot of people are responding with is that yes, they should also be afforded healthcare. If you purely are looking at it from a human perspective, then sure everyone who is physically in the borders of this country should be afforded the same benefits of this new healthcare bill. But, the world (however unfortunate this is) doesn't really govern itself based purely on moral issues. My question is, if an illegal immigrant was in this country, wouldn't getting healthcare kind of put them at risk of getting caught as an illegal? Obviously I'm inadequately knowledgeable about the ins and outs of it, but in general I think if our government said they would give healthcare to illegal immigrants, there would be a huge uprising within the country.
[Reply]
I think this is a hard question. Because it would be very unnerving to turn away a person who needs medical help, just because they are an immigrant. But then again I do not think it is fair to give illegal immigrants health care when they are not paying those taxes. I do not feel that the people here illegal should get to benefit from our tax dollars when they are not paying them. However, what kind of country would this be if the hospitals turned away people in need of care? I cannot imagine doing that. So I guess this kind of just puts people in a tough situation.
[Reply]
I honestly do not think health care should be an equal right to everyone. If you are here illegally and you’re not paying taxes and you’re not on the books, then why should you get the same size slice of the pie as everyone who has been doing it the right way? American citizens pay taxes and fees for a reason, including to obtain these rights for health care, and to reap other benefits of the government. If illegal immigrants were to still receive healthcare, it’s almost as if they’re cheating the entire system and unrightfully receiving these benefits. Therefore, I personally think if immigrants want to come to America and make money and improve their lives, as well as receiving other benefits that other citizens receive, then they should realize that they can’t take the easy way out, and have to become a citizen just like everyone else.
[Reply]
I think our health care plan as it is right now should be offered to all Americans who pay taxes and who are legally in this country. Illegal immigrants should not benefit from the hard work of Congressmen and Senators who worked for years to bring a plan like this to America. I understand that a lot of illegal immigrants work extremely hard and live their daily lives "the right way", but not paying all the taxes that naturalized American citizens do really cheapen this health care plan. The Americans who struggle to pay all their taxes and cannot afford privatized health care should be rewarded.
[Reply]
I believe access to healthcare should be a right for all legal citizens of the United States. Immigrants who come to the United States and follow the proper protocol should have every right every other American citizen has. However, I do not believe that illegal immigrants have a right to healthcare. Don’t get me wrong, if someone is sick or hurt I believe they should be treated without question, and not denied help, but that should only go as far as stabilizing them. American citizens pay taxes and some of those taxes are used to pay the hospitals bills for those who cannot afford to pay for their treatment. I do not think it is fair for non-citizens to benefit from the taxes of working American citizens.
[Reply]
In a perfect world this would be an easy question to answer. Of course, everyone should have healthcare! How can we possibly deny any human being the right to medical services? If a person is in our country, whether a citizen or not, whether illegal or not—they are still people and should receive the very basic elements of humanity. But, we do not live in a perfect world. The altruism reflected in these sentiments is noteworthy but are we really prepared to face the consequences of our selfless decisions. The reality is that it has taken decades to pass the recent health care law that mandates health care coverage for uninsured Americans. I believe that the issue was first discussed by Franklin Roosevelt when he was President. The American people still remain divided on the very simple proposition that all Americans should have coverage. Raising the issue that all immigrants should have coverage significantly raises the ante on this topic, both in social terms and economic cost.
I think that it is important to distinguish between ideal world and the practical world. Much of the debate over insuring the 30 million uninsured American citizens has been over whether offering coverage will overwhelm our health insurance system and who will pay the cost. President Obama’s response has been that our healthcare system can pay for the additional coverage itself. The system can be streamlined, fraud can be eliminated, and the savings from eliminating uninsureds’ visits to hospital emergency rooms, for minor problems, will all result in substantial savings. If the President’s projection is correct we may be back to the perfect world. My guess is that the world is not that perfect and it will take a substantial infusion of money to fund the coverage implemented by the new law. So now we are in the practical world. I do not know how much it would cost to insure everyone on American soil but I know the cost would be significant. Who would pay the cost? Should only legal immigrants obtain coverage or should everyone be covered just because they are here?
Being practical certainly has its drawbacks. I feel terrible, but I think I would vote against healthcare coverage for immigrants who are not legally in the United States. Even if only legal immigrants (or visitors) were granted healthcare coverage the cost could be immense, not only in terms of dollars but also the system’s ability to provide medical services to so many people. Maybe we should start by just complying with our current law and offering medical services to good, old fashioned, legal Americans, and see how it goes. Perhaps it will work out to be cheaper and better than many seem to think. If this is the case I am all for altruism and healthcare for all—as long as it does not cost me too much!
[Reply]
I personally feel that healthcare should be an equal right to everyone just because it’s just not right to me knowing that there are people out there who can be seriously hurt or in dangerous working situations with absolutely no assurance that they can do anything about it if they get hurt. However, I see lots of problems and objections to this sort of idea. People who pay taxes would object to allowing illegal immigrants to receive these sorts of benefits. A lot of people who believe they shouldn’t even be here would also object, because as it is they don’t believe they are here, what if they are getting rights. I hope that healthcare for illegal immigrants is a possibility but I’m currently skeptical of its feasibility.
[Reply]