Health Care in the USA

Post your questions, ideas and concerns about the positive and negative aspects of our current health care system in the US and how you would like to see it change.

I have been reading a lot of facebook people saying "No one should die because they don't have money - no one should go broke because they get sick." It's a good thought. How do we fix this?

The trouble is, the government is trying to give away money for health care (and everything else, for that matter), that is not there. In the end, all of us (whether sick or healthy, insured or uninsured) will end up taxed into poverty. Handing the people of america a mandatory, tax funded solution to ANY problem, will only create people who are weak and dependent. And it will end up creating a government that is tyrannical and controlling.
We need to look at the larger picture here. Jesus told us that we will always have the poor with us. And he also told us that a Zion people are those who are of one heart and one mind and dwell in righteousness, and there are NO poor among them. Perhaps these two statements by the Master seem contradictory, but I think that what He's saying is that we will always have people who need our help, and at some point in time every individual will be one of those who need help. The sanctifying process that can occur as we attempt to balance the scales is circumvented when a government entity steps in to solve our problems. The only way we will become a Zion people is for the" poor to be exalted in that the rich are made low." True humility is never achieved through force. No government will ever be able to mandate love and caring...which is TRUE CHARITY.

but... if we are not yet a Zion people, should the government step in and bring the rich low so that the poor can be exalted?

I think the government should not step in and take away Gods role. He is all knowing, and if the poor are not exalted and the rich are not brought low now, its not the time to do so. I agree with Phaedrus, true humility is never forced. So if the government steps in and tries to exalt the poor and bring the rich low, the rich will not have true humility. I know there will be rich people fighting for their wealth if this happens, so it wont truly be Zion.
I think God established the Rich and the Poor classes for our benefit. They both go hand in hand. If everyone was perfect, there would be no need for these classes. But as we all know that we are not, then they are beneficial. These classes are learning tools, they teach us the value of service, they teach us the value of education, and they teach us kindness. They also teach us of the effects of selfishness, laziness, pride, and being uneducated. I do think we need to take these opportunities that God has provided us with, to help the poor when we can, to be selfless, to be hard working, humble, and educated. The benefits of being rich and giving to the poor are blessings, having the spirit with you, and learning. The benefits of being poor and working as hard as you can to provide bring many blessings, such as answered prayers, opportunities, and the knowledge of how much just a little help is valued.
I think both the rich and the poor benefit greatly from service, and right now our job is to help the poor as much as we can, before the government takes that opportunity away from us.

Brittany,
Thanks! You said that so much better than I did.
Phraedus

I understand the concern about forcing people to participate, but there are people who aren't able to get the care they need. This is especially true of old people. As people age, they have more and more health care costs and ailments that need to be treated. They are usually more expensive as they are more critical to maintain life and quality of life. There was an article on MSN earlier today detailing the case for reducing extended care for the elderly, even if it results in loss of life because of how much it costs them and society through medicare, etc. Is this where we need to go? What say you?

We need more ideas from more people. I appreciate the ones who are posting and taking a chance by putting their ideas out there, but the point is for the class members to decide what they believe and then put it out there for others to comment and question. For example, has anyone read Ayn Rand? Is there a difference between charity and forced charity? How do those things affect the giver and the receiver? Who is John Galt? What is wrong with what Ayn Rand tries to say? What was George Orwell concerned about and how did he portray his thinking with his writing. There's a lot of good stuff here and it pertains to our future. Be brave - take a shot - allow the others commenting to refine your thinking. It's worth it!