tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post115522599327898730..comments2024-03-17T10:49:06.420-06:00Comments on Wash Park Prophet: Communitarian Thinking IIAndrew Oh-Willekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-1155489381397805822006-08-13T11:16:00.000-06:002006-08-13T11:16:00.000-06:00There is no doubt that universal health care would...There is no doubt that universal health care would cost money. A while ago, I estimated the cost at about $80 billion a year nationwide. <BR/><BR/>Expanded post-two year period welfare would cost money too . . . not as much as you'd guess, because the vast majority of welfare recipients receive benefits for less than two years, but certainly some. Without running numbers, I'd guess in the low tens of billions of dollars a year.<BR/><BR/>But, the current system has costs too . . . big ones. Private health insurance subsidizes vast sums of uninsured patient care through bad debt now. Hospitals and doctors spend considerable sums hiring people to screen patients to see if they have health insurance and reject those who don't, which wouldn't be necessary.<BR/><BR/>Not providing someone with prescription drugs when they were merely poor (and hence not Medicaid eligibile) causing them to suffer more serious conditions, as a result of not getting drugs, costs Medicaid money down the road.<BR/><BR/>And, in the case of welfare, the price is paid both in homeless shelters, and more importantly, in the cost of prisons and welfare for a generation of screwed up kids.<BR/><BR/>I don't think that in the long run we save any money with our current approach, and spending perhaps $100 billion a year for these programs, while not chump change, isn't huge compared to the size of the national budget.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-1155277438641285202006-08-11T00:23:00.000-06:002006-08-11T00:23:00.000-06:00In my case, I am poor in large part because of my ...In my case, I am poor in large part because of my mental illness. I haven't gone on welfare, although some months we've squeaked by on a little over $800. I have a friend in the UK who is also mentally ill with many of the same problems, and she has had an entirely different experience than I have. For example, in the UK, she has had free phone therapy for the past three years. She was finally able to get a job that she can handle, but she received help until that point, even though it took years. I briefly received voc rehab money to pay for therapy, but that money ran out. I have a master's degree and other advanced training, but getting a job in a rural area is tricky, especially one that I can handle without getting too stressed out or with a phone phobia. The only reason we aren't homeless is because I own my house without a mortgage. I don't think there are any solutions in the U.S. for people like me. I went to a doctor for anxiety meds to use only when I attended one of my kids' school functions. I had insurance then, but because of my deductible, the appointment cost $130.00 which I paid off over 6 months. I never filled the prescription because I couldn't afford it. Preventitive medicine isn't an option when you're supporting a family of three on so little money. There's some help--LEAP, for example, CHP plus, a large tax refund each spring which I stretch out as long as possible, and free school lunches. But there isn't the kind of help that would provide a real solution because that would require some sort of unified societal support that doesn't exist in the U.S. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, this was a great essay. Thanks for writing it and having such a good blog.Judehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03737088496139901541noreply@blogger.com