I am not sure supporters of health care reform fully understand what opponents mean by “Choice.”
Choice is not just about the doctors we can see or the treatments we can have.
Choice means that if God forbid, my wife or children are ever ill and my insurance company refuses to pay the costs of their care I have the choice, the right, the privilege, to do whatever I see fit with the financial resources I have to get them the care they need. If that means emptying my savings, selling my home, and using every last penny that I have to save my loved one, then that should be my choice. As long as I don’t foist my financial troubles on others, the option needs to be mine. Not the government’s choice.
The choice between allowing a loved one to die vs exhausting family’s finances (when that person is likely to die soon anyway) must be a terrible decision to face, but not as terrible as being told, “No, you can not do that.”
People argue that today the final decision on health care is the insurance company’s to make. That’s not true. I can override the insurance company by paying on my own, if I have the money. Critics of what I have written will argue that leaving choice in the hands of patients, families, and doctors, is unfair to the poor. However, I recognize that paying for care out of pocket is difficult for most of us. That’s not good, and that is why I want to see true, quality reform that brings down health care costs, and economic reforms aimed at increasing the nation’s wealth. Let’s raise our ability to pay not reduce the availability of care.
I hope a health care decision never financially ruins me, you, or anyone else. However, that is a choice that should always be ours to make, not the government’s.
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What provision in the proposed healthcare plan(s) would prevent people from paying privately for healthcare services that aren’t covered? This is news to me. Even Sweden has a private healthcare system for those who want to pay.