| I agree that medical records should never in any way be compromised to the collectors. Jarod has a valid point about doctors being sworn to provide treatment but having no power to insist that the laymen assist with equipment and supplies. The simple fact is that hospitals have no safety net. They operate under an unfunded mandate that doesn't provide any protection when the collectors take them to court. Two locally-owned hospitals in our town had to sell to a national corporation a few years ago. Their first action was to close and destroy one of the facilities.
Granted that we should provide global health care, to every US citizen, out of the tax base, what will that cost? I pay twenty-three-percent of my annual income for taxes, including Social Security and Medicare that'll likely never pay benefits to me; how much more do we need? Oh, I didn't include my family insurance premium, that brings it to twenty-seven percent. How much more do we need?
At least, whatever it costs, we can trust that a federally funded program, operated by elected politicians and bureaucrats, will meet all of our medical needs while treating us with dignity and respect. |