Monday's Question

With all of the discussion and debate over the proposed universal health care, a question came up that I would like to pose.

Question

How many of the people that are protesting at these town hall meetings are currently not covered by any health care plan?

And not just the ones lacking insurance coverage, but also how many of them that are needing some sort of care - covered or not - and are not able to get the care they need.

There are millions of people that live each day without any kind of health care coverage. There are millions of others that are covered but have lackluster care or get denied based on some insurance companies definition of what is considered a pre-existing condition. Young, healthy, elderly, sick, diseased... people of all stages in life need to maintain their health. Sometimes it can be as simple as eating right and exercising often. For others, it's a constant string of visits to the doctor. But regardless, just about every man, woman and child visits a doctor at least once in their lifetime - even if that single time is when they are born. The health care of our citizens shouldn't be taken for granted.

I found this video of a recent protest at a town hall meeting. The footage was great, but I was shocked at what I heard. View for yourself:



I watch a video like that and it makes me wonder how informed these people are. Are they getting their news from a limited few like Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh? Or have they been so fear driven into thinking that Obama is channeling Hitler and going to send them all into the gas chambers?

Not a single one of them mentioned a valid option for caring for the uninsured or those denied needed care. Each and every one of them were more concerned about the fear of what this country would turn into if national health care were to become available.
And they talk about waiting for weeks for health care under a government run plan. We wait now. Look at the list of people that wait for weeks for a procedure while combating insurance companies to cover something that is so obviously needed. Having another option would be a benefit.

But yet I see two major "socialist" government programs that have been in place for many years and I haven't seen a socialist takeover from their implementation. They are Social Security and Medicare. Both are tax-payer funded. Both offer care to those that are retired or unable to work. Both have been able to extend the lives of millions of Americans for many years.

And I can't help but think how many of these vocal individuals are proclaiming this takeover have benefited from Social Security or Medicare. I'm willing to bet a good amount of them have. Yet, this most recent "universal health care" proposal is "socialism" and "will be the downfall of this country." Um, Ok.

My Position

So what's my position on this? I'll go out on a comfortable limb and say that most, if not all of the people at these protests are already covered by some form of health care plan. Or Medicare. Or they don't get sick and are one of the rare group of humans that don't need pills or regular doctor visits to remain healthy.

So let's hear how you feel about this question. How many people protesting are without proper or any health care coverage? If there are some there and they are just as vocal, why do you think they are protesting?