A Dialogue about Healthcare

Recently I received a Myspace message from a friend of mine that reads this blog. She asked what “The Emperor” would do about the healthcare situation in this country. I wrote the following message back to her:

 

“Here’s the short version of what I think:

*It would make taxes skyrocket

*General healthcare quality would go down. In countries such as Canada, when people get diagnosed with severe diseases such as Cancer, the mortality rate sucks compared to those with similar diseases in the U.S. because they have to wait so long to get anything real treatment because of the bureaucracy. Also if the government gets involved doctors are likely to be pressured to order the cheapest tests and treatments, instead of the best ones. Insurance company employed doctors often face similar pressures from their employers today.

*The gross cost of healthcare would go up. When people without insurance today go to a physician, they aren’t usually charged the maximum fee set by law. If an insurance company is charged the bill, the physician does charged the maximum legal rate. Thus, if the government was being charged, every physician would charge the maximum rate.

*Creating a third party bureaucracy costs lots of money. Paying extra people to run all this just creates unnecessary costs.

If I were the Emperor of the United States, I would do like the State of Arizona does, (only on a federal level) which is make 100% of individual healthcare costs 100% tax write offs. That would make healthcare more accessible to millions of people, without creating additional gross costs. I would also set maximum limits on how much doctors can be sued for in malpractice suits. One of the main reasons why doctors cost so much is the high price they’re paying on malpractice insurance.

Let me know what you think about all this…”

She responded with this:

 “Kaleb-
hey thank you for your thoughts on the matter here. i ask because i am insured through my employer and yet even now when my chronic illness flairs up i still feel that going to the doctor isn’t much of an option. why is that?? well, even though i have insurance, i still go to the doctor and have extensive testing done and my insurance company will only cover 80%. the remaining 20% is still hundreds and thousands of dollars when all the testing is done. my insurance company has capped my out of pocket at 5K. this 5K is more than a quarter of my income. this just isn’t something that i can feasibly pay thus i don’t go to the doctor and my illness continues to wreck my body.

also, because this condition has been diagnosed, now i feel that i am stuck with my current employer simply so that i can retain my insurance benefits because if i changed jobs, then i will have to take on a new insurance company that will see my condition as pre-exiting and it will not be covered. so now my medical condition is also limiting me from employment options. buying from the private sector would also present the pre-existing challenges while charging me double what my employer charges for insurance. and being a person that loves my leisure time, i think that we should all be able to take a 6 month vacation to go tour Africa if that’s what we want to do and we can afford to do so. with my health insurance being tied to my employment, even if i saved all my pennies to pay for my trip and all my bills, i still wouldn’t be able to go because i would lose my health coverage. this is simply not a risk that i can take, thus i must maintain my job and am only allowed 2 weeks vacation a year. this is not freedom in any sense of the word of you ask me.

I’m not sure exactly how i feel about taking on a national healthcare plan in the US. i do think that possibly you make some valid points. however, i can also look to countries like England where they have the best preventative medicine in the world because they are trying to keep costs low because they do provide for their citizens health. it just makes more sense to give someone access to a dietician now to keep their diabetes in check rather than cutting off their foot down the road because their health declined because they couldn’t receive the preventative care necessary. i also look at countries like Japan where 80% of the countries hospitals and doctors are privatized yet every single Japanese citizen can go to the doctor when ever they need to and are not given a bill for the services received. Japan currently has the longest life expectancy and the lowest infant mortality rate in the world. Japan also orders for tests such as M.R.I.s and cat scans at a rate of 8:1 compared to the United States.

a few things that these countries have done to help with costs is that every year they sit down with the doctors and the insurers and negotiate prices for every single test or procedure that can be ordered. this is the set price nation wide. also, these countries have decided that insurance companies will not be able to make a profit on basic services. they are still permitted to make profits on supplemental insurance for the wealthy members of society that want the best doctors money can buy.a final thought for you. if you were to be a bad guy and go and do something ‘bad’ then our government guarantees you access to council and defense for free (paid by my tax dollars of course). and then you are found guilty and go to prison, now my tax dollars are paying for your health care too. you get sick in prison, you get to go to the doctor, you get to have the tests and operations and you get the pills needed, all paid for by my tax dollars. if my tax dollars can go to paying to keep ‘bad’ people healthy, then why on earth cant they go to helping those of us that are productive members of society?? just seems a little backwards to me.oh and a really fabulous documentary that recently aired on PBS concerning the health care systems of other capitalistic market driven countries can be streamed online. i highly suggest the watch.

http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/

 

 

 

i don’t think the solution is going to be an easy one and i think that we are going to really have to think about how we want our system to operate in an efficient and cost effective manner, but what is painfully obvious to me is that we can not let our health care system continue as is putting millions of Americans into bankruptcy every year. we have much to learn from these other countries that have paved the way forward to a healthier and happier society for their citizens to live in.

cheers,
Janelle

oh and i very much like the emperors take on lots of other stuff too =)”

 

I wrote her back saying:

“Thanks for your e-mail about health care. You do raise some important points, and revisions should definitely be made to our current system. It is however, a tricky subject to deal with. I think that discussions like this can and do make a difference in how things get done in our society. On that note, do you mind if I post your response on my blog page? I can keep your name anonymous if you want. And also, we should hang out again sometime soon.”

Keep the Kreative Ball Rolling…

Recently I posted a blog requesting ideas from my readers about what they would do if they were the Emperor of the United States.

Lynne Snifka wrote:

“…i would charge an “idiot” tax on anyone who lived in Los Angeles and drove a car that had full-time four-wheel drive unless they could provide proof that they traveled to somewhere they needed it.

… i would also outlaw naming businesses things that have fake alliteration, such as “Kids’ Korner,” “Kreative Kutz,” “Kollege Klub,” etc. What is it with the letter “K,” anyway? It seems to be the biggest offender. The world has enough illiterate people as it is. We don’t need to reinforce the idiocy with poorly named businesses.”

Thanks for the Kreative response.

If anyone else has any ideas about what they would do if they were the Emperor of the United States, email me at emperorofamerica@hotmail.com

The Dangers of NOT Legalizing Prostitution

The recent scandal concerning the ex-governor of New York has prompted much investigation and debate into the subject of prostitution. Currently, prostitution is illegal in 48 states, the exceptions being Nevada and Rhode Island.

Whether prostitution is legal or not, it’s everywhere, and as long as it remains illegal, it also remains unregulated. That makes it far more dangerous for all parties involved.

When crimes are committed against prostitutes or those who are involved with prostitutes, the victims are often reluctant to report those crimes to the authorities. This is due to the fact that a police investigation might uncover that prostitution was taking place, which might lead to citations and/or embarrassment for those involved. As a result, many prostitutes have bodyguards or pimps that may “take the law into their own hands”, and thus break more laws that all parties are hesitant to report.

In some areas where prostitution is legal, the prostitutes must undergo regular health screenings to help ensure that they aren’t passing along sexual transmitted diseases to their clients. They are also required to always use condoms while engaging in any type of sexual activities.

Enforcing anti-prostitution laws is expensive. Taxpayers’ money goes towards police investigations, court proceedings, and the incarcerations of offenders. If prostitution was legal, the justice system as a whole would have more time, money, and resources available for more pressing issues.

As long as prostitution is illegal, all profits remain “under-the –table.” If it was a legal, regulated industry, it could generate huge tax revenues.

If I were the Emperor of the United States, I would legalize prostitution. Although I personally would never sleep with a prostitute, I think that if two consenting adults want to trade money for sex, they should be able to. After all, that’s the basis for a lot of perfectly legal marriages. Making “the world’s oldest profession” illegal doesn’t stop it from happening. It just makes it unregulated. I do think, however, that if prostitution was legal, that it should be heavily regulated. All soliciting, transactions and sexual acts should be limited to places of business. (It’s not safe or publicly appropriate for prostitutes to solicit themselves on street corners.) All acting prostitutes should be required to show current health certificates to both the authorities and their customers, in order to limit the transfer of disease.

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George Carlin – Why is Prostitution Illegal!?

Licensed to Kill, but not to drink

The United States has the highest legal drinking age in the world. All citizens must be 21 years of age before they are allowed to purchase alcohol. By the time a person is 18 years old, they are considered a legal adult. At 18, a person can be tried as an adult in a court of law. They can get married. They can join the military and kill other people to protect our country’s way of life, but they can’t consume alcohol.

 

Chances are that you, who is reading this blog, have consumed alcohol before the age of 21, and thus, according to our current laws, you are a criminal. You rebel, you. Well, you’re not really that rebellious. Most people don’t wait until they are 21 to drink. Some studies indicate that “The average age at which Americans begin drinking regularly is 15.9 years old.”

By treating our young adults as if they aren’t competent enough to drink responsibly, our country instills the idea that drinking is supposed to be an out-of -control experience.  American youths often go haywire when drinking because it’s forbidden. The same problems don’t occur as often in countries such as France and Italy, where light drinking is introduced at early ages.

If I were the Emperor of the United States, I would change the legal drinking age to 18.  A legal adult should be treated like an adult.

(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) – Beastie Boys

 

What would you do if you were the Emperor of the United States?

If anyone has any good political or social change ideas that they would initiate if they were the Emperor of the United States, e-mail me at emperorofamerica@hotmail.com. Let me know if you would like me to post your e-mail on this page.  Any and all ideas are welcome.  (even bad ones) 

1 is the loneliest # of licenses you’ll ever do

A Little Illumination

National Fishing License

Fishing licenses are issued by state governments. Each state’s particular regions of land and sea need specialized care and attention if balanced habitats are to be maintained. It makes sense to have fish and wildlife regulations be issued at the state level.

The thing that sucks for avid, traveling fishermen is that in order to cast a line out in a new state, a new license must first be purchased. This can get expensive, especially for those who live right near the border of several states. Just to fish on the other side of many border generating rivers, a new license is usually needed.

I fully agree that fishing laws and regulations should be made on the state level, specific for that particular region, by the people that actually live there. The thing that I don’t get is why a National Fishing License hasn’t been established. After all, we are a union, not a confederation of states.

If I were the Emperor of the United States I would initiate a National Fishing License which allows Americans to fish, according to each states rules and regulations, nationwide.

Alien Roots

 

It is estimated that there are well over 20 million illegal aliens living in the United States today. “Immigration and border control policies” are major issue to millions of Americans deciding on who to vote for on the upcoming presidential election. Each candidate has their own take on what to do with these issues.The illegal alien population in this country is predominantly made up of Mexican immigrants seeking to make money. (Money is pretty much the force behind everything) To them, America is a land of opportunity, where even the American minimum wage equates to several times the pay scales of most jobs in Mexico.

This influx of people creates several problems.

It costs billions of dollars to monitor and secure the 1951 mile border between Mexico and the U.S.

The number one solution to the United States‘ immigration problem with Mexico (that in my opinion seems obvious, yet is almost always over looked) is fixing the corruption problems in the Mexican government.

Mexico could be a potential super power. It’s huge. It’s made up of 1,908,690.00 sq. km of land. Mexico has oil, gold, fishing, farmland, timber, prime beach land for vacationing, beautiful scenery and over a hundred million people that are some of the word’s most creative and hardest workers. Why then, are over a million Mexicans a year leaving their homes, sneaking through aired deserts, and risking being arrested, just to come to America? The answer is corruption. As long as the Mexican government continues to remain corrupt, the average Mexican will remain below the poverty line, and the American government will continue to pay billions of tax dollars on boarder control, deportation, as well as healthcare, education, and numerous other social programs going out to illegal aliens.

“Big Brother is Watching You”

In order to stop the influx of illegal aliens some government officials want to build and monitor a huge fence on the border that would cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Another extremely expensive idea that has been proposed is having unpiloted spy planes continuously swarming around the desert. That would mean that if a person was out hiking around in the middle of the desert and decided to get romantic with their spouse, some immigration officer could be watching the whole thing.

If I were the Emperor of the United States, I would put some serious pressure on the Mexican government to clean up it’s act.  A country as rich in resources as Mexico with approximately 40% of it’s population living below the poverty line, is unacceptable. It puts strain on it’s neighboring countries, which happens to include us.

 

 

“You have the right to be a dumb-ass.”

Currently, 49 states require that seatbelts be worn by adults in vehicles. (New Hampshire is the only exception.) 24 states have “primary” seatbelt enforcement laws, which allow cops to pull over citizens for driving without seatbelts.

Wearing your seatbelt while driving is smart. They’re designed for your safety. Statistics showthat drivers wearing their seatbelts while in traffic accidents are usually better off than those that don’t. Seatbelts save lives.

History shows that governments that attempt to protect their citizens from themselves are corrupt, and have hidden agendas. For example: the German Nazi government bragged to the rest of the world that they were the first “civilized” nation to completely disarm the public of their harmful guns, right before they began slaughtering their citizens by the millions.

I am a firm believer that people should be able to do whatever the hell they want to do as long as they’re not directly infringing on the rights of others. That is what we call “FREEDOM.” Not wearing a seatbelt won’t kill somebody else, it will only kill the dumb-ass that’s not wearing it, and being a dumb-ass should be everyone’s God-given right.

The reason why lawmakers make seatbelt laws isn’t because they love you. For one, it brings in massive revenue. All those millions of minor infractions written up by cops equate to millions of dollars. The reason why many states have passed laws that allow cops to pull over people that “appear” not to have their seatbelts on is that they want to make it easier for cops to pull people over. It’s unconstitutional for the police to detain people without just cause, so lawmakers have intern made bad habits illegal. It’s a slippery slope, and our rights are being written away. Using the logic that they’re trying to push, Twinkies should be illegal since diabetes kills so many people each year. Of coarse, with all the fat-cats running this country, that will never happen.

If I were the Emperor of the United States I would leave it up to people in cars to decide whether or not they want to be dumb-asses or not.  In fact, I would go a step further and make a new constitutional amendment stating that all citizens do indeed have the right to do whatever the hell they want to do as long as they’re not directly infringing on the rights of others.