What do you expect your government to do for you?

[CC27]

kentuck  (1000+ posts)        Sat Jun-20-09 11:46 AM
Original message
What do you expect your government to do for you? 
 If you lose your job, do you expect them to help you with unemployment income until you get another job?

If you lose your home because you cannot afford the rent or the mortgage, do you expect them to help you find a place to live?

If a loved one dies, and they have no means to pay for the funeral, do you expect the government to help with the burial?

If you have no food to feed your family, do you expect your government to help with food stamps or some means of support or welfare?

If you or your family gets sick, do you expect to be able to go to the doctor or the hospital whether or not you have the money to pay for it?

Some folks expect all of the above. But it has been awhile since the government has done anything for the people. They ask you to pay taxes and follow all the drug laws. They ask you to fight and die for your country if necessary. They ask that you stand and pledge allegiance to the flag of our country. But if you get sick, sorry Jack. The government owes you nothing. Is that fair? Should we not expect more from our government?

Kentuck at it again.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5887242
 

[Lord Undies]

Dear dicktuck:

If you or your family gets sick, do you expect to be able to go to the doctor or the hospital whether or not you have the money to pay for it?

According to law, you have had a good reason to expect to be able to go to the doctor or the hospital whether or not you have the money to pay for it.  Nothing has changed, you DUmbass misleading asshole.

It's THE LAW.....just like the "drug laws" you are "asked" to follow, which, I'm sure, you ignore as easily as you mislead your fellow DUmbass travellers about the laws covering indigent medical care.

[Carl]

I "expect" the government to perform certain functions that as individuals we can not do.
Keeping the roads plowed here during winter and enforcing the laws that are on the books for example.
The defense of our country of course another one.

I do not expect any government to do anything for me personally and that is the difference between us and primitives.
Once you desire any government to cater uniquely to you then society as a whole breaks down and we stop being citizens but instead parasites.

[Mary Ann]

Dear dicktuck:

According to law, you have had a good reason to expect to be able to go to the doctor or the hospital whether or not you have the money to pay for it.  Nothing has changed, you DUmbass misleading *******.

I'm not sure about that. The signs in the ER state that they are required to treat anyone to the point that they are stable, in other words, no longer an emergency case. BUT--that does not mean that they are required to, for instance, treat a cancer patient for free.

[Lord Undies]

I'm not sure about that. The signs in the ER state that they are required to treat anyone to the point that they are stable, in other words, no longer an emergency case. BUT--that does not mean that they are required to, for instance, treat a cancer patient for free.

No, if you are in immediate need, you cannot be turned away.  I know this from personal experience.  My daughter got an e.coli strain a few years ago.  She went to an emergency room.  She had no insurance or income at the time.  She was in dire need. 

She was in the hospital for eight or nine days.  It was a very nice suburban hospital.  She had a private room, wonderful care, terrific doctors, and all-in-all, a life-saving experience. 

One social worker came to her room and talked to my daughter for about five minutes.  That is all we know about what went on behind the scenes.  My daughter left the hospital owing nothing.  I offered to do what I could with the bill.  I was told there was no outstanding bill and all was well.

[Mary Ann]

No, if you are in immediate need, you cannot be turned away.  I know this from personal experience.  My daughter got an e.coli strain a few years ago.  She went to an emergency room.  She had no insurance or income at the time.  She was in dire need. 

She was in the hospital for eight or nine days.  It was a very nice suburban hospital.  She had a private room, wonderful care, terrific doctors, and all-in-all, a life-saving experience. 

One social worker came to her room and talked to my daughter for about five minutes.  That is all we know about what went on behind the scenes.  My daughter left the hospital owing nothing.  I offered to do what I could with the bill.  I was told there was no outstanding bill and all was well.

But, e coli IS undoubtedly an emergency. I'm talking about something like cancer, that would require months of treatment, surgery, etc.

My 23-year old son is currently on our insurance, but is thinking about not re-registering for classes this fall. We have told him that if he breaks a leg, or has a car accident, or something, he will get treatment. And that WE would see to it that any chronic, long-term illnesses would be treated, but that said treatment could possibly bankrupt us.

[Chris]

I priced an insurance plan for myself (34, non-smoker, no pre-existing conditions).  The quote I got from Blue Cross/Blue Shield was $65 a month.  That's $20 less than I'm paying for my Aetna policy I get through my employer.  Cheap insurance is better than no insurance.  I could have used it last year when I was out of work... those COBRA payments are entirely too expensive for someone without a job.

[The Village Idiot]

I expect government to defend the nation from foreign attack. I expect government to support  property rights, contract law and all of the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. I expect nothing else. Shouldn't cost more than 10% in taxes.

[Lord Undies]

But, e coli IS undoubtedly an emergency. I'm talking about something like cancer, that would require months of treatment, surgery, etc.

My Dad's wife was a cancer victim.  They were referred to M.D. Anderson in Houston.  Everything was taken care of without personal charges. 

My wife's mother was diagnosed with cancer shortly after we were married.  She lived in Dallas County.  She was in her late forties.  Parkland Hospital cured her without charge.  She lived twenty-three more years and died cancer-free.

No one in this nation is denied necessary care.  It's been that way for as long as I can remember.  There is no "crisis" on the patient's side.   The only "crisis" on the other side is the old and urgent need to get government out of the way, which, if we lived in a nation lead by honest politicians, would be the focus of the President and congress RIGHT NOW.

[Mary Ann]

I stand corrected. Didn't realize that could happen.

[LC EFA]

What do you expect your government to do for you? 

Would "Stay the hell outta my way" be too much to ask ?

[MrsSmith]

I know that my employer currently provides dialysis treatments 3 times a week for an "undocumented person."  We are not reimbursed by any agency, though our social worker has been attempting to get someone to claim this person and help with the costs.  At this time, they are simply free...and have been for over 6 months.  I suppose we get a write-off on our taxes...but that would be it for now.  Of course, as a healthcare system (not just the dialysis clinic), we write off several millions per year.  The last year I heard figures was 2007, that year it was between 17 and 18 million.

[Texacon]

Why not let the states decide as it was intended.  If a state can afford it why the hell would I care?  This is not now nor should it have ever been a national problem.  If you don't like what your state is doing then you move.  The federal government is to provide for national security and to mediate disputes between the states.  That is IT.

KC