One of the big arguments for Americans against a universal health care system is rationing care. The United States rations health care probably more than several countries that have a National Health Care Plan where payment is administered through the government and everybody is covered. America rations care in the most irrational way. Pricing is the main method for rationing care in America. Access to care is impeded for those that have no health care insurance. They don’t receive timely care because they can’t pay the price. They put off seeing physicians because their pockets are empty. What’s so irrational about this aside from being totally unfair is that it costs Americans substantially more when they become severely ill and end up in the emergency room of  the hospital. Lack of preventive methods is another way we ration care. People put off getting mammograms, colonoscopy, and immunizations for a child, because their insurance doesn’t cover them, and they can’t afford the out-of- pocket expense. Another way of rationing care is by limiting resources, care is not available sometimes for the sickest of patients. A good example of this is the supply and availability for organ transplants where preference maybe because of money or location. Approximately 65,000 people are on a waiting list for transplants annually and about 4000 people die waiting for them. There are other ways we ration care; by being bias, and culturally, because of language barriers and not having sufficient numbers of minority health professionals. Every country is going to have some rationing. We can’t always do everything for everybody. The trouble with Americans is that they (and this includes the president) are unaware that rationing is deeply embedded in our for-profit health care system. The President’s message that "These problems will not be solved with a nationalized health care system that dictates coverage and rations care" totally tells us that the President doesn’t understand or that he is proclaiming not to disturb the status quo and keep for-profit health care intact. It is up to us who are not so greatly influenced to become involved and change our health care system to a fairer and more rational system.

More Updates coming soon