The little boy bravely tried to sit still during my examination in the Emergency Room. Not the easiest thing to do, with a cavity the size of a pencil-head eraser and the nerve-containing pulp exposed to open air
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You know, one of the reasons I can actually respect your position, at least a little, is that unlike much of the other side of the debate -
(Although it still kind of bugs me that you're still, like most of y'all over there, misrepresenting the terms. Sure, everyone should have all the healthcare they need. Is anyone even debating that? Everyone should also have caviar, mansions, Cadillacs, iPhones, ponies, and plastic rockets, but outside the magical post-scarcity universe, "should" and five bucks'll buy you a nice cup of tea.)
- you're actually willing to come out and say that letting people have their individual freedom is the problem, and that's what's needed are mandates to make them do what they're "supposed" to, in terms not much more softened than that.
I mean, sure, by my ethical standards that still makes you an expropriatin', labor-forcin' bastard, but at least you're an HONEST expropriatin', labor-forcin' bastard, and that just warms the cold black void where the cockles of my heart ought to be.
Just so I don't put words in *your* mouth, would you mind briefly outlining the "individual freedom" issue, as you see it, and how it relates to the issue of lack of health insurance? I've debated this with you enough over the years that I *think* I know your position, but in fairness, I would rather let you deliniate it yourself, in your own words.
It seems like you completely ignore the inalienable right to life in your analysis, which to me would seem to be relevant when it comes to health care. I'm curious how you think that right fits into your framework.
Also: Dental insurance basically sucks. It usually pays 100% for [in network] check/clean, but as the work gets more expensive it pays /less/. So that would be 80% for a filling, but 50% for a crown. Etc. And then there's a $1500 cap for the year. I'm off looking for a new dentist 'cause while my insurance company told me they negotiate some reduced prices in network they said 20% less, which I was willing to eat; when I found out that the difference would be 2-3K in vs out of network I'm not staying with the guy I like.
A quibble on wording at the beginning: All dentists are perfectly happy to accept folk with no insurance if you're paying. Finding anybody to do the work for free or reduced rate is what gets nigh impossible. Re the kid you mention, we had a 9 year old die here in DC from a dental abcess.
I've been fortunate in the dental department. I got the luck of the genetic draw in having pretty good teeth to begin with and was fortunate enough to have parents who a) understood (through their own dental experience) the value of preventative dental maintenance in childhood and b) had the resources to provide that preventative care.
And I've been lucky so far to be able to find cash-for-service dentists who can squeeze in another patient who pays with plastic and promises no paperwork. I'll probably spend more over a lifetime on preventative work than I would to have 'em all out and get a plastic set, but I like having teeth.
It makes no sense that dental isn't considered "medical". Teeth are part of the body, natch. And if ignored they do become a general medical hazard...
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You know, one of the reasons I can actually respect your position, at least a little, is that unlike much of the other side of the debate -
(Although it still kind of bugs me that you're still, like most of y'all over there, misrepresenting the terms. Sure, everyone should have all the healthcare they need. Is anyone even debating that? Everyone should also have caviar, mansions, Cadillacs, iPhones, ponies, and plastic rockets, but outside the magical post-scarcity universe, "should" and five bucks'll buy you a nice cup of tea.)
- you're actually willing to come out and say that letting people have their individual freedom is the problem, and that's what's needed are mandates to make them do what they're "supposed" to, in terms not much more softened than that.
I mean, sure, by my ethical standards that still makes you an expropriatin', labor-forcin' bastard, but at least you're an HONEST expropriatin', labor-forcin' bastard, and that just warms the cold black void where the cockles of my heart ought to be.
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A quibble on wording at the beginning: All dentists are perfectly happy to accept folk with no insurance if you're paying. Finding anybody to do the work for free or reduced rate is what gets nigh impossible. Re the kid you mention, we had a 9 year old die here in DC from a dental abcess.
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And I've been lucky so far to be able to find cash-for-service dentists who can squeeze in another patient who pays with plastic and promises no paperwork. I'll probably spend more over a lifetime on preventative work than I would to have 'em all out and get a plastic set, but I like having teeth.
It makes no sense that dental isn't considered "medical". Teeth are part of the body, natch. And if ignored they do become a general medical hazard...
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