10-20-2008, 01:25 PM
Who doesn't want to help kids!? Oh those nasty conservatives...
Wait... if they continually go over budget due to people un-fairly taking advantage of it, then what are you willing to give up to pay for it Rob? Education? Roads? Parks? Police? Fire Department? Or would you rather they increase your taxes, so that people who can afford their own healthcare, dump their healthcare so that their kids can get it for free? Which is what is happening.
So are they just callously dumping them on their rears? No. HMSA is going to give them coverage until the end of the year, in the meantime they can enroll in Medicaid. "Families with children currently enrolled in the universal system are being encouraged to seek more comprehensive Medicaid coverage, which may be available to children in a family of four earning up to $73,000 annually." -Associated Press
We conservatives aren't children haters. We just realize that their are limits to where the money can go. Hawaii is facing a $900 million dollar deficit by 2011. Either taxes have to go up significantly, or you cut programs that can be cut with minimal problems. Medicaid is already footing the bill for the majority of these kids... so why even have it?
I agree with esnap in a lot of ways. Prevention care is much more effective than first-aid care, which we have today. I look at my profession, chiropractic, in which we advocate prevention everyday. Just like getting your teeth cleaned, getting you back checked 1-2 times a year, even if you don't have any troubles, can save you thousands down the road. For example if you get a chiropractic checkup every month (much more than is necessary if you don't have back problems) and pay cash for it, it costs about $600 bucks a year at $50 per visit, which is normal on the island. If you don't and something happens and you need surgery, the average cost of back surgery today is $70,000 with rehab included.... that's worth 110 years of chiropractic care right there!
If we could put more and more emphasis into prevention care like esnap (eating right, exercise etc) described we could save billions. For example, Diabetes which is on the rise due to obesity costs the US $174 billion per year... Cardiovascular disease which is also on the rise due to obesity and poor eating habits costs the US over $300 billions per year. Obesity also leads to certain types of cancer like colon, rectal and kidney. It can lead to infertility, pregnancy complications, depression, etc. etc. etc. A preventable problem costing us trillions of dollars a year if you add it all up.
Prevention is the key.... I would rather pay for an oil change, then pay for a new engine when my engine blows. Why can't we adopt this attitude towards our most important asset... HEALTH!
Wait... if they continually go over budget due to people un-fairly taking advantage of it, then what are you willing to give up to pay for it Rob? Education? Roads? Parks? Police? Fire Department? Or would you rather they increase your taxes, so that people who can afford their own healthcare, dump their healthcare so that their kids can get it for free? Which is what is happening.
So are they just callously dumping them on their rears? No. HMSA is going to give them coverage until the end of the year, in the meantime they can enroll in Medicaid. "Families with children currently enrolled in the universal system are being encouraged to seek more comprehensive Medicaid coverage, which may be available to children in a family of four earning up to $73,000 annually." -Associated Press
We conservatives aren't children haters. We just realize that their are limits to where the money can go. Hawaii is facing a $900 million dollar deficit by 2011. Either taxes have to go up significantly, or you cut programs that can be cut with minimal problems. Medicaid is already footing the bill for the majority of these kids... so why even have it?
I agree with esnap in a lot of ways. Prevention care is much more effective than first-aid care, which we have today. I look at my profession, chiropractic, in which we advocate prevention everyday. Just like getting your teeth cleaned, getting you back checked 1-2 times a year, even if you don't have any troubles, can save you thousands down the road. For example if you get a chiropractic checkup every month (much more than is necessary if you don't have back problems) and pay cash for it, it costs about $600 bucks a year at $50 per visit, which is normal on the island. If you don't and something happens and you need surgery, the average cost of back surgery today is $70,000 with rehab included.... that's worth 110 years of chiropractic care right there!
If we could put more and more emphasis into prevention care like esnap (eating right, exercise etc) described we could save billions. For example, Diabetes which is on the rise due to obesity costs the US $174 billion per year... Cardiovascular disease which is also on the rise due to obesity and poor eating habits costs the US over $300 billions per year. Obesity also leads to certain types of cancer like colon, rectal and kidney. It can lead to infertility, pregnancy complications, depression, etc. etc. etc. A preventable problem costing us trillions of dollars a year if you add it all up.
Prevention is the key.... I would rather pay for an oil change, then pay for a new engine when my engine blows. Why can't we adopt this attitude towards our most important asset... HEALTH!