Debate national health care

Do I get a say in health care overhaul? The last time, discussion was quickly reduced to health care insurance reform. Or, again, must United States citizens accept what Congress says we need?

Before handing the solution to America, let’s engage in a national dialog. The debate topic is this. Resolved: Health care in the U.S. is or is not a commodity to be bought and sold for profit. Is basic health care a human right, or is it a service to be sold for money? Currently in the U.S., it’s for sale. And every exchange generates a profit.

All of the other developed nations on Earth base their health care systems on non-profit insurance. The U.S. consists of a patchwork of payer systems, but it stands alone with its for-profit system.

How’s it working? Pick just one of the World Health Organization’s metrics — infant mortality. Twenty-nine countries are better than us (2015 stats). The U.S. has the highest health care costs in the world. In no other country will you go bankrupt as the result of a catastrophic health event/ issue.

Insurance companies in the U.S. need profits to pay stockholders dividends and CEO bonuses. Health insurance is Big Business, and it will not go quietly; another reason to have a national debate. Incidentally, non-profit insurance companies do exist.

As a nation we have decided that basic education is a human right. An educated population is in the nation’s best interest, and we provide it in every community, non-profit. Higher education is available (college, trade schools) at added expense. Could we address health care in a similar fashion, as we do with Medicare/Medicaid systems?

If we are endowed with the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, can we deny life by denying health care access? Does poverty condemn an individual to the roulette table of for-profit health care? Only in America. This issue is too important to leave simply to Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Gregg Kishline Kenosha