OUR COUNTDOWN TO FASCIST MEDICINE

I'd love to hear you answer this question H2O man or Yankee:
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So tell me what you would do for a child who developes diabetes whose mother waits tables all day and makes too much to qualify for medicaid, but has to use her wages for shelter and food for her family and can't afford insulin?

Can either of you PLEASE answer this question?

And if their parent can't - or even just won't? What would you tell that child?

Now, if the murder had been committed in another country, would that make it less shameful

It makes me feel ashamed as an American to have to tell people that we don't provide healthcare for sick children who have parents who can't afford to pay.

If the parent can't, there are several charitable organizations they can go to for help.

Do you even have a clue as to what sort of reputation Americans have in the rest of the world?

It makes me feel ashamed as an American to have to tell people that we don't provide healthcare for sick children who have parents who can't afford to pay.

To the point that I don't give a **** how much they take out of my check to make sure that ALL children have healthcare.

And if you'll give money to a charity - why/how is that different than paying a tax?
Yes, it's a choice instead of a mandate - okay...but practically - where is the money coming from either way?
The citizens.

To the point that I don't give a **** how much they take out of my check to make sure that ALL children have healthcare- because it'd most probably be less than what I give on my own.

NO child is denied healthcare.
There are programs in every state that provide free or reduced cost healthcare, there is medicare, Schip, medicaid, and other federal programs, the US public health Service operates clinics and hospitals that are free to anyone, etc.

The problem is that many people either dont know about these programs, or dont think they are eligible.

Why are so many children in the United States without health insurance? "Unlike many other developed countries, most health insurance in the U.S. is based on employer-provided health insurance. Consequently, if a child's parent loses a job, the child loses health insurance," says O'Hare. "In addition, more and more jobs, particularly low-paying jobs, do not offer health insurance at all." With health care costs rising and revenues declining, fewer employers can afford to offer health insurance. In addition, according to the Institute of Medicine, manufacturing jobs that traditionally provided health insurance have declined while service industry jobs that are typically less likely to provide full coverage are on the rise. Recent data from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation illustrate the combined effects of rising unemployment and falling employer-sponsored health coverage: The number of people covered by employer-sponsored insurance decreased by 8.9 million from 2007 to 2009, often leaving their children and spouses without coverage.3

Economic Strains on Public Health Care

State governments, businesses, and families are all under financial strain and affected by the economic recession. As unemployment continues to rise, so too does the demand for the protections offered by the social safety net. But state-sponsored public services including health care have already been strained by budget shortfalls occurring before the economic crisis. The number of children covered by Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the two major public health care systems in the United States, increased by 954,000 between 2006 and 2007. As of 2008, SCHIP alone provided coverage to 7 million children. Between 2007 and 2009, the number of people enrolled in Medicaid and SCHIP increased by 3.6 million.

Recently, President Obama reauthorized SCHIP to provide more funding to states and expanded the reach of SCHIP to reach an additional 4 million children in need. He also lifted the ban prohibiting states from providing insurance to legal immigrant children. Previously, the program was only eligible to legal immigrants after living in the United States for five years. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 1.8 million children currently enrolled in SCHIP would have lost coverage without the new funding. The additional federal SCHIP funding will allow states to cover children in families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. But social safety-net programs are not enough to ensure good health and provide the full range of needed care, according to the Institute of Medicine.

but the truth of the matter remains:
Although the expanded coverage is welcome and needed, it will not be enough to meet the needs of uninsured U.S. children. According to O'Hare, "[It] will help, but there are still millions of children without health insurance, and millions more without adequate health insurance."

Have I ever said our govt was socialist, or even leaning that way?

NO, I have not.

So again, as a percentage of your salary, how much have you given to charity this year?