I am NOT keen on this at all.

[ambitious_wench]

Edwards Backs Mandatory Preventive Care

In a nutshell, Edwards states that universal healthcare should include mandatory preventative checkups.

Um. No. Not even when I was in the Navy did I have to go to mandatory check ups.

What's next, mandatory reporting of uterine occupancy status?

Provide universal health care, provide free check ups, but do not force me to get a check up every year.

So I wrote to Mr. Edwards to explain my point of view:

Mr. Edwards,

I'm all for universal healthcare in the US. However, even when I was in the US Navy I was not subject to mandatory annual checkups.

I'm a proud member of the vast liberal conspiracy, definitely right behind you regarding the war against Iraq, Abu Grhaib, Gitmo, but man, you seriously dropped the ball when you said you would mandate exams.

What sort of punishment would you impose for those who don't follow through? A fine? Community service? Jail time?

The abuelita who can't get a ride to the clinic, what about her? What about the woman who was raped and can't bear the thought of a pelvic exam?

Bad juju, Mr. Edwards, very bad election juju. My advice? Backpedal, do it honestly, admit you didn't think it through. Don't be another Bush who can't admit a mistake.

Sincerely,
A. Wench

Comments

[fallonmay.livejournal.com]

O.o

And then what, mandatory reports to the government and your employers?

That's...creepy.

[mongo.livejournal.com]

Well it goes back to what I was saying about changing the mindset of how people perceive healthcare (i.e. only going to the doctor when you feel sick).

Many diseases/illnesses could be lessened/improved/eliminated with early detection and treatment. Mandated visits? That's taking things a bit too far.

His heart is in the right place. Give him credit for trying.

[ambitious-wench.livejournal.com]

Jimmy Carter, bless him, had his heart in the right place too when he tried to send a multi-military branch team to rescue hostages in Iran, too, but it failed spectacularly. They used the wrong kind of helicoters, and as a result the entire team died. I will always remember seeing the gleeful Iranians parading the charred bodies in the streets. That damn near undid Carter mentally. He did the honorable thing, took full credit for the disaster.

Yes, I agree, many health poroblems can be resolved completely if caught soon enough. I suppose my adversion is linked to my Grandmother, an old-school Republican who preached personal responsibility.

But even more important to me is the lack of leeway for situations like those I listed; Some folks don't have the means to get to the doctor, others have their own personal reasons to avoid the doctors.

Mandatory exams strikes me as the worst sort of attempt to hurd cats.

[ambitious-wench.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're right, I think Edwards' heart is in the right place. I will give him credit for that. Now to get his head aligned, and think things through.

[mongo.livejournal.com]

Well it's a work in progress. Of course his plan for paying for it is to close a tax loophole that most of his larger supporters will frown upon.

I think it's a good start. Take out the mandatory bit and build in some incentives (maybe an extra tax credit (as opposed to just making it deductible) for the checkup). It won't entice everybody but it should get some more people in the doctor's office.

Of course the next problem is getting the doctors, hospitals and insurance companies to go for it.

[ambitious-wench.livejournal.com]

Doctors will be easy, I think. They are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to payments from insurance companies. Likewise hospitals. The real obsticle, I think, are the insurance companies. They are in it for profit, and that's the part that is most wrong, IMO.

I don't think health care should be a for-profit business.