American Health Care stuff

[mac_stone]

Questions from Jay Lake.

A brief health care survey from jlake.com behind the cut for my non-political friends who can't stand the idea of talking about this any more. My answers in bold.

Jay asks:

Given the furor over Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst during President Obama’s healthcare speech this week, I have a few simple questions for you. I’m interested in answers from all across the political spectrum, and especially in your logic behind them.

(1) Should the proposed public option cover illegal immigrants?
Yes.

(2) Should illegal immigrants be entitled to emergency medical care?
Yes.

(3) Should illegal immigrants be entitled to nonemergency or preventative medical care?
Yes.

(4) Should immigration status be checked at accident scenes or time of ER admission?
No.

(5) What should happen to people refused treatment because of their immigration status?
People should not be refused treatment on those grounds.

(6) What should happen to people unable to demonstrate their immigration status, due to injury or incapacity?
Not a damned thing. They should be treated to the best of the first responders' and the health care providers' abilities.

(7) Should these standards be applied to minor children of illegal immigrants?
Yes.

My rationale and reasoning is simple: It's the right thing to do. It's absolutely in the best interests of any community for people to be healthy and unafraid. And it's fucking evil, immoral, and obscene to tie health care to wages, income, or legal status.