Should Superbugs be the justification for Universal Health Care?

[ck4829]

One of the medical problems we face today are the rise of superbugs, micro-organisms that are resistant to antibiotics and other forms of treatment.

They can be treated, however it takes a lot of time and it can be very expensive. And of course, these germs are affecting people who can not afford the treatment, AKA the Poor

I think to protect all of society from these nasty germs, it might be time to make sure everyone does have a right to health care.

Or, will the powers that be simply be content with locking the people who become infected in quarantine and otherwise do nothing about it?

[jgraz]

1. My guess is they'll probably be the justification for Halliburton detention camps

[Mist]

2. Yes, there won't be money for a health care system, but plenty of $ for "quarantine camps" nt

[papau]

3. true - higher death rates save money in so many short term ways. n/t

n/t

[antigop]

5. That's exactly why I don't think they will do anything regarding Medicare

If you just let the boomers die off due to lack of healthcare, VOILA! problem solved.

[Warpy]

4. You'd think so, wouldn't you

but to the parasitic crowd inside the DC beltway, they'll just be culling the herd. I mean, who needs all those grubby homeless people, anyway? It's not like they have jobs and stock portfolios and vacation homes in the Hamptons! Once they're dead from superbugs, I'm sure our favorite chichi restaurants will just mechanise dishwashing because isn't that all those people do, anyway?

Public health laws were put on the books because the Robber Barons and their offspring realized bugs knew no boundaries, and the typhoid racing through the slums would eventually reach the mansions if it were not taken care of at the source by treating drinking water and cleaning the streets.

Antibiotics have given our Robber Barons a false sense of security. That security is about to be shattered. All it's going to take are one or two scions of the rich and proud to fall ill with resistant TB and we'll see those quarantine laws back on the books.

But health care? What for? The poor are cursed by Calvinist Jesus and illness thrives on their filth. Nothing you can do about it, you know, and where shall we dine tonight?

[bahrbearian]

6. No they should be free to move around the Cabin.

[pitohui]

9. the person in that news story appears to be very wealthy

we are talking about a guy who defied doctor's orders and merrily spread his germs across six nations on two continents so he could have a big fat honkin' greek wedding

we can't blame this one on the poor, they are not the ones jetting around spreading TB on various jet airplanes

[DamnYank]

7. Not to mention pandemics

Some reports I've seen about the effects of a potential pandemic, i.e., bird flu, indicate that the US would be especially vulnerable due to our lack of universal care. The best way to deal with an epidemic is to quarantine and treat those who are infected before they can spread the disease. But the poor and uninsured in the US would likely not seek immediate treatment, meaning that by the time they got sick enough to go to the hospital they would have exposed and infected many other people.

So it isn't just superbugs we have to worry about.

edit: typo

[necso]

8. Drug-resistant disease strains

(which problem is exacerbated, at least, by misuse of drugs -- easy to do when you're poor, have inadequate access to good healthcare, or are self-medicating -- and low quality drugs) are a good reason why leaving people without adequate healthcare (that they can actually use) is a bad idea. A killer that emerges in the underclasses may also ravage the elites.

Moreover, and in general, I suspect that we may be in something like a health-bubble -- and that old diseases (and new ones) that adapt to the environment of antibiotics, antivirals, etc, may come roaring back, especially if we don't take care to prevent this.

And, of course, our health-"care" system is largely unprepared to deal with this possibility. Indeed, (some) hospitals have apparently been responsible for the spread of drug-resistant disease strains.