Universal Problems

I was also most struck by how familiar some of the issues described in the article seemed. Its ironic that one of the major arguments against universal health care in this country is the idea that we will be paying for illegal immigrants to get health coverage, when in the countries with socialized care, some legal immigrants are denied access!
I was also struck by how this seems to be a universal problem, it doesn't seem that any country has really come up with a viable solution. Its the same problem everywhere. Nothing is free. The crux of this issue comes down to the idea of whether or not the access to health care is a universal human right, and the fact that no matter what we say or think, health care is rationed because it has a cost. Rationing has to provide the functioning, law-abiding members of society with their care over those who are illegal or not participating in society, or else there is no incentive to participate in society. This argument clearly breaks down when talking about the working/contributing disenfranchised who are just unable to to become one of the "haves" instead of a "have-not". Of course, it also brings up the idea of how each country deals with immigrants and refugees, whether the policies of that country protect them, or criminalize them, adding a degree of complexity and some policy issues to the table.
It seems to be a theme in our discussions and readings that health care is interconnected with the core values of society, which is why a complete overhaul of health care would require fundamental shifts in our core beliefs, our immigration policy, our tax structure and our legal system. It starts to look like a tall order.