Healthcare Does Not Bring Peace

Many people have asked me about my thoughts on healthcare. It is obvious that one needs to be in good health in order to survive. Insurance companies are the ones that decide whether an individual receives healthcare and the amount. Those individuals who can afford more insurance obtain more insurance than those who cannot. Is this fair?

If two patients with identical health issues but with different amounts of healthcare insurance went to a doctor, should the doctor favor the patient with more insurance over the other? Of course not. Doctors solely exist to better their patients’ health. Doctors are essential for life because in order to survive, one needs to be in good health. Both patients need to be in good health and therefore, the doctor must do his or her duty by tending to both of them.

Everyone has a gift, a duty, in life. Doctors have the duty of putting patients in good health. By giving good health, the doctor is giving the patient a better chance of survival. There is no price on survival. The doctor should not expect monetary payment in return. This is what many people oversee. Doctors should expect a better chance of survival in return. In my previous blog, I stated that one needs three things in order to survive: replenishment, thermoregulation, and communication. Whichever the doctor is lacking, he or she should expect in return.

Two issues may arise with this method. One being what if the doctor is not lacking in any of the three types of needs. I find this quite unlikely since communication is always a need. People may not want it, but it is a need. For example, if the doctor healed a fisherman, the fisherman could easily return the favor by teaching the doctor how to fish. This will not only include communication, but also replenishment. Thus, making the doctor more knowledgeable and well-rounded, able to teach others how to fish. The other issue is what if the patient has nothing to give in return or does not have what the doctor needs. I find this hard to believe as I believe everyone can teach something to better another. If not, the patient could locate someone who could do something for the doctor if the patient did something for that someone. Despite these issues, they come with an advantage. In either issue, the patient has started a network, a community. This community is not just any community, but a community of interdependence; where everyone collaborates peacefully using their unique gift with the objective to maintain equal amount of survival for everyone.

And ultimately, isn’t that fair?

RJ