health care as homeland security
Imagine the following scenario: a terrorist attack releases a biological weapon in downtown Chicago (much like the the terrorism drills conducted today). Many people are infected with a dangerous disease. However, a large fraction of these people are uninsured.
Some of the uninsured will go to county hospitals, and the exorbitant cost of their treatment will be borne by the taxpayer. The lack of insurance will stretch already-strained resources and the overall capability of the health care infrastructure to respond to the attack will be undermined. And some of the uninsured will simply not seek medical care, thus enabling the biological agent to continue to spread. We have seen how the Chinese government's failure to isolate suspcted SARS cases has led to an explosion in the infection rate - imagine how much worse the situation could be were the virus a weaponized virulent agent instead of a natural one.
To Bush, homeland security is an excuse for government restrictions on liberty, an ideal to which he pays rhetorical lip-service while cutting funds. Dean's healthcare proposal, however, would have a real impact. It would save money in the long run, by reducing the state cost of health care - and it would save lives.
Some of the uninsured will go to county hospitals, and the exorbitant cost of their treatment will be borne by the taxpayer. The lack of insurance will stretch already-strained resources and the overall capability of the health care infrastructure to respond to the attack will be undermined. And some of the uninsured will simply not seek medical care, thus enabling the biological agent to continue to spread. We have seen how the Chinese government's failure to isolate suspcted SARS cases has led to an explosion in the infection rate - imagine how much worse the situation could be were the virus a weaponized virulent agent instead of a natural one.
To Bush, homeland security is an excuse for government restrictions on liberty, an ideal to which he pays rhetorical lip-service while cutting funds. Dean's healthcare proposal, however, would have a real impact. It would save money in the long run, by reducing the state cost of health care - and it would save lives.
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