Elizabeth Ross-Harrison - Health

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I have not received/will not receive the swine flu vaccination. I'm in the risk group, but have had adverse reactions to the standard seasonal flu vaccination in the past. So I get to wash my hands until they're raw, and carry around hand sanitizer.

Abortion coverage should not be excluded from government-sponsored health insurance programs. If they want to exclude it, they can also exclude vasectomies and prescription coverage for Viagra and the like!

Health insurance companies should not be exempt from federal anti-trust legislation. All problems have their roots, and the health insurance company problem is firmly rooted in the federal anti-trust exemption. The insurance companies shouldn't be exempted, but don't expect Congress to change anything on this one. The lobbyists are paying far too much to help them keep their jobs, it's unlikely that they'll actually do their jobs.

I am a type A personality. Unless because I'm female, you wish to refer to me with the "b-word"...

"Third-hand smoke" is not a viable concern.

I do not worry about growing older. I've been on borrowed time from day one. If I grow old, that's fine.

The U.S. should not implement a single-payer health care system.

Children with ADHD should be treated with medications. Provided that the diagnosis in accurate in the first place, and the case is severe enough to adversely affect the child's ability to interact with peers appropriately, and the child's academic life.

Media coverage of the swine flu outbreak has not been overblown. Saying this as I'm sitting here with some of the symptoms, but not all. If there hadn't been so much coverage, I may very well have become a basket case thinking that I'd gotten Swine Flu! I can't imagine that I'm the only one thinking this way, and if all of us who happen to be suffering from either run-of-the-mill sinus infections, allergy outbreaks, or plain old colds thought we had swine flu, there probably would have been a severe increase in unnecessary doctor and walk-in clinic visits. Also, while it's tempting to say "it's just the flu", even less virulent strains claim lives.

Employers should be required to offer health insurance to full-time employees. It is because this isn't required that we're left with seriously considering a public option for insurance in the first place. I would go one step further, and set a cap on premium payments left for the employees. It shouldn't be greater than a given percentage of the income. There is no reason a full-time worker should be applying for Medicaid when the employer has health insurance available. In fact, there should be some sort of penalty against companies with full-time employees on Medicaid.

Health insurance policies should be legally required to cover behavioral treatments for Autism. Actually could compile a list for this one. All the talk about health care reform lately has been scare tactics about the "public option". Although I really don't like the idea of the government stepping into private industry as a rule, from the beginning of all the debates, I've been thinking that changing regulations for insurance companies (and adding some) would be a better solution than the government actually managing anyone's health care first hand. Autism is just one, and actually it usually gets lumped in with "pre-existing condition exclusions". Bottom line is that if a company wants to do business in health insurance, it has to take care of the people who pay for its services. That includes those with autism.

Men and women have roughly the same sex drive. Drive isn't the issue. It's all in how each of the sexes deals with it.

The town hall protests against health care reform are not appropriate. They are purely a distraction to prevent intelligent conversation on the issue. It would not be surprising to find out later that many of the most vocal were actually paid to be there either by a PAC or other special interest group.

Health care reform legislation will not be passed in 2009. Or more accurately, I hope not. There are some good ideas on the table, but like just about everything else proposed by politicians these days, it's most likely that it won't do well in the real world. Pushing for this right away like this is just like the Bush educational reform. Too quick, not thought out enough, and most likely to create a new crop of problems instead of solutions.

People do not have a right to affordable healthcare. The law just isn't there. That isn't to say that there shouldn't be a law, though. Making health care affordable must involve removing the concept that the health care system is a "business." We're not there.

A universal healthcare system would require a tax increase. It has caused radical tax increases in every other country it has been created. Why would it be different here?

The government should not regulate the cost of healthcare. The government needs to get out of the healthcare industry. Minor oversight of private companies is fine - purely for the protection of the public. Beyond that, no. Government involvement is part of the problem in the first place.

Healthcare reform should include a government-sponsored health insurance option. But only if it would be administered by private companies, like much of Medicaid/Medicare is now. Think large group policies based on where people live.

Drinking in moderation is not a viable treatment for alcoholism. I do know at least two people who were able to maintain self-control enough that they did not sink back to excessive drinking, but in both cases, they quit drinking cold turkey for several months first. That said, I don't think drinking in moderation is a viable treatment, but can say from personal experience that it can be a landing point for a recovering alcoholic. I suspect that my father and I were exceptions, not the rule on this one.

The vaccine for human papillomavirus should not be mandatory. Only because it hasn't been around long enough yet. It is too early to make it required because there are still long-term effects to be determined.

People should not use the Internet for self-diagnosis. Internet medical sites are there to help people be well-prepared for visits to the doctor, and to look up things that the doctor might not have explained well enough.

The outbreak of the influenza virus (Swine flu) in Mexico will become an international pandemic. Moot point now, but I would have said that regardless. Traveling people causes traveling disease.

Meditation does improve your health. It's a "mental health moment" that typically improves general health.

Plan B should be available over-the-counter to women under the age of 18. No questions asked, and no parental consent, until we solve that other nasty issue of abusive parents.

The benefits of skin tanning (via UV light) do not outweigh the risks. My friend's dermatologist has forbidden her from using tanning beds, going outside without SPF 55, etc. She used to tan often, and now has to watch - just had pre-cancerous cells removed.

Pope Benedict's comments about condoms increasing the problem of AIDS in Africa were not accurate. Any comment about condoms increasing the problem of AIDS anywhere is inaccurate on its face.

Contraceptives should be covered by health insurance plans. Honestly, there should be laws saying that insurance companies may not refuse coverage on approved drugs, period.

Masturbation is healthy.

The FDA should not regulate tobacco products.

There are persuasive reasons why people should not eat meat.

An individual should have the right to make choices that affect the length or quality of her life.

Smoking should not be prohibited in all indoor public places.

The FDA's drug approval process is not effective.

Life begins at birth.

The U.S. government should not provide universal healthcare.

The government should not negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.

The government should not subsidize prescription drugs for people who cannot afford them.

A legal guardian should be able to make life and death medical decisions for an individual in a persistant vegetative state if there is no living will.

Abstinence-only sex education is not effective.

The U.S. should expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).