vizinertia - Health

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A universal healthcare system would require a tax increase. Yes. Bite the bullet. The question is, how will the increase be speard across the spectrum of taxpayers.

Healthcare reform should include a government-sponsored health insurance option. As I see it, there could be a two-tier system. If you think that government programs will be inefficient, you're probably right. But that's what you'll get (and be happy to get it) IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE BETTER PRIVATE CARE. If you CAN afford the better care, you'll pay for it. For example, having Social Security as a safety net doesn't induce very many people to just give up on other options on the premise that they'll be "saved" by social security. It's the backup safety net, and that's all it was ever intended to be. Similarly, the existence of social security has hardly driven the private pension options out of existence.

Face masks help prevent the spread of pneumonia.

Pneumonia is contagious.

Pneumonia vaccinations are effective.

Media coverage of the swine flu outbreak has not been overblown. Some people are over-the-top here. In New York, closing a school where there are no reported flu cases just doesn't make sense. But people are understandably interested in this in a big way, and most of the media are simply responding by covering the story. By and large, I don't think the media is responsible for the hysteria (in this case), and by reporting what's happening is ultimately serving a public need.

The outbreak of the influenza virus (Swine flu) in Mexico will become an international pandemic. Yes, it looks like it's a pandemic. That goes to the extent of the spread, not the severity. It is not yet the plague, and not yet the end of the world.

The U.S. is prepared for a flu pandemic. I think that we're as prepared as a society has ever been. That's no guarantee, but I think we've come a long way in public awareness and preparedness.

Tap water should be fluoridated.

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

The U.S. should permit the import of prescription drugs from Canada. It's not really the answer to the problem, in that Canada doesn't have enough to satisfy everyone from the U.S. who might want the drugs. But those who want should be able to import.

Plan B should be available over-the-counter to women under the age of 18.

The use of birth control is not equivalent to abortion. One hardly knows where to begin . . . I trust this is a rapid reaction to a non-story lest it turn into a story.

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

Congress should strengthen regulations on direct-to-consumer advertising.

Restless Leg Syndrome is a legitimate medical condition.

Drinking milk has a positive effect on an adult's health.

Contraceptives should be covered by health insurance plans.

Silicon-gel breast implants should be allowed on the market. There are risks. The solution is full disclosure, maybe highly regulated.

Insurance premiums should be tax-deductible. I'm for it in principle. But see Ezra Klein's argument that the Bush proposal is a subterfuge. If so, then of course I wouldn't be for that.

Vitamin supplements should not require a prescription.

The government should require labeling of genetically modified food.

The government should impose smoking bans.

Abstinence-only sex education is not effective.

The government should 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.

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

A person should have a basic right to death.

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

The FDA should not prohibit gay and bisexual men from donating blood.

The vaccine for human papillomavirus should not be mandatory.

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

Physician-assisted suicide should be legal.

Governments should ban trans fats in commercially-prepared foods.

Food testing standards in America are not effective.

The FDA should regulate tobacco products.

The U.S. should do more to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.

People do have a right to affordable healthcare.

Plan B should be available over-the-counter to women under the age of 18.

UNKNOWN: Is organic milk safer than regular milk?