5. Narcancelled
When I finally got to my office I got
an email about Narcan from a colleague.
The article was well-written, but the comments made me cringe.
One post asked why we wasted tax dollars keeping addicts
alive. Most of the comments said people
who choose to endanger their lives with drugs should get no further health
care.
“Why stop with addicts?” I said to my laptop. “We could save a lot of money by refusing
healthcare to people who make any life-threatening choices. Bad diets lead to heart disease, the number
one killer in the US. If people continue
to eat salty, fatty, sugary foods, why waste taxpayer dollars, not to mention
insurance money, on them? What about
people who don’t exercise three times a week?
Or allow stress to weaken their hearts and their immune systems?”
I went on ranting to my computer, “Cancer is another big
killer we spend taxpayer money on. Why
should we spend money treating folks who drink too much alcohol, get sunburned,
or smoke? More people die in traffic accidents than overdose. Anybody at fault in a traffic accident should
lose his health insurance.”
I said to my laptop, “Eliminate everybody who makes poor
choices, and that leaves three vegetarian yoga instructors we’d have to provide
healthcare for. Only covering their costs will save the system
billions.”
Today I will advocate for whatever keeps people
alive long enough to make better choices.
Needles Not For Knitting (c) 2016 by
Ken Montrose
Needles Not For Knitting is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between the
characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.
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