Difference between public school and public healthcare?

[luvchrist4ever]

I told my mom my that my family might qualify for Medicaid with the new healthcare changes that are coming in January and that it would save us a lot of money. She said we should try not to be on Medicid if we can help it. I was thinking, how is it different than using government money for public school? People who can’t afford private schools use public school. We will be homeschooling, so the government won’t be paying for my children’s education. I don’t see a problem getting healthcare assistance when we struggle with finances and will have to buy all our books and stuff for homeschooling. Can someone enlighten me?

 

[KellyPalmer]

I told my mom my that my family might qualify for Medicaid with the new healthcare changes that are coming in January and that it would save us a lot of money. She said we should try not to be on Medicid if we can help it. I was thinking, how is it different than using government money for public school? People who can’t afford private schools use public school. We will be homeschooling, so the government won’t be paying for my children’s education. I don’t see a problem getting healthcare assistance when we struggle with finances and will have to buy all our books and stuff for homeschooling. Can someone enlighten me?

It’s not the same thing. That said, you certainly should use Medicaid if you qualify and can’t afford healthcare another way. That is what it is there for. Your mom is right, you should try not to, if you can help it. But if you can’t help it, use it and feel no shame.

The biggest difference is that Medicaid spending is run on autopilot and our government has no money to pay for it. The department of education is run very differently and is set up with proper budgets and controls. Medicaid is running on empty and is completely unsustainable, threatening to bankrupt our entire country. Granted, Medicare is a much bigger problem than Medicaid but both are in the same category.

Public education is provided for everyone, regardless of need which isn’t the case with healthcare for good reason (no government money to pay for it, impossible and the cost is way way too high). Those who opt out of public education are almost “punished” in some ways.

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

If you qualify for it, take it and don’t worry about it at all. All your life you were (or will be) paying taxes for it, anyway–they are directly taken out of every paycheck. So, no matter how you feel about the program, whether it should exist or not or to what extent, whatever… the point is, you’re paying for it. So you have every right to it.

 

[maryjk]

If you qualify for it, take it and don’t worry about it at all. All your life you were (or will be) paying taxes for it, anyway–they are directly taken out of every paycheck. So, no matter how you feel about the program, whether it should exist or not or to what extent, whatever… the point is, you’re paying for it. So you have every right to it.

Medicare is taken out of your paycheck.

Medicaid is not. Although it is a government program paid for by the taxpayers.