Universal Healthcare

The big discussion lately seems to center around healthcare - Is it a right? Should it be paid for universally out of taxes? Should the insurance industry be allowed to profit from illness? Why is America the only industrialized nation that seems to think good health care is something that is earned/deserved? Don't we all gain from a health system that is purely motivated to keeping us healthy? I could fill this post with questions... but to start the discussion I'll endeavor to clarify my own thinking on the subject.

I believe health is a national economic and security issue. If health (good and bad) is recognized as the result of  policies and choices, our national regulation and practices have to undergo a massive reorganization of priorities. Pollution, poverty, economic incentives, and personal responsibility are all pieces of the puzzle that need to be addressed as whole cloth... for it is thier imbalances that create most of the illness/diseases today.
It is a scientific truth that immune systems are greatly affected by "stressors".
We have the everyday stress of making a living; providing what we need to survive is a primary stressor... Add to that the idiology of "Not having Enough" (no matter how much one actually does have) and you add another layer of stress. Then, there is the environmental stress of particulates, chemicals, and metals in the air, water, medicine, and food we eat, that adds another layer of challenge to affect well being...for some a lack of finance limits quality of life - jobs without respect/ too many work hours needed to get by, a lack of education or training, the means to live in a healthier location...and finally, you have the ability of the individual to compete with the challenges and obstacles of their own personal lives, to care enough about themselves to make healthy choices. For me, all of these are out of balance and place Health Care into a catagory that is far more of a shared reality than any other issue in our lives.
If any industry is allowed to pollute to make a profit - then shouldn't those profits be required to underwrite whatever it takes to restore health to pre-pollutant levels? Aren't many illnesses a side affect of poor environmental controls? ... and aren't insurance and insurance costs a round about way of reassigning that cost to the consumer?  If the water my town  has available is filled with Dioxin or Mercury - who is responible for keeping us healthy? Would it secure my health if I ate well, got plenty of sleep, and never smoked, if coal ash  is allowed to poison my well? Who should pay for the doctor? ... why must I either have to be wealthy, pay someone to insure me, or have to sue someone to make sure my health is protected/restored?    to be continued...