With our current healthcare "system" being what it is, it could be truly catastrophic.

Imagine people not getting early treatment or testing for fear of unaffordable medical bills. Imagine sick people continuing to work for fear of losing their jobs or incomes. Imagine millions of people facing financial ruin due to inadequate, or lack of coverage.

On the bright side, maybe people would finally begin to see the sense in having a system of universal coverage.

Several years ago, there was an account in the news about a construction worker who walked into an ER to get a gash on his forehead stitched up. After he was stitched up, he was told that they were going to do a rectal exam on him, which he refused to consent to. After he told them "no", they proceeded to attempt a forced rectal exam on him. He struggled and attempted to fight them off, and the next thing he knew, he woke up handcuffed to a hospital bed with a breathing tube down his trachea, the rectal exam having been done, and himself facing assault charges.

This story made it to DU, and I expressed the opinion that the medical team in question had effectively raped and sodomized this man. I received a barrage of attacks for expressing this opinion. The overwhelming opinion expressed on the thread(s) (I think there were more than one), was that the medical team had been entirely within their rights to force a rectal exam on this man, and that he had completely forfeited his right to refuse any procedure the instant that he signed the general consent form upon entering the ER.

I can recall that the story made a huge impression on me at the time, and the reaction on DU made an even bigger one.

I am very glad that the consensus on DU seems to be evolving towards a view that invasive, sensitive examinations should not be done against a patient's will, or without their consent.