What is your opinion of community healthcare, medicare, and medicaid? (minimum wage, legal)
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Healthcare and medical insurance that is paid for by the taxpayers in your community. So for instance, someone living in rural Alabama wouldn't have to pay for someone who lived in a California metropolis. It would be healthcare for the community, provided by the community. Therefore larger metropolitan areas would pay into the fund according to the number of people in their metropolis and vice versa.
Do you think it would be better than the system we are on now? I truly don't believe a government run healthcare or insurance would do any good; I mean anytime they get involved with business matters it tends not to go so good (take the bailout for instance ). Private healthcare and such are not working at all and we need a solution.
Do you think this is a better solution? What pro's and con's do you believe would be involved in this type of system?
We actaully have just that now that is funded by and run by the county where I live. It serves people that don't have insurance including dental.For hospital needs they are served by the University of Texas heath system that has numerous very good hospitals in the state.
I believe it should be there for the poor (Medicaid) and Old (Medicare), but private health care makes things work. Average reimbursement for Medicaid is 30%, 40% for Medicare...and 70% for private insurers...without the private insurers hospitals would go under without a change.
Americans have the lowest wait times for non emergency care and access to the top of the line drugs (and the most expensive). Without Americans paying so much for drugs most drug developers would have trouble developing drugs, the high costs of failure in research and the decade it takes to develop drugs with approval.
That is true and one of teh things that will increase the cost to governamnt that it noiw doesn't have.This subdizing of both plus the non-payers are paid for by companies and workers that have private insurance. Looking at the patients of medicare;medicaid and the doctors that noilonger take these patients it looks pretty bad in the future.Then look at the amount that US payers subdize other countries in drug cost alone.
Everyone knows how much money is wasted when the gov't. spends it--after all, it's not THEIR money! I foresee costs getting so out of hand, if the gov't. has anything to do with health insurance (and that's what it is--it's NOT healthcare!!!).
Drug advertisements should not be allowed--the general public can't prescribe these drugs to themselves--let the doctors decide which drugs to give. That would cut a HUGE cost from the pharmeceutical companies.
Prices need to get under control. If prices were more reasonable, more folks could pay for a simple treatment, instead of relying on ins. companies to pay the bill.
SS, Medicare & Medicaid takes up 42% of this nation's budget. Expanding it is pretty much out of the question.
I like the idea of expanding & establishing state healthcare, expanding & establishing community healthcare centers, "assigning" those who are truly "uninsured" (as oppossed to those who simply put there money elsewhere- and that constitutes 40-60% of our "uninsured") to insurance companies to provide basic coverages for, and encouraging free clinics (as an example, my church runs a 100% free medical/dental clinic with healthcare professionals who volunteer their time).
By so doing all these and more, we can handle the issue of "uninsured". I think if the federal government tries to find a single "silver bullet" solution, the cost would bankrupt tens of millions of taxpayers in new & increased taxes.
Waiting times is an indulgence that only the rich are willing to pay for. This red herring is often used to defend the US health care system, because it the only thing there is to defend the US health system. Suppose you could dial your cable company and never be put on hold, there would always be an operator standing by, and the repair man will be at your house in 30 minutes. Would you be willing to pay the higher cable rates for having all those staffers sitting there waiting for your call? Short waiting tims cost money, and a single mom making minimum wage and paying for child care should not be expected to pay half her income just to get triaged a little bit quicker.
We have nough surplus medical facilities in this country to provide health care for double our population. And yet, we actually provide for only 85% of it. What am I missing?
I believe that minimal HMO style healthcare should be available to any US CITIZEN for free in community health centers. This means you see whatever doctor is available and get minimal basic care--well child check-ups, prenatal care, asthma dn diabetes management, and non-life threatening emergent care for infections, etc. As often as legally allowed, care would be rendered by nurse practitioners, PA's, medical school residents and interns, and nurse midwives. This would be paid for on a sliding fee scale and subsidized by funding from three sources. First would be pharmacuetical companies, second would be a percentage of all medical malpractice premiums from insurance companies, and a percentage of all medical malpractice awards and settlements. The final would be a percentage of tax dollars currently earmarked for the medi's.
One other thing, emergency rooms need to turn away non-life threatening emergencies and force those patients back down the pipeline to private urgent care or public health centers.
I believe that we need to turn away anyone who is not a US citizen (or has a valid work Visa/greencard) who can not show the ability to pay for care, except in the most dire life threatening situations, and then only enough to stabalize them and put them on a one-way bus or plane back to where they legally belong. No admittance to maternity wards for undocumented women, and no automatic US citizenship for any kid who was born here.
I also believe that we need to continue to offer paid private health insurance to those who choose to pay for it. Those people would have access to doctors and procedures who choose to not participate in the public plan.
Waiting times is an indulgence that only the rich are willing to pay for. This red herring is often used to defend the US health care system, because it the only thing there is to defend the US health system. Suppose you could dial your cable company and never be put on hold, there would always be an operator standing by, and the repair man will be at your house in 30 minutes. Would you be willing to pay the higher cable rates for having all those staffers sitting there waiting for your call? Short waiting tims cost money, and a single mom making minimum wage and paying for child care should not be expected to pay half her income just to get triaged a little bit quicker.
We have nough surplus medical facilities in this country to provide health care for double our population. And yet, we actually provide for only 85% of it. What am I missing?
Please provide a link to back up your last paragraph. I'd like to read it.
Waiting times is an indulgence that only the rich are willing to pay for. This red herring is often used to defend the US health care system, because it the only thing there is to defend the US health system. Suppose you could dial your cable company and never be put on hold, there would always be an operator standing by, and the repair man will be at your house in 30 minutes. Would you be willing to pay the higher cable rates for having all those staffers sitting there waiting for your call? Short waiting tims cost money, and a single mom making minimum wage and paying for child care should not be expected to pay half her income just to get triaged a little bit quicker.
We have nough surplus medical facilities in this country to provide health care for double our population. And yet, we actually provide for only 85% of it. What am I missing?
There you go again bashing the rich, comrade jtur88.
I would like to see the documentation that supports your last statement about surplus medical facilities.
The analogy with the cable company is a non sequitur.
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). Private healthcare and such are not working at all and we need a solution. 
