I know this has been covered, but how is the healthcare system working?

[dravogadro]

Originally Posted by miu

I think that the important difference between Romneycare and Obamacare is that with Romney's plan, it was a state decision. I think that every state has to look at what they have to work with and how they want to enforce it. In Massachusetts, we are lucky that we have good employment numbers and most of the residents already had healthcare from their employers. So what works for MA, may not work for RI or CA or any other state depending on how big the gap is between the already insured and those who are no insured.

Romneycare was a good start, however the biggest problem is actually how to get the astronomical price of healthcare down to where it is truly affordable. And we also need to look at malpractice suits and insurance. We should look into capping the amount of the settlements and/or how much lawyers can make from these suits. Maybe instead of lawyers getting involved, there should be review boards and mediation.

I'm assuming why that's why there is a push for a Federal decision...so places like MA can 'support' places like MS and AL. I can't imagine some of those states narrowing the gap on their own.

I've also heard that while malpractice costs do add to the overall price, it is <10% of the problem. Insurance bloat is around 10% as well. I've heard the major problem comes from: 1) we (the US via Medicare and Insurance Companies) pay specialist doctors (not your GP) 3-4x as much compared to other countries 2) overall administrative costs (not for profit hospitals are making some people LOTS of money) 3) over-referral for expensive procedures 4) pharmaceutical cost