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So what's your solution? Should we just go back to the status quo ante ACA, or do you have any better ideas?
Create a national lottery. We can even give it one of those double-speak, sell-job names that politicians love to add to onerous legislation and call it the "Health Care Free For All" Lottery. Liberals can feel free to waste money on lottery tickets knowing it will go to pay for health care, or if they win, donate the entire amount to the "health care fund." Conservatives can feel free to waste money based on the notion of getting rich. Poor people will waste money on lottery tickets and will likely receive more benefits than they pay in, and they will still be covered. Secondary prices could include meeting with the president.
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Originally Posted by ctk0p7
The problem with that is that those who don't contribute will benefit from those that do not. The ACA is not a free program for those that sign up. I want people that don't have insurance and that are currently using hospital ER's for their health care on my taxpayer dime to sign up for ACA insurance and start paying like I do.
I mean no offense but this is a false argument. The reason your premiums have been going up is because it was mandated that hospitals have to cover the uninsured at all (yes, in emergency situations). They are already getting health care coverage on your dime because the hospitals have to treat them. The ACA won't change that fact for those who can't afford to pay, specifically those below the poverty line who won't be penalized for not having insurance. "But there are those who can afford to pay and choose not to do so, what about them?" They took that risk, and should accept what follows from that risk. The reason for the ACA is so that the government can control everything.
I think we need a food program. No one needs to go hungry. I think everyone should have Food Insurance. Everyone MUST buy it, in order for it to work. Therefore, it MUST be mandated by government.
With Food Insurance, if you ever run out of food (natural disaster, unemployment) you can get free food.
Oh, wait. Forget all that. We already have it. It's called Food Stamps. We all pay for it through our taxes, which are higher because of it.
Where does this stop?
The entitlement class is just like the government they'll always demand more.
Wrong. Only 46% of Americans have health insurance through their employer.
Medicaid, along with military benefits and Medicare, covers an additional 25% of Americans. This leaves 17% uninsured. That's 53 million people. And you think that's an insignificant number?
You are missing out on those who buy thier own policies and those who are young and healthy and will pay a penalty before they ever buy insurance. How many are illegal? Take those out of your uninsured stats and let me know how many we still need to cover and then expand medicare and medicaid to cover them by easing the requirements.
Seems the rest of the developed world sooner or later determined that healthcare was a basic human right worthy of incorporation into their constitution.
You may be onto something there. There is a lot of profit being made off of healthcare/insurance in this country, and thus lots of lobbying and public opinion swaying by these companies. Maybe a good question to ask would be how much profit should be made by the industry off of someone with cancer. For some reason in the U.S. healthcare is not seen as a human right, maybe attitudes would be different if people thought otherwise? What are you thinking in terms of your "human rights" view on how things are operated in the U.S?
I hear a lot of passionate opposition to the plan, but I hear nothing about alternative proposals. That goes for this forum as well as the Republicans.
Because most, if not all, of what is in the media, this and other message boards/forums is reactionary opinion-ism, based in hearsay, emotions, but devoid of factual information. The whole "They Say That he or she is going to do this...." Great introduction to a good urban legend, but not impressive to anyone who actually keeps a level head and seeks out facts. Most people are too busy crying and complaining to take time to actually think up a better solution.
Do you really favor a status quo where you quickly lose access to healthcare if your employer fires you; where 50 million remain uninsured who we all pay top dollar for when they end up in the ER given no preventative care; where insurance companies can drop your coverage when you need it most; where costs have already been skyrocketing for a long time; and where we lead the advanced world in cost per capita and get mediocre quality of life results in return?
We stand to learn a lot from Canada, China and even Cuba on this Issue. The concerns you listed are the reasons that so many people wanted a change that would bring healthcare coverage to them. They made this decision clear when they overwhelmingly elected and reelected President Obama.
I'm open to something else, but I don't think "just go back to the way it was" is sustainable. So...what is that "something else?"
Our Current Medicare System is a good start, but it is, as any of us in the medical field know, ripe with fraud, waste and misdirection. Under Obama's administration, a number of fraud investigators have been added, but clearly not enough. The system itself is wasteful, often requiring excessive care in some areas and under care in others. Sadly, any doctor can tell you this, Insurance companies run medicine in this country. Doctors do not, in spite of having up to date medical training. But that is only part of the problem. The entire plan reeks of socialism, which time and time again, all over the world has failed. Even our public education system is a great example in the failure of socialism. The reason people seem to oppose this is because one, it is different, and that scares many people, and second, it is socialistic. Most people do not now or see how or what that means, and it is nothing compared say to North Korea or Cuba, but scary nonetheless because the government is making more rules to control it, and sadly putting more power in the hands of insurance companies, as I mentioned,that lack medical training but are concerned only with fiscal solvency. We could start by cleaning up Medicare, placing simple barriers in place to help prevent fraud, and looking at ways to cut wasteful spending therein.
Second, we need stricter regulations of insurance companies. It is ok to charge higher premiums to smokers or obese individuals, it is not ok to cancel someone's policy. It is somewhat socialistic to require a business to provide insurance policy regardless, but this is the case in places like, say Cuba, and in the end it will create a new market economy and great business opportunities for savvy investors and insurere.
The problem is that this is not the kind of a market where each participant can just bear the full cost of their consumption by themselves; by its very nature, costs need to somehow be shared between the healthy and the sick. That is the essence of the insurance concept. You need some sort of a comprehensive solution, because everyone is in the healthcare market, whether they like it or not. AS I mentioned, in a pure capitalistic economy, if you cannot afford the goods, you do without. Plain and simple. But the healthcare issue is trying to make dollars and sense out of human life, something which has no value, as life is precious. It is sad that we have too many people who do not care about their fellow humans, fellow Americans, to want to guarantee that they get the medical care that they need. I have handed out services and goods for free to so many people, and the only reason I did it was because they needed it. I have no problem with a ta to pay for medical care, especially if it means that I can pay less tax elsewhere. What it means is that by providing care to people when they need it, and more importantly, preventative care, the COST of medical care actually goes down! And quality of human life goes UP! I had a talk with a lady at a large retailer who does not get insurance and does not make enough money to be able to buy her own policy outright. She was telling me about her medical problems, asking me what to do, etc, Sadly, she told me that she had not even had a physical exam in years. She said that she just cannot afford it. And this is a human being we are talking about. Most of her problems were preventable, had she had better screenings, more preventative care and teaching, she would be healthier. The first part of any initiative needs to be easy access to preventative care.
If Republicans offered a clear, comprehensive solution that addressed cost, quality, and coverage, I could perhaps get behind it. It seems that all they are implying is "we don't care who has health insurance; every man, woman, and child for him/herself. All we care is that there is no Obamacare."
Sadly, the Republicans are wasting time in the us VS them fight, wasting time trying to play partisan politics as opposed to working. Kind of like the Democrats when Bush was in office. The first step would be to replace congress at the next election. Send a message to people, to these "career politicians" that laziness=unemployment. Second, each person just needs to do their part. This is not an every man woman child for himself, this is Americans talking care of Americans. These are human beings we are talking about. Not dogs at the local pound, although a few politicians are about as useful as some. We as Americans need to come into the 21st Century, capitalistic or not, and provide that which our fellow humans need. Yes, it may cost more, but last time I checked, we cannot place a monetary value on human life [/b]
ObamaCare can be replaced with a simple law that allows portability of health insurance for people that are between jobs, allows sale of insurance across state lines, and prohibits the practice of refusing to give health insurance, or dropping insurance to people with preexisting conditions.
There is no reason for all the heavy-handed federal government control that we see causing havoc with the ACA.
Quite simply, yes. Of course this is a very basic outline on something we have agreed on before.
Sadly, the Republicans are wasting time in the us VS them fight, wasting time trying to play partisan politics as opposed to working. Kind of like the Democrats when Bush was in office. The first step would be to replace congress at the next election. Send a message to people, to these "career politicians" that laziness=unemployment. Second, each person just needs to do their part. This is not an every man woman child for himself, this is Americans talking care of Americans. These are human beings we are talking about. Not dogs at the local pound, although a few politicians are about as useful as some. We as Americans need to come into the 21st Century, capitalistic or not, and provide that which our fellow humans need. Yes, it may cost more, but last time I checked, we cannot place a monetary value on human life [/b]
Obama "I will not negotiate".
OMG, this post is just more "give me my freebies". One minute you say everyone has to do their part then you say that "provide" that which our fellow Americans need.
I'd like to provide for my family. Get your freakin hands out of everyone else's pockets.
In other words, a public option. Excellent idea! Too bad conservative Democrats forced the removal of that provision from the ACA.
Obama never wanted single payer. He made lip service to wanting it but he didnt go full in for it. Hes too in to the insurance companies and ACA is a pure money grab for the insurance industry.
If a constitunial amendment came up to vote on a national election with a 60% approval needed a single payer would pass if it was written correctly.
Health care used to be affordable, and it wasn't that long ago.
Doctors used to make house calls. My much older sister was bit by a dog before I was born. I was told a doctor would come to the house with his black bag to give her the rabies vaccine series of shots. Then one day a shoe salesman came to the door, she saw the black bag and ran away screaming, thinking it was the doctor.
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