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The likelihood of someone being hit by a car is pretty low while the likelihood of people needing medical care sometime in their lifetime is almost 100%. Right now if you don't have good insurance, not just any insurance but actual good insurance, then you can't get good quality health care for conditions such as cancer which require frequent treatments to cure. Right now their only hope is to qualify for some sort of government program (like Medicare) but there is a very tight threshold on that. It's so tight that the single most common cause of bankruptcies in the US isn't because someone loses their job or because they get divorced or anything like that; being unable to pay for medical bills is the single largest cause of bankruptcy in the US today. I'd say we have a very big problem with the current system, a problem no other industrialized country has. It's only logical to look at how they've solved this problem which has completely stumped us.
I have a master's degree, make a good living (I can afford to own a house in a place like San Diego and drive the car I want), and have good health insurance but I still recognize that this is a massive problem for our country not to mention a major competitiveness issue when companies like GM have to pay for health care but foreign companies get that all paid for by their national governments who successfully wring costs out of the price of health care.
The likelihood of someone being hit by a car is pretty low while the likelihood of people needing medical care sometime in their lifetime is almost 100%. Right now if you don't have good insurance, not just any insurance but actual good insurance, then you can't get good quality health care for conditions such as cancer which require frequent treatments to cure. Right now their only hope is to qualify for some sort of government program (like Medicare) but there is a very tight threshhold on that. It's so tight that the single most common cause of bankruptcies in the US isn't because someone loses their job or because they get divorced or anything like that; being unable to pay for medical bills is the single largest cause of bankruptcy in the US today. I'd say we have a very big problem with the current system; a problem no other industrialized country has. It's only logical to look at how they've solved this problem which has completely stumped us.
I don't think that the problem has stumped us; it's just that nobody in a position to deal with the problem has actually given a bleep until now.
Of course they won't. But under the present system, an MRI is a fantasy for a lot of people.
No it's not. Who has been denied an MRI?
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I would rather we have limited access (a supposition that is a lot of poppycock)
No it's not, it's happening everywhere there is the kind of health care you are seeking. How do you expect to treat anyone who wonders into this country without rationing?
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rather than a few having some access and a lot having no access.
Who in this country has no access?
It's clear you have no idea what you are talking about.
No, it's a system that assures that we all have limited access to rationed health care. Do you really think that the "rich" will be waiting 10 weeks for an MRI? hahahahahahahahahah
You don't really know what you're talking about universal health care could mean a lot of different things. In both France and Japan all the doctors and health care providers are private companies but the government pays one low price for all care. They further lower prices by standardizing everything so that, unlike in the US where every hospital has dozens to hundreds of people who's job it is to negotiate with each insurance company, most doctors in France and Japan do their own bills electronically in less then 2 minutes per patient. That saves a huge amount of money. Also because someone like the German government can negotiate with drug companies on behalf of 180 million consumers they have the market power and the economies of scale to squeeze every last cent out of suppliers just like Walmart does. Again, this slashes prices just like Walmart can sell stuff cheaper then a locally owned store.
Lastly, even in Canada where the conservative government of the 1980's ignored and starved the medical system no one waits 10 weeks for a MRI. Typically the wait time is about a week; meaning you call on a Tuesday, make an appointment, and then they see you the following Tuesday. That's as fast or faster then in the US for a highly specialized service like an MRI which most insurance companies won't agree to without a damn good reason because they're so expensive.
I don't think that the problem has stumped us; it's just that nobody in a position to deal with the problem has actually given a bleep until now.
A good point. We all know the real solution, universal health care, but the lobbyists working for the interested parties have obstructed a solution up to this point.
No it's not, it's happening everywhere there is the kind of health care you are seeking. How do you expect to treat anyone who wonders into this country without rationing?
Who in this country has no access?
It's clear you have no idea what you are talking about.
I know exactly what I am talking about. If you are questioning what I am saying, I believe you are the one who is clueless.
Let's start from the beginning. There are two major issues in the healthcare debate; access and affordability. Our healthcare system is largely dependent on access to health insurance. Health insurance is largely available only to those who can obtain it through an employer. Problem is, fewer employers are offering insurance, and fewer people even have employers. Those without employers cannot get insurance in many places because the policies are too expensive (an issue of access AND affordability), or they will not be covered because of preexisting conditions. So, there is a problem with a significant contingent of Americans having no access to health insurance. With no health insurance, an uninsured person cannot go to a physician for regular care. They cannot get prescriptions filled. They cannot get dental care or medical procedures (such as an MRI) that those who are insured can get. Are you following me? Exactly what is it I have written here that indicates that I don't know what I am talking about?
No it's not, it's happening everywhere there is the kind of health care you are seeking. How do you expect to treat anyone who wonders into this country without rationing?
Who in this country has no access?
It's clear you have no idea what you are talking about.
I have a clue. I'm a person who thinks conservative but my experiences with health insurance has been a nightmare for my wife and I these past 3 years. Absolute nightmare. My wife was denied care even with health insurance. Our huge mistake was we had an HMO that denied her proper care and forced her to jump from one doctor to the next with no treatment for her disease to the point her condition worsened. We switched out of the HMO to much better insurance with a very high premium in which she received good treatment immediately and did this without a lapse in coverage only to find ourselves fighting the new insurance company. Why? Because they wouldn't pay the doctors because of the pre-existing condition clause. That battle took many months to fight and we won. Because of the neglect my wife had in her early years of the disease she is now crippled and totally disabled. Now we have been fighting for her SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) she and her employer contributed money to for last 28 years. This battle is 2.5 years now with no movement of her case. I'm sure we are not the only ones going through this and one has to experience this mess first, I believe, to truly understand why many complain about our system and I believe the numbers are growing each year.
You don't really know what you're talking about universal health care could mean a lot of different things. In both France and Japan all the doctors and health care providers are private companies but the government pays one low price for all care. They further lower prices by standardizing everything so that, unlike in the US where every hospital has dozens to hundreds of people who's job it is to negotiate with each insurance company, most doctors in France and Japan do their own bills electronically in less then 2 minutes per patient. That saves a huge amount of money. Also because someone like the German government can negotiate with drug companies on behalf of 180 million consumers they have the market power and the economies of scale to squeeze every last cent out of suppliers just like Walmart does. Again, this slashes prices just like Walmart can sell stuff cheaper then a locally owned store.
Lastly, even in Canada where the conservative government of the 1980's ignored and starved the medical system no one waits 10 weeks for a MRI. Typically the wait time is about a week; meaning you call on a Tuesday, make an appointment, and then they see you the following Tuesday. That's as fast or faster then in the US for a highly specialized service like an MRI which most insurance companies won't agree to without a damn good reason because they're so expensive.
Better tell the Canadian gubmint then.
The Vancouver British Columbia based Fraser Institute’s annual publication “Waiting Your Turn” reports that Canada’s median waiting times form a patient’s referral by a GP to treatment by a specialist can be as much as 40 weeks. The wait for an MRI or CT ranges between four and 28 weeks. One out of three Canadian physicians sends patients to the U.S. while the Canadian government spends over $1 Billion each year on healthcare in our country.
My parents faced a similar situation when my mother was dying from terminal lung cancer (she never smoked, ate lots of veggies, and our family had no history so not even the doctors knew how it happened). My father was self employed so no insurance while my mother's job provided good quality insurance for both of them but once she got to sick to work her employer found an excuse to lay her off so the only option for them was to continue coverage via the COBRA. Their monthly insurance costs went from about $250 a month for both of them to almost $1400 per month. Thank god my father makes enough money that he could afford to continue paying that cost for almost two years because if not there isn't an insurance company in the country who would pick up a patient with a pre-existing condition such as terminal cancer. Japan uses universal health care with private networks and private providers but they have made it illegal to turn down anyone for any reason including a pre-existing condition; they can't even charge a person more because of a pre-existing condition. Yet Japanese always pay around 1/3 what Americans do for health care while receiving vastly superior care.
I have a clue. I'm a person who thinks conservative but my experiences with health insurance has been a nightmare for my wife and I these past 3 years. Absolute nightmare. My wife was denied care even with health insurance. Our huge mistake was we had an HMO that denied her proper care and forced her to jump from one doctor to the next with no treatment for her disease to the point her condition worsened. We switched out of the HMO to much better insurance with a very high premium in which she received good treatment immediately and did this without a lapse in coverage only to find ourselves fighting the new insurance company. Why? Because they wouldn't pay the doctors because of the pre-existing condition clause. That battle took many months to fight and we won. Because of the neglect my wife had in her early years of the disease she is now crippled and totally disabled. Now we have been fighting for her SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) she and her employer contributed money to for last 28 years. This battle is 2.5 years now with no movement of her case. I'm sure we are not the only ones going through this and one has to experience this mess first, I believe, to truly understand why many complain about our system and I believe the numbers are growing each year.
I have no doubt that there are cases that are a nightmare. I have no doubt that much of the reasons for that start with our gubmint. I do believe that there is plenty of room for improvement in our system but to trash the whole thing for limited care and rationed care run by the most inefficent (gubment) is not the way to go.
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