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That's just it, silas. The nature of medical care is that there is no competition. It's similar to a utility. Health care is far from being a free market. That's why free market solutions don't work.
health care cannot be run like FPL or Comcast. The system in this country does NOT work. Anyone with a child or relative who has been critically ill can tell you that.
It is incredible to me that people are not concerned about this. I guess it is denial.
I don't know if a lien can by filed against your house if you have an unpaid medical debt.
When people need medical care, choices are made under duress. A fundamental aspect of free market economics is that choices are NOT made under duress. That's why free market solutions fail. If you have a heart attack, the EMTs don't give you a list of hospitals, payment plans, etc. They take you to the closest hospital. It's essentially a monopoly. I wouldn't change that aspect of health care, because that's just not reasonable. We just need a better way to control costs, fraud, etc.
looking for more thoughts on possible solutions to this insurance crisis.more opinions?
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I just read that CT is trying to enact a new healthcare option- the premiums are capped at a max of 200.00 per month. I will try and acquire more updated info. And yes- the can put a lien on your house- my neighbor was harassed by Tenet healthcare -the ambulance (for a 5 minute ride) tried to make him pay 1900.00. He even had to have an attorney get it out of collections.
<<It is incredible to me that people are not concerned about this.>>
I don't think that is the issue for most who are opposed to government sponsored health care. The issue is what makes the politician a spokesman and expert in the medical field and in the very complicated realm of medical billing procedure. Of course we've seen the overwhelming failure of big government time after time. If there is any legitimate government interest on this topic, it should be tort reform, eliminating the absurd lawsuits and many of the ridiculous lump sum awards, no thanks in part to your lovely ambulance chasing, trial lawyers, including the "altruistic" Caped Crusader himself, Mr. John Edwards.
I wonder also how many people are exactly aware of how much cost, how many bureaucratic chains one must infiltrate in order to patent a new drug, a new medicine. You might be in for a wee bit of shock. Even one entire gigantic bureaucracy in Washington DC (FDA) isn't satisfactory enough according to your government to oversee the health supplement industry (yes herbals, protein powders, and other non-prescribed items). Issues such has health care are understandably going to inflict alot of emotional knee-jerk style solutions. But a good train of thought I wish more possessed when it comes to issues such as this, public education funding, etc... is to study up and "think hard, government might just be the problem in the first place". More government very likely will proliferate the problem in regards to choices, quality of care, and certainly even higher taxes that won't just fall on the "rich". It isn't about a libertine approach. Government oversight is one thing. Bureaucratic red tape is another.
Last edited by unknown stuntman; 05-03-2007 at 10:19 AM..
A major difference I would like to point out with education is that it's a decision that is not made under duress. It's much different than riding in an ambulance to the hospital. I am all for free market solutions when it comes to education, because education IS a free market (for the most part).
wonder also how many people are exactly aware of how much cost, how many bureaucratic chains one must infiltrate in order to patent a new drug, a new medicine. You might be in for a wee bit of shock.
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No NO shock My brother is a physician. Also trial lawyers-lol- that is a bush ism and unrelated- This is a MAJOR problem in the US. It is FAILING. It needs to be fixed. I will not weep for Pfizer- you are mistaking me for the uninformed with these scare tactics.
When someone in your immediate family becomes critically ill, and you have a 5 figure lien put on your house maybe you will understand.
This is a little off topic but my question is, if companies get discounts on insurance because of employee volume, why can't the ones that aren't insured be put in their own "group" and the gov't can help alleviate some of the premiums or *gasp* the insurance can have a heart and work with the uninsured?
wonder also how many people are exactly aware of how much cost, how many bureaucratic chains one must infiltrate in order to patent a new drug, a new medicine. You might be in for a wee bit of shock.
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No NO shock My brother is a physician. Also trial lawyers-lol- that is a bush ism and unrelated- This is a MAJOR problem in the US. It is FAILING. It needs to be fixed. I will not weep for Pfizer- you are mistaking me for the uninformed with these scare tactics. .
No scare tactics intended. Do I have a concrete solution? No. I am just telling who ever reads the post to be aware of what sounds like a "sweet deal". I spent time in a medical billing office w/ handling the in-and-outs and the more experience I got, the more I actually just felt I was on the "out". It is a complicated and confusing mess, even for the seemingly simplest of medical procedures. But some times the most complicated messes are what bureaucracies create.
The "trial lawyer" aspect is not only relevant, but needs to be pointed out because I hear alot less of it through the mainstream media and even these boards than I do of greedy pharmaceutical companies, who of course share a burden of the blame as well. The "Bushism" comment has zero relevancy, especially since I am far from being a supporter. Tort reform is and has been a huge issue and no one is stepping to the plate: not Bush, not Clinton, not your lovely Congressional leaders in your district. Perhaps Bush has made mention of it, but obviously most every thing out of our politicans' mouth is simply double talk. Surprise, surprise. There is plenty of blame to pass around, regardless of what percentage of blame falls where. The last person however I want to hear from in regards to a plan for universal health care is John Edwards: as two-faced a hypocrite as the next politician. This "plan" of his, he keeps supposedly elaborating on has never made ANY mention to tort reform. Big surprise.
Last edited by unknown stuntman; 05-03-2007 at 11:09 AM..
A major difference I would like to point out with education is that it's a decision that is not made under duress. It's much different than riding in an ambulance to the hospital. I am all for free market solutions when it comes to education, because education IS a free market (for the most part).
Very true and I think that would be an excellent debate of how much of this really currently is the free-market at force when discussing our current healthcare system. I'm all for free market when it truly is free market. I am "conservative" in plenty of my philosophies but I digress from alot of these conservatives as to what exactly entails "free market" and "capitalism" at play. Health care I'm an open book right now. When I hear "free market" as it applies to say, oil and gas price issues, I cringe. I don't necessarily think the free market doesn't work. It is that I don't believe free market is even in action in the case of oil, because of government. As much as I hate big government and bureaucracy, it bothers me just as much when some complain about the meddling of big government only in convenient circumstances.
Last edited by unknown stuntman; 05-03-2007 at 11:11 AM..
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