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Really? Thats your answer? So a few *******s profit out of me, and get to take away my entertainment too? Are you having slaves too?, cause you souund like you do!!!
I am not sure dropping $160 will make up for thousands in medical bills!!!! Your math is worst than mine! And your ignorance and lack of care for your fellow citizens must be bliss indeed! Let me guess, you also have a Romney/Ryan sticker on your car too? Right?
Explain to me then why are we working hard for our money?
You pay $160 per month for Cable?
How much fresh fruit & vegetables, or non-processed staples, could be bought for $160 per month?
When our kids were growing up, my wife cleaned a dental center - in the middle of the night - for $6 per hour. She worked those hours so I could be home with the kids. Her ONE benefit is that the dentist waived any charges not covered by insurance.
Pretty good gig. Of course, she was doing what the overwhelming majority of people refused to do, because it was hard work, inconvenient, and during bad hours. Even so, together we did what we needed to do.
What is the suggestion for those who don't have a dental office available to clean at midnight? You don't have much faith in Americans do ya Big George. Most of us work just as hard as you did, some even more. Some cleaned up after 911 and they still can't get insured. Some fought in our wars and can't find a job or housing. Fancy that. Life isn't the same for everybody but at least our healthcare should be.
What is the suggestion for those who don't have a dental office available to clean at midnight? You don't have much faith in Americans do ya Big George. Most of us work just as hard as you did, some even more. Some cleaned up after 911 and they still can't get insured. Some fought in our wars and can't find a job or housing. Fancy that. Life isn't the same for everybody but at least our healthcare should be.
No, I don't have much faith in Americans any more. Fat, lazy, spoiled people who DEMAND to get everything handed to them for free. We EXPECT to live lives of luxury without having to pay for it.
I cannot even begin to tell you how many people have come to me for financial counseling, and for help getting themselves back on track. And in EVERY case, they are WASTING hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars per month on stupid crap they think they need. It's mind-boggling. And when we go through their expenditures line by line, all they can do is offer excuses. "But I NEED to get my nails done every week! It's how I get happy!"
Same old same old...
On the other hand, an outstanding young couple who are friends of our family, are getting along quite nicely on his $10 per hour job. She's going to school & doesn't work outside the home. The bought a TINY house for $45,000, live frugally, and are making out like bandits. They don't have huge expenses because they simply don't buy crap they don't need. Every month they put money in savings (maybe that $160 per month for cable TV could go into savings?), and they have almost $20,000 in their savings account. It's amazing how that works, even though most people claim it can't be done.
And on cue, the old, "IT CAN'T BE DONE!!!!!!" train is rolled out onto the tracks.
FIY, they just bought their own home. A very reasonably priced, small, starter home - but one they'll likely live in for the rest of their lives. They drive an older car that is paid for. They don't have cable. They don't have credit cards. THAT is the key. THAT is where most of you REFUSE to compromise or admit that you're wasting money. You expect every luxury in the book, and act as though it is a necessity.
Heads up here folks! You do not NEED a 42" flat screen TV. You don't NEED to pay $175 per month for hi-def cable. You don't NEED to pay $250 per month for cell phones with data access. You don't NEED to pay $400 per month to own a car. You don't NEED to provide your kids with computers and computer games.
There's a HUGE difference between NEED and WANT. And THAT is what most Americans completely fail to understand.
Cel is cheaper than house phone, no charge for long distance either. Cable is expensive and old style, most young people have Roku which is a fifty dollar one time fee at Walmart and 10 bucks a month. Most people I know drive older cars, not new ones and own reasonable homes or rent as low as they can find in their area that's safe enough to raise kids in. You aren't talking about the majority of America.
Besides the cable line and living in a affordable city, why wouldn't Americans want to pay less for more healthcare? It would be as wise as not paying for cable or using your old car? If you are for these measures than why keep a system that you are paying to much for for to little coverage?
In other words, why would you be thrifty in other areas of your life only to throw it away to healthcare costs when you could change that? It doesn't make sense to me. Why wouldn't you go all the way with your thrifty attitude?
No, I don't have much faith in Americans any more. Fat, lazy, spoiled people who DEMAND to get everything handed to them for free. We EXPECT to live lives of luxury without having to pay for it.
I cannot even begin to tell you how many people have come to me for financial counseling, and for help getting themselves back on track. And in EVERY case, they are WASTING hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars per month on stupid crap they think they need. It's mind-boggling. And when we go through their expenditures line by line, all they can do is offer excuses. "But I NEED to get my nails done every week! It's how I get happy!"
Same old same old...
On the other hand, an outstanding young couple who are friends of our family, are getting along quite nicely on his $10 per hour job. She's going to school & doesn't work outside the home. The bought a TINY house for $45,000, live frugally, and are making out like bandits. They don't have huge expenses because they simply don't buy crap they don't need. Every month they put money in savings (maybe that $160 per month for cable TV could go into savings?), and they have almost $20,000 in their savings account. It's amazing how that works, even though most people claim it can't be done.
That's true to some extent, some do waste money, I hear ya. I know some money wasters and some very frugal people with a bit of bad luck. But, not everyone in America can buy a start up home for 45,000. Not even a condo. I'm guessing they live in an area where the income ratio is higher than the real estate. Good for them. But, what if an accident occurs? What if they can't work?
Plus, is she going to school on a loan? A grant from the government? Or is she paying cash for school out of that $30,000? I would thank my lucky stars if I were them as well and agree with you they are in a good situation to be able to be fully insured, afford college and a home, food and well being on that little amount a year. All because of their frugal tendencies but, why then wouldn't they want to apply them to our healthcare. Pool the money together in America, trim the system as they have done with their lives and pay less for healthcare?
Cel is cheaper than house phone, no charge for long distance either. Cable is expensive and old style, most young people have Roku which is a fifty dollar one time fee at Walmart and 10 bucks a month. Most people I know drive older cars, not new ones and own reasonable homes or rent as low as they can find in their area that's safe enough to raise kids in. You aren't talking about the majority of America.
Besides the cable line and living in a affordable city, why wouldn't Americans want to pay less for more healthcare? It would be as wise as not paying for cable or using your old car? If you are for these measures than why keep a system that you are paying to much for for to little coverage?
In other words, why would you be thrifty in other areas of your life only to throw it away to healthcare costs when you could change that? It doesn't make sense to me. Why wouldn't you go all the way with your thrifty attitude?
Sorry, but I'm not biting on your attempted obfuscation, eloquent though it may be.
When I talk about Americans being fat, lazy, spoiled, and filled with an entitlement mentality, I AM talking about the majority of Americans! Who made up the rule that said we all deserve to live in big houses, where each of our kids has their own bedroom and bathroom, and we have a 5-car garage? Why do you think we're all so danged fat - and don't even TRY to tell me it's because we can't afford good food! And who made up the rule that every kid needs their own iPhone, and ought to be wearing $220 shoes to school? The more we have, the more we demand - and always act as though somebody owes it to us.
Big George: TAXES we all pay go twoards that "free" education, and if I give u my school supply list, you will notice it is anything but "free"! Hate to tell u, but u don't sound like u travel much, well I did and all countries have "free" education through public schools that is paid once again by people who work and have TAXES taken out monthly, who also pay taxes when they renew their driver licenses, property taxes etc etc etc....the PROBLEM in the US versus the rest of the world is that here 60% of all taxes go to the kilitary, and the rest is spend 2% here, 6% there which is why there is never enough money available for education, and we the parents continue to supply the schools out if our already taxed ridiculously low incomes!!!!!!
That's true to some extent, some do waste money, I hear ya. I know some money wasters and some very frugal people with a bit of bad luck. But, not everyone in America can buy a start up home for 45,000. Not even a condo. I'm guessing they live in an area where the income ratio is higher than the real estate. Good for them. But, what if an accident occurs? What if they can't work?
Plus, is she going to school on a loan? A grant from the government? Or is she paying cash for school out of that $30,000? I would thank my lucky stars if I were them as well and agree with you they are in a good situation to be able to be fully insured, afford college and a home, food and well being on that little amount a year. All because of their frugal tendencies but, why then wouldn't they want to apply them to our healthcare. Pool the money together in America, trim the system as they have done with their lives and pay less for healthcare?
I'm fully aware of the variable cost of living, based on location. But I'm also aware of the FACT that the overwhelming majority of Americans would REFUSE to live in this couple's $45,000 home, even if given the choice.
And what IF an accident occurs? And? What if I died tomorrow? What would that mean? You deal with the hand you're dealt.
How does this relate to healthcare? Simple. First of all, admit that we have an EXCELLENT healthcare system that needs to be tweaked. It does NOT need to be thrown out, and an entirely new system started from scratch. The Obama Administration is making a helluva lot of noise, and trying to hit an unnecessary home run, when what they really need to do is hit single. Streamline federal expenditures & coordinate with individual state plans.
But most of all, Americans need to stop being so danged lazy, selfish and greedy. You do NOT need to run your "precious" to the doctor every time he/she has a sniffle. You should NOT run to the doctor for medicine instead of getting off your lazy a$$ and exercising. WE are our OWN primary healthcare providers! I need to take care of MYSELF, rather than expecting everybody else to do what I will NOT do.
No, I don't think we should adopt socialized medicine. That being said, I think we need to adopt changes. To fix these problems, we need three things.
(1) We need massive tort reform and protection for hospitals and doctors so that they are not required to order every test and procedure to avoid litigation. There are so many lawsuits that are settled out of court even though they lack merit because it's cheaper to settle than go to trial. Protection needs to be afforded so that judges throw out frivolous cases so it doesn't get to that level. There are many hospital admissions that are not warranted but are done to avoid litigation. There needs to be a good samaritan like law that protects doctors against litigation in a good faith effort to save a patient's life or treat a patient.
(2) The other problem is insurance companies need some type of direct federal regulation where premiums are regulated. Insurance companies make money and would continue to make money if they charged the same premiums they were charging 10 years ago. Insurance company executives continue to have pay increases despite offering to cover less and less items.
(3) Increase reimbursement for some physicians by reducing reimbursement for others. Some fields of medicine are grossly overpaid such as radiology, radiation oncology, anesthesiology, ophthalmology, dermatology, ENT, orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery. For example, the anesthesiologist got paid $900 for giving propofol for a 20 minute procedure while the gastroenterologist who actually did the colonoscopy and took all the risk was reimbursed $250. Radiation Oncologists charge $30,000 to $50,000 for adiation treatments, even when accounting for the cost of the machine etc, it doesn't warrant that much money and radonc doctors make millions a year. Radiologists get paid per image which takes them a couple of minutes at most in some cases. Imagine getting paid $100 to spend 2 minutes reading a film.
Meanwhile, OBGYN, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery are fields that are grossly underpaid and are the services that most people need. By increasing reimbursement for these fields, most medical students will elect to go into these fields and will increase access to healthcare for millions. They are already doing this but the increased reimbursement isn't significant and the reduced reimbursement isn't significant for the other fields. At this pace, medical students will still avoid primary care.
I for one do not want politicians or federal employees to decide what care i can or cannot get. do you really want some bureaucrat to tell you what your surgery mother or your wifes mom can or cannot have?
The thing is, the insurance companies now are deciding what care you do or do not get, along with your bank account also telling you. If you can't afford something that your insurance doesn't cover, you don't get it. Or if you do try to do it on credit, you run yourself into the chance of going bankrupt. How is that better than letting the government manage the financial aspects of medical care so you can be GUARANTEED to get any care you might need any time in the future? As others have mentioned, this is not some new concept- most all countries in the world- and especially ALL fully developed countries besides the U.S. have universal health care, and most are run well and the people get all care that they need. So for us to sit here and say that somehow all other countries are wrong and that our system is laughable.
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You don't have much faith in Americans do ya Big George. Most of us work just as hard as you did, some even more. Some cleaned up after 911 and they still can't get insured. Some fought in our wars and can't find a job or housing. Fancy that. Life isn't the same for everybody but at least our healthcare should be.
