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For the record, I think Obamacare makes things worse for not only poor people but rich people. Whether a GOPer could contrive a worse plan remains to be seen. I'm sure if we get one in 2016 he/she will make a solid run at it. They always do no matter the "side".
Yes, I went philosophical on you with the money angle and I would even agree with you that cash and carry for routine care probably did work better. Actually I think it did much better.
BUT
(now back to philosophy)
The introduction of money into any natural process (which is what health care is) ALWAYS makes the process much worse. Whether the money is in the form of "government regulation" (Gangster A) or private enterprise (Gangster B) all you are doing is contriving and manipulating a basic need for profit.
If I can't get some folks to go all in on communism I would hope we could at least take money out of the processes of basic human needs.
There's plenty of money to be made in entertainment/ non-essential ventures (breast implants, mom and pop pizza shops, juggling, whatever you can make a buck on).
It's 2013 and people in this country don't have homes, cut meds in half, have to buy water to drink cuz of poor infrastructure and profit margins (again blaming both so-called sides...L vs. R).
It's madness and has to end.
Without wanting to hurt your feelings, I think what you are saying is daft.
Healthcare is NOT a natural process, nor is food production, clothing etc., etc., etc. These are ECONOMIC processes.
A medium of exhange, with a commonaly known and accepted value MUST be used. Barter is not possible. Are you going to go to the doctor with a 3 chickets and a duck, or a round of cheese. And how do you make change.
It is impossible.
Serously, I think you need to rethink your entire position re: currencies, or medium of exchange etc., as they are essential to any even slightly-advanced economy.
It will be 3013 in a thousand years, and there will still be those people at both ends of the standard bell-curve distribution. There will always be poor, except the definition will change over time, as it always has. It is up to people to make their own way in life, and those that refuse must be made to suffer the consequences, or more and more will opt out. Being a slacker MUST hurt, to deter slackerness.
Not sure why it would cost us any more - we'd just take the money we give to insurance companies and use it to pay for the universal system. Why do we need the insurance company middlemen? And for those that say they don't want the government making decisions about your healthcare - the insurance companies already do that when they deny the procedure or medication your doctor prescribed.
We don't need the insurance company middlemen, but they are Big Business in America, and no politician is going to go against their wishes. Least of all Obama, who pretends to care for the little guy while funneling money to the ultra-rich via bailouts and stimulus.
Instead of choosing between a free market system with insurance middlemen, or government-run health care like you find in the military, Obamacare protects the profits of all the "big winners" of the current system (Big Pharma, Big Insurance, health care conglomerates) while simply mandating that we all buy the most expensive "one size fits all" coverage out there, as well as cover those who choose to pay the small penalty and not buy insurance until they have a major health problem. It's the worst of both worlds.
Obamacare does not touch the problems of lawsuits (which create doctor shortages in some specialties and cause doctors everywhere to order many tests that are not really necessary) or sky-high malpractice insurance premiums (which doctors must pass on to their patients). Nor did it address the fact that the government's "War on Drugs" has created a level of costly bureaucracy and unnecessary doctor visits that is beyond belief--with patients being required to physically return every 28 days (13 times a year) and pay for a full doctor's visit ($150 or so) even when the condition is chronic and all the patient does is pick up the prescription, and with every patient having to pay for random drug tests several times a year (which has nothing to do with health, but is simply "fishing" for the Drug War).
And thanks to Obama's pandering to Special Interests with mandates like "mental health parity" (treating every mental illness as if it were a physical illness, with no limits), there is now a bottomless pit of new costs to be covered by everyone--for instance, expensive facilities for drug abuse and alcoholism rehab will now have to be covered by insurance without limits.
While Obamacare does add in various new taxes to cover the increased costs, let's look just at the effect of those subsidies on federal income tax receipts--something I do not think Obamacare addresses at all. There is, in effect, a "tax cut" for every one of the 26 million citizens expected to buy health insurance on the exchanges and receive subsidies. A family of 4 making $94,200 will get a subsidy of $3,550 (Millions eligible for Obamacare subsidies, but most don't know it - Apr. 23, 2013), reducing their previous income tax bill from about $8,400 to $4,850. With an average subsidy of $5,510 per family, we are looking at a situation where only families making more than $75,000 a year will pay any income tax at all. Instead of 46.4% paying no federal income tax, we will be looking at...55%? 60%?
And to make things worse, the subsidies are refundable--meaning that if the cost of insurance exceeds your federal income tax liability, the IRS will send you a check. Currently, we have about 30% of workers making money off the income tax system, mainly from the Earned Income Tax Credit. That percentage will increase significantly once Obamacare kicks in. With all these people now getting checks, the 35-40% of workers still paying federal income tax will be doubly hit with covering the losses of those now paying nothing, as well as paying the cost of the checks being sent out. This does not bode well for the hard-working taxpayer trying to make ends meet and save for retirement.
Our current health care system could have been improved in countless ways, for instance improving the number of doctors by offering medical school scholarships in return for a few years of public service--which is exactly how the military serves its personnel. Medicare and Medicaid enrollees could be served by these new doctors at very low cost.
But none of the real problems with our current system were addressed. Instead, we were simply ordered to buy the expensive product of a for-profit company, and the tidbit of tax breaks was to make everything okay. The next few years are going to be even more of a fiscal disaster than Obama's previous ones, and only one thing is for sure: those expensive mandates that were scheduled for 2014 are going to be pushed back beyond the election, and Democrats are going to be saved from having to face the results of their fiscal insanity for another 4 years.
Without wanting to hurt your feelings, I think what you are saying is daft.
Healthcare is NOT a natural process, nor is food production, clothing etc., etc., etc. These are ECONOMIC processes.
A medium of exhange, with a commonaly known and accepted value MUST be used. Barter is not possible. Are you going to go to the doctor with a 3 chickets and a duck, or a round of cheese. And how do you make change.
It is impossible.
Serously, I think you need to rethink your entire position re: currencies, or medium of exchange etc., as they are essential to any even slightly-advanced economy.
It will be 3013 in a thousand years, and there will still be those people at both ends of the standard bell-curve distribution. There will always be poor, except the definition will change over time, as it always has. It is up to people to make their own way in life, and those that refuse must be made to suffer the consequences, or more and more will opt out. Being a slacker MUST hurt, to deter slackerness.
We will have to agree to disagree then.
If you or Adam Smith's ghost ever finally solve the Paradox of Value question or finally figure out how to measure or observe a "util" I'd love to know.
If you or Adam Smith's ghost ever finally solve the Paradox of Value question or finally figure out how to measure or observe a "util" I'd love to know.
Everyone understands the concept of money as an exchange medium, and has an intrinsic understanding of its value.
As far as a "util" goes, I have no clue as how to answer that, but it doesn't seem to matter.
Actually that's the criticism of Smith's paradox. He assumes universal understanding of the value of something which is pure folly.
I might not understand the difference between Item A and Item B (perhaps they are things I am not familiar with), but if A costs $5.00 and B. costs $10.00, and sales are make at those prices, by people who do know their values, I can be pretty sure B is twice as valuable as A.
I might not understand the difference between Item A and Item B (perhaps they are things I am not familiar with), but if A costs $5.00 and B. costs $10.00, and sales are make at those prices, by people who do know their values, I can be pretty sure B is twice as valuable as A.
I wish people would get it through their little pin heads that ERs DO NOT PROVIDE HEALTHCARE THEY PROVIDE ACUTE EMERGENCY CARE. ER professionals can pull your ass back from death or deal with blunt force trauma, fire arms discharges or dealing with what is left after a motor vehicle accident. They do not treat cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabettes ,renal disease, auto immune disorders, orthopaedic reconstruction, COPD, recovering from strokes or neurological issues. If it is obvious what the problem is they will do is gives you a piece of paper included in discharge papers that gives a list of doctors mostly specialists to get real health care doctors or their gate keepers who will ask you right off the bat do you have insurance the practice accepts and if not can you pay up front.
For most low income Americans the answer is usually no so that ends the course of treatment until the problem mushrooms into another life threatening crisis and we do this all over again.
That's why we have medical bankruptcy, so indigent people can have a way of covering their bills run up in the emergency room.
Imported from China, but made in Myanmar. Chinese labor costs are too high these days, so they are outsourcing.
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