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If the public was informed they would give expanded healthcare serious consideration. But the public is not informed.
Although all systems have flaws those who have experienced socialized healthcare usually see it in a positive and beneficial way.
The health insurance industry has the money, power, and access to the media to finance manufactured fear about changing the status quo of healthcare. The usual and predictable scare tactics are used to condemn anything which may threaten their profits. To many, socialized healthcare is equivalent to erecting a large statue of Lenin in Washington.
Ok, let me ask you (and everyone else) some BASIC QUESTIONS:
Assuming there is majority support for a single payer health insurance program: How do you implement it?
How do you get everyone to pay into it (remembering not everyone is employed or has deductions or the underground economy)?
How big would the federal bureauacy have to be to implement a single payer system?
Would people be allowed to "Opt out" of such a system?
Well here is the thing about that - at least for me... and I would assume many other posters - we are not experts in the field of medical health care. So I am not sure it would make sense to try to detail a plan here in a message post. I do know that several well researched and extremely detailed plans have been thought through and proposed by appropriate experts in the medical health care field.
The biggest block is really just breaking through the politics to bring these plans to the table and then have a frank discussion about them. I just don't understand why every other major industrialized country seems to be able to do it and yet for us it would be impossible and unacheivable. Yes, we have more people, but that should not serve as an excuse not to have a discussion. Especially when the current system is causing jobs to be lost in America, and causing consumers so much extra money for any American made products they purchase.
I am doing the same.
We have a Naval Hospital here,quite a lot of the care is contracte out to the civilian hospital.Probably part of that whole shrinking the military budget some President did...
You talking about the legislation to drum down after the cold war that Bush Sr. signed and was implemented on Clinton's term?
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Originally Posted by oz in SC
How would you make Doctors stay in a system that doesn't pay?
Some military doctors have civilian practices.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oz in SC
Why would someone go through all that schooling and expense to then not make enough money?
It doesn't have to be expensive. Presentely, medical school training is rationed. If it weren't, the cost would go down.
Well you know that Active Duty can't sue the government right?
Personally I would say do away with all of the malpractice suits, if a Doctor does something wrong due to negligence they get fired and lose their license, AFTER going before a Medical Review Committee.
The Lawsuits are out of control and is a bad way to balance healthcare IMO.
So if due to medical negligence, your 25 year son is crippled and co no longer practice his profession, and can't make a living, he shouldn't be able to sue?
Based on the amount of training the Doctors would get paid more of course.
Classical musicians have more training than most EVERY profession I can think of. Not many people start training when their 5. Yet even the highest paid classical music musicians, playing at the Met, for instance make under $200K. Most make less than $50K working at other jobs to make a living.
So if due to medical negligence, your 25 year son is crippled and co no longer practice his profession, and can't make a living, he shouldn't be able to sue?
I support the right to litigate for compensatory damages. But, not punitive damages
But... without punitive damages, it's harder to put a dent in the industry and really create an incentive for people to change their ways, isn't it?... although maybe this should apply more to corporations than to individuals... on the other hand, when someone steals $200 from you and you end up in court, the court typically doesn't simply tell the thief to give you the $200 back. It's strange to me that many conservatives are so adamantly anti-defendant in criminal cases and pro-defendant in civil cases, especially when the defendant's a big corporation, or so it seems.
But even if we made those changes, lawsuits and insurance only make up 3% of the total medical costs. Some specialties pay a higher percentage than others (think ob/gyn) but overall, this isn't what is driving healthcare costs up. Well, at least according to the people that are better at crunching numbers than I am.
But... without punitive damages, it's harder to put a dent in the industry and really create an incentive for people to change their ways, isn't it?... although maybe this should apply more to corporations than to individuals... on the other hand, when someone steals $200 from you and you end up in court, the court typically doesn't simply tell the thief to give you the $200 back. It's strange to me that many conservatives are so adamantly anti-defendant in criminal cases and pro-defendant in civil cases, especially when the defendant's a big corporation, or so it seems.
Apples and oranges
In a criminal case, the victim has essentially nothing to do with the case. The "State" is the Plaintiff (State v ......). And, in many criminal cases, the court DOES ORDER restititution
In a civil case, it is different. And, the right to sue is, and has been, to make someone "whole" - the concept of "punishing" (punitive damages) is a fairly recent adjunct. If you want punitive damages - cap them. As it is right now, you can get a compensatory damage award of $1.00 and a punitive damage award of $10,000,000. Does not compute.
As an aside, I have been involved in a fair amount of jury polling after trial - and when asked about punitive damages that were awarded, the most common answer is "oh, it is just the insurance company paying - not the defendant" or "there is no problem - it's not like the doctor is paying this out of his pocket".
Those were some interesting stories. Let me share another. Our neighbors were on vacation in Canada. Their daughter got a sore throat, so they took her to the dr. The dr. prescribed the antibiotics w/o doing a throat culture. He told them that was because the Canadian system pays for lab tests but not for drugs. So the docs learn to work the system. Just prescribe the drugs, which the pt. will pay for, instead of doing the throat culture, which the health service would pay for. In this country, the culture would be done, then antibiotics prescribed only if the pt. had strep. Overuse of antibiotics is a big concern, and "playing the system" happens in any system.
I am not sure I understand your point. Doctors automatically prescribe antibiotics all the time here in the US without cultures. I actually was prescribed antibiotics a couple of years ago without a throat culture because I started feeling bad right after my son had a confirmed case of strep throat. I normall avoid antibiotics at all costs because of the overuse is a HUGE concern of mine and they also wreak havoc on you, but since my son had just had it, I thought it was a reasonable assumption.
Yes there are always going to be "bad apples" and people that abuse the system.
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