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With a UHI system there will be no “levels”of coverage. Any disease, ailment you come down with .. If there is a treatment for it, you will be treated. Your Dr will decide with YOU what your course of treatment is and it will be done. The government will not be able to overide your Dr. If there is even a remote chance for recovery, you deserve that chance if you want it. You won’t have to fear financial ruin because you got sick. Every patient that walks through those hospital doors will get treated and every patient will have been paid for such a treatment. There will be no “losses” that must be passed on to the rest of us. THIS in itself, will keep the price of procedures down. The government, much like the many different insurance companies, will negotiate prices.. FAIR prices for both all of us insured AND the doctors etc. to be treated. Because our pool of people paying INTO the system with our income taxes will be the largest pool EVER it gives us as a nation of people more bargaining power.
Those who feel that they want even more (which, quite honestly WON’T be necessary) but those who “fear” that what we’ll have will NOT be enough, by all means purchase addition Private insurance. If you can’t because you can’t afford to, you still have nothing to fear because you are covered for EVERYTHING. Private health insurance will pay for those “elective” surgeries and private rooms in hospitals.
Choices.. We all worry about choices. No one wants to be told what they can and can’t do by the Government.. But NOTHING about UHI is telling you what you CAN and CAN’T do! YOU go to whatever Dr you want to go to, whichever hospital YOU choose. If there IS a private hospital that you want to go to that isn’t UHI, then by all means purchase additional insurance for that hospital. BUT there will be so many hospitals that ARE UHI that you will have so many choices, why would you need to pay more! There will be no Dr or Hospital that would not want to be UHI.. Because it’s simple, mainstream,gurantees payment and reduces their admin costs!
All the government does in any of this, is collect the money from our paychecks in the form of UHI tax AND write the checks to the Dr’s and hospitals for the procedures (and pharmacy for our medicines).
I see NO negative to ANY of this so far!
Will the system be perfect. .NO.. NOTHING ever is.
A lot of the opposition is “why should I pay for others”. But we already are for so many things. Now I know that schools are run differently and taxed differently based on State, County or local towns.. But the bottom line is that schools are paid for through taxes. Are they perfect? NO . but we ARE getting an education. A lot of the quality of our education varies from location to location. I believe that is based on the make up of the people, their attitudes toward schools, their participation in the local formation of schools and curriculums etc. You can’t simply blame the government for a schools failure or success. Do they play a part, absolutely. Bottom line is we are all paying for all our kids of this nation to have an education AND we are paying proportionate to what our “worth is”. I can only use what my local area has as an example but here it goes.
You have a town where property values range from $200,000 - $1,000,000 (really higher.. But this is an example) Property taxes are based on assessed dollar amount. 65% of our tax bill is for schools, the rest is for local services like garbage, etc. So one persons tax bill might be $2000/year.. Another’s might be $15,000 a year.. But their kids go to the same school district. So while contributions from the wealthy are more in dollar amount it is not disproportionate to their “property values” . That same principal can be applied to salaries as far as paying into UHI.
IT can also be argued that the “wealthy” do not HAVE to send their kids to the publicly funded school.. Actually no one does. If you can afford to and have the means to and feel better about it, you can send your kids to private school and pay a tuition for that private school. This DOES NOT affect the property taxes that they pay, it’s still the same. But let’s say that they meet harder times and Private school is no longer an option, then the public schools are there for them!
We value education because if education wasn’t free, we may have a nation of uneducated bufoons! We agree that educating our population is for the betterment and advancement of our nation and it’s people.
Healthcare should be given the SAME if not more so than education.. We are talking about HUMAN Life. Good health is NOT a luxury that is available ONLY to the rich.. Just like education is NOT only a Luxury available to only the wealthy.
If people got past their “fears” and really opened their eyes to UHI they could see so much possibility and promise. For one UHI is given to EVERY INDIVIDUAL.. The employer doesn’t OWN the plan you have.. All the plans are the same.. ALL the plans include EVERYTHING (with exception to plastic surgery and elective surgeries, of course). Many of the rich feel that it’s only “the minimum cookie cutter”.. No .. it’s the maximum but for ALL NOT just the wealthy! This would mean that businesses.. Big and small, would no longer have to pay per employee for health insurance.. It’s paid for out of their taxes. Yes, they would have to contribute something to the UHI pot out of their profits, but it could be significantly less than paying for each individual employee through a prive plan. And hey if they want to offer private health insurance as an added benefit.. That‘s their perogative as well. That savings can be passed on in so many ways.. Like product development. Or better yet, when employers factor in salaries they also have to factor in benefits to that salary. That savings can also translate to offering a higher gross amount to the employee! Or for re-investment into the market.
Small businesses would be able to compete, as they will feel these savings as well (which will be significantly more for small business because they paid much more proportianaley than big business).
When someone looses their job, they don’t have to worry about whether or not they will loose their insurance because NO one looses their insurance. It goes where you go. Yes, this person will not have a salary to contribute to the pot for the time they are unemployed BUT eventually they will be employed again unless they want to be a bum and live on the streets!
Hypothetically the pot could be so big that any SURPLUS in the UHI fund can be used to invest in new medical technologies and medications!! Or just left alone.. Whatever.
With so many numbers into one pot the offsetting will be so amazing we’d all be paying LESS for getting MORE than EVER possible with a private health insurance plan.
And here is one of the best parts.. The decision s will not be made based on PROFIT .. But based on HUMAN need, human life!
Are there some problems that need to be ironed out .. Certainly . For one, we’d have to figure out a fair percentage to tax income .. But it would be a flat percentage (IMO) so proportionately we are all paying in the same. We have an immigration problem.. But here’s an idea. . All those that have a SS# get an insurance card. If someone without one doesn’t get a card, then when they are ill and seek treatment we will know then that they ARE illegal and we can find out a little more.. Where have they been working? Living? Are they criminals, if so we’ll need to deport them. They WILL get treatment, yes, but it’s a good way to find those that ARE illegal and then , based on whatever policy the nation comes up with.. Deal with them. Remember.. Our pool is so large, that it can bear that cost without breaking our backs. We are already bearing the cost for this, but because the system is so splintered it’s hurting us more now than it would under a UHI.
I actually have this more thought out.. But for lack of space, and after all this is a posting board .. I’ve shortened it.. Even though it’s long..LOL.. My point is.. If you STOP and REALLY REALLY think it out and think it through and take FEAR out of the picture, you’ll see that ray of light that the UHI will be FOR ALL!!!
I’m not going to go back and forth anymore.. If you are thinking only with fear, you are not thinking with an open mind and no amount of back and forth is going to change that.. I just watned to get all my thoughts into this post and say what I needed to say.
you honestly don't believe this do you? Talk about fantasy land.
Special needs people enjoy a form of universal heath care.
Lucky for my daughter her father provides her with good heath insurance.
The clinics that accept the access card are staffed by lazy incompetents. They change staffing as often as most folks change their socks. No continuity.
Civil service agencies are worse still. Children and youth services is a disgrace. MHMR unit a bureaucratic quagmire whose sole purpose is to perpetuate their job futures.
This is what a gov run heath care system will look like.
Another example? The VA hospital system.
What other proof is required of how bad it can be?
Oh at least its better than nothing? Tell that to the people who have been maimed by 3rd rate quacks.
you honestly don't believe this do you? Talk about fantasy land.
again.. short sightedness , fear and possibly greed really do rule your world.. and for that I do feel sorry for you..
A system like I outlined IS in effect in other parts of the world.. where their system is ranked HIGHER than the U.S system..
AGain.. I'm not going to continue to go back and forth .. as long as you all keep your fears from preventing you from openining your mind.. you'll never really grow or learn anything and this country will not progress or change things for the better.
Our system is continually deterioirating more and more. Eventually we'll get to teh point where it will get SO bad that only then will something be done.
After all.. we ignored the threat of Al Quida until they flew planes into our buildings right?
We'll ignore this and pretend that there isn't a real problem.. we'll also fool ourselves with more "bandaids" like GreatDays plans that will eventually end up failing because again.. it just adds more complexity to an already over complex system that continues to add more and more cost and headache.
So.... while those of us who are forward thinking try and try but get nowhere because of the fear and ignorance of others, we will be watching for the day when it all breaks down and what you fear NOW will be wiped away by how bad it actually got later on down the line! And the nation will learn the hard way yet again!
Again.. with most of you Im banging my head against a wall. None of the arguments i've recieved from those opposed to such a plan have given me ANYTHING credible. I really did think about each and every one of your oppositions to it.. heck I slept on it.. and the only thing I hear in any of them is fear and excuses.
And please GreatDay.. I must say that I DO respect the fact that you ARE trying to make a difference WITH a plan.. so for that Ihave to give you props and some respect.
But I DO worry about your plan because, as I illustrated it really solves nothing and only adds more complexity.
Yes, I get very "heated" so to speak on all of this.. I'm sorry.. it is an extremely emotional issue.. as human life SHOULD Be.. but I've also given it ALOT of thought and reasoning as that is how I am.. I think things through.
I'm also a very compassionate person who likes to see and understand both sides.
So it is with respect that I've poo pood your plan!
Special needs people enjoy a form of universal heath care.
Lucky for my daughter her father provides her with good heath insurance.
The clinics that accept the access card are staffed by lazy incompetents. They change staffing as often as most folks change their socks. No continuity.
Civil service agencies are worse still. Children and youth services is a disgrace. MHMR unit a bureaucratic quagmire whose sole purpose is to perpetuate their job futures.
This is what a gov run heath care system will look like.
Another example? The VA hospital system.
What other proof is required of how bad it can be?
Oh at least its better than nothing? Tell that to the people who have been maimed by 3rd rate quacks.
The misconception is that Drs and offices will become governement employees like the DMV , however, in UK all Dr's are private sector.. alot of it is private sector.. because they DO also have private health insurance..
Another reason something like the VA doesn't run efficiently is because it is underfunded, understaffed and so on .. because healthcare currently provide by the gov't is so fragmented it has no strenght.. Combine ALL of it together in ONE system it becomes less complex and much stronger.
Again.. it works in other parts of the world.. it really does!!
The misconception is that Drs and offices will become governement employees like the DMV , however, in UK all Dr's are private sector.. alot of it is private sector.. because they DO also have private health insurance..
The government just dictates how much money they are allowed to make.
With all due respect your ideas on health care are based purely on emotions and a utopian narrow view of the world. Not sure how else to say it. No disrespect intended.
And.. your special needs child will not be limited to what dr he/she can see! Etc. There will be no need for seperate coverage .. we all have the SAME coverage that COVERS ALL!
And.. if for any reason you still feel you need more, you can purchae private health insurance. As geero pointed out, however, there is no need for much private insurance as all needs are met under their UHI and quite satisfactorily. As a result Private Health insurace actually is much cheaper as it is harder for them to get people who are already very satisfied and getting what they need to pay more for smoething they don't really need.
And.. your special needs child will not be limited to what dr he/she can see! Etc.
Here is the problem that I have with your posts:
No Universal Health Care plan, for the United States, has been written, debated nor implemented.
It is only your ASSUMPTION that everything you say will happen will
You can offer no, absolute, proof -you can offer only your opinion
Will you, at the very least, and in order to be honest with everyone, admit, that you are expressing only your OPINION - and not fact?
Will you admit that?
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