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I wish we could go back to the days when things were a bit simpler. Not the dark ages, mind you, but I remember my mom taking me to the doctor and just expecting to pay out of pocket. It was a direct charge, direct pay. No middle man, no insurance companies or deductables. We weren't rich by any stretch of the immagination. In fact, she was divorced, sporadic child support coming in, and worked 2 jobs that couldn't have paid much more than minimum wage. That being said, I remember her making monthly payments for my braces, etc. It just didn't seem like medical costs dug that deep into the budget. I think some of the cost is of course, due to advances in technology, which is good, but I also believe alot of it is the middleman (insurance companies) and the drug companies. Watch television for any stretch of time and you'll see a pill for just about anything anymore. And it is now on the patient to "ask your doctor if x is right for you" instead of the doctor suggesting it. It's almost like we've been conditioned to try the newest designer drugs. We've become a nation obsessed with this mess. If all these middlemen drive up the cost, what makes you think government is going to be any different? You can go to HomeDepot and buy a tolit seat for under $20. You think the government does that? Those are some pretty expensive govt tolit seats. I don't know what the answer is, but I tend to think that government mucks stuff up more than it fixes things.
A concern of mine is this whole taxing those who receive health benefits. Employers will pass the taxes on to employees. More disturbing though is that somehow the unions are exempt from being affected by these medical taxes. How is that right?
the republicans just bash the healthcare reform and offer nothing new...the current system is not working..it has a lot of problems but we never heard answers from the right on how to fix it....spending 20% of the GDP on healthcare by 2015 is a problem...millions of american not being able to afford healthcare is a problem.
Health care spending accounted for 10.9 percent of the GDP in Switzerland, 10.7 percent in Germany, 9.7 percent in Canada and 9.5 percent in France, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
why are we spending twice as much and its not even better healthcare...people is the US are not as happy with our healtcare as people are in those countries.
I have no real issues with the current system. The problem, for many, is getting access to it, with no insurance there are limits to what services you wiil recieve. When those without health insurance are treated, the costs are passed on to the rest of us. I hope that we can either get a system in place that provides the citizens that want health care an affordable alternative to what is currently out there. That, or the threat of doing so forces the Insurance industry to change their rules so that those with pre-exsisting conditions can get coverage and they lower the rates so that individuals can afford to buy it. If either is done we should see, heck we should demand, a reduction in medical costs since there would be many Millions fewer people recieving care without coverage.
Casper
Your premise is that it needs "fixing". But recent polls show that about 75% of Americans are happy with their health care insurance (that figure might be slightly lower — I don't remember the exact figure, but that is close enough for this discussion).
The problem with any government program is that the government will insert itself into every aspect of your life. You will be put on a waiting list for services, and if the government decides that you don't need it (or at your age, they won't give it to you), you won't get it.
Government "health care" in other countries that have it, is a disaster. It doesn't work, and the government gets to "dictate" what you can and can't have.
Do you really want the government in control of your health/life? I don't. We all know how well the government runs everything else.
Anything the government is involved in costs far more and services are less.
Tell your Congressmen to "shove it" (figuratively, of course)
This is the point. There is NO Healthcare crisis. Liberals say there are 46 million uninsured, but this includes millions of illegals and millions of people currently eligible for Government insurance, younger people whose premiums are typically not that high and people with incomes of $ 50K+.
As you note, most insured people are happy with their insurance. Some people CHOOSE no to purchase insurance and they should be allowed to make that choice. There is no sense in destroying a system that most people are happy with to model it after Government insurance programs (Medicare, Medicaid) that have tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities.
All I know is that there are a lot of broken components and that they need to be fixed now. There's nothing like a doctor admitting that the current healthcare system has completely failed you and shaking their head because there's nothing they can do about it. They need to eliminate the one-year gap between applying for disability through Medicare and actually receiving benefits. When a doctor orders something, it needs to be paid for by the insurance carrier with no exceptions (that includes orphan and/or non-FDA approved drugs). The ADA needs to do something about getting insurance to cover more of the cost of regular dental care (i.e. crowns, root canals, fillings, periodontal procedures, orthodonture, etc.). We need many, many, many more beds to be made available in Nursing homes and Assisted Living facilities. Waiting lists of 7-10 years is absolutely insane. The existing facilities need to be heavily improved and modernized. There need to be medical plans to pay for in-home care, hospice care, AL or NH care, or other similar needs that can't disqualify the patient for any pre-existing conditions or medical history. They need to scrap HIPAA.
This is the point. There is NO Healthcare crisis. Liberals say there are 46 million uninsured, but this includes millions of illegals and millions of people currently eligible for Government insurance, younger people whose premiums are typically not that high and people with incomes of $ 50K+.
As you note, most insured people are happy with their insurance. Some people CHOOSE no to purchase insurance and they should be allowed to make that choice. There is no sense in destroying a system that most people are happy with to model it after Government insurance programs (Medicare, Medicaid) that have tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities.
There are some on the "left" (far, far left ) who propose making health insurance MANDATORY - that if you do not have insurance - you will be fined - penalized. They want to take away, literally, a basic FREEDOM - and that is the Freedom of Choice.
Regardless of how I might feel about those who CHOOSE to NOT buy insurance - for whatever reason, I will defend this FREEDOM - and I condemn those who seek to take this, and other, FREEDOM(s) away.
but who will pick oranges or skin pigs for less than $2 an hour...
Problem is..there getting more then $2.00 an hour....and they spread E-coli. You think they take a potty break and go to a bathroom or just sh*t on your lettuce..
You might look at this thread. The OP links to a study, which, while I don't agree with all the assumptions in it, does have some good information on just who is insured and who is not.
No, they just take up a lot of valuable time. We do use samples of some meds, b/c we have patients who can't afford them, or to give a med a "trial" before ordering a full 30 days worth.
So taking up the valuable time = snake oil salesman?
It sounds to me that those trials and free samples seem to be a good thing, wouldn't you agree?
Some of the samples are worthwhile. Many of them we don't use, so we don't accept them. Taking up a lot of time does add to the cost of health care. As in every business, time is money. In addition, the "snake oil salesman" ideation comes from them only being educated in a few drugs, not being pharmacists or any other type of health care professional.
Happy now?
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) who propose making health insurance MANDATORY - that if you do not have insurance - you will be fined - penalized. They want to take away, literally, a basic FREEDOM - and that is the Freedom of Choice.
