Do you want Govt Health Care?

[Rookie120 0]

So with some politicians trying to sell the Govt health care issue I would like to hear so different views on the subject. I dont think the Govt has any business in my choice of doctors or type of care. The first question I have is how in the hell could we pay for everybodies health care? It seems like some people bitch about the Govt being in there business but would dump this big part of there lives in there lap. How long until that section that controls health care of the Govt would become a bloated department that so many other parts of the govt have become. Just a few examples of Govt inefficiency would be the FAA, TSA, FEMA and thats not even the tip of the iceberg. The Govt cannot even deliver a bottle of water to people in New Orleans 4 days after a hurricane but some want them to be in charge of my health care? I dont think so!!!!!!

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[Royd 0]

Take a look at the DMV. They are only issuing a 2x3 laminated card.

[shropshire 0]

<>

Easy - get your government to stop wasting as much money as it currently does.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Gawain 0]

There is not a single thing that our government does more efficiently than the private sector.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Squeak 17]

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The first question I have is how in the hell could we pay for everybodies health care? mad]

The same wya many other nations provide Gov't health care

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Rookie120 0]

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The same wya many other nations provide Gov't health care

You mean just tax the hell out of us? Do you really want the US govt to be in charge of your health care? They dont seem to be able to do anything else worth a shit what makes you think this would be any different?

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck!

[shropshire 0]

If you dont trust you government ... change it.

They work for you (in theory) not the other wat around.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[pirana 0]

I voted Hell No! I've worked in the system for 23 years and my experience indicates with no uncertainty whatsoever that as much as some don't like certain attributes of it now; it could, and will, get much worse if we turn it into a huge arm of the government. What we need is an overhaul of the rules and regulations, a leveling of the playing field, and true competition. That may be a pipe dream considering the power of some of the special interest groups - but it is the path to an effective use of resources. I do not believe competition and fair play are mutually exclusive attributes.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[wmw999 2,589]

Squeak lives in Australia. I believe his country has nationalized insurance. So I have a feeling that, based on what he posted, he's happy with it, and its impact on his wallet. And I don't think the US is likely to take over Australia and manage their health insurance any time soon.

Consider the cost of
a. advertising of drugs
b. insurance paperwork overhead

on our overall health care costs. It's VERY significant. Do you really enjoy paying for those? They wouldn't go away, but the paperwork and administration cost would likely be reduced, even in litigious America.

From an article put out by AARP:

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In 2000 the drug industry spent almost $2.5 billion on mass media advertising.

I rather doubt that has gone down in the 7 years since then. They're not paying it out of their pockets. Their customers are.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[TrophyHusband 0]

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There is not a single thing that our government does more efficiently than the private sector.

i disagree, the government in very efficient at wasting money.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[jenfly00 0]

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The same wya many other nations provide Gov't health care

You mean just tax the hell out of us? Do you really want the US govt to be in charge of your health care? They dont seem to be able to do anything else worth a shit what makes you think this would be any different?

Let me get this straight. You trust your govt is correct when it shits on the BOR, but not to provide basic health care? How can this be?

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"O brave new world that has such people in it".

[freethefly 6]

Of the six richest countries the U.S. has the most expensive and the worst healthcare on the planet.
I would like to see the government do what we pay them to do. They work for you and me. Their job is to find solutions and to implement those solutions. Yet, all that ever gets done is absolutely nothing. Instead of using my money to help me, they use my money to pay themselves outragous salaries. They use it to start wars. They waste it fighting amongst themselves.
As for the majority of doctors? I'd like to find a doctor who is more concerned about the patient and least concerned about getting out to the golf course or less concerned about how much money they can surgically remove from the patients bank account.
As it is now, there is really no check and balance between the healthcare system and the government.
The two need to work side by side.
Pharmetcutical companies are out of control with the amount of power that they have over the FDA.
They are able to fast track dangerous drugs and care very little, if at all, about they number of people who die due to their lack of concern.
Same with some doctors. No concern whether you live or die.
The concern seems to only be how far can they push the cost with the least amount of service
Take, for example, a viral load test. The test cost more than $150.00. Before blood is even drawn you are charged just for walking into the doctors office. You are billed for the blood being drawn. You are charged for the blood being transfered. You are charged by the people who will test the blood.
After that, several people will "read" the results and they will submit their bill. By the time it gets back to your doctor, it will have a number of fees attached to it. If you want to hear the results of the test, you will, again, have to pay for another doctors office visit.
My last viral load test was done more than 2 years ago and I have yet to hear the results. Yet, I paid out of pocket for all that was done with the blood that was drawn. To hear those results will cost me.
Part of the problem is the growing field of "specialty" doctors who feel that their "specialty" is worth what they charge. They do as they please with little concern of being questioned about their practice.
My caseworker asked me once what was more important, my bills or getting treated. I told her that keeping a roof over my head was far more importanted than healthcare. That is a no brainer. Better to be under a roof and sick than living on the street and sick. Without any real type of heathcare insurance my money is better spent on electricity, phone and house payment. I have an appointment in Sept. to have another viral load taken. Chances are great that I will never hear the results of this test as it will take a couple of years to pay down this bill. It amounts to giving them money to really do nothing at all. Considering that I am not eligible for the meds, checking to see how far something advances is really just a waste of time and money.
If my government is not going to use my tax dollars to help me then I would rather never give another penny to this government. I should be entitled to the same amount of care that is given to the president and the vice president. My money pays for their healthcare. Why is it not used for mine?

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The first question I have is how in the hell could we pay for everybodies health care?

Stop the exportation of our tax dollars to foriegn countries.
Stop the funneling of tax dollars to special interest groups.
Remove the control that pharm companies have over the FDA.
Force a lowering of cost and force the doctors to provide better service.
Take an example from countries that do provide great service with low cost.
The U.S. needs to get off of its high horse and realize that we have the worst of everything at the most outrageous cost on the planet.

Realizing that this question is being asked by someone who probally does not have a life threatening illness and most likely has great insurance, I feel that such people have absolutely no understanding whatsoever about how the system works or how it works hard to provide the least. They walk around with rosey glasses on and want to blame those who have no healthcare for the rising cost. The blame lies soley on the greed of the companies who are only in it for the money. I also blame those wearing their rosey glasses as they are to blind with rage against those who truely need help in this country. It is such a shame that so many Americans would just be as happy as hell to kill off the sick when they should be screaming at the government for the quagmire that has been created out of greed. But, this country was built on killing and greed. For an American to expect help from it's own government has become an unamerican thing to expect.

"...And once you're gone, you can't come back
When you're out of the blue and into the black."
Neil Young

[Guest]

As always:

I've seen the results of public schools and public housing. No thanks.

mh
.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[mnealtx 0]

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Of the six richest countries the U.S. has the most expensive and the worst healthcare on the planet.

Which is why eveyone comes HERE to get the care they can't in their native countries, of course...

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Zipp0 1]

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There is not a single thing that our government does more efficiently than the private sector.

Prove it.

There are many things that government does that have no direct private sector equivalent. And as far as health care goes, the private sector isn't exactly knocking it out of the park either.

I have great healthcare, and therefore do not need government. Do I want the less fortunate to have basic coverage? Yes, I do. As a moral person, and a Christian, I think it is our duty to care for those who cannot take care of themselve.

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Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[TrophyHusband 0]

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"As for the majority of doctors? I'd like to find a doctor who is more concerned about the patient and least concerned about getting out to the golf course or less concerned about how much money they can surgically remove from the patients bank account."

my wife is a doctor, many of my friends and aquaintences are doctors. all of them put patient care as their top priority. i know of only one who will, all other things being equal, put herself into the equation when it comes to medical decisions, but even then she doesn't do anything that will jeoparized patient care.



"Same with some doctors. No concern whether you live or die."

I've never met a single doctor, or even heard of one who has this attitude.


"The concern seems to only be how far can they push the cost with the least amount of service"

again, this is untrue



i understand you are in a very tough situation and i'm not saying that doctors that you describe don't exist, but they are few and far between. i suspect that you run into more of them with you situation than the average person. there needs to be radical change, but its not the doctors who are at fault here. they are just trying to work within a system controlled by lawyers and insurance companies. the government coming in and taking over health care would be a disaster, but they could set forth regulations that the private sector has to follow. billing is one example. insurance companies decide how much they will pay for any particular procedure. a provider can choose to accept that insurance or not. you don't get to decide how much of a bill you will pay, you have to pay the whole thing. this is bullshit. for example. my wife had an mri done. we got a statement saying that the bill was $2300, and tricare, our insurance, paid $300. we owe nothing, but if we had no insurance, we would have to pay $2300. it is technically against the law to have separate rates for individuals and insurance companies, but there are ways around that that need to be fixed.

we also don't have the worst health care, we have the best, for those who can afford it. the care itself doesn't need to be changed as much as the afforability. in order to bring costs down and make insurance affordable for everybody, we need to see where the money is going. given the amount of hard work and sacrifice it takes to become and stay a doctor, i think they deserve what they are making. the insurance companies and lawyers are making all of the profit from the medical industry. we need to find a way to reduce the number of lawsuits and the enormous payouts while at the same time preserving the right to sue. there are bad doctors out there they need to be taken care of, but the vast majority are good people doing absolutely amazing things. insurance companies also need to be looked at. they need to be required to pay the same amount as you would have topay for any particular service. they should also not be allowed to overrule a doctor's decision that any particular test or procedure wasn't required and therefore refuse to pay a bill. there should also be requirements to cover people such as yourself, reguardless of pre-existing conditions. premiums should be affordable to the average person. should should not, however, have to cover healthy people who are too lazy to get off their asses and get a job.
i'm sorry that in our current system you cannot get coverage, and that need to change.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

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[kallend 2,150]

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Of the six richest countries the U.S. has the most expensive and the worst healthcare on the planet.

Which is why eveyone comes HERE to get the care they can't in their native countries, of course...

I haven't notice an influx of sub-Saharan Africans with AIDS into this country for health care.

Or do only the wealthy count as people in your philosophy?

(Actually, you might want to check on the numbers of very wealthy who go to London for their health care)

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[quade 4]

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There is not a single thing that our government does more efficiently than the private sector.

Water
Sewage
Military
Roads
Air Traffic Control

I guess you're right; not a single thing.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[mnealtx 0]

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Of the six richest countries the U.S. has the most expensive and the worst healthcare on the planet.

Which is why eveyone comes HERE to get the care they can't in their native countries, of course...

I haven't notice an influx of sub-Saharan Africans with AIDS into this country for health care.

Or do only the wealthy count as people in your philosophy?

(Actually, you might want to check on the numbers of very wealthy who go to London for their health care)

If we're the worst, as he opines, why is anyone coming here for treatment at all? Why is the US responsible for most of the medical breakthroughs, since we suck so bad on the medical front?

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[kallend 2,150]

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Of the six richest countries the U.S. has the most expensive and the worst healthcare on the planet.

Which is why eveyone comes HERE to get the care they can't in their native countries, of course...

I haven't notice an influx of sub-Saharan Africans with AIDS into this country for health care.

Or do only the wealthy count as people in your philosophy?

(Actually, you might want to check on the numbers of very wealthy who go to London for their health care)

If we're the worst, as he opines, why is anyone coming here for treatment at all? Why is the US responsible for most of the medical breakthroughs, since we suck so bad on the medical front?

Try again.

Do only the wealthy count as people in your philosophy?

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[NCclimber 0]

While the claim that "federally run government programs would be more effiecient if privated" is hard to prove... mainly because there aren't good examples to compare... it's pretty obvious that the federal government generally does a crappy job of managing its programs.

Turning over something as critical as healthcare is a scary proposition.

[Zipp0 1]

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Why is the US responsible for most of the medical breakthroughs.........?

Are we? In what time frame? What are they, and how do they compare with the contributions of the rest of the world?

Many of the most important medical breakthroughs in history came from outside the USA.

And we think the FRENCH are arrogant??!

--------------------------
Chuck Norris doesn't do push-ups, he pushes the Earth down.

[okalb 104]

I have a friend who needed back surgery a few months ago. He does not have health insurance. He saw several surgeons and was quoted prices between 35K and 45K to get the procedure. Several doctors said that they wouldn't do the procedure at all even for cash. They claimed that without insurance if there were complications, there would be nobody for them to collect the additional fees from.

He ended up flying to India to have the surgery. The total cost including the surgery, airfare and hotels was just under 10K. He flew home a week later and his back is in great shape.

I know of at least 5 other people that have flown to Belgium for orthopedic surguries. The quality of care is fantastic and the cost is pennies on the dollar.

When Americas living in the US start flying to other countries for medical treatment, there is something wrong with the system.

Time flies like an arrow....fruit flies like a banana

[NCclimber 0]

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There is not a single thing that our government does more efficiently than the private sector.

Water
Sewage
Military
Roads
Air Traffic Control

I guess you're right; not a single thing.

All of these, except military, are directly funded by taxes/fees, paid by the beneficiaries. Are you supporting a pay-as-you-go universal healthcare program?

[mnealtx 0]

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Of the six richest countries the U.S. has the most expensive and the worst healthcare on the planet.

Which is why eveyone comes HERE to get the care they can't in their native countries, of course...

I haven't notice an influx of sub-Saharan Africans with AIDS into this country for health care.

Or do only the wealthy count as people in your philosophy?

(Actually, you might want to check on the numbers of very wealthy who go to London for their health care)

If we're the worst, as he opines, why is anyone coming here for treatment at all? Why is the US responsible for most of the medical breakthroughs, since we suck so bad on the medical front?

Try again.

Do only the wealthy count as people in your philosophy?

I'm answering HIS statement, not yours.

However, to answer yours, NO, I don't believe only the wealthy count - but evidently they DON'T also count in your opinion. The Canadian man that had to come to the States for an MRI and tumor treatment wasn't wealthy - but he did what he had to do to save his life when the rationed care in Canada couldn't support him.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706