National Health Care?

[Seahawcla]

A political moderate, I am torn on what I should believe...

I believe are current system is not acceptable, but I dont know if national health care is the answer either.

What I do know is the people that make decsions on our health care, should not be in it for profit. That alone makes their decsions not based what is in our best interests.

Sell me, and solve the dilemma our insurance companies create.

[oregonweim]

The downside to Democracy is that while it rewards the ambitions, as a society we tend to treat the less fortunate within our borders like third world countries....

I would like Congress to pass a rule that states all government employees (elected or otherwise) receive medical coverage equal to that of the poorest americans.... :D

[timonahan]

There has to be a better way than what we have now.

Canada seems to have a pretty good system, we could just steal theirs.

[lumm0x]

There has to be a better way than what we have now.

Canada seems to have a pretty good system, we could just steal theirs.

Works like a charm. Everyone gets equal service and no one can be refused. There are limitations on what health care covers. Those that wish to pay more for advanced treatments can. Best of both worlds.

The majority of employers provide additional coverage for prescription, dental and eye wear as a taxable benefit of employment.

[andy]

I like Canada's system from what I have heard but I think their taxes are double what ours are.

The lobbyists in Congress are so powerful and entrenched in our current system that I am not optimistic about any changes.

[Brad]

Not sure but those who do not pay only raises the costs of those who do pay. That definitley needs to change. Also free healthcare to illegals definitley should not happen

[lafanguy (#1 T.ChangFan)]

well, for sure i believe our health care system right now is in dire need of change. but, i dont see that happening at all anytime soon, so i wont get into the matter. however, i didnt realize how other countries' systems of healthcare are so efficient until i saw the documentary Sicko, by michael moore.
now granted, it was primarily biased, and meant to show how bad our system is...but damn, to hear of people not paying ONE CENT for a hospital visit, whether it be for a baby or illness is uplifting.
my general view on things is if numerous other countries have been able to pull it off successfully and efficiently...we should be able to as well!
sorry for my ramblings, im not much of a politics kind of guy...but hate the way our health care system is right now

[lumm0x]

I like Canada's system from what I have heard but I think their taxes are double what ours are.

The lobbyists in Congress are so powerful and entrenched in our current system that I am not optimistic about any changes.

Yeah ours our higher. Not sure about double. Here's how Canada's taxation rates break down:

15% on the first $37,178 of taxable income, +
22% on the next $37,179 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $37,178 and $74,357), +
26% on the next $46,530 of taxable income (on the portion of taxable income between $74,357 and $120,887), +
29% of taxable income over $120,887.

Then you pay an extra 10% for Provincial tax. I think it all averages out between 25-35% total.

[DNoz29]

Works like a charm. Everyone gets equal service and no one can be refused. There are limitations on what health care covers. Those that wish to pay more for advanced treatments can. Best of both worlds.

The majority of employers provide additional coverage for prescription, dental and eye wear as a taxable benefit of employment.
Sounds too good for the U.S. to adopt it. It makes too much sense, you know?

Health care in this country is a joke. Something needs to be changed -- and soon.

[timonahan]

I own a small business and have to pay for our health ins.

I was costing me 1070 a month, about 13,000 a year. That is just insane.

So we are looking into changing to a plan where I have to pay the first 3000 for anything health related, and it only drops to 890.00 a month. :doh:

[Seahawcla]

Something has to change, the sad part is if any change was attempted the insurance lobbyist would have so many commercials brainwashing the masses any movement would be difficult.

We are the only major nation that does not provide health care, which should say something to us.

[pitnlala]

I own a small business and have to pay for our health ins.

I was costing me 1070 a month, about 13,000 a year. That is just insane.

So we are looking into changing to a plan where I have to pay the first 3000 for anything health related, and it only drops to 890.00 a month. :doh:


You are getting straight hosed unless you or your dependents have some pre-existing conditions you want covered. I am self employed and pay about $300 a month for an HSA with a $5000 deductible per family. All the expenses are a tax write off this way- even bandaids and Tylenol.

I have been to many other countries with free health care...and you couldnt pay me to get treated there. I have had a friend in Canada who almost died after getting a hysterectomy that went wrong. Main problem was, she only went in to get her spleen removed because it was lacerated in a car accident. Her chart had been mixed up with another patient. She had to go back under the knife that night to have the correct procedure done. Sure mistakes happen, but she was unable to sue for malpractice because the socialized health care doesnt allow it.

Also had a friend in Manchester Englad that was on a 7 month wait list for a double bypass. He opted to fly to the US and paid to have it done here. Dr's here said he wouldnt have lasted another month.

I think our system needs an overhaul, but free healthcare is NOT the way to go IMO. Our government F's up everything it touches, and now we think the answer is to have the same government run our medical system? Whaaa? How has this ever solved anything? You all know the billions that are wasted in every facet of government spending. How would this be any different?

In a perfect world nobody would have to pay for anything. This is not a perfect workd, and those that can afford better things just can. Safer cars, safer jobs, safer cities to live in, and better health coverage are all a byproduct of your realtive wealth.

I grew up very poor and we never had health insurance...but we always were taken care of at the hospitals- we were never refused.

I would love for someone to change my mind on this, but I dont believe there is an absolute right to FREE access to the best healthcare in the world.

[rexvos]

here is what I think.

#1 Our prices are escalating out of control

#2 Health care is getting harder and harder to afford

#3 But I remember a situation when Kelly (in Canada) had to go home because they rescheduled his surgery when he thought he was going to have it

#4 most people that can afford it that have national health care come here because the care is so much better

Conclusion I would rather have better care and have to pay ridiculous prices for it, then get sent home because my hospital was over booked.

[scrappy]

not sure what the original argument was but i think insurance should be more affordable for everyone. whether you are working a $6/hr job or $26/hr job, it should be based off of what you make (no not saying the $6/hr guy should pay the same as the $26/hr guy) but overall it needs to be more affordable. the problem we are running into now is that the people that have insurance are getting charged double for things because someone without insurance that can't pay anything. if you look at the break down if you have ever had a procedure done at the hospital, they are charging outrageous amounts for IV bags, IV needles, the syringe used to administar the meds. when i had my back surgery done, just the hospital portion of it (not including the 2 docs or the machines they used) was $16k. that was the use of a room for 20 hrs, the bed, and all the other crap they billed me for. you can bet your ass i was leaving with the robe, the gown, all the plastics (the basin and the little pee cup that i didn't use), the sheets, blankets and all that crap. if i could have fit the bed in my bag, i woulda taken that too. but the cost of the actual medication was $150 but the syringes they used for the first 4 shots, my IV bag, and the heploc in my arm was $1500.

i think they need to make all of it affordable and not hose those of us that actually have insurance. i realize hospitals need to make money too, but they shouldn't be allowed to inflate their costs to offset what someone without insurance couldn't pay.

we have 1 non profit hospital that HAS to treat you no matter what, yet they can turn you over to collections when you can't afford it. we have a total of 3 area hospitals, one is a native hospital that is free to them, one that is the non profit hospital and than one that will kick you right on out the door if they find out you dont' have insurance as they are triaging you.

if the people in washington had to go to the hospital and be treated like crap and had to sit in a bed and wait for hours to be treated, they would probably change their view on some things. and if they had insurance that was more affordable, people who can't afford personal/private insurance wouldn't be using the emergency rooms for family docs. a lot of the people who can't afford insurance use the ER for shots that they would normally get from a family doc and they are filling up the waiting room for people who actually have emergencies

[lumm0x]

#3 But I remember a situation when Kelly (in Canada) had to go home because they rescheduled his surgery when he thought he was going to have it

Conclusion I would rather have better care and have to pay ridiculous prices for it, then get sent home because my hospital was over booked.

Not quite. I was in emergency to try to get in early for my surgery and they sent me home with a morphine drip because I didn't qualify for an emergency procedure because I was not incontinent. My only issue was pain management and that did not qualify me to go in faster.

But yes, for some things such as free MRI's and such the wait time is considerable. There are clinics and specialists here where you have the option to pay and get immediate service for most things though.

[JoeyV]

http://goooh.com/ :salut: