Health Care Reform or Government Payday for Insurance Companies?

[faeryedark]

This is such a hot button topic for me..........I'm SO pro single payer system because I do think health care should be a right and not a privilege .......Thanks for the PNHP link

I'm really NOT surprised at all about them NOT asking what the people want.......we were forgotten long ago. They have health care coverage.......they don't understand, and since it doesn't affect them directly.........why should they care.

I agree, sort of. I think ACCESS to AFFORDABLE healthcare should be a right and not a priviledge. Perhaps not necessarily free but maybe income based by percentage so that when income goes up, so does the the financial responsiblity of each person but fairly and not drastically.

[lestelle]

I have a friend who lives in the UK and she came to the US to work on her doctorate. She was absolutely disgusted with what she saw regarding our healthcare system. I have spoken to a lot about their health care system and she would never trade it for anything. I discussed with her the things I heard about wait times and all that crap......she, nor anyone in her family has anything but good things to say and says what we hear is a bunch of myths and fear based information.

If you don't want the government to take over health care then what is your suggestion for equal access to a health care regardLESS of income?

I have absolutely no idea what the solution is. I don't think anyone really can figure this one out. There is certainly too much to fix and too many things that affect it, such as our legal system. How much of insurance fraud and phony malpractice suits are responsible for our high cost of insurance? How about the cost of R&D for pharmaceuticals? Who will bear that burden? For as great as your doctors, nurses and hospitals are, you're still gonna need some little pill.

I do, however, know that that our government, regardless of whatever party is in power, has not been able to control very much without corruption, taxing me to no end or just plain screwing it up. Just look at the banking system and education.

Of course, no matter what the solution is, people are not going to be happy. Just look at us. We both know people from the same country (UK) who have diametrically opposing views of their health care system.

Whatever is done by Congress, I just hope they debate the heck out of it and not rush in. And that our "representatives" actually speak to their constitutes rather than think they know what's best for us.

[southsider]

I have absolutely no idea what the solution is. I don't think anyone really can figure this one out. There is certainly too much to fix and too many things that affect it, such as our legal system. How much of insurance fraud and phony malpractice suits are responsible for our high cost of insurance? How about the cost of R&D for pharmaceuticals? Who will bear that burden? For as great as your doctors, nurses and hospitals are, you're still gonna need some little pill.

I do, however, know that that our government, regardless of whatever party is in power, has not been able to control very much without corruption, taxing me to no end or just plain screwing it up. Just look at the banking system and education.

Of course, no matter what the solution is, people are not going to be happy. Just look at us. We both know people from the same country (UK) who have diametrically opposing views of their health care system.

Whatever is done by Congress, I just hope they debate the heck out of it and not rush in. And that our "representatives" actually speak to their constitutes rather than think they know what's best for us.

We have a shortage of doctors and nurses in this country too. Have you noticed how many doctors and nurses were not born in this country? The medical and nursing programs have not increased to keep up with the increase in population. The person you spoke of had a heart condition. I do not have personal experience on the wait time to get in to see a cardiologist but I know that both neurologists and gynies can easily have a 6 month wait to get in to see them. Fifteen years ago the initial visit to see a neurologist cost $500 to $750. I hate to find out about it now.

Health insurance is not high because lawsuits or insurance fraud, as a matter of fact it is the insurance companies that are committing fraud by denying claims that they are supposed to cover. Malpractice lawsuits may affect malpractice insurance but it doesn't affect health insurance. As a matter of fact I suspect that any increase in malpractice lawsuits are due to insurance companies denying coverage for the type of care a doctor would normally recommend.

If you went to that site I put the link up for in my op you will see that insurance companies make a 30% profit. A much bigger problem with health insurance companies is the increase in the number of claims that are denied. how do you think their profits get so high. You also have to consider that insurance companies get a break from doctors and to cover that doctors have to increase their fees to patients that do not have insurance. Twenty or thirty years ago a doctor would actually charge less for a patient that didn't have insurance because they knew that if they didn't have insurance they were probably out of work or did not make much money.

You did know that a lot of pharmaceutical research is actually done by universities with government grants? Also a lot of new medications that are coming out are only slight modifications of older medications that don't need huge R & D costs to get approved. It is the pharmaceutical companies way of covering for when generics can become available.

If you watch that C-Span clip, you will see that the Senate was not consulting with their constituents. The people on that panel were all connected to the insurance company. One person was talking about what companies want but not about what people want. They did not even have anybody on their to give a point of view for a single payer plan. I think it also would it would have helped to have doctors and nurses on the panel.

Insurance companies are largely responsible for the health care crisis. Should we really let them be the ones to dictate what the government should do? I can only see them messing it up even more.

[derketchup]

Just look at the banking system and education.

Last time I checked, the banking system was just like the medical system -- subject to government regulations but privately owned. How are you taxed for banks??? Oh, maybe you're taxed for the last bailout done. But you're also taxed for medicare and medicaid. I fail to see how the analogy between the current banking system and socialized medicine holds any water.

[billig]

[COLOR=Blue] This would also be a big help in slowing down or preventing communicable diseases such as the current swine flu that is going around.

How would socialized medicine help slow down or prevent communicable diseases?

[billig]

You did know that a lot of pharmaceutical research is actually done by universities with government grants?

Did you know that a lot of pharmaceutical research is actually done by universities with private company grants?

[billig]

Maybe the insurance business isn't doing our healthcare any favors, but I see a direct correlation between anything our government does and taking our healthcare (non-equality-for-all) and flushing healthcare down the toilet.
The government doesn't do anything right in my view. If they were in charge of healthcare it'd be worse. Sure, you'd get to go to the Dr for the sniffles, but anything else you'd be waiting for would be denied because they can't afford to offer it to everyone, so then you won't get it.

[justmeagain]

Well, I finally figured out how to play C-span on the link you posted......I guess I'm slow LOL.......I kept clicking around and didn't know that I had to click the red button on the left side

Anyways.....I have watched it so far to the first session break, about 56-57 minutes of it the meeting so far.
1st of all.......my heart just literally ACHED so bad listening to the pleas from the people begging to for health care coverage NOW.......the desperation I SO COMPLETELY understand...........the hopeless feeling.
2nd.......WTF????????? I mean seriously.......I'm glad they can all sit and laugh and make jokes.
3rd.......WTF again.........are they SERIOUSLY asking blue cross and some other insurance organization what the faults would be to single payer system, along with other changes that would level the playing field.........WHY would they even be asking questions like this to the insurance companies? What kind of answer do they think they will get?
4th.......OMG.........some of the Senators are so beyond clueless it is DISGUSTING.
5th.....UUUMMM..........the insurance company just admited to sex discrimination. How can they get away with charging women 40+% more for the same EXACT policy than a man! Shouldn't they be in big trouble for that!
It is blantly obvious they just don't get it. I wanted to punch that guy in the face--the one who had the knee surgery and was talking about how doctors would leave.
They are sitting there talking about making sure people have choices to pick and choose and blah blah..........HELLO---I would be happy if I could just have the tests I need to have done. SOMETHING is better than nothing. I don't need 20 choices..........I just need ACCESS to health care I can afford!
I seriously don't understand what they are trying to accomplish given the people at the discussion.........I mean it is obviously within the first few mintues of the video they won't want to hear to from those who are dying because of no health care. It is like they know what they want their answers to be.........so they formed a group that would provide the outcome they want.
I will watch the rest tomorrow.........even if I can't stomach it.

[tinabohio]

Women pay more and so do older people in most plans. My husbands plan just went up because the median age of the employees covered is so high. I had insurance through the same place (the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers Association) but since mycompany had less women and old dudes, my cost was significantly less. The can charge different rates because of risk factors and all of that stuff.
I'd personally prefer to keep our health plan we have now. It has done great by my father when he needed major heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in '01 (along with an experimental procedure that was funded through some private funds as well as research grants). He got much better care than other people he was in with who had healthcare from the state.

[tinabohio]

Not that I agree with charging different rates because of gender, just giving you their reasoning. Some of it based on research (women go to the doctor more whereas men avoid going like it's the plague typically), some on some wacked notions many still have.