I'm against socialized medicine.
But...
It's getting to the point that my friends and family are going broke trying to maintain health coverage. These are WORKING people. Covered by their companies. But the costs are going up so high and so fast, that the companies are requiring employees to pay a larger share of the costs. And in some cases, they're so much more that people are wondering how they're going to manage it.
My sister and her husband just got hit with an increase that makes their current health care plan cost more than their mortgage every month.
The problem is, we don't have "private" medicine, and we don't have "socialized" medicine. We have some Frankensteinian freak of nature combination of the worst of both.
Franken Hoven makes the "Conservative Case for Universal Health Care".
I don't know if he's right. The idea of an even bigger, worse bureaucracy running American medicine is not a happy thought. On the other hand, what are the chances that the government mandates and tort law currently causing skyrocketing health care costs are are going to go away anytime soon? Maybe whatever provides relief for regular Americans is what we have to do.
My biggest fear is that the moment the government takes the wheel, American Medicine will go completely off the rails, and sink to the level of the Third World, just like American Education.
The Gunslinger
Joebama American citizens 2024 print
9 months ago
I pay for my own health insurance, since I operate an independent business, and the premium increases over the last 7-8 years have gotten ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI think it's inevitable we'll end up with a single-payer system, which is fine with me. I'm sure many of the people pushing toward that aren't thinking about the extra taxes that will be taken from their paychecks, or that certain types of health care will be rationed. They'll scream and howl when they finally figure that out, but the "free-market" obviously isn't providing a solution to the problem.
While no health care system is close to being perfect, I don't think I've ever met anyone from a developed country with nationalized health care who wasn't taken aback by how much worse the health care system in America was.
I agree except for two points:
ReplyDeleteThe free market has not been given an chance to make health care work. Government mandates, outrageous tort law have made that impossible.
TRUE free market forces, I think, would work. But it's probably too late for that at this point.
Second: they say that the people in countries with nationalized health care who don't use it, love it...but those who need it, hate it. And if they're able, come to the U.S. for treatment. So, it can't be THAT bad.
Wait, you didn't say the CARE was bad, you said the SYSTEM was bad...never mind.
I think you're dead right about the shock and dismay wholehearted supporters will feel when they're faced with the reality instead of the fantasy.
I worry about the level of care. Some of the documentaries I've seen about Canada and UK make my blood run cold.
They're operating like third world countries. Not enough meds, not enough beds, not enough doctors.
Maybe if we stopped providing free health care to every illegal we could start to get costs under control. Unfortunately the Hippocratic oath and American morality makes this impossible.
ReplyDeleteDuring th VP debate between Quayle and Gore, when Gore was demanding universal health care because everyone is entitled to free legal counsel but not free medicine, I wanted to reach into the television and choke the truth out of the smarmy bastard. Anybody who's so indigent as to qualify for a public defender is getting free health care.
The only thing keeping our current system from being true socialized medicine is that the government hasn't yet FUBARed the program. Those that do pay are already picking up the tab for those that don't. What will change will be that we'll wind up paying more for less.
That is what I hear from those who seems to know. That is what I fear.
ReplyDelete"Rights" have gotten a bit out of control in the USA, haven't they?
"I have a RIGHT to a car. Everybody ELSE has one, it's not FAIR!"
"I have a RIGHT to a computer. Everybody ELSE has one, it's not FAIR!"
"I have a RIGHT to a credit card. Everybody ELSE has one, it's not FAIR!"
"I have a RIGHT to a big screen HD TV. Everybody ELSE has one, it's not FAIR!"
"NO FAIRNESS, NO PEACE! NO FAIRNESS NOT PEACE!"
When can we start shooting them?
Nationalized health care? run away fast, in Canada you die waiting to be examined, also how would you like to be told what hospital you have to go to and what doctors will work on you, and the doctors told how much they can earn a year practicing. Think about all the ramifications of Big Brother Medicine, that's all I can say.
ReplyDeletePut simply, it seems like you can only have nationalised health care work when effective national borders are in place. Destroy the effective controls and definition of the nation, any nation, and talking about nationalised healthcare becomes increasingly pointless. Take our NHS here, I've seen articles talking about dying men having mice run down their bodies in the hospital bed, or flies swarming from a broken-down garbage disposal unit, or schoolkids being sent home from A&E with a broken neck. Yet there's room and time to help immigrants have their kids on our tax money or suggest turning beds towards Mecca or some such stupidity.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, your own privatised healthcare may be expensive, but at least it has the reputation that you get what you pay for.
A few questions:
ReplyDelete1. Why does a thermometer at the hospital cost $88 while one at CVS costs $12?
2. At your local hospital, why did they just put in a new EKG unit when the previous one was only 1 year old? And what did they do with the old one?
3. When I stay overnight at the hospital for observation (no monitors and such) the bed costs me $1400, but if i stay at the Marriott in the Executive Suite it costs $395. Why is that?
4. If your hospital bill is $24,000, what percentage of that is to cover for malpractice suits? 10%? 20%? more?
5. When I go to buy a $78,000 SUV, I negotiate a lower price from the dealer. Can I negotiate my hernia surgery cost?
6. When is the last time the Congress had a sub-committee look into the actual cost increases at health care and brought to the People the exact reasons why health care costs have increased as they have the past 10 years?
:Holger Danske
I urge everyone to become familiar with the use of butterflies and super glue. Long before the medical profession acknowledged the value of super glue I was putting myself and co-workers back together with it.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a relatively clean cut and you haven't severed any nerves or tendons,clean it with hydrogen peroxide, slow the bleeding, fill it full of Bacitracin, pull it together with butterflies and glue it closed. I haven't lost a patient yet and it saves not only insurance co-pay but an interminable wait in the emergency room amongst all of the medical card carrying low income mothers with their kids who are there for a runny nose.
If you are particularly close with your veterinarian you might be able to get some great antibiotics that while not FDA approved are better than those that are being dispensed to people in the rest of the world.
Proceed at your own risk,
AD
Holger, I'm totally with you, buddy. The causes of the absurd rise in helath care costs are absolutely not being addressed.
ReplyDeleteAnd they won't be. Ever. And we will probably get Socialized Medicine without ever having an open and honest debate about it.
Makes you crazy.
Alpha...you're creepin' me out.