Question about American health care?

Question

Do you think that they are going to socialize health care in the States in the future, or do you think that Hillarys or Obama's plan to provide private insurance to all Americans could actually work? Do you think it is better than the McCain/Bush tactic of just ignoring the problem and reducing the funding?

How do you think that they are going to fix our health care problems? Apparently we have one of the best (if not the best) health care facilities in the world...it is just our system (how we acess health care) that is not working.

Answer 1

I think that in the not so distant future, maybe within

4 years, we might get some sort of National Health

Insurance for everybody.

But, if you think we are having problems  with our

Health Care System, just wait until we get National

Health Insurance.  Our health system will be OVER-

WHELMED.  We don't have enough doctors or nurses

as it is now.  

We may have the worlds best health care system, (depends

on who you talk too) but we have one of the lowest life

expectancy rates for an industralized nation.  I mean, there

are several THIRD WORLD counties whose citizens live

longer on average than ours.

Answer 2

Your health care system is way bad.We are all insured for all care.The only thing that can differ is the dental health care:you can decide yourself between 3 systems.

But all is available to every body:no exceptions made.

Sky

Answer 3

There may be a two tiered system in our future, with basic services available to everyone, and private services available to those who are willing to pay for it.

For that to work, though, there is going to have to be some tort reform, because physicians are not going to be willing to work for next to nothing with the risk of huge lawsuits hanging over their heads.  Most of the public care will probably not be provided by physicians, though, but by nurse practitioners.

Just a guess.

Answer 4

Neither Hillary nor Obama's plan comes even close to resolving the ACTUAL problems in the US. Look, half of all bankruptcies are for medical bills AND 75% of THOSE folks HAVE and never lost their medical insurance. Think more of the same is going to solve anything? Nonsense.

Also their precious Medicare is NOT a model that works--anyone who actually is informed about health care knows it. In the last decade, Medicare premiums have risen 120% AND there is more stuff that is being shunted off onto the patient through HMOs, etc. IF you take just traditional Medicare, your financial life is on the line because 20% of EVERYTHING is dropped in your lap. Given the expense of "medigap" insurance, an HMO or such is a sensible option, BUT is NOT full protection if you're actually ill.

The bogus "donut hole" in prescription med prices was yet another GIFT to big pharma instead of looking out for those on Medicare or the US taxpayer who is being eaten alive by this stupidity.

ONLY sensible plan I've seen is this one:

http://www.booklocker.com/books/3068.htm...

Nathan offers the correct fixes for current nonsense BUT has a brilliant plan to fix Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP and END the problem of the uninsured, the uninsurABLE (which only SHE seems to care about), medical bankruptcies, etc. It's VOLUNTARY to the public (those on Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP would be put on the ONE plan). NO FINES. NO employer mandates. NO BS.

Guaranteed affordable--it's means-tested.

EVERYONE gets a physical with follow up each year as well as discounted prescription meds and IF NEEDED an ER visit every year. After that, people would pay their own way UNLESS AND UNTIL they hit THEIR "catastrophic" expense level at which time the insurance would pay without BS about "caps" on procedures, "pre-existing conditions," and other nonsense. If it's NECESSARY, it's going to be covered. If it's nonsense, let the person pay himself.

Funding is explained in the PDF and another abuse of the taxpayer would end.

Answer 5

The health insurance companies are far to influential for America to ever have a true public health care system. Both Hilary's and Obamas plans are based on the best interests of the Insurance companies and as such are not going to have a large impact on the problem.

The American system is poor with large numbers of people being unable to afford treatment and even those with insurance being refused for even the smallest reason. More Americans are now traveling outside America, mainly to Europe, than are entering for medical treatment. More Americans die waiting for treatment than in any other industrial country.

The only way to solve the problem would be to remove the insurance companies power over the decision making. I can't see this happening whilst senators are being paid millions by these companies each year.

Answer 6

Nobody's considering a socialized system. We have two proposals that are on their face unworkable and unaffordable. The Democratic plans ignore the major systemic problems and promise the undeliverable, so they're out before they start.

Mr. Bush actually has started the HSA trial programs, but they're miniscule and far from a systemic fix.

Unfortunately, medicine is just too complicated for any politician to fix. We certainly need to have a few basic services covered universally, and we need to treat some aspects of medicine as public utilities (emergency medicine jumps to mind), but every political "fix" to control prices since the early 1960's has resulted in massive price increases, so we need to take a careful, slow, step-wise approach.

I'd also suggest that it isn't just access that's a problem. People seek care when they shouldn't, and don't when they should. Here, as in general politics, Pogo was right: We have met the enemy, and they is us.