Universal Healthcare

Question

I'm curious to see what people think about this issue.

Answer 1

It is inevitable.  It will happen. Probably not soon enough for many Americans, but it will be a reality for Americans.

Answer 2

It makes perfect sense.

Healthcare should be not for profit. Now we have "for profit" healthcare, meaning they try their best NOT to serve you.

Also, you dont have to pay million dollar CEO salaries in a non for profit healthcare

Answer 3

Read these, it's pretty much spot on my view on the subject.

http://agonist.org/ian_welsh/20070503/he...

http://firedoglake.com/2008/01/12/morali...

Also, a good look at the numbers provided by any reputable organization (eg: World health Organization, OECD) shows that the US spends way more than anyone else per capita on health care, yet does notably worse on coverage, life expectancy, and other metrics than other countries with universal health care.  That alone is enough of a reason to support it (it's cheaper than the current system, and better at the same time ironically).  

Of course, there's the moral argument as well.  Religious also; anyone who considers themselves a good Christian should be a supporter of universal healthcare.  Jesus made a huge point on helping the sick and the poor, and he certainly didn't look for payment for it!

h**l, even most doctors are for it http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNew...  .  I don't see how you can get more persuasive than that.  Presumably they know a bit about the subject ;)  http://www.pnhp.org/

It's a pretty open and shut case in fact.  The US pays a lot more for healthcare and gets a lot less than other countries.  Society pays more for it ( how many bankruptcies are caused by medical bills?).  There's a reason the rest of the civilized world has universal health care systems.

The only reason things have continued as they have is because in the US there are many hundreds of billions of dollars to be made on the sick (health insurance is very profitable, drug industry is the most profitable business bar none), and you can bet your *** that the people making that money are not going to give that up very easily.  So you have smear campaigns, FUD and BS spewed against universal healthcare, and lots of campaign contributions (aka legalized bribery) to keep things status quo.

Answer 4

When it starts, if ever, there will be no doctors.

Medical school applications will cease. No incintives to spend $500000 to go to medical school and get a job for $40K a year as a 'government' employee.

You'll wait 4-5 months for an 'emergency' appointment and 12-18 months for 'routine' medical care.

You'll die before you ever get treated.

Socialized medicine HAS NEVER AND WILL NEVER WORK.

Government needs to keep their nose out of the medical field.

Answer 5

DN4CER is wrong. The only reason Canada doesn't have doctors is because all the Canadian med students go to the states. Canada has plenty of med students but it can't compete with the salaries of private practices. If the U.S. had universal health care, it would create a more level playing field. It doesn't cost as much to go to school in Canada as the U.S. either because it's subsidized. The fact is you can't compare government funded health care with any country that borders the States. All of the G8 countries except the U.S. has universal health care and it works very well in those countries.

Answer 6

Few people with good jobs and have good insurance coverage gives a rip about universal healthcare.  

It''s when they lose a job or try to retire early that the reality of  the abusrdity of the situation hits them.  Suddenly they become "liberals" and get the point.

Example.  I moved to another state two years ago for work as an independent contractor.  I carry my own health policy.  

During this time I developed a health problem and now cannot leave the state because Blue Cross won't let you cross state lines without going back through underwriting, where people with pre-existing conditions are rejected.

So here I sit.  Unable to return home without losing my health coverage and risking my life savings.

Let this happen to a good republican and suddenly all this ideology they spew stops.  

Ever wonder why you see so many seniors limping around the Walmarts and Home Depots?

Many of these old farts are just like me and maybe you some day.  Ex-self employed small business types reduced to begging for a minimum wage job because we have allowed the mafia to control our healthcare system.

Answer 7

    It's a great way for crooked politicians  to buy votes. It doesn't actually address the problem of high costs for health care, but you can make people think they're going to get something for nothing. Which is almost always a lie, and a popular one.

     Instead we should try to make healthcare more affordable - tort reform.

Doctors put a huge investment into their careers and are at risk of either losing their savings, or having their insurance jacked up, till they can't afford it. Punitive damages should not apply, nor pain and suffering damages - there are certain risks inherently associated with asking someone to cut you open, then sew you back up. Or give you some chemicals that somebody whipped up in a lab. They do the best they can. But they're human- knowledge is not perfect. and mistakes will happen. It should be enough that they take the risk of being liable for future medical expenses - that should be enough to make a person work carefully.

        

Answer 8

We have to have it (1) the middle class is going to pay for the people who don't have insurance til they can't afford it themselves. (2) middle class people are not going to have goals such as owning a house or saving knowing they can't afford the health insurance & then knowing they can lose their house with a bad hospital viist. (3) it's time to take care of the people who are building up this country. Jobs, health care & educations will take people from welfare to paying taxes. If we don't do that & keep doing the same thing we deserve to be called insane. Insanity is when you keep doing the same thing expecting different results. I have never heard one person from a place with Universal coverage complain. I have heard about the long waits for things but don't we all wait for things at times. Isn't it decent to let a heart patient to go first if you are having something that doesn't require immediate attention.

Answer 9

No. I will pass. It seems folks may have some misconseptions about how great socialized medicine can be. Things will only go downhill and I bet you will see a whole lot more fraud then you see now. Don't you realize that when the government is involved with anything it usually gets really screwed up. What will it take for you people to understand this?

Answer 10

Although it sounds good and very appealing, I don't believe we should have Universal Health Care.  Universal Health Care is an aspect of Socialism, and we all know that Socialism will lead to failure.

As Ron Paul has said many times, we must reject the notion that the government needs to take  care of us from cradle to grave.  We don't need the government to take care of us, even our medical needs.  Did you know they're thinking of installing micro-chips in your neck by 2009?!!

Anyway, we should be independent and self-reliant and reject the notion that we need government to take care of us.

Answer 11

it's certainly better than NO healthcare.....and since the US ranks 47th for quality, it's kinda hard to make the argument that it doesn't work or provides less quality care.

France ranked #1 for quality according to WHO (world health organization), and they have one of the highest rates of illegal immigration in the world.

Canada ranked 3rd I believe.

For those against universal healthcare, I hope you never have to hear these words ..."pre-existing condition"

Answer 12

If Canada's health care is so bad, why do they live longer than us and why do fewer of their babies die at birth? In fact, the U.S. is now near the bottom in Western countries for lifespan, and near the top for infant mortality. Will you find some people in Canada who got bad health care--probably, just like you'll find some people here who did. Overall, though, lifespan and infant mortality are fairly good indicators of how well or poorly a country's health care is.

Answer 13

I think it makes sense ...we are the most powerful nation out there dead last in the industrialized world in health care.   Not saying that Europe and Canada has the best health care...far from it...but we need to do something when people have to choose between going to the doctor and food on the table.  

Answer 14

My dad is from Ireland where they have socialized medicine- and it is terrible.  You should see his teeth!!!  They didn't have yearly check ups just went if there was a problem.  He just spent $5000.00 to try and fix them.  He told me when his mom went to the hospital to have her babies there were no private rooms - every one shared a big one.  His dad started having problems with blood in his stool- by the time he got in to see the doctor he was 3 months away from dying of prostate cancer... I think I would rather be here.