Posted on 11/11/2013 4:33:48 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
The American health care system sucks. We pay more for health care than any country in the world and we only get average results. And tens of millions of Americans have no health insurance. Our latest attempt to address this situation, Obamacare, is a mind-numbing kluge of laws and policies that is off to a very rough start. And even if Obamacare ends up working, it will only fix part of the problem.
The problem, as a ground-breaking article by Steve Brill made clear, is that America's health care providers and insurers treat people differently. If you're lucky enough to be included in a big insurance plan provided by a huge entity with a lot of negotiating leverage (such as the federal government), you pay low rates and low prices. If you're unfortunate enough to be in a high-risk group or not to be included in any plan, you pay sky-high prices. Or you get all your"health care"from the emergency room and,thus,lay the costs off on everyone else that way.
The answer, as Brill's article also made clear, is a fully national health insurance system, in which all Americans are covered in the same massive group and for-profit insurers and health care providers can't pick and choose who to cover and how much to charge them. This system would effectively extend the current Medicare and Medicaid system to the whole population, and, in so doing, make it even more efficient.
As in some other countries with national health insurance, Americans insured under this system would also be free to buy additional health care services, including additional private insurance. The system, in other words, wouldn't limit anyone's ability to pay for "premium" health care services if they chose to.
But a lot of Americans still hate that idea.They have been told since birth...
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Trains ran on time under Hitler.
Everyone's IRS returns better be in order.
The Left always want to move toward control.
The Right always pushed toward liberty.
The UK healthcare system is a total disaster. I hope they continue stories like these. There seems to be a horror story every week coming out of Britain!
If the UK healthcare system is so good, then why did the former head of the system recently wait 9 months for cancer surgery and die in the process?
Satire?
It's awful. Doctor shortage. Nursing shortage. On weekends family member stay at hospital to watch over sick loved ones.
He's got it backwards. If you have good insurance the price for procedures is way higher than if you could negotiate a cash price.
The system, in other words, wouldn’t limit anyone’s ability to pay for “premium” health care services if they chose to.
That’s the problem now. Half the population expects,demands services and doesn’t or won’t pay. Government demands that providers provide (incur the expense) with the risk of no reimbursement. Health care has costs, it is not free. It’s why were in the shape we’re in.
Dear Henry Blodget:
See that pill you just took? Acid reduction, pain relief, bipolar disorder (a frequent occurrence in lefties), blood pressure, diabetes, etc. etc.
See that medical equipment? MRI, PET scan, heart monitor, dialysis, etc. etc.
See those doctors? Specialists, surgeons, oncologists, ophthalmologists, etc. etc.
See those revolutionary surgical procedures? Arthroscope, microsurgery, neurosurgery, etc. etc.
What about generic drugs, saving you a fortune in prescription costs?
The biggest reason these innovations exists is - wait for it - the profit motive! Johnson & Johnson are not a charity. Eli Lilly is not a charity. GSK do not work for the government, even though they may occasionally work with the government.
Was research performed in other countries? Yes. Scientific discoveries like DNA? Yes.
But a system of socialized medicine suppresses or eliminates the profit motive. All the wonderful medical miracles you take for granted? There will be precious few of those medical miracles once the government runs the show.
How many of your precious and prescient ‘industrialized countries’ are producing medical innovations (including dental products and procedures) on anything even approaching the scale of the US?
Why should Merck pour oceans of cash into R&D if there is never a payday for their work? Why develop new surgical techniques if the reimbursement remains the same?
Why, God help me, are leftists so blind to cause-and-effect, to say nothing of simple economics? Why is class war the end-all-be-all of their existence, even over life and death?
“The UK healthcare system is a total disaster. I hope they continue stories like these. There seems to be a horror story every week coming out of Britain!”
Yeah, for sure. The author is being misleading (lying) about the British health care system. In the UK it is not illegal to use private healthcare or to have private medical coverage. S, the affluent use what’s known as concierge health service. The rest of the population utilizes the national single payer system which sucks by the way. It’s not uncommon to die while waiting for medical help. Conversely, Canada has nationalized health care too. And, it’s illegal in Canada for a doctor to provide service outside of the system. So, what do the Canadian do for good prompt medical attention? Well, being that over 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the US border they get in their cars and drive over to the US side. So, now you know. Btw, concierge service is a rapidly growing sector here in the US. And, you low information folks thought you were going to screw the productive class didn’t you? Lol! Never happen, they’re too smart for you :)
Concierge medicine a sign of trouble in family practices "Has it really come to the point where your independent family doctor needs an extra retainer to survive?......"
It’s a shame that Obama’s Death Panels won’t “take out” one tort lawyer for each “too-old-to-save” patient these panels condemn to die.
One of my co-workers recently arrived from Canada, and is in the process of becoming an American citizen. He is totally stunned by our resistance to government-run health care (which we all know is coming). He has nothing but glowing things to say about the Canadian health care system. He actually looked totally shocked when another co-worker and I tried to explain that eventually even the government would have to do the same thing the insurance companies do to curb costs (which they already do under Medicare and Medicaid.) He looked at us in utter astonishment and said “Why would that happen? It’s the government. How could they run out of money?” This is not a stupid man, by any stretch, but that is the mentality we are up against. I wanted to throttle him. Where the hell do they think the government gets the money?!?!
Slate believes in global warming too.
So much for their analytical abilities.
Obamacare = Obamacurse.
I got in an argument with a Canadian claimant in an auto accident when I asked for his insurance information (he was at fault against my insured). He said he didn’t need to. When I discussed I needed it for subrogation purposes because he was at fault he told me that was a stupid process and they didn’t do that in Canada and that we needed should let the government take it over. I told him “God forbid” and finally got the info after a bit of “discussion.” LOL
The UK system is NOT efficient. Have they not been reading the articles about the NHS?
“Has it really come to the point where your independent family doctor needs an extra retainer to survive?......”
Perhaps yes. Sadly, that old time tested Law of Unintended Consequences appears to be coming not play.....
Get government completely out of the healthcare system and you’ll see medical costs drop by 80%.
Apparently everything we do in this country is stupid. It’s a wonder we ever reached the point where we became the most successful nation the world has ever seen. Must have been just dumb luck, huh? I will say, in the defense of my co-worker, he defends our immigration system as being the best in the world. He admires it and says becoming a citizen should not come easy, should not be a “rubber stamp.” He clearly will value is U.S. citizenship status, once he achieves it.
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