I have no objection to a Federal healthcare program run alongside private health insurance, like they do in Australia. The problem is that our gov’t has not yet shown us they know how to run ANYTHING properly and on a budget.

If you can look up HR 676, a proposed legislation for single payer (meaning one payer-government) it breaks down the cost to the public and businesses. It is NOT 40% taxes.

And Marie, if your nieghbor has no health insurance, and has high blood pressure that goes untreated for 20 years until they develop kidney failure, you will be paying a lot more to take care of them. Lack of insurance also causes increased ER visits by unisured. People who can’t afford health insurance can’t afford the expensive ER visits and the cost will end up in our pocket.

And one more point, having the government collect the money and pay providers does NOT mean they have to run healthcare completely. Hospitals can remain private and given an annual budget. Every industrialized country does things differently in Europe. We can study what works and what doesn’t.

My husband and I ust always maintain employer coverage because my husband has pre-existing conditions that exclude him from private insurance. And we are both nurses. We work hard to care for people when they are sick and yet we can’t even get guaranteed coverage.

I’d avoid facebook arguments. I’ve jumped in to give my more conservative friends shit and their extended networks jump in and it gets ugly fast. Better to do your research and formulate your opinion based on your research.

In my case, I think that most people fear a public healthcare option because of Reagan. Out of one side of his mouth, the government was “in the way”. Out of the other side was a need to deficit spend. He didn’t shrink the size of government, but he did plant a massive blanket of seeds that the government is the “bad guy”.

Most conservatives will end up at Reagan. Some won’t. But most do, in my experience.

To me the biggest issues facing the U.S. are cost reduction, availability and portability and providing a public option for healthcare so that everybody is covered.

That’s me in a nutshell. I don’t expect you to agree, but I’ve tried to share links that support (and in some cases challenge) my views.

Your opinions are important. Your repetition of other people’s is not.

The only fear mongering in the debate that I have seen, heard & read is from people who don’t want a public plan.

I’m trying to make a case, but my baby comes first. I had hoped to have about a half dozen more posts, not about fear mongering, but more figures and facts. However, diaper duty and strange sleep schedules have taken precedence.

I’m not sure what the rest of your comment was about except to belittle me? Not clear. Thanks for taking the time to call me ignorant.

Also how done are you? Medium? Well?

Regarding reason #2: I don’t think that had anything to do with my dad’s situation. It seemed from my vantage point to be bureaucracy and general government incompetence, something I can’t fathom would get better if they had responsibility for all health care.

As for specialties, I believe they do make proportionally more income (neurosurgeons, proctologists, etc), but they also tend to have significantly higher malpractice insurance payments due to the riskier nature of what they do.

Okay, color me confused. I worked for a derm group for 4 years. They specialize in, well, skin and skin cancer. Do you need MOHS?

Does this “specialist” take Medicaid? Because, not all “specialists” are required to take Medicaid even if they take Medicare. Ask them. I dare you.

I really, also, cannot fathom this thought process. So, you are willing to forfeit your potential skin cancer for a couple of zits? Some actinic/seborrheic keratoses, some atypical moles? Melanoma does not play and is a very deadly cancer.

Whatever. I’m pretty much done here. It’s very apparent that you have no idea about the in’s and out’s of this wonderful (for now) healthcare system that we do have. All you see is “Access for everyone!! WOOT!”

It’s just not that simple. And you can certainly forget about sub-specialty care like skin-cancer dermatologists once you get what you want. It’s NPs and PAs all of the way until you or one of your family members ends up in the hospital dying. I have worked in this business for 20+ years. I would never pretend to know how to operate a website or even make a solvent business out of it, yet many people feel they “know” how the back engines of healthcare work. NPR and PBS don’t even begin to touch on it.

The ole’ rhetoric of fear-mongering is going to be very apparent at this point, so I’m done. Stick a fork in me.

Peace

Hi maybe you can help. I get in debates with high school friends on Facebook. They are all pretty much against Universal Health Care. I am just got good at debating them for example. Todd wrote this:

“That’s why we are the greatest country in the world, because you have a CHOICE.

Who is going to pay for this healthcare? Again, I will have to pay for me and my family and then again for someone elses family. I do not care to pay for someone elses healthcare. I have my only family to take care of and it is becoming quite impossible to do when… Read More I have to support everyone elses.

France funds their healthcare through payroll and income taxes. So, how much more a pay am I going to lose. I already drop 40% of my pay every two weeks to the government.”

So many people are making statements along the lines of…why should i pay for someone elses insurance..it is their own fault that they do not have coverage.

How would you respond to that? I try to get them to watch Sicko but they will not. They are convinced that the entire movie is a bunch of lies.

Help!

Thanks!

marie lynn moore

I’ve accepted that statement, for the sake of argument, as your own figures don’t support your statement. Even if I accept your definition of competition (ie, these insurer consolidation figures) New York has competition and still seems to have all the problems. Therefore the problem seems to something other than competition, as you’ve defined it, and the “public option” would not address the problem by adding competition.