Glad to hear that. Some idiot on here the other day was saying that he was perfectly okay with that. My question to you is, judging how the government has ran everything else, how could you possibly believe that our healthcare would not be "dumbed down"? Give the goverment complete control and let the games begin.
Why do people think this? Is the new plan going to fire all the good doctors and replace them with crappy ones? Does the new plan call for new research and developement to stop? I just don't see that happening. By the way, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this plan for those that cannot get healthcare through their employer? or for those that choose not too? So if you don't like it, you just keep what you have, right?
But you can lose that coverage way too easily. You are only thinking of "welfare" recipients when you suggest that lazy people don't deserve coverage. I have a friend who worked for International Paper making six figures. They laid him off after 29 years and 8 months. 4 months short of qualifying for retirement medical coverage. Now he's paying out the nose for private coverage just because some bean-counter at his employer decided that they could save a ton of money by letting him go. I have a realtive who was widowed in her early fifties. She was a hard-working farm wife but lost her income with her husband's passing. She can't run the farm alone and works at Wal-Mart now and is trying to get by without insurance coverage until she turns 65 and can qualify for medicare. One major illness in the next 8 years will break her and cause her to lose the property, which is all she has. I know professional folks who have had coverage dropped because of health issues and they are just as hard working as you. This coverage business is not just something that affects "those people". It affects "us people", too.
I agree with this but pushing the country to a nationalized health plan may not be the answer. I haven't heard about how this will be paid for except for vague answers like "2/3 will come from improving efficiences in medicare". Also, how will this lower my health insurance if I go through a private carrier. From what I see, it will raise my premiums as the gov't doesn't pay as much as private insurance, and that will increase the number of people on the public plan until the private system collapses. How does this scenario not happen?
Now everyone "deserves" health insurance. Ha. Once again nothing that you have posted about health insurance has dealt with any specifics. Nor has anyone addressed the definition of what health insurance is suppose to be. IF YOU WANT A PRE-PAID SERVICE PLAN YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR IT! THINKING YOU CAN USE A SERVICE AND NOT PAY FOR IT IS RIDICULOUS.
Obviously, those of you who claim everyone doesn't deserve healthcare don't have to live in the real world. What could happen to change your mind? Maybe a family member (in my case, my mom) gets diagnosed with cancer after seeing a doctor on a routine visit. Her healthcare plan didn't cover a helluva lot of procedures that could have really helped her. A few months go by and the insurance company finds a way to cancel her. Less than a year after being diagnosed she died. And the healthcare provider is a major one in the Baton Rouge area. I know if I was a rich guy, I could have done better than the care she received. Some think that you can just go to an emergency room to be seen. NOT if you have a serious condition that won't kill you for a few months. Emergency rooms only have to help you with an issue of immediate care. If it's cancer, you're probobly not gonna die the day you're seen, so they send you back home. Do you think a child doesn't have a right to be on a health maintenance plan? I can't believe anyone with a conscience could turn away an innocent child. The problem with our system is insurance companies run them. They are not just trying to make a profit. They're trying to get every cent out of you they can. They have proven time and time again that they'll deny you coverage if there's any way to avoid paying for it. However, you're paying them every month right out of your paycheck. I read an article several years ago concerning a Bill Cosby interview. He was asked what his celebrity has done for him. He stated that the BEST thing about being rich and famous is that he had access to the best medical care available. Mr. Cosby stated he went to 3 doctors with his mother and they could find no reason for her failing health. He got in touch with a doctor friend who put him in touch with what he called "the best neurologist in the world". After a few days of testing, they found massive blood clottage going to her brain. Mr. Cosby said the tests and hospital stays cost him a small fortune which he wouldn't have been able to afford normally. But due to his celebrity (money) he was able to save his mother's life which wouldn't have been able to do if he was Joe Normal. It's high time that everyone in the United States gets decent healthcare. I'll never understand how this can be denied. And I do think the government is the only agency capable of running such a program. I know they screw up so many things they oversee, but what other option do we have?
That's all fine and well Charlie, and it's a very sad story about your mother, it really is, I feel for you. But I guess the other side of the coin is that the procedures people need to live have to be paid for by someone. We would all share in this cost and while you would be more than happy to do it, I would paying for someone who I don't know to receive a cancer treatment. What do you propose we do about our healthcare system. Super deluxe cadillac plans for everyone? It doesn't work. This is at the heart of why healthcare is really a fascinating issue. No other political issue is as emotional because it's actually a matter of life and death. In our country, the thought of putting a price or value on someone's life is unheard where it is commonplace in many countries around the world. Your life is assigned a value and if your care exceeds that value, you get denied.
