Wow! Just heard about the "website" not being secure- and not TF either. Sadly, testimony today showed that they knew they weren't ready for launch. Perhaps taking the Repub's up on the delay would've been a good idea. Saw a deal in New York yesterday where they'd ask people which one they thought was better, Obamacare, or ACA. Unreal how many didn't realize they were the same. Some said one over the other. Only one guy knew they were the same. What's the relevance? Gauging the polls, those clueless people are the ones who elected the anti-Christ.
Funny you said to Google this question because I did so after posting before and here is what I found: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/business/what-sweden-can-tell-us-about-obamacare.html http://fall09hpm101sweden.providenc...Health+Outcomes--The+United+States+and+Sweden http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown...how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries.html While each of these points out that the Swedish system has it's less popular aspects, all in all it seems their population are very happy with it and it seems to be at least fairly effective. I would agree that we possess a better cardiology, cancer and disease treatment than any other country, but our primary care sucks.
One other consideration to the future of health care in the US is our aging population. Just as with social security there will be more people requiring more services and support with fewer people paying for it. It will be more than a challenge to manage it without breaking the country. That is one issue with all entitlement programs and whether Obamacare is or isn't at this time that is the direction the progressive Ds will push it. If we are to think of the future of our children, families and the country these things need to be addressed seriously.
I have read a few of those biographies. There is always data. It might not be as complete as it is now, but there is always data to support a business. or there is nothing to lose...
Americans are guilty of over-testing at great expense that does not improve our health. Some cancers grow extremely slowly and annual tests have proven to be a waste of money.
What you think is not what everyone thinks. You can't ignore price and access. This is what makes our care so much more expensive. Well, how do you gauge it? By how much money we spend? A cost/benefit ratio can be determined in any business including the medical business. We have to consider survival rates, life expectancy, and other tangible metrics. We can't simply go on what people "think?"
It is now coming to light that the letters insurance companies are sending our are very misleading. As an example, a family of four pays $500 per month for health insurance. They get a letter in the mail saying that their policy no longer meets the ACA standards and they recommend a much higher premium plan to replace their old plan. Insurance companies have caused a good many to believe that the rise in premiums are caused by the ACA when in fact it is not. Insurance companies are essentially trying to use this opportunity to upsell their customers. I received on of these letters from my current insurer last week stating that my group plan for our employees will essentially be doubling. I visited my rep and asked him about the stark increase. After a few minutes I gathered that what he was really trying to do was upsell me into a more expensive plan, and not doing a very good job of disguising the fact. After I told him that I would be looking elsewhere he got really testy and started telling me that he could "probably get you into something a little cheaper...." I told him to fuck off and left his office. He's since left me message after message ensuring me that he could keep my rates the same so long as I didn't change companies. Fucking lying bastard......and this was supposed to be a "friend" of mine. In NC, we do not have an exchange because our state legislature refuses to allow the formation of one. As a result BCBS has formed their own exchange where you can buy from them directly, under the new Obamacare law. What I found made me even madder. The nearly identical plan to what I have now was actually cheaper than what I've been paying. It wasn't by much but it beat my annual rate by around $250 and the benefits are actually slightly better. Further, there were several news programs last night, including one from our friends at FOX News, that supported this claim. Insurers are using the opportunity to dupe us into much more expensive plans. I am pretty sure Louisiana is like NC in that they did not form exchanges but you can still go to BCBS's web site and get Obamacare rates. This isn't partisan for me, this is business. I can offer my employees a few extra benefits for the same amount of money under this plan. If you get one of these letters do yourself a favor and do some checking around. I don't care if you are a R or a D, no one wants to spend more on anything than they have to. Not saying it will be the same for everyone but there is a lot of misinformation going on right now.
It's like you don't even read what people write. We are talking about two things. First is what you called healthcare. You said we pay more for worse healthcare. Healthcare is the absolute of what kind of care we're getting. It ignores price, wait times, etc. It's the care we receive. Our healthcare system entails, price, wait time, quality of healthcare, and on and on. We agree that our healthcare system is not the best. It can't continue on as is because it is broken. However, you have no evidence to the statement that the quality of our healthcare, independent of cost, etc. is subpar to europeans. At least your articles didn't back that statement even a little bit.
I applied at healthcare.gov about two weeks ago. Obviously I haven't heard back but I'll be curious to see if anything is available to me comparable to what I had. I have been told it won't be and I cannot keep my existing plan.
