State

Bringing the efficiency of the DMV and the service of the postal system to a doctor near you.

If there will be any left.

Murder by Bureaucracy

Peter Ferrara really knows his stuff; read his article carefully. Even if you bought into the Obama kool-aid.

I thought keeping choice a private matter was something that most Americans felt positive about. I don't want a gov't bureaucrat to come between me and my doctor.

I'm reminded of the leftist Canadian politician who came to LA for breast cancer treatment, even though she supports the single payer system up there. Stronach travels to U.S. for cancer treatment

Problem is: a lack of sophisticated machines we here take for granted. And aside from routine care, which truth be told single payer approaches to great on, be prepared for long, long waits. Even in emergency rooms.

And you can forget about expensive procedures. Over 65 and want a knee or hip replaced? Sorry, too old.

But this scenario is exactly what some Democrats in Washington are plowing ahead with. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/us.../10health.html

BelichickFan

The proponents seem to say that :

It will be cheaper AND more people will get health care AND we'll all get better health care.

Now - the "savings" would come from removing insurance company profit and removing "waste" - however you define waste.

So to pay for more people getting health care, more of us getting better health care and having some left over (the savings we're supposed to see). If anyone actually believes we can add tens of millions to the payroll and add to the quality for the rest of us with the savings being Insrance Company Profit + (Current Waste - Waste from New System) then they simply aren't thinking. It won't cost less. It won't cost the same. It will cost more; substantially more.

This health care thing with the media reminds me of Iraq and obama. The media bought into Iraq and never asked the tough questions. Then they bought into obama and never asked the tough questions. Now they've bought into this - and, again, aren't asking the tough questions.

Thankfully the chance of Single Payer is very slim and we're more likely to fill the potholes.

alvinnf

Well if you consider that currently under managed care doctors are already being influence by health insurance providers. I would hate to even imagine how bad it would be if the government was behind the cutain.......

Harry Boy

__________________
Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

Patters

Government runs a lot of things very well, but perhaps some of you live in bad slums where the government does not provide clean water, police, fire, good schools, and care for those who would otherwise be begging or living on the streets. Or perhaps you live under threat of military invasion by a foreign force or don't have a legal system, sewerage system, highways, and a financial infrastructure.

Overall, I think our country works quite well, and the naysayers who always complain about government don't seem to appreciate all this country has. The fact is that national health care has worked very well in many countries and has proven vastly more cost effective in every country. A combo of public/private health insurance is bound to reduce costs substantially, create a more mobile workforce, and help the American people.

Holy Diver

Talk is cheap and fear is EXPENSIVE.


Congress.org - Congressional Directory


We have two options on our hands...


1. Keep the current system, Go broke in less than 40 years
2. Change the system, cover everyone, reduce costs. Have competition for care.


call you rep, because this is coming up for a vote SOON.

tanked_as_usual

you always say things like this without providing examples.........what government things, if any, work efficiently???

so how is the government going to make healthcare cheaper??? when has the government made anything cheaper??

stop living in fantasy land

tanked_as_usual

how will costs be reduced?

there already is competition for care.......involving the government will get rid of that

Holy Diver

Preventative care will reduce cost, especially to the uninsured and those who are poor. Don't take my word, here is teh secretary of Health and Human Services' report on the subject.

-------------------------------------

Approximately one-third of the uninsured have a chronic disease and they are six times less likely to receive health-care services than those with insurance, the report finds. The report notes that, in contrast, only 6 percent of high-income Americans lack insurance.

New Report Highlights Health Disparities - Health-Care Reform 2009 - Tracking the National Health-Care Debate

here is the report: Higher Rates of Disease

--------------------------------------


If the competition you claim exits, actually existed...you would see healthcare costs go down over the last 40 years. Instead it has risen at twice the level of inflation, each year.

In every other kind of BIZ we'd call that collusion....but...

Patters

I named a number of things. On the national level, we have the military, the political system, the courts, the agencies which regulate our economy and protect our money, FEMA for the most part, the FDA, the FCC, the FAA, etc. On the local level there are even more examples. Just go outside or even wander around your home and look at all the services your taxes provide.

Private enterprise isn't particularly cost effective relative to government. It does some things very well, but other things it does so poorly that taxpayer bailouts, bankcruptcies, and other disasters result. A national health plan will give the government leverage in terms of negotiating drug and service prices, identifying synergies, and standardizing paperwork, best practices, communications, and record keeping.