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Health Care Reform Now! But baby steps.
- October 16, 2009 20:55:07
- Read all 36 comments
- +3 raves
I think most people agree that we need health care reform. What doesn't need reform? Americans always want to improve and not settle for what we've got.
Instead of making this a knock-down, drag-out fight about BIG government options and mandates on private business, why don't we pass some reform on the things most people can agree upon?
Tort Reform: Democrats and Republicans can agree that we need reform in the area of litigation. The costs of malpractice insurance -- both direct and indirect -- increase the cost of care far too much. Indirect costs include defensive medicine -- tests and procedures the doctors order unnecessarily to avoid lawsuits.
Portability: Individuals should own their plans, not their employers. This would allow people to change jobs and keep their coverage, which helps cover people with pre-existing conditions. Most states don't allow employers to compensate employees for their individual health insurance, effectively outlawing portability.
Interstate competition: Increase the number of providers and competition in order to provide more options and lower costs. Don't make each state an island when it comes to health insurance.
I fear that activists, politics and lobbyists have influenced the reform initiative too much. Let's start with these basic, common sense options today.
Instead of making this a knock-down, drag-out fight about BIG government options and mandates on private business, why don't we pass some reform on the things most people can agree upon?
Tort Reform: Democrats and Republicans can agree that we need reform in the area of litigation. The costs of malpractice insurance -- both direct and indirect -- increase the cost of care far too much. Indirect costs include defensive medicine -- tests and procedures the doctors order unnecessarily to avoid lawsuits.
Portability: Individuals should own their plans, not their employers. This would allow people to change jobs and keep their coverage, which helps cover people with pre-existing conditions. Most states don't allow employers to compensate employees for their individual health insurance, effectively outlawing portability.
Interstate competition: Increase the number of providers and competition in order to provide more options and lower costs. Don't make each state an island when it comes to health insurance.
I fear that activists, politics and lobbyists have influenced the reform initiative too much. Let's start with these basic, common sense options today.
Top Comment
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As soon as people get the fact that there is NO rush, we can experiment with different improvements and see what works the best. People keep saying that we can't reform a country like Afghanistan over night, why don't they use their brains to realize that about health care, that expenditures total more than that countries budget and many more!View thread
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January 24, 2007 04:53:33
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Volunteers who went to ground zero after 9/11 have had horrendous health problems as a result. And many of them cannot afford health care. In order to receive help from the fund that was set up, a person has to show documentation that they were helping at ground zero, and many cannot.
In the movie, Michael Moore took four of those people to Cuba. Initially he was trying to get them the free health care that the enemy combatants enjoyed at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. But they couldn't get in. So they went to a hospital in Cuba, and were treated there for free.
One woman who has had respiratory problems since spending weeks trying to dig out survivors at ground zero, was able to buy the inhalers that helped her to breathe at a pharmacy in Cuba for five cents. In the U.S. each one costs over $100.
I hope you will watch this movie. Wendell Potter, who was an executive at Cigna, said the movie hit the nail on the head.
Watch this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Tort Reform : You right on this and this is where Liberals and Democrats both agree point on point.
Portability : This is where it mostly goes south. Individual plans can get very expensive as we see right now and it's not due to less of competition - there are many insurance companies out there - A single person's health insurance could go all the way up to $300-$400 a month (I'm being very liberal with that amount). How do you expect a person who makes $2000, is a student, pays for college, pays for housing, pays for his bills, pays for car and car insurance afford that? Employee compensation can get shaky easily because some employer will do anything they can to cheat their employees. I used to work at big entertainment company. Weekly I'd work 40-46 hours which is considered full time. Yet they did all they could to keep me as a part time employee, thus no benefits.
You can't trust everyone fef.
Interstate competition : There is enough competition now. There are hundreds of big and small insurance companies and all of them try to tear you a new one anyway they can.
A public option or single payer is a must . There are many families who can't afford health care and many people that have lost jobs. I am already paying taxes and thanks to the company i work for i have health insurance. I would have no problem with my taxes paying someone else's (in need) health insurance.
Portability: Individual plans get expensive because we don't have interstate competition and we have too much regulation. Plans get expensive because medical care costs go up. Because of tort reform and other regulations.
A public option will bankrupt the country like every other government program. Medicare doesn't have adequate funding. Social Security won't last. Should we use the DMV or Post Office as an example? If people want socialism, go to Europe.
>>> A public option will bankrupt the country like every other government program. Medicare doesn't have adequate funding. Social Security won't last. Should we use the DMV or Post Office as an example? If people want socialism, go to Europe.
I disagree. A well thought out program will not bankrupt anyone. Just like it hasn't bankrupted all the other western countries -which, mind you, all have universal health care -. Most people pay fees such as premiums, copay and etc. Turn those into taxes and that alone would pay for a universal health care.
>>> If people want socialism, go to Europe.
I'd rather fix my country then go and live under someone else's mercy. Plus, do you honestly think moving is as easy as get up, pack and move? come on.
I think people can move a lot easier than creating a Utopian society with universal health care with the quality care and the freedoms we enjoy today. Hollywood elitists have promised for years that they will move to Canada or some socialist type country.
The biggest difference between the U.S. and other countries is that we spend trillions of dollars on wars, like the Iraq War, instead of spending it on our own citizens. If you include the money spent on medical treatment for the wounded soldiers, the Iraq War cost us $3 trillion. And while we were footing the bill rebuilding Iraq, Iraq had a $150 billion surplus from oil revenues.