What is the number 1 issue facing this country

[Linda]

It is important that the government provide health care to everyone, or do you just want them to make reforms so health care is affordable for everyone?

Health care is creeping up my list too, as it is freaking ridonkulous what they charge for premiums and services.

We need more realism on health care. The trouble with casting medical-care as a "right" is that this ignores how open-ended the "right" should be and how fulfilling it might compromise other "rights" and needs. What makes people healthy or unhealthy are personal habits, good or bad (diet, exercise, alcohol and drug use); genetic makeup, lucky or unlucky, and age. Health care, no matter how lavishly provided, can only partially compensate for these individual differences.


http://www.newsweek.com/id/157573/page/1

 

[Alicia Leonard]

We need more realism on health care. The trouble with casting medical-care as a "right" is that this ignores how open-ended the "right" should be and how fulfilling it might compromise other "rights" and needs. What makes people healthy or unhealthy are personal habits, good or bad (diet, exercise, alcohol and drug use); genetic makeup, lucky or unlucky, and age. Health care, no matter how lavishly provided, can only partially compensate for these individual differences.


http://www.newsweek.com/id/157573/page/2

So, if I get hit by an uninsured driver, get put into a coma and have a huge doctor and hospital bill that is my fault? Or just my luck. No, affordable health care should be a high priority on the list. Many have genetic issues, that have nothing to do with lifestyle. Many also become unhealthy becaus ethey can't afford a $200 check up every year and don't go to see a doc and then it grows to something worse.

Basic heath care needs do have to be adressed, but heath care is something many other countries have handled and we are long overdue at looking into curbing insurance companies and medication companies that have worked together to raise cost for profit.

 

[ckhagen]

1. Monetary Policy
2. Creeping Tyrannical Laws
3. Empire building

Everything else (I acknowledge there are a lot of problems) cannot be fixed until these three things are completely reformed.

 

[scooterbug44]

I think a large part of it is the inflated costs too.

Per Rapunzel, approximately 12% of my premium goes to the person who sold me the policy, and I know that a good portion of costs also go to picking up the tab for those who don't have health insurance.

 

[Alicia Leonard]

I think a large part of it is the inflated costs too.

Per Rapunzel, approximately 12% of my premium goes to the person who sold me the policy, and I know that a good portion of costs also go to picking up the tab for those who don't have health insurance.

How Scoot?
Most hospitals and providers write that off unless you are saying they increase their cost to absorb non-payment.

 

[Linda]

So, if I get hit by an uninsured driver, get put into a coma and have a huge doctor and hospital bill that is my fault? Or just my luck. No, affordable health care should be a high priority on the list. Many have genitic issues, that have nothing to do with lifestyle. Many also become unhealthy becaus ethey can't afford a $200 check up every year and don't go to see a doc and then it grows to something worse.

Basic heath care needs do have to be adressed, but heath care is something many other countries have handled and we are long overdue at looking into curbing insurance companies and medication companies that have worked together to raise cost for profit.

Did you read the article? http://www.newsweek.com/id/157573/page/1 Here is another excerpt.

Whoever wins should put health care at the top of his agenda. But the central problem is not improving coverage. It's controlling costs. In 1960, health care accounted for $1 of every $20 spent in the U.S. economy; now that's $1 of every $6, and the Congressional Budget Office projects that it could be $1 of every $4 by 2025. Ponder that: a quarter of the U.S. economy devoted to health care. Would we be better off? Probably not. Countless studies have shown that many diagnostic tests, surgeries and medical devices are either ineffective or unneeded. "More expensive care," notes CBO director Peter Orszag, "does not always mean better care."

 

[Alicia Leonard]

Did you read the article? Here is another excerpt.

Whoever wins should put health care at the top of his agenda. But the central problem is not improving coverage. It's controlling costs. In 1960, health care accounted for $1 of every $20 spent in the U.S. economy; now that's $1 of every $6, and the Congressional Budget Office projects that it could be $1 of every $4 by 2025. Ponder that: a quarter of the U.S. economy devoted to health care. Would we be better off? Probably not. Countless studies have shown that many diagnostic tests, surgeries and medical devices are either ineffective or unneeded. "More expensive care," notes CBO director Peter Orszag, "does not always mean better care."

I agree with this. But, we have to stop the people writing policy that are also overseeing insurance companies. Fox in the hen house issue. People need affordable treatment and wellness care, no matter their economic class. Also the abuse of medicare by providers could put a plug in it as well. Wonder how the shut down of special interest in Washington for Pharm. and Ins companies would affect this?

 

[scooterbug44]

How Scoot?
Most hospitals and providers write that off unless you are saying they increase their cost to absorb non-payment.

Yes, from what I can determine, roughly 10-20% of the profit a hospital gets from private insurers goes to cover the cost of treating the uninsured.

 

[Jennifer Steele]

It is important that the government provide health care to everyone, or do you just want them to make reforms so health care is affordable for everyone?

The latter sounds great, but will it really happen? It's easy to promise health care reform. I lean toward government insuring that we are all taken care of, and I don't mind paying for it, either. We're already paying out the nose for insurance, and I, for one, would appreciate a guarantee that I am covered and will always be covered.

 

[30ashopper]

The latter sounds great, but will it really happen? It's easy to promise health care reform. I lean toward government insuring that we are all taken care of, and I don't mind paying for it, either. We're already paying out the nose for insurance, and I, for one, would appreciate a guarantee that I am covered and will always be covered.

It will be interesting to see (if Obama gets elected and implements his plan) how good the coverage will be in his National Healthcare Plan and what it will cost, both to the people who use it and to the American taxpayer. I think a majority of the people who enroll will be 1) people who can't afford insurance & 2) people who can't insurance. Aside from some modest reforms, Obama really doesn't have a solid plan on how to bring healthcare costs down, all he's doing is shluffing the costs off on government. I think in the end it will be a financial disaster.

McCain has something similar - he plans to expand state systems to cover the the same two groups - payed for by state taxes and federal funding. He also promotes the same modest reforms. Yet another financial disaster in the making.

Neither of these guys seem willing to attack the root of the problem - all of the components that make up the rising cost of healthcare overall. Aside from pushing for some modernization of health records, they really aren't addressing the core problems, they're just wallpapering it over by writing a big fat check, or forcing healthcare companies into charging "reasonable" prices. We all end up paying for the checks they plan to write, and since 85% of what we pay today is made up of costs - reasonable prices have already reached unreasonable levels.

In four years under both these guys, our healthcare system will still have the same problems.