Mother Jones - Comments for "Health Care and the Horse Race"

Cool

WE NEED HEALTH CARE IN THIS COUNTRY. IT IS OUTRAGEOUS THIS COUNTRY OF EQUALITY CAN NOT PROVIDE THE SAME HELP TO ALL OF IT'S PEOPLE. THE FIRST ATTEMPT MAY NOT BE PERFECT, BUT IF WE KEEP WORKING ON IT....SOMEDAY WE MAY ALL HELP ALL PEOPLE WITHOUT LEAVING ANYONE OUT. MOST CANDIDATES THINK THAT THEY HAVE THE ANSWER...WHO KNOWS...ONLY GOD AT THIS POINT CAN HELP US ALL BUT WE NEED TO START SOMETHING TO BRING THIS COUNTRY AROUND.

agree with poor plans for people without money who don't pay taxes. Re: pools, California has one for high-risk people, and it is impacted. so much for that. it really is often, "your money or your life."

Gosh, I had no idea my comments would cause that much commotion. I stand by them, by the way. Nothing emotional or deceptive intended.

To the gentleman who is getting great care from the VA, I'm happy for you. I just wouldn't want that to be my only option. Regarding changing plans, a person buying his own health insurance has over 300 plans to choose from in the state of Texas, and that's just from the 9 companies I'm familiar with.

A person getting his coverage at work is having his employer pay for most of it, and his company policy probably offers him a choice of plans. Most employees aren't paying for their own health insurance, anyway. Their employers are.

Regarding government healthcare not being "perfect", the rhetoric from the other side implies that it would be. I felt that implied idea needed to be challenged with a little reality.

Who WILL liberal trial lawyers sue if the government is the healthcare provider ? I still contend that's a valid question. John Edwards got stinking rich on medical malpractice cases. Good for him. I hope to find one of those guys to work for me if I ever need one.

As for all that stuff about H.R.676, it boils down to who you think can administer healthcare for less money, government, or private industry ? I think private industry, but feel free to disagree.

Private indusrty, for all it's shortcomings, still has to answer to customers like you and me. We can change carriers if we don't like the cost, the service, or even just the attitude of the people working at the insurance company. Think of your last three encounters with a government employee when you had a complaint. Did you feel powerless, or did you feel your concerns were being taken seriously ?

Finally, my remark about free thinking liberals being so quick to give up their freedoms: I knew someone would bring up the Patriot Act.Congratulations, Gary. You win the Red Herring Award. I stand by that comment, too.

Think of the "solutions" liberals offer to most of our social problems. Don't most of them involve restricting someone else's behavior in some way ? Smoking, transfats, heck, just pick an issue. The liberal solution will be to pass a law penalizing it. Think about it.

Some of our citizens have no health insurance, and some of the others don't like paying for theirs. Big surprise. I wish mine were free, too, because I'm self employed and I buy my own. I don't expect other taxpayers to buy it for me.

The challenge is to find ways to reduce the cost. The solutions will be incremental. Turning everything over to the government sounds like an easy fix, but it's not. It carries it's own set of problems. My post was intended to point out some of them. I stand by my remarks.

why do all these small country's have a better health care system then a BIG country like the USA?
My brother, a US citizen, is married to a British subject and living in Wales and receives free, top notch, medical care any time he needs it it???
I was over there, one time, and received a free Flu shot and no questions asked.
Had I needed more care I would have received it also.
The care they receive over there is paid for by their taxes.
Were the hell is our tax money going???

I have worked the past 20 years at a university.. with full benefits (dental, medical, vision). In April 2007 my job officially ended after filing a claim of harassment against a professor. I have been looking for a new job since last year- well over 100 applications sent - two interviews so far. In the meantime I applied for unemployment - which took two months to be approved. I had no income except my tax refund to live on.
I applied for the health care programs that I heard about in NYS Healthy Plus/Child Health plus for me and my son. I was told we make $43 too much. I went to social services to apply for help there.. (medical, food, etc) and was given temp asst. of $243 for food. Once my unemployment checks starting coming a couple of weeks later, I was informed that I make too much again to qualify for help.

There is something wrong with our health care system when you can't "qualify" for health care, despite having worked and participated in the system for years........... I paid my family premium every month too.

I have been to Europe several times over the years - Germany, England, France, Spain, Ireland, Holland, and Switzerland. I have to tell you my mom was from Germany and her family still lives there (after the wall came down). There are better health care systems - Canada, England, and France are on the top of the list when it comes to providing health care for ALL - not based on your income, where you live, who you know, etc.

Over the years as an advocate, parent and talk show host..I get to hear many sad stories about our health care system from parents of kids with disabilities, adults with disabilities and people that have been injured on the job. It is a huge battle for anyone that applies for programs.. The system is built this way.

It makes me want to move.

Don't think this can't or wont' happen to you.

I know that the "devil is in the details" - but Tancredo seems to be on the right track. Sadly, I suspect that he is in favor of getting rid of only regulations that hamper the gatekeeper role, and limiting the ability for gatekeepers to squeeze money out of sick people. Eating properly and exercising are actively discouraged by drug companies who promote a "zero tolerance for discomfort" mentality and a "who has the time for exercise" mantra that promotes consumer oriented hedonism.
Getting rid of the useless FDA and DEA and turning over drug education to a C. Everett Koop figure while turning over responsibility to drug safety to the FTC and a more easily accessible judicial system would be preferable to turning over the present system intact - but under taxpayer largesse. And considering the penchant for GOP deficit spending this would mean trillions in debt for our heirs and the destruction of our monetary system [actually a very good outcome: we have lots of things that need to be done and a lot of support for doing them - it's the control of money that gets in the way].

God bless us all...every one!!! What we really need is prayer back in schools and homes and workplaces & their would be less sickness. God is the real healer. Be well & happy.

Single payer makes sense Medicare which has a running cost of 3% seems the way to go.
The Insurance companies, and the drug companies are squeezing the poor and middle class.

The Republicans at least the ones that speak of universal health care have no real plan, it's same old, same old the market driven philosophy.
It's not working, they do not represent change.

The only way to rationaly "fix" healthcare in the United States is to take the profit out of it. Any moron knows that.

As Michael Moore said in a recent interview, do we want someone in a corporate boardroom to decide whether puttin out a fire at our house is good for the bottom-line profit of the fire department? How much less then, do we want some health 'care' Enron to decide whether or not to cover communicable and catastrophic diseases?

Bleh, who cares for health (all too complicated anyway, I leave it to docs) when we can instead concentrate on killing all those terrorrists. Hey, you suspicious looking dude over there, happen to be one of the bad guys too (glad I always carry at least two personal guns plus a knife with me to protect me and fellow Americans). Long live our beloved presidet Bush, long live the war on terror, no useless thoughts or money left for healthcare anymore...

Sicko has caused healthcare to the top of the charts. We are too busy putting band aids on what we have. There are short term solutions that erode some of the vested interest positions while we look at the cost benefit issues of private enterprise versus taxes. It could be that we pay the same as Canada, France and Great Britain by combining Medicare Tax, tax deductions for health premiums, and our actual health premiums. This study needs to be done. In the meantime www.healthcaresoundoff.com is a community forum dedicated to discussing ideas for healing our healthcare system and we all should participate in that conversation.

I was a devout and now a former Republicana voter who was going to vote for Hillary Clinton, but will not, as she and Obama have sold out and accepted money from the BIG PHARMA. I will, reluctantly vote Democratic. It will be Dennis Kucinich, if he the Demcractic nominee.

I am a devote and now a former Republicana voter who was going to vote for Hillary Clinton, but will not, as she and Obama have sold out and accepted money from the BIG PHARMA. I will, reluctantly vote Democratic. It will be Dennis Kucinich, if he the Demcractic nominee.

Caution folks: Congress and California politicians pushing for-profit private health insurance models confuse health insurance and health care socialization. California's universal health care model supported by a million stakeholders and pushed Senator Sheila Kuehl bills SB's 840 and 1014 - is socialized health insurance - NOT socialized health care!