Health Insurance

Town hall meetings (snickers) is as an accurate measurment of public sentiments as welfare is effective in urging others to rise out of poverty.

Will John Stossel participate?

*facepalm*

What responsible parent who loves their kids would burden them with this kind of debt? The folks who support this need to be asked, "Do you love your kids? If so, then how do you justify this burden you're placing on them?"

Seems like the advertising campaign for Obama's health care plan ignores the long-term pain, recalling a famous cigarette campaign and this Onion-style parody entitled "Joe Bama 'Smooth Character' Ad Campaign Used to Promote Administration Health Care Policy": http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/05/joe-bama-smooth-character-ad-campaign.html

"He doesn’t say HOW, mind you, but don’t worry; he isn’t worried."

Currently the US spends two to three times as much per person for health care than any other first world nation. In return, we end up with the same or worse life expectancy (and Europe does not have our Shivao-esque fondness for padding the stats with 'living dead' years).

How can we continue to pay for our EXISTING, mind boggling expensive, ER room instead of antibiotics, system? Why isn't that the question?

Brett Rogers:"What responsible parent who loves their kids would burden them with this kind of debt? The folks who support this need to be asked, "Do you love your kids? If so, then how do you justify this burden you're placing on them?"

Our current system of health care costs two to three times as much per person as every other first world nations. Our life expectancy is the same or worse than these nations that keep their people healthy for half to a third the cost.

What parent can burden their children with our existing massively overpriced and under performing health care system?

Bunch of crap!

Individuals have no power to shop and control healthcare costs. Unless we do with out as some 46 million do. Even so my costs goes up. So you suggest that everyone shop? we all tell our emlpoyers forget it? I am shopping? Get real. Pure BS!

The United States rates behind almost every other industrialized Nation in infant mortality,life expectancy and spends at least twice as much for inferior health care.After reading of Mr. Stossel's accomplshments as an author I can only say that he wrote a book on Stupidity from life experience.

Well, it looks like you got a bunch of healthcare questions in the comments, John! Apparently, they think that the united States' healthcare system, without stating it directly, is free-market. of course, this is ludicrous considering the inflation of prices caused by medicare/medicaid, the further inflation of costs due to the government's legislation which created HMO plans. So the obvious answer to any of these geniuses is to provide everybody with health care and print trillions in funny-money to provide for it. i look forward to 4-6 month waits for any serious medical procedures. Gee, i wonder why countries like Canada and Britain are moving towards privatization? Just because the U.S. system sucks doesn't mean we need to model our system after even more illogical systems.

We haven't had a free-market system in u.S. health care since the 60's, you'd think people might do their research before spouting off angrily about the lack of options in this country, when third-party payment systems like ours increase costs exponentially. decidedly not free-market.

Say again about shopping around? I couldn't get company healthcare for my disabled adult child.

The fact that so many people can be so passionate for something about which they are so ignorant is scary. Why do people think that the government can just pass a law and make something free? And why do they so passionately hate people who disagree?

I am more than unhappy about how the numbers and news on the health care plan are NOT being reported in the MSM. Here are a few examples:

1. 2007 figures showed the amount as $34 trillion in the 2007 Financial Report of the US Government page 47 - http://www.gao.gov/financial/fy2007/07frusg.pdf. (This is a report from 2 years ago... how many trillions is it now?)

2. This past Monday, Obama in meeting with the AMA says: “No matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people. If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” The Associated Press reported Friday: White House officials suggest the president’s rhetoric shouldn’t be taken literally: What Obama really means is that government isn’t about to barge in and force people to change insurance. (Can I trust anything Obama says?)

3. Obama made pledges to the US citizens that he will not raise taxes on anyone except the rich - 95% of the people will see no new taxes. I can't wait to see the White House walk that one back with the same rhetoric that Obama's promises should not be taken literally.

4.. A new study published by the Pacific Research Institute, takes all health-care spending in the United States and subtracts the costs of the two flagship government-run programs, Medicare and Medicaid. It then takes that remaining spending and compares its cost increases over time with Medicare’s cost increases over time. The results are clear: Since 1970 — even without the prescription drug benefit — Medicare’s costs have risen 34% more, per patient, than the combined costs of all health care in America apart from Medicare and Medicaid, the vast majority of which is purchased through the private sector. Since 1970, the per-patient costs of all health care apart from Medicare and Medicaid have risen from $364 to $7,119, while Medicare’s per-patient costs have risen from $368 to $9,634. Medicare’s costs have risen $2,511 more per patient. (Gee... why doesn't the government want the US citizens to know how poorly the government manages health care?) http://tinyurl.com/neu4tm

5. The stimulus health care plan mandates are already killing jobs. All three Democrat health care plans (the House, Kennedy-Dodd, and Baucus bills) feature an employer mandate which will make it more expensive for employers to add employees. But as the New York Times reported last week, health care provisions in the stimulus are already making it harder for employers to hire new people... Even after the economy improves, I’m going to think long and hard before I hire anyone. Thanks to the stimulus package — the stimulus package — the costs, paperwork, and legal exposure associated with hiring employees is on the rise. (Read the whole sorry story here: http://tinyurl.com/lc9ddm)

6. This list could go on ad infinitum...

"I'm not worried about the issues of cost..." aptly reflects the true American way of life. From credit cards maxed beyond imagined dreams to mortgages on dream homes granted by greedy lenders in response to immature buyers insistent cries "I want it,"... we're still partying like it's 1999.

If you would like to see a really great list of health care questions, look here:

Business & Media Institute:What We Would Ask: Questions about Obama's health care plan - http://tinyurl.com/l7tekf

snippet:

Here are their questions:

1. Grace-Marie Turner, President of the Galen Institute. The Galen Institute is a non-profit research group devoted exclusively to health policy which supports individual freedom, consumer choice and competition. (120 million would lose private coverage)

“Mr. President, How do you justify the fact that you keep telling people they can keep the health coverage they have now if they like it but studies prove that 120 million Americans would lose the private coverage they have today, many of them involuntarily, if a public plan were introduced?

more good questions for Obama:

Job losses from insurance mandates

“Has OMB [Office of Management and Budget] done any estimation of what the additional unemployment would follow from the imposition of an employer mandate?”

Government-run health care no matter what you call it

“If the federal government runs an insurance plan, runs a national health insurance exchange, designs the benefits that Americans will have and imposes penalties on Americans that do not comply with federal health policy why is this not government-run health care?”

Falling costs

“President Obama, can you name one example of the government taking over an industry and costs falling as a result?”

Medicare is going bankrupt

“President Obama, the best example we have of a government option in health care is Medicare. Medicare is projected to bankrupt the federal budget in the 21st century so why are we to believe that another government health care plan with do any better?”

Cost containment means rationing

“President Obama, in Europe and Canada cost containment has often taken the form of rationing of health care. In the United Kingdom, government bureaucrats decide whether or not a person is worthy of receiving certain medical procedures based on their value to society. Is that the type of cost containment you would envision in your type of health care?”

A free-market solution

“Why wouldn’t it be better for a program of tax credits or tax deductions be better than a public plan option at getting care to the people who need it?”

Fix the tax code

“Why don’t we address the inequities in the tax code that favor employer-based health care?”

Last Question (maybe... I'm pretty ticked that a large number of people do not understand what government health care means..)

Rigged competition

“President Obama, you say that a public plan will merely compete with existing public sector private health plans. What steps will be taken to ensure that the system is not rigged in favor of the public plan winning these competitions?”

Do you approve of the current "free market" style of health insurance where the doctor has to ask permission to treat you if he hopes to get paid? And that's not the only problem with the current health insurance company coverage.

I don't know how you can possibly look at health insurance as it currently stands and think its wonderful.