Secret Service Visits Kennedy Compound; White House Says 'No Plans' for Obama Visit

Walter, of course it would happen in Britain, or anywhere else in the world. Yes, what happened to that particular woman was simply awful and unspeakable. It should never have happened, but it does.

However, it is the exception rather than the rule. And such exceptions occur under every system imaginable. Many cancer patients in Britain, to use the system you mentioned, have to pay for medications and treatments themselves because the National Health does not approve them. If it's not in the formulary, you are out of luck, unless you want to pay for yourself. Does it matter if treatment is out of reach because an insurance company refuses to cover it or because a government agency refuses to cover it? Does it matter if the treatment is denied on an individual basis, as Ms. Beaton's was, or if it is denied to a whole group of patients, as for example some pancreatic cancer drugs are in England?

Yes, we need to control premium costs, but a major reason premiums have risen is because health care costs have risen. The insurance companies have rising costs, in terms of the money they must pay for health care, so they pass those rising costs on to their customers. We need to get health care costs under control, but I don't see that wrecking the insurance system is the way to do that. We'll have to agree to disagree.

moderate, the last time I checked, insurance companies do not make food, nor truck it to my neighborhood, nor a place in which I can buy it.

What they are SUPPOSED to do is allow us to *share* risk.

They have FAILED at 1) allowing people to share the unknown risk of getting a serious, and expensive, illness.

They have FAILED at keeping premiums affordable. The fact that premiums have doubling every 10 years means that most Americans are going to find themselves naked, without insurance, in a few short years.

They have WASTED an amazing amount of money, forcing doctors to hire people to their staff who never provide health care, just to fight with the insurance companies.

They have proven they cannot be TRUSTED, as in the case of Robin Beaton, who had her insurance cancelled after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, just a few days before she was scheduled to have a mastectomy.

They said she had a 'pre-existing condition', because of a skin blemish and her dermatologist pleaded with them on the phone, explaining it was acne not cancer!

But her insurance company closed their ears, and had no heart and the hospital told her they would not release the O.R. unless she could come up with $30,000 down.

This lady's cancer doubled in size before she finally was able to get life saving surgery.

GUESS WHAT REPUBLICANS: This would never happen in the Britain.

I find this demonization of insurance companies--- the vampires, as some of you so colorfully refer to them-- very disheartening. They are not perfect, but these companies perform an important service and the vast majority do so in a responsible manner.

Health care is a hot button topic precisely because it affects all of us.
There are other things in life that we all require, and I can't imagine the government taking those over, either. We all need housing and food, but the industries that provide those to us are not under government control. Yes, the government provides housing and food to those truly in need who require help in that regard. That's what we should aim for in health care-- providing the services to those truly in need and letting the private market take care of providing for the rest of us.

Weiner is truly scary when he says things like, ""Why are we paying profits for insurance companies?" Weiner asked Scarborough. "Why are we paying overhead for insurance companies? Why," he asked, bringing it all home, "are we paying for their TV commercials?" Substitute the word "food" for "insurance" in those sentences. Insurance companies are supposedly evil because they make profits while providing access to health care, and because they advertise their services? So should Kellogs or McDonalds be forbidden to make profits or to advertise? After all, we all have to eat, so how dare they profit from our need for sustenance. Let the government hand out the food, and let us all line up in gratitude because it might be lousy food and it might be unimaginative food but by golly it will be cheap food, because the taxpayers will subsidize its cost.

Palin + Bachmann 2012

Bachmann + Santorum 2012

Please..........

The profit motive is only a small part of the problem with corporate control over health care.

The problem is that these corporations are parasites.

You're defending a vampire by saying that he's only barely surviving by sucking blood.

Remind me again who is taking care of the ad campaign run by Axelrod?

The profit motive is only a small part of the problem with corporate control over health care.

The problem is that these corporations are parasites.

You're defending a vampire by saying that he's only barely surviving by sucking blood.

Tort reform is essential to true health care cost reform. I am amazed to find the same people who blithely claim that tort reform will not save enough money to matter, since it's only a billion or two (even though that figure is debatable, because the cost of defensive doctoring is hard to measure but extremely high) want to label insurance company profits as excessive and a ripe topic for savings, even though the average profit margin for american health insurance providers is 2%. Oh, well, it's kind of like making big oil the villain in talk of energy policy so you don't have to address the importance of nuclear energy to an energy independent, green America.

And no one that I know of who supports tort reform wants to eliminate legitimate law suits where true negligence or malpractice has occurred and patients are truly deserving of compensation. Frivolous lawsuits and extravagant payoffs relative to injury caused are a different matter and those are the things that need to be brought in line with reality.

-Bible study is for church.-

Tell Obama. I don't want to hear any more mention of God when it comes to the healthcare debate.

"The new Texas law requires all state public high schools offer ELECTIVES in Bible instruction, not mandatory study."

It should not be offered in public school.

Bible study is for church.

-No, it wasn't designed to remove vehicles from the road but to replace them with more fuel efficient ones. You get CASH for another VEHICLE for trading in your CLUNKER. See?-

Thank You! American car shopper. We at Toyota are grateful for your business! Cash for Clunker Cars was complete and total success. Please to have another stimulus plan. Banzai!

Tort reform.

yeah, yer right, lets not allow citizens to do anything about being poisoned or maimed by bad products..the company profits are much more important..people are not that important.....

Posted by: + |

Do you think health care reform means that you can't go see a doctor anymore?

-Maybe I'm misinformed,but I thought Barack Obama was president,not George Bush.-

Geroge Bush will always be POTUS when it is convenient.

-When Obama rants on about excessive salaries, why does he never mention the astronomical fees and awards given to Trial Lawyers?-

We'll probably never know...I was thinking about excessive salaries for Hollywood types too...but that will remain an enigma as well.

Big news on PO =

"I want a public option" --Sen. Baucus

Texas... that place where they're making it mandatory to study the Bible in public school (I don't mean an all religions course) and where they're also mandating the history books be re-written to show how conservatives saved america, while omitting people who they think don't deserve to be in the history books.. like Thurgood Marshall for example.....

The new Texas law requires all state public high schools offer ELECTIVES in Bible instruction, not mandatory study.

My kids attended school in Texas and the schools were measurably better than the schools in Illinois. Texas still requires a modicum of respect being shown for oneself and authority. It makes for a better learning enviroment.

racet=race

"yeah, yer right, lets not allow citizens to do anything about being poisoned or maimed by bad products..."

You missed the point entirely. How does enriching leaches like Edwards improve health care?

When Obama rants on about excessive salaries, why does he never mention the astronomical fees and awards given to Trial Lawyers?

Texas... that place where they're making it mandatory to study the Bible in public school (I don't mean an all religions course) and where they're also mandating the history books be re-written to show how conservatives saved america, while omitting people who they think don't deserve to be in the history books.. like Thurgood Marshall for example.....

Posted by: ---------- | Aug 24, 2009 10:32:41 AM
************
I'm not certain about TX education just tort reform but while we're on the subject did you know that obama stole all of his lines from Booker T. Washington? His "useful" comment on oprah before he threw his hat in the ring for the presidency was straight from Booker T. Love Booker T. but despise people who don't give credit for their comments!!!

Maybe I'm misinformed,but I thought Barack Obama was president,not George Bush.

I think they both should take a drive

he doesn't want to cling to guns or religion like those silly midwestern people
Posted by: Nephron

very original...maybe you should have been concerned when Bush took off for 31 days of vacation...............you mean you didn't know that? shocking....