Socialized Medicine

If the Gov't can't manage and organize to pay the car dealers for the "Clunkers for Cash" program' what makes you think they can completely overhaul our healthcare system and pay MD's and Hospitals timely and accurately?
Get real! He is spending money we don't have and making the future of this country a disaster by creating an atmosphere of debt and promises we can't keep...just so he can hopefully get re-elected and keep democrats in office. And no, I'm not a republican.

Tell President Obama he can "keep the change".

Healthcare needs to be desided by the patient and their physician. Also, if they force their "public healthcare option" on us...then I think Congress and the President should use it as well....but of course, they keep their private gov't funded insurance!

Wow, people are really misinformed. I worked for the USPHS (government run health care) and I never heard a single CRNA, or any other midlevel provider complain of their pay. The physicians were paid fairly and weren't required to work 60 hours a week. It was an excellent system. Thinking rationally about the system, if you cut the 20% of healthcare costs spent on billing services (don't know if everyone spends that much, but my brother who is an MD does) that would free up a lot of money. Also the compensation of a single insurance co CEO would pay for a thousand CRNA's salaries every year. From WEBMD:
United Health Group
CEO: William W McGuire
2005: 124.8 mil
5-year: 342 mil

You know what, I have worked my butt off to get to where I am, and I personally don't want to pay for your insurance while you go back to school. You either suffer without insurance until you graduate (and can buy it on your own or get it through your place of employment) or don't go back to school. Yea, call me whiney about higher taxes, so what!!? And as far as "only part of it is publicly funded" goes, I don't think you've read the bill - like most of the worthless politicians in Washington. However, if it passes, I hope you're happy with your pulic option and I hope you don't get sick anytime after that, because at that point the GOVERNMENT gets to decide who gets what and, unless you are indispensible, you get nothing! Good luck in school!

I for one would gladly pay a bit more in taxes to pay for insurance while someone goes back to school. That seems like a worthwhile investment and use of my tax dollars. Where it upsets me is having to pay for those who try to scheme the system and avoid working all together. Unfortunately, the thing of it is we will all be paying for these people anyways through higher insurance premiums or through adding to the federal deficit or whatever. Thats the rationale behind mandating that everyone be covered, because its supposedly the most cost effective option. Am I skeptical of that claim? Yes I am, but I really dont think I or most others of us out here in the online blog world really have the background or knowledge to know. The current healthcare system is costing us dearly so I can't really be opposed to the notion that covering people will cost us less than letting someone become so ill that they need an ER visit and an ICU stay for free. We all want to lower our country's healthcare cost and pay the least amount to get it but we cant blindly believe that because we are not paying for it in taxes that we arent actually paying for it. And with all that said, there hasn't even been a proposed tax increase on the middle class to pay for this thing anyways...

When people say anything negative about war we are called unAmerican. When people say things in support of other Americans (let's not go to war for the profit of the military industiral complex) we are called unAmerican, even though the whole point behind saying the negative things is that we don't want our frinds, family and neighbors to be put in harms way for the profit of others. That is American! To say that you don't want to help ohter Americans with their healthcare is very selfish diosadelsol. Why can't we support other Americans? Our healthcare system is a joke. We rank 37th in quality in a study by the world health organization and spend the second most per capita. Let's be pro-America and help each other out when we can!

Are you serious?! Since when is my neighbor having healthcare my responsibility, as an American? And as far as selfish goes, you don't know me. Just because I believe that each individual should work for what they have does not make me selfish. It is my responsibility to make sure that my children have health insurance. As an American is it also my responsibility to pay your mortgage or put gas in your car? How about your light bill - do you want me to pay that too? I have no problem supporting other Americans who genuinely need help. Not having health insurance does not fall into that category - it is a choice, not a right! Get off your high horse and keep your bleeding heart to yourself!

PS - Not a single person who knows me would EVER use "unAmerican" to describe me.

Why are we the only industrialized nation to think that healthcare is a choice not a right? The only answer I can come up with is selfishness. People are so scared of loosing their healthcare coverage that the power elite can treat people unfairly and pay them less than they deserve in order to maximize their profits and buy their fifth or sixth vacation home. We are loosing our middle class in part because people don't feel that they have the power to ask for what they deserve. I am sorry I attacked you personally, I really mean that the social norm in America is selfish. People seem only to care for themselves and their own family rather than other Americans. That seems unAmerican to me.

The government is not the answer to anything! The government, no matter who is in charge, sucks at being effecient and providing anything...Medicare, medicaid, social security, the post office, etc. all sound wonderful, but in reality are unable to be sustained financially...none of them work in the sense of being able to be self sustaining without sucking the taxpayer dry. So what is the governments suggestions for the increasing cost of healthcare? another government option? it too, like any other government program will cost much, much, much more than anyone thinks...And it will be terrible at managing it, just like they are terrible at managing everything they run...If the government could cut out waste in any of its existing programs and run them even close to effeciently they might be able to have a conversation with the american people, but nothing they tell us can be taken seriously. They need to get out of every little aspect of our lives. If the goal is to help the less fortunate, then lets do that. Why does the government have to be the mediator between us? If you want to pay more taxes to help those in need, wouldnt it be more effecient and appropriate for you to keep more of your hard earned money instead, and then you give to those in need directly? We all need to be individually responsible for ourselves without being so dependent on some government who doesnt care about us. That is Democrats and Republicans...they just take turns letting us down....The smaller they are, the less damage they can both do to us as a whole.