Obama's health plan takes shape

WORKINGWOMANINTN -a question for you

the content of your postings and the fact that you are a recent member prompt me to (respectfully) ask the question -are you a healthcare insurance lobbyist? a nurse? Please clarify. Thanks

Hi, UKRNinUSA! I'm just a woiking goil - RN for 35 years, predominantly in Critical Care and Home Health. I've been meaning to ask you -- (which may be asking the obvious): are you from the UK? If so, how long have you worked in the US, and what areas?.

Why does it matter? She is a taxpayer that's all that should matter.

UKRNinUSA;3791830]I am from the UK -I have been an RN for 25 years -I came here 18 years ago on a wild whim and currently work in a not for profit, unionized, community hospital ER. I want healthcare reform because
1. I have an innate aversion to injustice
2. I believe I have a duty as a nurse to advocate for my patients, that include the insured, the underinsured and the uninsured.
3. I am sick of getting ripped off by the current system -the health insurance companies have way too much power and its way too expensive.[/b]

I have seen national health insurance in action and believe me it's no boogeyman. It continues to work well for the friends and relatives that both my husband and I have back in Europe. They cannot comprehend support for a system that allows for prohibitively expensive insurance policies, failure to cover people with pre-existing conditions, medical bankruptcies, denials of care and cancellation of insurance policies (during chemo, for instance). I can't either.

I welcome the open debate on healthcare reform -its been a long time coming. Personally I am pro single payer and believe that "Obamacare" does not go far enough, but at least its a start on much needed regulation of the health insurance companies.

Thank you for your reply WORKINGWOMANINTN -its a relief to be able to have civilized debate on these issues. The escalation of recent events re the healthcare debate -violence at town hall meetings, comparisons of Obama to Hitler is very concerning to me and is leading us along a dangerous path.