Until that fateful November night, I never concerned myself with the politics of healthcare. I took my health for granted; I always exercised and ate a fairly balanced diet. My friends and I biked everywhere, and nothing ever happened. A few cuts and scrapes, but no major injuries.
Luckily, at the time of the accident I was still 21 years old and covered by my family's plan. But when I turned 22, I was dropped from my parents' healthcare coverage. Though I do have a required university healthcare package, it covers little more than my prescriptions and mental health needs. If I was ever in need of serious treatment, I am not sure what I could do. As a student I do not have the time to secure a job with benefits, and my parents do not have the means to support me beyond what they are already doing. I am mired in medical debt; my mailbox is full of second, third and last notices. I have no way of paying any of it off.
They didn't own up and pay up because they had sudden attacks of conscience. They owned up and paid up because they were under public pressure and scrutiny to do so in order to get plum jobs.
I appreciate that you respect their actions.
I don't, because I don't believe there is any sincerity or remorse behind them. Hence, I don't trust these people in public positions.
How many career politicians do you think were offered the "plum" jobs as you call them, and didn't take the job because they had too much dirt to hide? There were a lot of prominent names bandied about and you have to wonder, I agree, not that I'm making blanket accusations. I believe all the likely candidates understood that there were researchers and investigators who would go over their records with a fine tooth comb. The ones who chose to serve have made good on their debts. I believe they have apologized, and most people want to live up to the expectations set for them. So, let's give them a chance to go on and do the right thing. They're under even more watchful eyes now, yours and mine.
Back to the subject at hand: Single-payer universal health care will create jobs, save money, and stimulate economic growth. As we've seen the "markets" aren't a good way to distribute health care. In an egalitarian society, equal opportunity is a protected right. Access to health care is not distributed equitably. No decent and compassionate society should fail to provide health care to its members when it has the financial resources to do so. It's incumbent upon us to assure the right to health care, education, clean water, and other public responsibilities in a democracy.
Holding bake sales and raffles on neighborhood sidewalks, in school cafeterias or local churches to pay for health care won't solve the health care crisis; and it won't do anything to put Americans back to work. We can do better, and there's a new research study that points the way. http://www.calnurses.org/research/pdfs/ihsp_sp_economic_study_2009.pdf
We can't let cynicism or a few shady politicians make us believe we're powerless or stand in the way of true single-payer reform.
It's not corporate cronyism that has fooled us twice. It is our elected officials who have failed to represent the interests of the American people and Obama seems to be furthering this travesty with his poor choices in appointments.
I'm definitely a liberal, but I find that I can't argue the fact that the vast majority of the people in our government do not represent the interests of the people.
What can we do, though? It doesn't matter who we have elected, it never makes a difference! I know a lot of conservatives idolize Reagan and his ilk, but let's be honest. The 'coming home to roost' you mention condemns Reagan every bit as much as the most liberal politician. His administration was the very definition of 'borrow now, spend now, pay later and leave grandkids with the bill' that both Bush 1 and 2 have followed.
Politics has left me very disillusioned in general.
There are dentists in MN who refuse to accept Delta Dental for state employees because the state requires them to care for medicaid patients as well.
A perfect example of the negative unintended consequences of poorly-thought-out regulation. Instead of resulting in more choices for Medicaid patients, this requirement limits the choices of state employees and Medicaid recipients.
There are dentists in MN who refuse to accept Delta Dental for state employees because the state requires them to care for medicaid patients as well.
I work with the Medicaid population and can attest to the difficulty of locating providers for them, both medical and dental. I always assumed it was the low reimbursement, but interactions with many providers indicates to me that this is not the biggest barrier. Most providers do not want to carry a lot of Medicaid patients because of the time involved in managing them. The state agency I work for has just started a wonderful program to link pediatricians and dentists so that children are referred for dental care at an early age. Part of my job is insuring that referred patients get and keep their appointments. Not an easy task. The no-show rate among Medicaid patients in general is phenominal. While docs can charge a "no-show"fee to private patients, they cannot do so for MA. Often the only alternative to managing a MA patient who is habitually non-compliant is to dismiss them from the practice. I have gained a new understanding of the providers who are viewed as bad guys because they will not accept MA patients.
A perfect example of the negative unintended consequences of poorly-thought-out regulation. Instead of resulting in more choices for Medicaid patients, this requirement limits the choices of state employees and Medicaid recipients.
Once again, just because some aspects of a badly managed public health care system are wrong, does not mean that a properly managed public health care system (such as is found in every other industrialized country) is in any way comparable. Wouldn't you agree?
Once again, just because some aspects of a badly managed public health care system are wrong, does not mean that a properly managed public health care system (such as is found in every other industrialized country) is in any way comparable. Wouldn't you agree?
Every other industrialized country has a properly managed public health care system?
One things seems certain: we're going to get public health care. I believe in democracy and the voters have spoken. Left-leaning politicians now control the entire federal government. We'll get what we as a people voted for.
Every other industrialized country has a properly managed public health care system?
Uhh..yes? There are problems, of course. But there are also serious problems that our country is having also. Capitalism cannot solve the healthcare crisis. It in fact caused it. Healthcare is not a commodity any more than police and fire services are a commodity, and it should have never been treated as such.
Those other countries that you may be afraid of that have public health care...do yourself a favor and look up the average life expectancy and quality of living there.
Will you do that, and get back to me on what you find?
Specializes in Critical care, tele, Medical-Surgical.
let's expand medicare to cover all americans
...for every dollar spent on direct care, nearly three other dollars are spent in ancillary ways, in other goods and services: from prescription drugs to medical equipment, to cleaning supplies purchased by health care providers such as hospitals and clinics, to consumer spending by employees whose jobs are created by health care.
then imagine we have a system in which the 46 million americans presently uninsured are now covered by full medicare, which by itself could be funded by an additional $44 billion. add in full medicare for seniors who have limited medicare programs, those on medicaid, and those who have private insurance but don't use it because of the high out-of-pocket costs or who are denied needed care because their private insurer doesn't want to pay for it.
that's the real key to economic growth through health care, people using medically needed care when they need it. providing care jump-starts the economy massively.
it has other rather important benefits. a healthier population....
RN4MERCY
328 Posts