Do You Want Universal Healthcare?

Published

I know this topic has been discussed before on this site..but, I was curious for an updated response. How many of you would be willing to pay more taxes for universal healthcare? I find it egregious that the US has put a cost on maintaining/saving ones life! I traveled to Europe and the thought of them having to bring their checkbook to the hospital aroused literal laughs. It's the same notion that we'd have to whip out our debit card to firefighters before they turned the hoses on our burning homes. It's sad. I think the overall costs of UH would be beneficial...in fact, the raised taxes would still probably be lower than our rising premiums every 2 weeks! Thoughts?

The current problems with health care largely stem from well meaning but ill conceived government interventions (Medicare/Medicaid to name two). How is the government going to fix that? More intervention?

Insurance Industry, highly regulated.

Drug industry, highly regulated.

Hospital industry, highly regulated.

Medical business models are designed to extract the maximum amount of tax money they can for a given service. JCAHO certifies that. This is not a true capitalist model, just people forced to play the game to get paid.

what, in your opinion, is wrong with medicaid? just humor me here... because I think its much better than our private insurance based medical system in many ways

Up Vote Up Vote ×
These countries have universal health care (listed from #1-11 in the 2007 United Nations Human Development Index): Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Netherlands, France, and Finland.

Is it just a coincidence that these countries have universal health care coverage and are ahead of the United States of America in the Human Development Index?

It's sad that the United States boasts some of the richest and most influential figures in the world, yet continue to be driven by the dollar - at the expense of their own citizens' health.

YES!!! thank you! In the end, better healthcare is the goal, and this is exactly what I've had rolling around in my mind this whole debate.

How many times has a procedure been done for the good of some doc's wallet instead of for the good of the patient? (unnecessary cesareans vs natural childbirth anyone??) I think that if we really knew just how many proceedures are done that should not be, because of the financial gain, our blood would run cold. In some areas, they are done so often that they are now such common place procedures that its impossible to differentiate.

**and to the spelling police, I think its rather silly to come to a message board and correct people's spelling.. typos happen, even to the best of us. I bet even to you :nono: its not my fault that I'm so far from "holy" that I can't even spell it right :chuckle

Up Vote Up Vote ×
what, in your opinion, is wrong with medicaid? just humor me here... because I think its much better than our private insurance based medical system in many ways

1. It is a social welfare entitlement program.

2. Fraud consumes more than 10% of monies.

3. It is a social welfare entitlement program.

4. Constitutes 20 to 30% of a states budget (more than education).

National avg. 16.8%, 3.94% for AL and 40.18% for OH per Kaiser

http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=33&cat=1&sort=1212

5. Did I mention it is a social welfare entitlement program?

6. It is ever expanding, 'cause if he can have it so can I!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

**and to the spelling police, I think its rather silly to come to a message board and correct people's spelling.. typos happen, even to the best of us. I bet even to you :nono: its not my fault that I'm so far from "holy" that I can't even spell it right :chuckle

Sorry :flowersfo - I just thought of someone rolling around in a prickly holly bush and it made me smile . . . .no harm intended. Plus, there are many threads on spelling errors here on allnurses and one is going strong right now. Some of us can't help it but we'll try.

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/learn-say-correctly-312525.html

I'm far from holy too . . . .:saint::devil:

steph

Up Vote Up Vote ×
nope.

just ask the brits. and the people who've been waiting for years for knee and hip replacements. and have no universal dental coverage.

i'm tired of paying for irresponsible people to use the er as their free drug clinic. i'm also tired of paying for multiple baby deliveries to unemployed, unattached women who refuse to use free birth control after their 5th crack baby. i believe in helping out a fellow human, but i refuse to support someone who doesn't care for themselves, is able-bodied but refuses to work, and doesn't care that they're suckling on the taxpayers teat.

that is what universal healthcare means to me....

+

but do you think that honest hard working people should be hundreds of thousands in debt because they had the misfortune to have a car accident or a child with extra healthcare needs. or a child with an infection not seeing a doctor because mom is broke?

i'm not one with a great imagination or creativity, but if someone could come up with a fair way to differentiate between the two, i'd be all for it. i hate paying for other people's mistakes/mess-ups.

but i also don't think it's fair that honest, hard-working people should have to suffer either.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency.
4. Constitutes 20 to 30% of a states budget (more than education).

Where'd your stats come from? Here's what I found after a quick search:

"On average, states spend about 18 percent of their own funds on Medicaid, making it the second largest program in most states' general fund budgets following spending for elementary and secondary education which represented 35 percent of state spending in 2006" from The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7699.pdf

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Neonatal ICU (Cardiothoracic).
+

i'm not one with a great imagination or creativity, but if someone could come up with a fair way to differentiate between the two, i'd be all for it. i hate paying for other people's mistakes/mess-ups.

but i also don't think it's fair that honest, hard-working people should have to suffer either.

that's the problem. there's so much fraud and waste of taxpayer funding in medicaid. imho, giving the government more control in this area is a bad idea.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Where'd your stats come from? Here's what I found after a quick search:

"On average, states spend about 18 percent of their own funds on Medicaid, making it the second largest program in most states’ general fund budgets following spending for elementary and secondary education which represented 35 percent of state spending in 2006" from The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7699.pdf

Apples and oranges, I gave a range, you gave a number.

National Governors Association puts that number at 22% (They are the one's that cut the check):

http://www.nasbo.org/Publications/PDFs/Fiscal%20Survey%20of%20the%20States%20June%202007.pdf

Up Vote Up Vote ×

there is so much good in the worse of us and so much bad in the best of us that we have no right to accuse the rest of us

medicare and medicaid do need some revamping

i have never heard of an accident victim being denied care, in this state [la] as in most others i am sure according to the triage of the emts the worse injured are taken to nearest hospital..this applies to all patients presenting with dire conditions like heart attacks, heat strokes etc

we have a broad system of state run hospitals with clinic for preventive medicine and follow up care as well as dependence rehap and physical rehab their nicu is as good as any in the country i have a friend who goes to iddm clinic and they have keep good contact and have monkitored her progress

it is heatt wrenching to say that the little boy whose mother is poor is left to suffer and die but this does not happen in th USA today, it absolutely does not happen

when you speak of universal health care what to you include in that

cosmetic surgery??

infertility treatments??

sex change operations??

is a doctor or nurse required to take certain patients willingly or not

who is going to set the pay scale for doctors and nursese

have you seen the cheating and misuse of money during the katrina debacle?? this will be the same only permanent

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Mursing.

It is as constant as the sky is blue that there will ALWAYS be leechers abusing a universal health care plan. This debate will rage on similar to the euthanasia or the abortion topics because it encompasses our moral and ethical beliefs.

Is it right to penalize families that can't afford medical coverage due to people abusing the system?

Is it right to have to pay for everyone to have uniersal coverage when there are people abusing the system?

I also see quite a bit of "more government control" arguement for those people who are opposed to universal health care. Maybe that's true because of all the other lovely acts put in place in the United States (read: patriot act).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

I don't really see anyone up here as "abusing" the system. It is meant for everyone so everyone can get care.There aren't any citizens that aren't allowed to get health care, it is intended to be for everyone.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
That's the problem. There's so much fraud and waste of taxpayer funding in Medicaid. IMHO, giving the government more control in this area is a bad idea.

In 1975 New York State Legislature passed a bill in an attempt to get their Medicaid cost under control. The bill mandated, starting in July, 1976 all Medicaid admissions must be certified as necessary within twenty four hours of admission or by end of work day, On Monday. The program was implemented in New York City with ten new hires assigned to six hospitals. The hospitals included Mt. Sinai, Roosevelt, Beth Israel, Brooklyn Hospital, St. Clara's and Maimonides. Initial, more then 40% of the admissions were found not to be medical necessary and the patient's were discharged, referred to clinics and home care for follow up. After several months the number of unnecessary admissions dropped significantly. Initially, the first year, the program was a success. Then hospitals were allowed to set up their own monitoring and state employees withdrawn. Slowly the number of admissions creaped back up.

One hospital that was later audited was fined five million dollars for keeping pediatric trach patients for years on their acute service. Their excuse, the parents couldn't be trusted to properly care for their child. No effort was ever made to document this but it was offered as a truth.

I have experience in the first program. And warned my chief administrator of the possible action by the state, in the second incidence. His response, we are another state agency, no state agency fines another one. The five million dollars was subtracted from the next year's operating budget. So much for no state agency.

In the 1980's the program went bottoms up. So much for saving money.

My point, government agencies have attempted to gain control over abuse of government programs, including Medicaid and Medicare. Facilities, labs, physicians, to name a few, have abused and misused the system and attempts to control them have been shorted out by them. To use this as a reason for not instituting universal health care is a red herring.

Woody:twocents:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion