Health Care: The Ticking Time Bomb

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. Would you support a public health care option?

    • 1527
      Yes, I support a "public option"
    • 1139
      No, it's a bad idea
    • 2180
      It depends on how it's structured

4,846 members have participated

Our health care system hurts everyone. Premiums are expensive and increasing every year. Doing nothing today will cost taxpayers 2-3 times more in the next few years.

Currently, the "public option" is the biggest obstacle when it comes to health care reform. Many believe that it will be the end of health care as we know it today - others think that it is long overdue.

Would you support a public health care option?

when i come to you in the ed and let you know that our new goverment healthcare that you are going to be forced to be a part of that everyone wants that the mri or ct or pet scan that might give the dr the info they need to save your life is not part of the goverment plan and you do not quilify for it.........sorry.

these days the only people who are going to refuse you the tests that you need are the private insurance companies. i have lived for years in a country with universal health care, and i can tell you the massive misinformation that is being disseminated about it here. under uhc, i never had to wait more than 1 day to see a gp, and you aren't "forced" into anything. i had my choice of physicians, and all my prescriptions were free. other countries have both a private and a public option. although everyone is covered under public healthcare, you can chose to have private insurance if you want (and it only costs a fraction of what it costs here and they aren't allowed to refuse coverage for anything).

if private insurance actually paid for healthcare instead of spending millions refusing to pay for care, then it might work. imagine if you went to a restaurant, ordered a full meal, paid for the meal before you received it, and then the waiter told you that the chef would only give you a salad, even though you had already paid for a steak dinner. would you go back to that restaurant? that is what private health insurance companies are doing now.

then if a restaurant opened that actually gave you all that you ordered and paid for, then the other restaurants would have to shape up or close down. that is uhc. and most physicians in uhc countries work both publicly and privately, so there isn't a difference in practitioner. what it would do is reduce the astronomical cost of healthcare by eliminating the "pay game", the doctor wants to get $100 for a procedure, so he charges the insurance co. $500 so that they will pay him his $100.

Socialism means cooperative and joint ownership of means of production and distribution of goods by the government and the people. Have any of you who suggest this studied politics, world history or economics? Have you traveled to other countries? It would be really nice to actually have a discussion with learned, informed individuals.

By the way, the constitution does make a reference to health (welfare) in the very first line:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

It is beyond selfish to not consider the welfare of those who are living in poverty, facing illness without proper treatment or financial ruin due to lack of health insurance. As nurses, we should be supportive of any law, regulation, ordinance or norm that improves health and wellness for ALL.

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.

"It is beyond selfish to not consider the welfare of those who are living in poverty, facing illness without proper treatment or financial ruin due to lack of health insurance. As nurses, we should be supportive of any law, regulation, ordinance or norm that improves health and wellness for ALL. " Quote from post#25 by indys mom

May I echo your statement over and over again? I agree, billions-fold with your reply! :yeah: :yeah: :yeah:If it was possible to put that many clapping smilies here, I would!

Here are the words of Bernie Sanders, an Independent, on the Senate Health Committee, 6/30/09:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/we-must-stop-the-rampant_b_222510.html

The rampant fraud is another reason why our current health care system, dominated by private insurance companies, is the most costly, wasteful, complicated and bureaucratic in the world. Its function is not to provide quality health care, but to make huge profits for those who own the companies. With 1,300 private insurance companies and thousands of different health benefit programs designed to maximize profits, our country spends an incredible 30 percent of each health care dollar on administration and billing, exorbitant CEO compensation packages, advertising, lobbying and campaign contributions. Public programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the VA are administered for much less.

You people have no idea what the gov't is up to.

And, pray tell, what special insight into "what the gov't is up to" do you have that the rest of us don't??? Is it perhaps because I'm not listening to Rush or watching Faux News that I'm so uninformed? I do make an effort to follow the news and stay informed through a variety of legitimate news sources, but maybe that's not good enough ...

Specializes in He who hesitates is probably right....
And, pray tell, what special insight into "what the gov't is up to" do you have that the rest of us don't??? Is it perhaps because I'm not listening to Rush or watching Faux News that I'm so uninformed? I do make an effort to follow the news and stay informed through a variety of legitimate news sources, but maybe that's not good enough ...

And what, pray tell, do you consider legitimate news sources? CBS (proven fabricators), NBC (Nothing But Crap), or Obombas lap dogs, ABC? Everyone in healthcare does not agree with the views of the left. Be responsible for yourself. Life is not fair, and we don't need the government to "level the playing field". I just looked at my pocket constitution and could not find the "Right to Free Healthcare" anywhere. Fix what is wrong with the system, don't turn it over to the government. You want to live in France/Canada/UK? Move.

Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

The Socialistas are out tonight!

Yikes...

Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

I would like the Socialists on this forum to tell me if it were THEIR family and THEY were placed on a waiting list, how THEY would feel.....

Canada: 33,000,000

USA: 300,000,000

Free healthcare for 300,000,000 peeps?

Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
Those of you who suggest that Obama is a "socialist" are beyond ignorant. Socialism means cooperative and joint ownership of means of production and distribution of goods by the government and the people. Have any of you who suggest this studied politics, world history or economics? Have you traveled to other countries? It would be really nice to actually have a discussion with learned, informed individuals.

By the way, the constitution does make a reference to health (welfare) in the very first line:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

It is beyond selfish to not consider the welfare of those who are living in poverty, facing illness without proper treatment or financial ruin due to lack of health insurance. As nurses, we should be supportive of any law, regulation, ordinance or norm that improves health and wellness for ALL.

Ouchey. Guess we're all just a bunch of dumb hicks....hmm....guess it doesn't count that there are Mensans amongst us ....or perhaps we speak (yes I do) 4 languages?

We are JUST BEYOND IGNORANT...that from a person behind a desk who's making multiple assumptions about people.

I guess making a stand for free choice makes you ignorant. How typically liberal. Always condeming those who don't slant to the left--and spout information from behind a desk.

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
Ditto!

Unfortunately the health care providers in the front lines (doctors) were more attracted to money, than providing ethical, sufficient care. They have been acting like victims of the insurance industries, while betraying the trust of those whose lives depended on them.

When a medical student professes to care about the welfare of those whose state of health depends upon them, the only thing to call them, when money takes them far from that altruistic goal, is TRAITOR! They took a place in medical school, working hard to successfully complete their studies so that they could have phenominal amounts of money, in the shortest amount of time.

The insurance companies are their pimps, leading them into greater fraudulent acts. Doctors went along with that rather than lose the status given them by hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that also prostituted their services for more and more money.

Those are the criminals. The perpetrators are politicians who supported the infrastructure of medical society, due to their own involvement in gathering their own profits from owning stock in the large hospital conglomerates and pharmaceutical companies. Even medical schools acquiesced to the financial benefits of pandering to the monied contributers to their programs - pharmaceutical companies, banks that loan money for the education of doctors, to their detriment, as that fueled their need to earn more and more money through charging unethically higher fees.

The enemies of all those factions, are the uninsured people and others whose numbers have grown exponentially, and due to circumstances originating with banking and industrial giants' fraudulent activities, greater numbers of unemployed people are joining the crowd of needy health care consumers. That drives the cost of medical care skyward, as doctors won't care for them and their only recourse is delaying treatment until emergency room care becomes the only avenue of relief from stress related and other illnesses. The cost of care there, and in hospital is astronomical when multiplied by the huge numbers of people whose medical situations weren't prevented, discovered early enough, or treated successfully.

In earlier times, hospitals run by county government existed to care for individuals such as I described above. However those industrial conglomerates bought most of the county hospitals and run them as private medical centers, now. They also bought doctors' practises, enticing them with promises of high salaries and no billing, insurance forms to complete, or collection company fees that take 50% of their incomes, when patients can't pay, after they lose their jobs.

Even earlier than that, before the corruption began, hospitals held clinics for the poor, staffed by doctors with admitting privileges there. In return, the doctors were required to contribute their time weekly at those clinics. Drug companies gave free medications to patients who couldn't pay for them. What interrupted those systems was greed....... a communicable disease.

Now we need to switch our allegiance to new government funded health care programs that will rule out fraud and averice, converting our fear of control issues to assisting with the programs whole heartedly. We nurses can provide the educational programs for prevention of disease, explanation of treatments needed, and be guides through the new structure so it will be more patient friendly. To do this, we need to put our efforts into making it succeed.

WE CAN DO IT!!! :lol2:

Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
I feel that if the insurance companies, government and lawyers would stay out of health care then it would be available and affordable for most people. Oh I'm not covered by insurance because pre-existing conditions make affording that, impossible and therefore unavailable to me. So yes I go without health care for the most part.

Fuzzy

The new medical plan makes health care very affordable and available to you, in a comprehensive way you may never have had before. Longer waiting times insinuated by those who fear that they'll earn less in this program (doctors, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers), are not greater than exist in most countries with Universal health care. Those with preexisting conditions will benefit the most in this new plan!

President Obama has covered at least half of the cost with the 5% charged to those with incomes higher than $250,000. There are incredible numbers of people earning that (most doctors, lawyers, stock brokers, insurance and hospital executives, to name a few). :yeah:

Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.
The new medical plan makes health care very affordable and available to you, in a comprehensive way you may never have had before. Longer waiting times insinuated by those who fear that they'll earn less in this program (doctors, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers), are not greater than exist in most countries with Universal health care. Those with preexisting conditions will benefit the most in this new plan!

President Obama has covered at least half of the cost with the 5% charged to those with incomes higher than $250,000. There are incredible numbers of people earning that (most doctors, lawyers, stock brokers, insurance and hospital executives, to name a few). :yeah:

You are idealistic, not realistic.

You "punish" people because they have extremely rare skills by touting them as "greedy". Give me a break. :bugeyes:

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