The United States National Health Insurance Act establishes an American-styled national insurance program.
The bill would create a publicly financed, privately delivered health care program that uses the already existing Medicare program by expanding and improving it to all U.S. residents, and all residents living in U.S. territories. The goal of the legislation is to ensure that all Americans, guaranteed by law, will have access to the highest quality and cost effective health care services regardless of ones employment, income, or health care status.
Clee1: I'm afraid there aren't many people who have the financial discipline to do what you do regarding medical costs. We'd all be so much better off if they did. Most financially savvy planners are doing exactly what you're doing.
Pannie, it isn't so much "savvy" as it is enlightened self-interest.
I took a good look at what I was getting for the $$$$, and decided I could do better on my own. Add to that I was able to negotiate a 15% better base pay, because I was declining group health insurance. I have my own life and STD insurance; that was another negotiated 5% base pay increase. My retirement is already funded (I worked a long time in the IT industry at outrageous rates of pay, and put HALF of my annual salary away for retirement) so I again negotiated better pay d/t declining dubious "benefits" provided by my employer. Nothing gets taken out of my check except taxes.
Look at the "health insurance" mess. You pay X dollars out of your check for it. You are required to use an approved "list" of providers. You have to pre-clear all non-routine visits/expenditures, and outrageous "co-pays" go along with each time you use a "benefit". Then, to add insult to injury, after all is said and done, 70% of the time, you get a letter from the insurance company stating that thus-and-so charge was "disallowed" or "in excess of plan benefits", quickly followed by a MDs bill along with a demand for immediate payment! To heck with all that hassle! For as little as I use hc services, I'll just pay for the routine ones out-of-pocket.
If people would really PAY ATTENTION to their own affairs, they would be able to gain back the power they've abdicated to others: government, insurance companies, etc.
I have used the Healthcare system in Canada as well the systems in Europe. A One Party Payer system like Medicare is but one solution. HSAs(health saving accounts as offered by Bush is Not the Solution as many needing Health insurance do not have the funds to buy these high deductable plans in the first place. Many posting on the shortfalls of the Canadian system I doubt have ever used it in reality. I used it in the Military and Merchant Marine. All of my winter neighbors here in Florida are Canadians and you won't find one them making the complaints some mention here Nor could you find one that would trade their system(sure thing) for our mismashed non standard situation. We cannot say we have a "System" (excluding medicare) here in the USA. Websters unabashed defines a system as "a group of interacting , interelated elements forming a collective entity" and this does NOT define healthcare in the USA so people need to stop referring to healthcare in the USA as a system. BTW, the first time this National one payer system was advanced was by Republican Teddy Roosevelt in 1918, then by Presidents FDR, Truman, Kennedy, LBJ,Nixon being the last. What the Clintons proposed in 95 was not a one payer system. Kerry had a great idea and that was to allow the Uninsured to BUY into(read not for Free) the FEHBP(federal employee health benefit plan). You could, as the federal employees do, choose from one of the 200+ plans available to the Federal employees, Congress, Senate. VP and President. The reason for the reasonable rates in the FEHBP is that they(fed gov)negotiate great rates due to the sheer number of employees. This would have went a long way in reducing the Number of uninsured and brought uniformity into play. One has to wonder how much time and money is squandered into what we have now. The Politicians and their families should be placed on the same footing(healthcare wise) as the rest of us and if they were, rest assured the Insurance situation would have been resolved long ago. A few weeks ago a well known old line US company in my hometown of Erie, Pa closed down and moved their operations to Mexico. That company was American Sterilizer, famous for their Top Ouality Hospital Sterilizing Units and One of the Major reasons was the fact they could not remain competitive due to employee health insurance rates while Mexico has a National Health Insurance Plan(Seguridad Social-a good plan as many of our retired americans in Mexico also buy into this system for $28/monthly-a retired buddy used it there for his cancer of the prostate operation and it worked great, payed for his hospital stay, surgeon, x-rays, antibiotics ect) Anyone doubting what I say about this Mexico plan, please Google "retiring in Mexico" and see the comments made by retirees on healthcare who use this system in mexico. Even where I receive my healthcare as a Vet(vietnam era) in the VA Medical system, we were shortchaged by Bush over 2 Billion dollars last year. I see that as a Vet(experience it firsthand) and someone who retired from the VA Medical system after 22 years service in the Federal Government. I also saw the Nursing shortage in our our various units. Saw where thousands of Vets were disinfranchised from using the VA by Bush after they honorably served their country when asked to. Too bad he(bush) did not have to use it for a day or so and that problem also would be resolved.
I love it when someone attempts to justify the huge healthcare expenses as a result of a 'free market system'. Why not just come out and say it, greedy is what drives the free market saystem. Scrrew your neighbor and make a few more bucks doing it, it is all right. You are making the almighty $$$$$$$$
There is a major difference in our believe systems. I believe that healthcare is a right, unlike you. You believe that if you cann't afford it, you get what you deserve. Nice idea but it will not float for much longe. Think Bush got Part D passed out of the goodness of his heart. Nope. And while it does pay the drug companies well, that will change too. Time is coming when the baby boomers will finally realise that they really have not put enough away, to pay their healthcare cost.
Grannynurse:balloons:
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need?
On this subject-I see no reason why members of Congress, the Senate, VP Cheney and President Bush should have their Federal Healthcare Insurance subsidized by people for example earning Minimum wage at a 7-11 store or some small restaurant. Its not that these Folks don't want to buy Healthcare Insurance, they simply cannot afford it. In my area(miami,florida), a private non group Blue Cross Blue Shield Policy would run easily over $1000 a Month for a family of 3-4. The working poor does not have this kind of $$$. And at the same time, Millionaire Politicians, as mentioned above, are receiving Very Nice Insurance subsidized by Workers barely breaking the Minimum wage. Even if they are earning more, like $11-$15/hr, after the rent, food, Children's needs, there is NO money left over for health insurance-not at the rates these Insurance companies currently are charging(non group-private plans). What's wrong with this picture? A Millionaire like Cheney (and there more of these extremely wealthy politicians on Both sides) worth Millions receives subsidized healthcare when he could WEll afford to pay while a Construction worker(non union-the kind mostly found in wage cheap Florida) busting his Hump in the Hot Sun and receiving NO insurance while subsidizing a Multi-Millionaire like VP Cheney? Fair, Need ?
That is a lovely emotional appeal, but a family of three or four making minimum wage does not have a tax burden, or at least a federal one. If they pay taxes in, they get it back.
On this subject-I see no reason why members of Congress, the Senate, VP Cheney and President Bush should have their Federal Healthcare Insurance subsidized by people for example earning Minimum wage at a 7-11 store or some small restaurant. Its not that these Folks don't want to buy Healthcare Insurance, they simply cannot afford it. In my area(miami,florida), a private non group Blue Cross Blue Shield Policy would run easily over $1000 a Month for a family of 3-4. The working poor does not have this kind of $$$. And at the same time, Millionaire Politicians, as mentioned above, are receiving Very Nice Insurance subsidized by Workers barely breaking the Minimum wage. Even if they are earning more, like $11-$15/hr, after the rent, food, Children's needs, there is NO money left over for health insurance-not at the rates these Insurance companies currently are charging(non group-private plans). What's wrong with this picture? A Millionaire like Cheney (and there more of these extremely wealthy politicians on Both sides) worth Millions receives subsidized healthcare when he could WEll afford to pay while a Construction worker(non union-the kind mostly found in wage cheap Florida) busting his Hump in the Hot Sun and receiving NO insurance while subsidizing a Multi-Millionaire like VP Cheney? Fair, Need ?
What you and I fail to see is the free market system. Bushie loves this market, he gets to hand out contracts to his friends and they get to make money off of us and our military. And we should not forget, his War on Our Addiction to Middle Eastern Oil. Now we are just reaping what we have sowed. And like I have posted, when the Baby Boomers enter the system in greater numbers we are really going to be in trouble, big trouble.
Yep, it's someone else's fault, right? Poor planning; lack of personal responsibility; not budgeting = Bush and Cheney's fault. Typical "Poor me. I'm powerless."
I see Clee1 is not letting anyone take his/her power.
If denigrating our president really makes you feel better, then have at it. But ultimately the person responsible for you IS you.
I was military of that era, too. I certainly don't expect (and really, really don't want) VA medical care for life for serving a few years. Ridiculous!
Yep, it's someone else's fault, right? Poor planning; lack of personal responsibility; not budgeting = Bush and Cheney's fault. Typical "Poor me. I'm powerless."
I see Clee1 is not letting anyone take his/her power.
If denigrating our president really makes you feel better, then have at it. But ultimately the person responsible for you IS you.
I was military of that era, too. I certainly don't expect (and really, really don't want) VA medical care for life for serving a few years. Ridiculous!
Well my father put in 28 years. And a brother put in 22 years. And they are entitled to everything they have gotten and a few things that have been taken away from them. It is the fault of a Republican Congress, a Republican President and a Republican Vice President. Heck, they have sent a 1/3 of our National Guard to Iraq, with equipment, bought them back, and left their equipment there. And they do not have the foggest idea of what has been left in country. I love to see your attitude and your self sacrifice pay my own way, when your medical bills add up. Or you become disaboled and unable to work. And have to live off of SSDI.
Well my father put in 28 years. And a brother put in 22 years. And they are entitled to everything they have gotten and a few things that have been taken away from them. It is the fault of a Republican Congress, a Republican President and a Republican Vice President. Heck, they have sent a 1/3 of our National Guard to Iraq, with equipment, bought them back, and left their equipment there. And they do not have the foggest idea of what has been left in country. I love to see your attitude and your self sacrifice pay my own way, when your medical bills add up. Or you become disaboled and unable to work. And have to live off of SSDI.
Grannynurse
Even though it is off the topic of the thread
Hasnt been a republican president or congress for the entire last 22 and 28 years. I think that a step back and critical evaluation of the politics for the last 3 decades, and I would suggest that you go back to the teens and 20s to see where all the "entitlements" come from and if they were meant to be permanent or not.
entitlement programsthe key to understanding entitlement programs lies in the key word - entitle. it means you have the right to receive them, assuming you meet certain ...
Hasnt been a republican president or congress for the entire last 22 and 28 years. I think that a step back and critical evaluation of the politics for the last 3 decades, and I would suggest that you go back to the teens and 20s to see where all the "entitlements" come from and if they were meant to be permanent or not.
Kevin, I do not have to go back to the teens and 20s. I began nursing school in the middle 60s, when children were held responsible for their parents hospital bills. Costs that bury them under an avalanche of debt. One of the things that Medicare was passed for was to obsolve these adult children from the responsibility of their parents healthcare debt. Medicaid and the welfare system were brought into being for the same reasons, to help those less fortunate, to provide medical care. It was never intended to be a generational welfare state and Medicaid was not as widely accepted, for many years, as it is today.
I paid full FICCA for more then ten years. By full, I had no employer contribution from my employer. I have collected SSDI for fifteen years. I lost my IRA, 47% to pay fines and penalties for early withdrawal because I tried to save my condo from foreclosure. I receive Medicare. I don't have any retirement program because mine was wiped out, through no fault of my own. Yes, Medicare and SSDI are essential an entitlement program. An entitlement program that without its existance I would be living on the street. Perhaps that is where people like me belong rather then taking precious tax money from working nurses.
clee1
832 Posts
Pannie, it isn't so much "savvy" as it is enlightened self-interest.
I took a good look at what I was getting for the $$$$, and decided I could do better on my own. Add to that I was able to negotiate a 15% better base pay, because I was declining group health insurance. I have my own life and STD insurance; that was another negotiated 5% base pay increase. My retirement is already funded (I worked a long time in the IT industry at outrageous rates of pay, and put HALF of my annual salary away for retirement) so I again negotiated better pay d/t declining dubious "benefits" provided by my employer. Nothing gets taken out of my check except taxes.
Look at the "health insurance" mess. You pay X dollars out of your check for it. You are required to use an approved "list" of providers. You have to pre-clear all non-routine visits/expenditures, and outrageous "co-pays" go along with each time you use a "benefit". Then, to add insult to injury, after all is said and done, 70% of the time, you get a letter from the insurance company stating that thus-and-so charge was "disallowed" or "in excess of plan benefits", quickly followed by a MDs bill along with a demand for immediate payment! To heck with all that hassle! For as little as I use hc services, I'll just pay for the routine ones out-of-pocket.
If people would really PAY ATTENTION to their own affairs, they would be able to gain back the power they've abdicated to others: government, insurance companies, etc.