After posting the piece about Nurses traveling to Germany and reading the feedback. I would like to open up a debate on this BB about "Universal Health Care" or "Single Payor Systems"
In doing this I hope to learn more about each side of the issue. I do not want to turn this into a heated horrific debate that ends in belittling one another as some other charged topics have ended, but a genuine debate about the Pros and Cons of proposed "Universal Health Care or Single Payor systems" I believe we can all agree to debate and we can all learn things we might not otherwise have the time to research.
I am going to begin by placing an article that discusses the cons of Universal Health Care with some statistics, and if anyone is willing please come in and try to debate some of the key points this brings up. With stats not hyped up words or hot air. I am truly interested in seeing the different sides of this issue. This effects us all, and in order to make an informed decision we need to see "all" sides of the issue. Thanks in advance for participating.
Michele
I am going to have to post the article in several pieces because the bulletin board only will allow 3000 characters.So see the next posts.
I am not a fan of any "you must buy proposals" because it seems to keep the inefficiency of small groups alive. Make it possible for small businesses to buy coverage through the larger government employee/medicaid groups.
Really the best system is along the lines of tricare, VA or federal employees system.
...There's no reason why Californians should not expect the same quality of care and access to services that are available in the country where our new governor was born. What separates the California from Austria is also what sets us apart from every industrialized country? Schwarzenegger's plan increases the role of private health care corporations (and increases their profits), while Austria's single-payer health system does away with the insurance company middlemen...
Personally under our Bill of Rights and right to life I think this implies the right to access whatever means to maintain our life i.e.healthcare. I do not think our forefathers when planning our constitiution would have left healthcare to only those that are in a siutation where they can afford health insurance. Let's not forget that soon all of us will be in the boat when we retire and will have to find additional expensive insurance to supplement our medicare. Therefore, I think there needs to be either a constitutional admendment including healthcare as a right or that we just
expand the bill of rights to include it and make health care universal. It makes me sick to see my own family members dying before they can get affordable health insurance..and it is not just my family but millions of born and raised AMERICANS they are denied their life because they can't pay nor will they be treated. Lets face it the doctors are not the same today as "Litlle House on the Prairie" where they will take a chicken for pay nor will the let you make payments, you either pay now or you don't get seen.
This is not right.Especially in the greatest most powerful nation in the world which is leading in medical science and technology.
I am not promoting a certain political view or agenda, I am not supportingcommunism or socislism, I just know what we have is not just or fair.
COBRA is not a feasible avenue to insurance. Employers can legally charge a 2.5% premium for you to keep the coverage. Since families often need insurance due to job loss how on earth can they afford 102.5% of the family premium when they are unemployed?
I do not think our forefathers when planning our constitiution would have left healthcare to only those that are in a siutation where they can afford health insurance.
Our founding fathers, when drafting the Constitution, were justly afraid of the abuse of an all powerful Federal government. Indeed, many were against the bill of rights BECAUSE there was an assumption that specific limitations to Federal power in the bill of Rights implied the Federal gov't had powers not intended, in the first place. Read the Federalist Papers if you want some insight into that.
Cradle to grave government means cradle to grave Federal power. I'll take my chances rather than give away my rights to government. Retaining my rights MEANS that I have the right to be successful beyond my wildest dreams. Part and parcel to that is the 'right' to something considerably less then successful.
Limited government is the best government. I have no desire for an Uncle Daddy. I have no faith whatsoever in a bloated bureaucracy to protect my interests, or to even care about me in the first place. That's why the phrase 'close enough for government work' entered our lexicon.
Using the Social Security system as a guideline, "close enough" means 3% of money taken in goes to overhead, salaries for employees, rent and utilities, benefits, etc. Compare that to any mutual fund, stock of bond brokerage, and you'll see that it averages 11%. Some are as high as 18%. When one factors out the profit the insurance companies make, we could indeed afford excellent health care in this rich nation. Right now, "Uncle Daddy" lives in the penthouse on Wall Street.
I agree with the folks who want some kind of protection from catastrophic illnesses. I also agree with Timothy that the government is great way to make a billion dollars disappear quickly. The government is very efficient at spending money. there has to be some kind of incentive in the national health care system to reduce waste. private enterprise with improved regulations to prevent the various abuses is my preference.
Timothy, you have faith in corporate America to care about you and have your best interest at heart. Yikes, your job must not have been outsourced yet.
President Bush on Thursday said, "There is no question in my mind that a proper role for the federal government is to help the poor and the elderly and the diseased get health care. We'll do that...."
When one factors out the profit the insurance companies make, we could indeed afford excellent health care in this rich nation. Right now, "Uncle Daddy" lives in the penthouse on Wall Street.
HM2VikingRN, RN
4,700 Posts
Catastrophic illness needs to be federalized.
I am not a fan of any "you must buy proposals" because it seems to keep the inefficiency of small groups alive. Make it possible for small businesses to buy coverage through the larger government employee/medicaid groups.
Really the best system is along the lines of tricare, VA or federal employees system.