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1. 

   harleyquinn said, 4 months ago

   How about voting the government stays out of health care. I want to know how the govermnt who can not run anything well plans on getting us more doctors? How about how is it going to get more qualified doctors? How is it going to give us a better product them one of the 1300 differnet health care plans that is all ready out there.
   Where is it written we have the right to someone else’s work?
   
   Naw lets just focus on the give me and when you forse the government to force some one else to give it to you you get the lowest common denominator and the lowest form of quality. Sure that is what I want..Not. Sure I want the health care that is spread as thin as possible because it is free.

2. 

   Kylop said, 4 months ago

   Good one Morin. Keep it up!

3. 

   dtroutma said, 4 months ago

   The FEHB (Federal Employees Health Benefits)plan provides cheaper(slightly) insurance because of reduced numbers of providers, and a large pool of insured to spread costs across a diverse population- age and health wise. Blue Cross already essentially runs Medicare- under contract. “Big Pool”, whether government (most practical) or by consolidating plans to improve “the numbers” is the only way to reduce cost per individual or family provided insurance.

   Those who fear “government” incursion have paid no attention to the takeover by the corporate health consortium that determines the cost of care, and the lawyers who bring malpractice into the picture of expensive medicine.

   Monitoring and cost control of tests and care mandated by fear of tort will never come about under corporate control and quest for profits.

4. 

   Gladius said, 4 months ago

   Sigh,
   Mostly I prefer to stay out of this but beyond the issue of who is providing health care there is the question of the individual bills no matter who winds up paying for them. If medicine didn’t cost as much as it does then we wouldn’t be having as much of a crisis.
   Somehow, we need to drop the costs of the original bill. Several issues come to mind. First: How about malpractice insurance and worries about lawsuits in general? I just put a nix on a test that was mostly designed to keep a specialist out of the courtroom on the exceedingly slim possibility that there was something else wrong. (The original problem was diagnosed and dealt with) I refused the test because a) I was admittedly tired of tests. and b) Because I really am against unecessary testing. Money had nothing to do with it. I have very good health insurance and the amount I would have had to pay out of pocket was exceedingly small.
   Next: Cost of education. It is becomming very expensive to go through med school. It makes sense that doctors want to see some serious benefit for the money and difficulty of med school. This can be seen in the dwindling numbers of Internal Medicine practices. Med students are more and more heading for specialist practices that pay more.
   These are just a couple of issues that are going to make massive headaches for any insurance program.

5. 

   BOB HASTY said, 4 months ago

   It looks like “Dopey” doesn’t like the way our government runs police departments and fire departments. As a pensioner and Medicare participant, I am so happy I don’t have to get permission from for-profit insurance companies before I can get the care my doctor thinks I need. Dopey should be required to take Remicade [$7,000.00 every six weeks just for the prescription] and try to get a for-profit carrier to agree when they respond back that ibuprophine is all I’m going to get!!!! Then maybe Dopey won’t think that “he” has to post comments three times for emphasis!!

6. 

   Tigger said, 4 months ago

   Yes, this is the way it has been for many years.. Big Business gets the $$$ we get the shaft

7. 

   Gladius said, 4 months ago

   Bob
   I’m glad you get the care you need without any problems. However, you might want to be concerned as to possible cuts in the quality of Medicare when the government has to start paying for everone elses care. You also benefit from being in a category that politicians go out of their way to please; or at least try to avoid seriously pissing off.

   This is NOT an endorsement of the original triple post.

8. 

   harleyquinn said, 4 months ago

   triple post was a mouse error that I did not see, sorry
   But my point stands. How will government run provide more and better doctors?

9. 

   DianeKovacs said, 4 months ago

   The fact is that the big insurers and the for profit medical corporations are making the costs higher to everyone. They are not competitive. There is no option to go elsewhere or shop around. Try being a small business trying to purchase medical insurance for employees lately? The medical corporations have us over a barrel and the only way we can stop drowning is if the federal government builds some docks.

10. 

    Gary Kleppe said, 4 months ago

    “How about voting the government stays out of health care.”

    There were candidates espousing that position in the last election. They lost.

11. 

    Simon_Jester said, 4 months ago

    It’s like this:

    We are the only industrialized nation that does not provide universal healthcare.

    We also have the highest healthcare costs of any industrialized nation,

12. 

    Gladius said, 4 months ago

    Anyone want to address the question of reducing the initial bill rather than harp on the insurance providers. The insurance providers are not the only villains of this piece. Admittedly, they are part of the problem.

13. 

    DrCanuck said, 4 months ago

    The American people have no say in the matter. The country is run by Big Business, with the help of the misinformed who have been persuaded to work against their own self-interests by aiding Big Business’s efforts to bleed the consumers.

14. 

    Gladius said, 4 months ago

    You are getting to be a stuck record. (Record, God what is that starting to say about my age?) I asked for a look at a different aspect of the problem.