OT: Universal health care Insurance?

Any Goverment run program just reeks of waste, Long lines, Slow service, Bad or no care. And of course very high taxes to pay for what your not getting. YUC.

But I also believe the system we have is broke beyond repair. health care costs are rising at a alarming rate. Also our companies are at a very bad disadvantage when compared to other non US companies that dont have health ins cost.
Good example would be Ford and GM that have about $2000 extra figured into the price of a car just to cover health care for thier older work force.

Also a even worse thing is happening. Alot of companies are dumping thier workers when they get into thier 40's. 20 year olds just dont have the same ins costs as does a work force in thier 40's. Now they are not just firing people just because they are 40. but it is funny that there are all of a sudden " your job has been eliminated so we have to let you go" Type things going on. Only to have a restructuring happen latter and guess what? that possition comes back with a different name. And a 20 year old kid doing the work. Hmmmmm Not saying just saying. looks funny to me.
Its known that a companies Ins pemiums are based on the over all age of thier work force. And alot of companies to save money self insure over a certain amount.

So were do we go from here?
My solution would be a pool of insurance that all companies pay into. Your ins would follow you from job to job and you could pay the premium your self if self employed or between jobs.
Not run by the goverment but over seen by the goverment.
What say you?

Besides, I don't want some politically motivated patronage appointee from either side of the aisle whom will be sitting behind a desk in DC to decide for my family, friends, neighbors, any of you, or myself whom gets treated or not, whom lives and whom dies. I'm not buying into that. And besides, one party gets in charge, but you're a loud mouth from the oposing party and need open heart surgery...and your paperwork gets lost about 30 times.

2nd if you're an illegal you get life saving care only. everything else you pay for upfront.

3rd we need health savings plans and catastrophic care insurance not this just show up at the doctor and throw him $20 everytime you have a cough.this will help those of us who dont run to the ER for every splinter while making it more affordable for us when we do

last any time a lawyer drags a medical professional in to court for a case that is deemed frivelous said attorny should be responsiable not only for legal costs plus 20% the defendant should also cane/horse whip or kick the attorny in the kidneys until they feel vendicated.

I know there many other improvements tha could be made these are just my suggestions

The costs have to be passed on. If the problem was the insurance companies over charging then you should be having insurance company stock in your 401K. If it were the hospitals fault then you should be investing in health care stocks.

The fault is in buying into the thought that you are going to get these benefits for (free) and vote the people that make those promises into office.

Free benefits come with a price.

My ambulace story below sort of Illistrates that.

Another example: My Daughter takes a perscribed medication. its not formulary ( never heard that term before until my ins said they only cover $10 on none formulary meds)
So my cost was $160 a month ins paid $10.
I paid this a few months.
The next time we were meeting with the Doctor. I complained about the meds. I said hey 160 bucks is killing me. Phamacy said they dont have a formulary or a germaric for this.
She said " no problem, Here I will perscribe this other medication. It does the same thing but is called some thing else" My cost? $4 a month $10 if I dont use Walmart.

I could have punched her in the mouth. I paid $500 extra for nothing. Why the heck did she perscribe the other one to begin with?
Why do I need to be a Pharmacist? I have enough to know just doing my own job.
Is it going to get to a point where we need to take a Lawyer in to see the Doctor with us?

A friend just told me that the speialist he seen said they allow four munites for each patient--actual doctor, the rest is by a less qualified person. He asked where the assembly line started. Probably isn't going to get better.

When ol grandpa said good health is better than a good mule, he said a mouth full. As we get older we can understand better,doesn't seem like a long time span anymore after you get to be thirty.

Insurance companies are at record profits, so why can't the government at least break even. ONE WORD---GOVERNMENT--Ok maybe I should have said managment.

I fell through the right crack once and signed up for the VA. I now drive a van often to haul DAV to Iowa City, approx 2 1/2 hrs away. I have done this volenteer driving for approx five years now. Approx two months ago I hauled a man from Manchester Iowa that said they did a poor job. That was the first person to complain, otherwise we get very good care, at a very cheap price. There are scheduling delays, but guess what? Every other hospital has the same issues. I'm here to say they do a WONDERFUL JOB, they are very friendly and professional. I'm sure there are some articicial smiles, but I sure can't tell what ones they might be. And I'm here to explain that alot of veterans seem to think bathing, shaving, washing their cloths costs more than the smokes and alcahol they drink. Mental issues are pretty high overall I would say unfortunatly. I get some comfort knowing that the drugs I'm taking are not going to get my doctor a vacatain paid for by the drug company. The doctor must therefore think I need them. I might add that acording to a C-span show one day they said medicare pays 68% more for one of the drugs. Same company same drug, only the VA can negotiate prices, medicare NOT. Hummmmm?

For those veterans that don't get good care, my heart goes out to you, I can't imagine. I hope this changes, because it can work, wish I had the answers.

I have a good friend that worked for this same hospital, he was in charge of facilities. He said they might need doctors, nurses and parking, but Congress would give them money (large chunks) for repairs. He showed me walls they were going to tear out and replace--exactly like the ones they tore out. Because if they don't spend it they don't get it next year. I opened and shut some of those doors, and could find nothing wrong with the doors or walls. I'm a carpender, and can fond fault with almost anything acording to my exwife.

I prefer the free market approach less any government inteference, red tape, meddling n fat cat bureaucracy

John T Old Conservative Fuddy Duddy

I think this is one of the causes for high costs already. No one wants to pay $100.00 for an office visit/medication. Unless someone has chronic colds, infections, etc. we should all be able to handle everyday health problems. How much do we spend eating meals out, movies, etc? Most of us find the funds for veterenary care for our pets, so why not for ourselves? The odds of us getting a cold are much highter than cancer or heart disease. That's what I want insurance for, but I certainly don't want the government to provide it.

Larry

Long lines, long waits, being shuttled from facility to facility...

We have a problem, we need a solution, but...

Government run healthcare is not the answer.

Many health care providers are owned and run by medical doctors so there is little if any importance placed on cost control because that would be counterproductive to the business plan.

Also since nobody was looking the people who sell health care equipment found that they could sell hospitals and clinics beds, carts, monitoring equipment tubing, needles, laboratory equipmnet etc., and charge whatever they felt and it would be paid. The automotive research labs bought oscillographs for $10,000 and those very same oscillographs were sold to the medical profession for over $100,000. Nobody is going to challenge the purchase of equipment needed to have a fully functioning hospital.

Do I expect any changes to the system under government control? Absolutely not, in fact I would expect it to get worse if anything.

Look at the major automotive city in Michigan and you will see out of control government spending for "in house" squables, sexual favors, hiring of relatives that never do a days work, and personal spending of taxpayers money for vacation junkets to Hawaii. They now want the records to be kept secret so that they can continue their lavish and dirty games at taxpayers expense. They can do it because nobody is guarding the till and because many of the players have their own dirty little secrets that they don't want uncovered.

Government control of health care will be a real expensive joke. For those of you that think the rich will be socked for the bills of the poor you need to get a grip on reality. The rich will figure out how to keep their money and the masses will shoulder the burden of a bloated National Health Care System. Politicians don't want a flat tax because they would have to pay exorbitant taxes and not be able to work the tax loopholes as they now do.

I'm a retiree who pays for my own health care plan and I do a lot of shopping to make sure that I get the best deal. Also I challenge the billing of the hospital and doctor services so as not to get overcharged. Many health care providers have grown quite accustomed to double billing and over billing and have gotten away with it for to long and need to be challenged on their charges.

Alina Hospitals and clinics are on a ins plan. So they agree to accept what the ins pays on the bill as the cost. Like they will charge $190 for a throut culture. Ins will then adjust the price and pay them $90. 2 things on this 1st $90 seems like a price although high might be fair. I bet the hospital uses the $100 they dont get paid and knows they wont get paid as a Tax deduction.
Also if you dont have ins your going to get hit with the $190 bill not the $90 that customarily gets paid.

back to my story. I needed to get ambulanced to the cities. Alina hosp runs the ambulace service. Actually I never asked but I figured Alina was on our plan so ok.
After I got out of the hospital 2 weeks latter.
I got a letter from ins company. The Ambulance ride was although a covered expence. Alina ( medical Transpotation) was not on our plan. SO my ins cut me a check for what the plan pays $90.
The bill for the Ambulance was $2500. So I had to pay and the extra $2410 was not concidered deductable.

Here is the kicker. 2 months latter. My wife got sick and she needed to be ambulance to the cities. Same ambulance going to the same hospital.
The ride was also not covered by her ins. We both have our own plans were we work.
The ride was also not covered by her plan.
Her ins paid up $150.
Her bill though from Alina was $600.

Makes me want to puke. I will tell you what. I dont care if I do die. I will get my self to the cites.
When your sick your in a vulnerable condition and these guys are just coniving for ways to bilk some cash.

Now is the time to ask those aspiring Presidents touring the country.. what their health policy is!!??

The only way you make health care cheaper is deny services. In Kansas over 50% of doctors refuse to take any new patients that have Medicare or Medicaid - the remimbursement rate is too low. That is expected to climb to 80% in the next 5 years. I can't imagine its any better in the rest of the county.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-10271940-details/Patients+forced+to+wait+two+years+for+MRI+scan/article.do

That is what will happen here eventually, the libs will institute a national policy with a ridiculous tax to go with it, it will flounder under gov"t burocracy and then people will eventually start buying more coverage to go on it.

My ins. payment was 7%, deducted from my salary and my employers matched that. There were no long waits to see doctors and the care was very good. At my first job in the plastic factory I suffered a nasty gash in my hand that required 20 stitches and I got considerable recovery time off with pay.

After working for a year I was entitled to 5 weeks paid vacation even though I left the factory job and intended to travel eastward into Asia for a few months. In Germany one is required to register their address with the local courthouse and notify of any changes. When I went to inform the local authorities of my intent to leave the country for a few months and then return to work again, they asked me if I wanted to keep my health insurance and informed me it would cover me in any country. I was surprised,as an American, to say the least. Most American private policies won't cover international travel.

I traveled for a few months and returned to Germany to work again, this time in a spice mill. Came down with a nasty case of the flu that winter and was treated promptly and well by the German medical professionals. No money out of pocket, just gave them my health ins. card for payment. As an American, I was impressed by the efficiency and quality of their system.

Moral of the story: government services can work efficiently if well run. They can't work very well if the populace elects people who want to drown government in a bathtub.