What do you think about universal healthcare????

Question

* It would outlaw private health insurance and give government bureaucrats the exclusive right to set reimbursement rates for physicians, clinics and hospitals. This would not only create supply shortages, but would also likely produce a black market health-care system.

* It would transform the state into the sole purchaser of medical drugs and equipment, hampering cost containment and inviting corruption.

* It would destroy professional freedom for medical professionals. The government would be the sole determiner of the number of medical professionals that could work.

* It would of necessity cap health spending. According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, American health providers increase medical technology by 7 percent per year. Such increases are necessary if new technology is to make its way into hospitals and clinics. If the cap for a government-funded universal health-care system like the one proposed in California had been enacted nationwide in 1

I agree that health insurance is over-priced. There are alot of problems with the insurance companies. The solution isn't universal healthcare though.......it will cause even more problems. Our focus should be on fixing the problems we have with the current system.

mydogatticus: very informational, thanks

Answer 1

I'm kinda for it since I have no health insurance right now, but I'm also kinda against because I know it will cost tax payers a lot of money. I also worry that the quality would go down.

Answer 2

The solution can be found in affordable health care. The current system benefits special interest and causes costs to rise.
Introducing competition into the market and cutting the red tape will serve the people well and drive costs down.
Encouraging more government intervention and further bureacracy wastes too much time and money.

"For decades, the U.S. healthcare system was the envy of the entire world. Not coincidentally, there was far less government involvement in medicine during this time. America had the finest doctors and hospitals, patients enjoyed high-quality, affordable medical care, and thousands of private charities provided health services for the poor. Doctors focused on treating patients, without the red tape and threat of lawsuits that plague the profession today. Most Americans paid cash for basic services, and had insurance only for major illnesses and accidents. This meant both doctors and patients had an incentive to keep costs down, as the patient was directly responsible for payment, rather than an HMO or government program."~Ron Paul

Answer 3

Universal health care is great if you are at the bottom end of the food chain. For low income families, people on fixed incomes and the elderly, universal healthcare is very important.

As a Canadian, I can tell you that I am glad we have a healthcare system, but since people in the US often like to point to Canada as a model to be espoused, I can tell you that it is anything but universal, and anything but ideal.

I am not an expert in this field, but having had first hand experience with our system recently, I feel compelled to give my opinion.

Like everything else in this world, you get what you pay for, and like everything else in this world, when you let government run things your dollar doesn't go very far.

Our medical "system" is burdened with an incredibly costly bureaucracy. Health care is funded jointly by the federal and provincial governments resulting in duplication of costs, arguments over who pays for what and fingerpointing about why medical service in this country is so lousy.

The net result is that in Alberta at least, we have a shortage of doctors and health care professionals. We have long line ups for procedures like getting an MRI, or getting in to see a specialist. Hip transplants, which have practically become a boutique service in most western nations, can take years to get. Thank god I live in a big city and not out in the bush somewhere. Lots of those folks are really on their own.

Going to an emergency room is a disaster unless you are admitted horizontally. Most low end triage has been passed off to medi-centres that are usually crowded and have long waiting lines. Call your family doctor?LOL. Most GP's won't even take new patients they are so busy.

I don't think medical care should neccesarily be a completely market driven business, because I don't think a lot of people in the medical supply industry have the public's best interests at heart. They are profit driven and gravitate to where the money is - that's the nature of business.

There has to be a balance somewhere, but I can assure you, we don't have it here. We actually send people to the US for some procedures because the wait is too long here, and lot's of people ( at least 4 that I know of personally ) pay to have testing done in the US out of their own pockets because they are afraid they will be dead before they get in to see a specialist.

Answer 4

A good idea on paper but a bad one when put into actual practice. It just puts way too much power in the hands of the state turning us from a governed nation into a ruled one.

Also from an economic stand point what would be the incentive be for drug companies and doctors? When you want to pay McDonald's wages don't be suprised when you get McDonald's results.

Answer 5

One of the problems we have now is that it is NOT insurance.

Like JL said, HOM's have started a market for mainenece drugs. Most peoples monthly premium barely covers their Lipitor and Metformin, and blood pressure meds.

Answer 6

Let the aliens from other planets get their own health care, we're not having an intergalactic kegger down here.

Answer 7

Well. Here is my problem. I am pregnant and my health insurance dropped me because ........... I got pregnant. Any solutions?????

Answer 8

Gee, it's work out great for Canada. Ha!

Answer 9

Move to canada our health care is better than yours in a lot of ways. we pay way less, way less.