How do you feel about a national health care plan??

Question

I'm talking about universal health care paid by the government (and your taxes) like the NHS in Great Britain.

I lived there for 7 years and both my children were born there - with my ante-natal care, two c-sections and one child in special care for a week I probably would have gone bankrupt in the USA - but over there I didn't pay 1 cent!

Do you think it could work over here??

In response to some of the answers, I just wanted to verify that I realize I paid higher taxes in the UK (did I ever!) - free health care is not literally free, but to me it's worth it to know that I could go to a doctor or emergency room and not worry about how I was going to pay the bill.
Also, I am coming from the perspective of a person who works full time and does not have the luxuries of cell phones, car loans, credit cards and satellite TV. We don't even have basic cable in my house! I'm just tired of handing over nearly half my paycheck for insurance premiums and then paying co-pay and deductibles on top.

Answer 1

There are a lot of assumptions here that are just plan wrong, here they are:

“I don’t want to pay for people who choose not to pay for themselves”. I don’t want to pay for other people’s irresponsibility either, but we are paying for it one way or the other. Why do you think we pay so much for coverage now? When folks don’t have coverage they end up waiting till it is too late and end up going to the emergency room. The point they finally make it to the doctor their condition is so bad that the cost for fixing it is higher than if they took care of it right in the first place. Emergency room visits cost more than a routine visit to the doctor. Who pays for all this if they don’t? We do! We pay for them with or without universal health coverage. Why do you think we pay so much for insurance? My wife and I are young and healthy, and we have a healthy baby boy. To have full coverage with Kaiser it costs us over $800 a month! In countries where they have universal coverage people don’t even pay that much in a year!

We also pay for it when our Hospitals close because there isn’t enough money to keep them open. We also pay when the government has to bail out the insurance companies when they go belly up. We also pay when our work force is threatened because people who need treatment aren’t getting it. WE PAY ANYWAY!

“That would be socialism, which I am against”. Yes it would be a social program, God forbid. Let us see what other social programs we suffer from: public schools, road maintance, the military, social security, the postal service, etc. Maybe we should just go back to living in caves?

“Not a good idea at all. Research the health care crisis in Canada”. Research the health care system here! We are in trouble, not because we have done things the Universal way but because we have taken the privatization route. You can find bad examples of anything if we look hard enough, but if we look for where the best medical system live, they are found in countries where a universal system is in place.

“In the US we have the best health care in the world”. I wish this was true but it isn’t. It may have been true 20 years ago, but the world has changed since then. Not only do they do it cheaper over seas but they do it better. I have seen the hospitals in France, I have seen the dentist offices in Thailand, and I have seen the pharmacies in Holland. We are falling behind. Going to a Dentist in Thailand is like getting in a time machine and traveling into the future. The maternities in France are like dieing and going to heaven; private rooms extended stays, service, etc. Drugs are cheaper, medical innovations abound, all over seas.

The USA is a joke when it comes to health care; we are rated 37th in the world. We have double the infant mortality than France. And drug costs are absurd here.

Let’s go Universal!

Answer 2

Obama is too bull headed to be transparent and offer bipartisanship. Obama has an agenda that is not in the best interest of Americans. Before we can merge the present Healthcare System with a new Healthcare System you have to fix the present Healthcare System first. Healthcare Services are too High. Healthcare Insurance is too High. Prescription Drugs are too High! Rewards for Malpractice Law Suites are to High! Welfare Fraud is out of control! Taxes are too High. Fix the aforementioned and we may not need to have a Universal Healthcare Plan. As things stand the proposed Universal Healthcare Plan will just complicate things more and drive up the costs more. If that isn't good enough why not take the Healthcare Plan we the people provide an undeserving Congress and expand it to apply to the citizens as well, aren't we good enough? Semper Fi

Answer 3

I think, according to everything I've looked at... health care costs would probably be cut in half (relative to what you pay now for insurance vs. a tax increase)... and, at best, a very minimal decrease in quality...

same basic services for half the costs... I like it...

costs are totally out of control in the U.S. and you can't put a cost on good health, so there is no regulation to the market...

also, I think we would be a more successful country if everyone had health care... witch many don't have access to any decent level of health care (only emergency care, which many health professionals will tell you that just doesn't cut it)...

Answer 4

I lived there too and thought they had a perfect health care system and wouldn't mind paying higher taxes for the service. If the US could do that it would be a miracle. Its all about money plan and simple

Answer 5

Universal Health Care would most definitely work over here, but nobody is open to it.


People, think about it. It'll basically be an insurance company that's accepted everywhere. Except for paying a monthly sum, it'll go into taxes. YOU ACTUALLY SAVE MONEY!!!

It would work over here. Me personally, I am all for it. I'm waiting for Hillary to make it happen.

Answer 6

I think it could work, however you would have insurance companies have a heart attack. It can be worked out, there should be sponsored government health care and private health care for those who can afford health care.

I think we should follow the model Sweden is using, they have one of the best health care systems in the world. It actually the cost for health care is low by international standards, 7.6% of GNP compared to 14-15% in the United States.

Sadly enough insurance companies and lobbyist will say it is will coast too much.

http://www.swedenabroad.com/Page____32628.aspx

http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/FactSheet____15865.aspx

Answer 7

Why stop there? How about free housing? Free food? Free cars? Free money? C'mon...wake up and smell the coffee. People can afford health care in the USA if they have their priorities straight. Too many times, I hear people whining and crying about no health care, only to find out they have 2-3 cell phones, cable or satellite tv, a new car in the driveway of their new home that they purchased with an interest only loan. Sorry, I'm not going to fork over anything to anybody who won't help themselves first.

Answer 8

It would be a complete nightmare. We are a capitalist country, and health care is about 1/6 of our total economy. We get quality out of it being paid for by the recipients and we would lose that and have mediocre medical care if it were to be socialized. It will never happen in this country IMO because a bill could never make it all the way through Congress.

Answer 9

I think it's a good idea, but to make it work you'd have to tax the rich. In 1979 the U.S. had 15 tax brackets with the top bracket paying 70%. Now we have three with the top bracket paying 35%. Since the rich folks make the tax laws I don't see much hope for change.

Answer 10

No, I don't want half my paycheck going to taxes, which is the case in Canada and Australia. I DO think the government needs to enact legislation to cap drug costs, malpractice lawsuits, and insurance premiums so all WORKING people can be afforded healthcare by their employers.