Isnt it about time to get universal health insurance like other modern nations?

Question

Actually people with low income get free health insurance from the state, if you own your own buisness you are paying for everybodys elses health insurance and end up with no insurance for themselves.

I have health insurance. I find it interesting how people can be so callous and not care about their fellow citizens.

Answer 1

I wish it were that simple. How will the doctors and nurses have a chance to advance if their pay becomes fixed? How would you provide an incentive toward the work?

Answer 2

Oh it's high time, and the only reason that the U.S. doesn't yet have universal healthcare is because the pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and insurance companies have spent so much money to convince the American public that it shouldn't go that route.

America is the "Cash cow" for the insurers and Pharmaceutical companies. No where else on the globe do these companies make nearly the money they do in the U.S..

A U.S. citizen pays far more for the exact same medications sold in other countries. Canadians pay for their own drugs, but much, much less than Americans. And the drugs are exactly the same. Exactly. They're made by the same companies.

And the claim that people in countries that have Universal health care...wait forever for medical procedures or to see a doctor? Bogus!!

Any Canadian can go to a walk-in clinic and see a doctor inside 1/2 hour usually...without an appointment. Or you can make an appointment with your family doctor.

Emergencies are handled on the basis of need. Go into an emegency ward with chest pains... you'll be seen immediately. Go in with a hang-nail and you'll sit there for 4 hours.

But whatever the problem, it'll be taken care of properly and there will be no bill. You won't go bancrupt. The price of heart-surgery won't give you a second heart attack. You won't spend the rest of your life paying off a large medical bill.

The reason that all these other modern countries have universal health care is because it's the best form of health care. Unless you're very, very rich. If you're extremely rich... then go with the U.S. health care system. Because it was only ever meant to benefit the rich.

Answer 3

Yes of course it is. Why Republicans are opposed to having a healthy workforce to support thier all important corporate profits I have never understood.
And based on the answers you are getting here there are no valid exceptions - just those based on misinformation.
Dull Jon - who ever mention a change in the incentive for medical staff. We are speaking of universal health INSURANCE. Throwing out scarecrows like this does not help.
John K - no- as in every other Developed Nation we want all Americans to have health insurance. Who's going to pay for it? You are paying way too much now. The US is paying twice as much or more per capita for healthcare yet leaving 44million with no insurance. We have the worst health statistics in the developed world (most telling a child has twice the chance of dying before the age of 5 in the US as in the Czech Republic - is this something we are proud of - why do Republicans stop caring about children dying as soon as they are born) and the WHO recently rated our healthcare system 37th in the world.
Redisca - there are many systems in the world that combine universal healthcare with private facilities. Waiting for treatment is not forced on all people - and is a hell of a lot better than being wheeled out into the parking lot because you have no insurance.
Cyclops - Cuba has better healthy life expectancy than many US states and better child mortality than the US as a whole. But since we are no talking about a planned economy but rather systems similar to Australia, Denmark, Netherlands - bringing up Cuba just demonstrates that you have no idea what you are talking about.
Jacob - the question was about universal health insurance - as most developed countries have - so we agree that Romney's solution is one worth looking at.
Wayne C claims with no evidence and no basis that universal health care does not work in other nations. WHO found 36 that do work better than ours.
All the rest again throw out the scarecrow of government run health care (not what was asked or what most people are asking for) or simply lie about the cost (ignoring the fact that we pay more per capita for health care than any country in the world now).
More to the point - most Americans are happy to pay a little more tax for Universal Healthcare.

Answer 4

Not really. People seem to think that universal health insurance is a cure-all. I don't know about those "modern nations", but what health plans that exist in the States disallow most any thing that a person can expect to go wrong, eye wear and exams for one, dental for two.
But the big problem is: most doctors are "average" or "below average" in their qualifications. The same with nurses and pharmacists. Universal health care isn't worth a hoot until you can find doctors who can make 100% correct diagnoses; currently, the success rate of "specialists" is less than 50%.
Haven't you heard of people being operated on for the wrong thing, removing a good testicle and leaving the cancerous one, etc?
I would prefer to have a good income, choose my own doctors, partake in medical decisions instead of having a doctor making all the decisions for you with no regards to your wishes and the doctor thinks the metal tag that is used to identify the X-ray as being your X-ray is a piece of metal imbedded in your lung! Or a doctor thinking a woman's nipple is a tumor! (Real life events!)

Answer 5

I like the Mitt Romney's solution. He accomplished it as Governor of Massachusetts. He came up with a way for all people to be covered by health care insurance not by socialized medicine. He proved it can be handled at the state level using private insurance companies and a little initiative.

This is way superior to socialized medicine that other countries have. That is like medical care provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles. A giant, insensitive bureaucracy.

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Answer 6

The USA will always allow the poor (43 million ) to be without health insurance. The USA does not care about the poor people in this country.

Answer 7

We have the NHS, it's not perfect, but so much better than the US. I presume you're a US citizen, and yes, I do feel sorry for you. Even with the years of sanctions, most Cubans are better educated and get better medical care than most US citizens.

Answer 8

What like the NHS ? is that modern ? or should we all pay for private health insurance like in the states ? it seems to me we are expected to pay twice here, once into the National insurance, and secondly for private health care, as NHS is next to useless.

Answer 9

I don't want this country's universal health insurance to resemble anything they have in those modern nations. Everyone I know from those modern nations brags about universal health insurance, yet squarely prefers private medical care. The fact that you are officially insured is little consolation when you have to wait for months or years for a necessary procedure.

Answer 10

Yes. Yes it is. The health care system in America is in appalling shape.

I doubt it'll happen any time soon, though, regardless of who gets elected in '08.

Answer 11

No, it's called getting a job that offers healthcare. And for those millions of kids in the US with no healthcare, that's their parents problem for not planning ahead and making sure that they will be able to properly care for their children. How about we each take care of ourselves? Why do we need to make sure everyone else has health care? It's not my problem, and it is not my responsibility. I care, but only to a certain extent. God forbid people take responsibility for themselves.