Okay, so the idea of socialized medicine scares you...?

Question

I would like to hear suggestions on how to make health insurance more affordable for those who can't or have a hard time affording it. I'm not talking about those who are below the bracket where Medicare kicks in, but people like me who are middle class and keep seeing larger and larger chunks of our paychecks going to healthcare, who keep paying larger co-pays at the doctor, who get stuck in a job because if they leave they will lose their healthcare coverage...

Conner G - You are assuming I live above my means? You are wrong.

Answer 1

No candidate is proposing socialized medicine.

All the changes I've heard have to do with insurance companies, not medical care. This, I think, is the proper focus of medical reform.

Insurance companies are paying for medical care, and they are making a profit off of it. By definition, eliminating them (the middleman) would reduce the overall cost of medical care by an amount equal to their profits (all other things being equal).

Answer 2

I am not sure how to fix it, I am in the same boat as you. I however disagree that it should be socialized. I have a couple stories the highlight why.

First, I live in Detroit, where many people live in the US and Canada and commute accross the boarder to work. A coworker of my dad's (a canadian citizen) wasn't feeling good, went to his doctor in canada and was told that he had a condition and without surgery he would be dead in a month. They scheduled him for surgery, 6 weeks out. He then drove right over to the US, went to a doctor and was rushed into surgery that night (being partially covered by his employers health insurance, he had to pay some, but he's alive)

The second is more recent and closer to the heart. My sister-in-law is an American that married a Brit and now lives in the UK. About 8 months ago she became pregnant. About 6 weeks back, she was having some problems so she went to the local hospital (it was a friday afternoon). They told her that they needed an ultrasound to check her out. However, it was booked the rest of the day, they don't do them on the weekend and that monday was a holiday, and they were booked tuesday, so they could do it the following wednesday (5 days later). When Wednesday came around, they saw that the baby was in distress because the ambilical cord was wrapped around funny. They did some precedure to wrap it, but now, 6 weeks later, the baby (which was "healthy" up until then) is now grossly underweight and they are talking about retardation as a good possibility. All because they had to wait 5 days to get looked at.

Answer 3

First lets address one simple fact. Simply switching to socialized medicine will not suddenly make healthcare cheaper, it will just change where you pay for it at.

Addressing the cost of healthcare requires a different approach. The first step must be dealing with the volume and size of lawsuits directed at hospitals and doctors.

Answer 4

I'm actually in agreement with you. We should hear some alternatives. The non-working should not get free healthcare while the working class goes without.

Rarely spoken of are the cases where the employed person with healthcare coverage gets sick and cannot work. The COBRA period passes and the sick person then is not covered...

I think tort reform and insurance industry reform are necessary.

Answer 5

how do you guys know he (or anyone else struggling with this dilemna even have all those luxuries?)

I've never owned a large or flat screen tv! Cell phones are cheap and since there aren't any payphones anymore they're nearly a necessity.

My take? Require the Medical Pharamceutical industry give up some of that darn profit - limit it! Since *WE* the people have already helped pay for that development through our tax dollars once to begin with.

I also like the idea of eliminating or limiting frivolous lawsuits.
Hey when you can sue God somethings wrong here.

Answer 6

Segment what we call 'Health Insurance' into categories so that consumers have more choices. For example:

Mental Health Insurance
Pharmaceutical Insurance
Surgical Procedure Insurance
Medical Testing Insurance
Keep Me Alive On Machines Insurance

The current system is bloated, inefficient and ripe for corruption.

.

Answer 7

Universal healthcare isn't a myth, and it works very well. Take France for instance, we have the best health care system in the world (so says the W.H.O.), I was paying about $30 per month and my entire family was covered for medication, consultations, hospitalizations, all those 100% covered. SS covers 50% and private insurance (which I was paying the $30 to) covers the rest

Answer 8

Perhaps you really don't need a flat screen tv, a new car, stainless steel appliances, an extra bedroom, 3.5 baths, or 5 pair of shoes. Healthcare is more important than any of these items. Man up and pay the premiums. You don't get nothing for nothing regardless of what the Libs say!

Answer 9

Everybody serve 2 to 4 years in military service and then go into the VA system. Expand the VA system according to needs and fund it. Hence those that contribute to country are rewarded for that contribution instead of rewarding those that sit and spend thousands on video games but cry they can't afford insurance.

Answer 10

Tort reform. Bring down the damges for malpractice, do away with frivolous suits, the cost of insurince for doctors comes down, the price he charges comes down, the cost of insurance comes down.