Solutions to America's Healthcare problems?

Question

I'm doing an article to what I think is a solution to America's healthcare problems. I just want everyone else's opinions on what they think a solution is and why? Also what do you think is the biggest problem with America's healthcare?

Answer 1

Trial lawyers and frivolous lawsuits against doctors. Most doctors are spending over half their income on mal-practice insurance these days. That cost get sent directly to their patients. Limit mal-practice suits and allow doctors to sue patients for frivolous lawsuits.

Answer 2

Health CARE for the most part is private industry. In some places in the US it's good, in some place it's not so hot. In small town USA to get to a decent hospital is a trip of several hours and you can't get a doctor appointment for weeks. To fill the gap there's a series of 'Doc in the Boxes' where if you wait long enough a nurse will see you. Better than nothing, but that's not the real problem. The real problem is on insurance side. In the US the only 'affordable' health insurance is employer based. If you work for a company that doesn't offer health insurance...hard cheese for you. Not to mention the fact that even employer based insurance is getting way too pricey. If you try to buy a health insurance policy on your own you'll pay big bucks and if there's something about you the insurance company doesn't like they won't insure you in the first place. Even after you have insurance many of these companies will try to cheat you out of what you paid for. The only solution is UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE for all americans. Everyone pays...nobody pays to much. If private insurance could do that we wouldn't be having this conversation...they can't or won't so we are! The reactionaries call affordable and accessable HEALTH INSURANCE socialized medicine when it has nothing to do with the medical end of the equation...no more than auto insurance has to do with Joe's Garage where you get your fender replaced. A national government funded UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE plan that replaces Medicare, Medicade and part of the VA system is the only way out of this mess and don't let anyone tell you different!

Answer 3

There are many good websites about the problem. I think the economics of it should encourage people to act. People that make $50,000 a year yet pay $20,000 in insurance(that's not far off, it's around $10,000 now is the cost is growing rapidly) will actually be pushed into the working poor class. So the economic impact is that lack of affordable insurance will actually cause people to stop working or take lesser salaries(that means less tax revenue). I think everyone would like people to work at the highest salaries their abilities allow. The more people work, the better our GDP & tax base is.

We also have instances of people dying because of lack of treatment-the emergency rooms are packed-and expensive.
We spend more than any country on healthcare costs but cover less.

The solution is difficult but we have to have healthcare for everyone. Surf the net a bit, interesting subject.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/parenting/05/08/mothers.index/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/05/us/05uninsured.html?ex=1330750800&en=99e6ab040e670317&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/24/business/24vaccine.html?_r=1&em&ex=1174881600&en=8b83610f2943d1c2&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

http://cthealth.server101.com/index.html

Answer 4

The biggest problem with America's Healthcare is the cost... don't believe me? Then ask yourself this question... would we even be having a debate about if it should be universal or not if it cost about the same as people spend on soda each month? I dare say we wouldn't.

You either have to make it cheaper so nearly everyone can afford it (at which point the cost of those that couldn't would be negligible) or you have to have the government pick up the bill for those that can't... I really don't care either way. Now that is based in my own opinion that Health Care is a privilege all US citizens should be entitled to... other do not feel this way.

Answer 5

The biggest problem with American healthcare is there is no consistency. I don't mind paying for my insurance, I currently pay about $300/month for family coverage. However, it does bother me that union workers and government employees pay much less than that, if anything at all. We either need to take the government COMPLETELY out of healthcare and allow it to get competetive again, or have the government completely control healthcare to regulate it. It's just not working the way it is now.

Answer 6

I think the biggest problem is that our health insurance is attached to our job. A lot of people change jobs for various reasons and health problems don't recognize seasons or job changes. Most of the time the people left in the mud are the ones that got sick during the job transition. I suggest we stop having insurance being attached to our jobs. Instead we buy our own insurance policies and our jobs should give us a monthly allowance to pay for the insurance. Job doesn't give enough, we're stuck paying the difference. Job pays too much the extra is saved for the co-pays and deductables. That way in case something happens to us between jobs we'd be much happier paying for the deductables and monthly premiums than the whole medical bill.

Answer 7

Maybe I am wrong but seems to me America is the ones that assume the costs of inventing these drugs and the responsibility for them and give them cheap to other countries. The cost of one pill by the time it reaches the counter is staggering. Lawsuits have also raised the costs to the outer limits! I would like to see what countries contributes to the health industries the most.

Answer 8

Yeah..........it was mentioned in the news just recently about how PREVENTATIVE HEALTH CARE could save literally trillions in health care costs. Prevention is always less expensive than cure, so here is one possible solution:

1. Manditory 1-year check ups.
2. Discounts on insurance rates for clean bills of health
3. Lower monthly rates for "good drivers" so to speak.

By simply changing our approach to health care from cure to prevention, we can all save TRILLIONS every year. Many illnesses and diseases are quicker and easier to treat when detected early, then the monumental costs associated with long term treatments for advanced cases.

Answer 9

Put it back into the hands of the free market, the less influence of the government the better. People should take responsibility for themselves, and if they can't pay then private charities should take care of them. The only people the government should take of is the Veterans of this country, they are the ones who have vouluntarily put their lives on the line for the rest of us.

The other problem is lawsuits against doctors and hospitals, they should be held responsible yes but make it reasonable and put caps on the amount, one of the biggest costs that doctors have is their liability insurance.

Answer 10

I don't have a problem. When I was 23 I realized that if I wanted a job that provided Health care Insurance I needed to get a trade or a degree so I could qualify for a better job. I went into the Navy, learned electronics and now I work at a NASA facility. Problem solved.
Legal immigrants seem to understand this concept better than some who were born here.

Answer 11

As a classical liberal I usually think that the private sector is the best answer to almost any "problem." For your paper, I would suggest checking out a hospital in Memphis, TN by the name of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. They are a privately funded charitable hospital which provides world-class treatment for childhood catastrophic diseases. The amazing thing is that no family ever sees a bill. While it costs over $1 million per day just to open its doors, St. Jude operates on donations from private individuals and corporations. Check out St. Jude and compare it to socialized medical service in Canada or Europe and decide which you would prefer as an American citizen.