why do people who oppose universal health ins., and will accept medicare at 65....?

Question

not think it's ok to work together to provide health care for all of us together? We doing other stuff together, like schools, police, fire depts., roads, mass transit, public universities like the UC system or the UNC system, national/state parks, etc., etc. What's the big deal about being so hyper-individualistic?

I'm suggesting the gov't take care of you, only that we pool our resources as a nation to pay for health care...just like you do in job related health insurance coverage.

babe - i work 70-80 hrs a week, I pay for my own health insurance and I could pay it twice and still drive any car I want...so get off your unAmerican isolationist a** and start working with your neighbors to make this a better place for everyone...you're pathetic!

Brian - so you don't think it's a good thing to join with your fellow employees and get health ins. at a lower price?

KRR - so, you'd rather have Insurance Companies have the ultimate say over how the money is spent on your behalf, deciding whether to pay for your care/treatment or not, rather than a gov't agency over which we might have some control through our representatives? You have no control over the Ins. Co., and the taxes you pay for UHI could be less than what you pay in Ins. premiums.

Answer 1

People only want what is convenient for them at the time. Universal Health Care is a great idea on the whole, yet it is criticized by people who do not want to pay for others to get it, despite the fact that it helps improve our society. America is one of the few industrialized nations in the world not to have universal health coverage. People also don't realize the economic benefits of UHC. For instance, cars on average cost 1200$ more because the employer has to provide health insurance. With UHC, employers will not have to provide it and business' in America will get better. Part of the reason that American business are increasingly being outsourced to other countries is the cost of health care. UHC works for the poor, and for the rich. To fund UHC, u can easily just cut some of the defense budget or fund it through taxes. People hate raised taxes, but they do not consider the benefits. People complain that our education sucks, that we need this and that, and yet they are not willing to pay a small tax raise to get it. A small tax raise goes a long way in fundamentally improving our society. UHC in other countries like Germany and Britain is amazing and no one gripes about the taxes.

Answer 2

Great question, and some of these answers are downright scary. people seem to be convinced of the myth that only lazy people don't have insurance, or else they'd have it. Which is just that, a myth. There are many, many hard working people out there who dont have access to health insurance through no fault of their own. That is a fact. The reality is, the working poor are no different than folks with health insurance....they could lose it all in a minute. It could happen.

I dont see why we need a third party to get decent health insurance. Why can't we purchase affordable, quality healthcare on our own? we are already paying extraordinary amounts for not-so-quality healtcare...why not put all that money into a fund so everyone can be covered?

It is a tragedy that one of the wealthiest countries in the world cannot provide for their own. And for those of you who think "it can't happen to me" the line is thinner than you think.

Answer 3

You pay out of pocket with Medicare too.
After reading many Q&A here the only logical conclusion to be drawn is that they don't know what they are talking about.
Maybe they never used an HMO, maybe they never got billed for an ambulance ride due to being unconcious from an auto accident, because they didn't preapprove it first. Maybe they are too young to know that Medicare doesn't cover everything, and it can leave you with thousands of dollars of bills for luxuries like cataract surgery. At least until its their parents or grandparents. Maybe they have been lucky and never had accidents or illnesses, maybe they think they never will, but there is no sympathy or empathy. All they worry about is paying a few dollars more for someone they find socially unacceptable. Its totally depressing.
They don't even care that they are leaving their medical decisions up to a company that makes its profits out of denying you benefits you thought you had. Instead we have congress tell them that they can't do their own job and give us competent accessible healthcare because the congress is incompetent to run it.
And now they want us to vote for them.
The nerve!

Answer 4

I, under no circumstances, want the government to pool our money to collectively pay for health care. If you think they can do that without the govt. having some specific say on how the money is spent, you've lost your mind. Everybody constantly complains(and rightly so) about all the stuff that the government does wrong and yet you want them to handle the money that pays for healthcare. What about that makes sense? Prices are lowest and quality is highest when the free-market system does it's thing.

edit: I don't believe the current insurance system is working and no, I don't think that anyone should mandate how and why my healthcare dollars are spent except my doctor and I. However, I am of the opinion that the government messes up almost everything they touch because of red-tape, beaurocracy, and lack of understanding/expertise. The private sector is always better!! I work in healthcare and it makes me sick when insurance companies tell doctors how to treat their patients(and they do every single day). So, on that we agree. I suppose where we disagree is simply on the fact that I don't believe the government has the answer to all of our problems . . . particularly this one. The current system isn't really working for anyone. Doctors are seeing their pay cut each year with malpractice insurance and health insurance companies squeezing them. Patients feel neglected and lack control over their own healthcare. Nobody wants to be a nurse anymore because it's a thankless job with constant shortages of supply. Hospitals have to write-off so much debt because of indigent patients that can't pay but that they are required to treat. I guess I feel compelled to ask you . . . what has the government done so efficiently that leads you to believe that they will take your money for healthcare and use it properly? What leads you to believe that there will be enough money to go around as has clearly NOT been the case for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and virtually every other entitlement that has been created? How are you going to feel when, because of the politically correct crowd, when sex-change operations are suddenly considered medically necessary but the somewhat experimental cancer treatment that shows great promise isn't "approved" by the government and you die waiting? This is an incredibly complex problem that goes beyond simply "pooling" our money and it truly scares me to involve politicians. Thanks for listening to my long-winded blah blah blah-ing.

Answer 5

Universal healthcare won't happen because the lawmakers and the legal lobby won't allow it. If healthcare is government run the huge lawsuits will disappear and the lawyers won't get their 33%. Sad state of affairs.

Answer 6

Could this be done without becoming a Large Corporation? Sounds good, but like so many things it only take one idiot within the management system to bring it down. Could that be compared to AARP?

Answer 7

You would not accept the correct answer if it was given to you. Working people paid all there lives and you have the nerve to say they are bad because they do not agree with you. Peace

Answer 8

Simple, we know just how much medicare will cost and how it is funded.

So far, i have never seen anyone who favors universial health care,

Be able to tell us how much it will cost,

Or how it would be funded.

Untill those two simple questions can be answered,

There is no point to the debate.

Answer 9

You prove our point when you added that we should do the same as when we pool on the job for health coverage.

This is done between people who work, who earn the healthcare.

Why should we pool our money together to pay for healthcare for people who refuse to work? People who can not work becuase of health problems are aready covered as are kids of parents who dont make enough money to pay for their healthcare so this is a non issue.

The more benifits you give to people who collect social assistance the more likley they are to stay on that assistance.

Answer 10

Excellent points!