LawnGuyLandSparky

More likely parrotting Rush's rants and ravings, most of which is inaccurate...

drsparky

I live near the border and we have a lot of Canadians getting health care over here. They also shop here to avoid high taxes like the GST. An MD friend of mine works part time across the border because they can not get Canadian doctors to stay the country because the pay is so low. And no I do not listen to talk radio or watch Fox News. And yes I worked for the Government for 20 years and saw money getting pissed away because of congressional mandates.
Chuck

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"Whatever is felt is within suffering."

amptech

This statement is false. Several countries with universal, government provided health care have for-profit insurance companies selling supplemental insurance. They are not allowed to profit from the sale of the government mandated base policy. Canada is such a country as is France, Switzerland and Norway. Bare-bones, basic health care services are included in government plans and are spread pretty thin.
My best friend, who is the same age as me(50) was diagnosed in August '08 with lymphoma. Before he started chemo he was put on a network with 5 other patients who were of similar age and were diagnosed with the same type and stage of lymphoma. They were encouraged to chat on the internet as some sort of support network. 2 were in Canada. By January of '09 my friend achieved complete remission and had a clean PET scan. 2 of the 3 other US patients also were in remission while the third had not responded as well so far. The 2 Canadian patients were less fortunate. One, as of Jan '09, still hadn't began chemo and the other had experienced a quicker advance of his condition and had passed away. The type of chemo my friend had is not available in Canada because it is deemed too expensive for the basic plan. It is available to those who purchase supplemental insurance.
If we are going to say health insurance companies must be non-profit where does that stop? Homeowners insurance companies? Auto insurance? How about the companies who build roads and bridges? Those who build public schools? Farms/companies who produce food? Aren't education, housing, food and transportation basic need too? What good is it to be healthy with no education, food, place to live or means to get there?

oldman

like what? specifics please....name 3 government run entities that are a)efficient and b)not pissing away tax dollars...

oldman

you are arguing profit with a heavy duty socialist...the only thing that keeps LGLS from being a communist, is that he feels entitled to make a profit for what he does...just no one else should be able to make a profit for what they do...

JayH

All factual evidence, none of this "I have a friend" , or "I knew a guy", or "my mother's best friend across the border", spell out that our mortality rates in the U.S. are higher than Canada.

All the useless information by misinformed individuals on this forum does nothing to alleviate that fact.

Spend some time browsing the WHO's web site (and no not Pete Townsend's and Roger Daltrey's web site) and customize your own comparisons. Draw your own intelligent conclusions, if you dare, the site is extremely user friendly.

I suspect the majority who espouse no change in our defunct health care system will not be intellectually honest and do their own research.

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jammerx37

Naval Special Warfare Command.
Army Special Operations Command.
Air Force Special Operations Command.

Efficient to the highest degree.
Definitely not pissing away your tax dollars... spending them for sure, but not pissing them away.

Ok, well maybe pissing them away on Friday night...

LawnGuyLandSparky

Oldman, if I find for "A" wouldn't that mean I also found for "B?"

Dnkldorf

Lawn Guy.

As someone who has been to the VA many,many,many times, You can have the medical system.

You surely know nothing about government health care. Just try to get care there. Wait for 3 months for an appointment, just to get a letter in the mail 2 weeks before, confirming your cancellation.

But you never cancelled. Wait another 3 months and the cycle begins again.

The only thing the VA is good for, is prescription drugs. They are cheaper.

Your idea of a health care plan is different than mine.
My health care plan for the nation is one of personal responsibilty first.
Your's is one of government responsibility first, and always will be.

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Any ship can be a minesweeper ... once.
- Admiral Hornblower

drsparky

Great at what they do but not fiscally efficient. Too many rules imposed by congress on purchasing anything. If the government takes over health care the pen to fill out the forms will cost twice its current price. It will have to be bought from a minority/handicapped/women owned company for diversity reasons. I spent 20 years in the Air Force and we could not do anything with out congressional interference.

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"Whatever is felt is within suffering."

brian john

I did not check all the links

http://www.city-data.com/forum/polit...treatment.html

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I void warranty's

slickvic277

I don't think government ran health care is the answer(they would for sure fu** it up).

But the cost is outrageous.They need to cap what the lawyers sue for In malpractice suits.They need to limit the price of certain procedures(when I had an MRI for my shoulder the whole thing took 45 minutes and they charged my insurance 6 grand!)Allow people to buy insurance any were they want,get people out of emergency rooms who don't have emergencies,give companies and small business owners TAX BRAKES for offering health care to there employees,There should be mandated Health insurance for the largest companies like walmart,mcdonalds,places like that.

And in the spirit of "American free trade"let people shop for there prescriptions any were they like,imagine being able to go online and find the best price for your script.

I know this may come to a surprise to some,I'm really not for government ran H.C.
There has to be a whole lot of things that can be done before we allow the government to destroy H.C. and make things worse then what they already are.

slickvic277

I don't think the quality of our health care is in need of change but for sure the price is much to high and the insurance companies strangle hold on the factors that make the price so high,that's were the change is needed.

joebell

How very true! There used to be a difference between the 2 major parties but not anymore. I believe the only way to truely come across "Change" in this country is to impose term limits on all these elected officials. I don't believe our forefathers intended the political process to ever be a career.


As for the insurance end of this post We or our employer pays for health insurance, Dr's pay malpractice insurance, Hospitals carry liability insurance, guess who's making all the money. I don't believe the government need s to get into the insurance business but the do need to reign in these private companies some how.

Dnkldorf

Lawyers and their lobbyists. What did I win?

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Any ship can be a minesweeper ... once.
- Admiral Hornblower

LawnGuyLandSparky

OK so I am personally responsible for contracting cancer? I brought it on myself... sure. My bad.


My idea is if at age 47 you get Lukemia your insurer for 20 years cannot back out of paying for your treatments. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, to you it is.


My idea is one where the government sets a minimum standard and EVERY HMO has to abide by it no matter what. There are many people paying for healthcare coverage who have no idea they will not be covered for a plethora of different expensive treatments.

LawnGuyLandSparky

Torts cost the entire healthcare industry less than 1/10 of 1%. Tort reform or lack thereof is not the reason why policies cost what they do.

There are - like a set of guidelines and a menu of healthcare coverage plans that all providers must offer and may price on their own. It is an industry the government needs to tightly regulate, like it did before Reagan when everyone had health insurance through their employer.

Bob Badger

Damn dude, no one even remotely said that, what a spin.

I believe he saying as a responsible person we have to understand we may get cancer and should take steps to be prepared for that.


Here we agree.

Can you point out where anyone said that it was?

Dnkldorf

Yup, yu smoke for 30 yrs, the taxpayers of this nation do not owe you a new set of lungs, a new throat, or any thing else.
You drink for 40 yrs, the taxpayers do not owe you a new liver.

You eat cheeseburgers from McD's everday for lunch, don't exercise properly, the taxpayers should not pay for quadruple by-passes, stents or new arteries.

Why not? What does your plan say?

If you think you are covered, but fail to read and understand the policy you purchased, why the hell is that my problem?

But if, and if, coverage is provided in your package, then no, they should pay for your coverage. To many times, people blame insurers, when the fact is they never read their plan, or understood what it covers and what it does not.
Again, not my problem, nor is it the taxpayers.

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Any ship can be a minesweeper ... once.
- Admiral Hornblower

Dnkldorf

Prove this please.

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Any ship can be a minesweeper ... once.
- Admiral Hornblower