ObamaCare?

[Tiberius]

I've had the displeasure of dealing with the American healthcare system this week, and any arguments that private healthcare trumps public healthcare are pretty much blown out of the water, at least the way America does it.

As I keep saying to my American friends, public healthcare in other countries isn't perfect, but America should learn from those mistakes rather than looking to them as excuses not to do something. If the American government tried, I fully believe they could implement public healthcare that doesn't increase the tax burden much at all.

[dyresand]

in all honesty obamacare is a fucking joke sure it is cheap i had florida blue couldn't cover my specialist couldn't cover my doctor either
all in all fuck this forced health insurance. At most i got out of it a fuck quick care visit and that was just about fucking it. Worst part about that
piece of shit insurance fucking rate hike. It was cheap 60 dollars i was like okay this cheap then fucking 250 and i was like fuck that and i after that
i was like you know nope not gonna bother. Oh wanna know why having the insurance take out of my bank they took out 2 payments from me like i wouldn't
notice after that lately i just said fuck i'm going without.

[Aroura]

I look forward to a time, hopefully soon, when my family makes enough money to be able to pay for better insurance. And when it costs a fortune, I will gladly pay it so my poorer neighbors don't die, because right now someone is doing that for me.

Pay it forward. It is a shitty compromise, but it was better than what existed before it. My husband had not seen a doctor in a decade, now he can get treatment for his prostrate problems. My brother just waited until he had to go to an emergency room, but now gets his regular injections. So thank you to those who overpay so others do not suffer so needlessly. Again, hopefully my family will be able to pay it forward soon. * crosses fingers and prays to his noodliNess * Hubby got 2 interviews last month, one for a subsidiary of Google! They start interviews a year before graduation, and he is super excited! He might get a spring internship, and then a high paying job on graduation. It will make these last 4 years of suffering worth it....I hope!

[Jackalope]

I've had the displeasure of dealing with the American healthcare system this week, and any arguments that private healthcare trumps public healthcare are pretty much blown out of the water, at least the way America does it.

As I keep saying to my American friends, public healthcare in other countries isn't perfect, but America should learn from those mistakes rather than looking to them as excuses not to do something. If the American government tried, I fully believe they could implement public healthcare that doesn't increase the tax burden much at all.

I couldn't agree more.

The fact of the matter is, those who are complaining about paying the freight for those who aren't able to pay - we're already paying it, at the highest rate possible, because not covering the needy means they pretty much have to go to the ER for everything. We all pay for that in the form of higher prices.

Given what we pay for healthcare in the US, both per capita and overall, we deserve better results and coverage.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Personally, I think it was a shitty compromise, made necessary by the fucking grinches on the right.

The subsidy for low income persons is good, but the deductibles are still liable to bankrupt the poor.

I'd rather see a single-payer system, with copays and other expenses subsidized for the poor.

EHRMAHGEHRD SOSHIULIZM!

I'm a right-of center-libertarian on most issues.

On matters of health, a pragmatic view would cut expenses by insuring the poor for preventative care, rather than forcing them to use emergency-room care.

And a moralistic view, which I do hold, is that we should aid fellow humans in their time of suffering.

Yes, I know that politics and morals make for very strange bedfellows. But I can dream, right?

[Reforged]

England has had public healthcare for decades now. No big deal.
I mean its not like its a race... if it was though England totally would of won though. I mean at this point we would just be moonwalking across the finish line, that hows far ahead we are. We're sipping a margarita while we wait for the fat, perspiring form that is Americas health policy to catch up. Occasionally we would look up through binoculars to see the sweat drip down the gyrating flubber of the runner up and pointing to a bargain bucket of KFC to spur on the unwilling participant.

Sorry, that sounded really spiteful didn't it?
... :-)

[Tiberius]

The main objection I have over not providing healthcare to citizens is that government should really be about creating an equal playing field for people; that as long as people are law abiding citizens, they should have equal opportunities and a person shouldn't be placed at a disadvantage because of who they are, but rather because of what they choose to do. In that respect, since we are all born with health issues, and some of us develop health issues later on through no fault of our own, it doesn't make sense for the government not to provide care for people.

A poor person with cancer should have access to the same kind of treatment as a rich person with cancer, because ultimately nothing about their wealth had anything to do with their condition. One should not be favored for survival over the other.

Where I would draw the line perhaps is where there is a definitive connection between the health issue and the person's choices. For instance, I have little to no qualms about charging fees for smokers who develop cancer, though preventative measures such as programs to help people quit should be free (or at least subsidized), and similarly if a person is speeding and crashes their car, they should pay the medical bill for their recovery.

Other than that, people shouldn't have to worry about money when it comes to health issues.

[Thumpalumpacus]

England has had public healthcare for decades now. No big deal.
I mean its not like its a race... if it was though England totally would of won though. I mean at this point we would just be moonwalking across the finish line, that hows far ahead we are. We're sipping a margarita while we wait for the fat, perspiring form that is Americas health policy to catch up. Occasionally we would look up through binoculars to see the sweat drip down the gyrating flubber of the runner up and pointing to a bargain bucket of KFC to spur on the unwilling participant.

Sorry, that sounded really spiteful didn't it?
... :-)

No, it actually sounded self-satisfied and complacent.

Let us know how that works out for you.

Or not; your choice.

[Minimalist]

I've had the displeasure of dealing with the American healthcare system this week, and any arguments that private healthcare trumps public healthcare are pretty much blown out of the water, at least the way America does it.

As I keep saying to my American friends, public healthcare in other countries isn't perfect, but America should learn from those mistakes rather than looking to them as excuses not to do something. If the American government tried, I fully believe they could implement public healthcare that doesn't increase the tax burden much at all.

I think you are giving us too much credit, boss.  What is missing is the will to do it right.

[Reforged]

England has had public healthcare for decades now. No big deal.
I mean its not like its a race... if it was though England totally would of won though. I mean at this point we would just be moonwalking across the finish line, that hows far ahead we are. We're sipping a margarita while we wait for the fat, perspiring form that is Americas health policy to catch up. Occasionally we would look up through binoculars to see the sweat drip down the gyrating flubber of the runner up and pointing to a bargain bucket of KFC to spur on the unwilling participant.

Sorry, that sounded really spiteful didn't it?
... :-)

No, it actually sounded self-satisfied and complacent.

Let us know how that works out for you.

Or not; your choice.

I'm out of margarita, I'm moving onto daiquiris. 
You're welcome.