General Discussion

I am more than excited to have a real leader in the White House.  I really am.  I am trying to restrain my enthusiam in case I get disappointed.  Afterall, one of my worst nightmares is either a "President Palin" or a "President Biden."  If you think Bush was pro-establishment, you need to review Biden's record.

Health Care Reform:  Neded Now and Without Delay

The United States health care system is the worst in the developed world.  The worst.  It is expensive.  It is inefficient.  The quality of care, for most Americans, is below that in developed countries.  And tends of millions of citizens cannot afford any coverage at all, and tens of millions are under-insured.

It is an institution that is similar to fire, police, military, and so forth that requires government support and Americans all need to pay for it through the General Fund.  All major cities, e.g., the police is subsidized by the federal government.

We are on the right track, I think, to really helping people, going pro middle-class, and fixing our economy.

This is perhaps just the beginning of great things to come.  I am thrilled!

I don't mind helping people. As long as we don't get sick and keep printing/borrowing moneyz we will be ok.

Look to the French model.

The British model is "nationalized" or, as some say, "socialized."

The French model is not "nationalized."

We have to start investing in our own people

At $3,500 per capita it is one of the most costly in Europe, yet that is still far less than the $6,100 per person in the United States.

You can have a public health insurer. 

medical schools, although extremely competitive to enter, are tuition-free. Thus, French physicians enter their careers with little if any debt and pay much lower malpractice insurance premiums.

The system of billing is speedy and efficient, unlike in the USA - we try to suck out as much money out of sick people as we possibly can.  Doctors are rich.  No battles with insurers in France, which costs Americans so much money. 

Doctors only agreed to participate in compulsory health insurance if the law protected a patient's choice of practitioner and guaranteed physicians' control over medical decision-making.

Private health insurers are also central to the system as supplemental insurers who cover patient expenses that are not paid for by Sécurité Sociale. Indeed, nearly 90 percent of the French population possesses such coverage, making France home to a booming private health insurance market.

In the USA, if you have a preexisting condition - too bad.  Just die.  In France, that does not exist.

In the USA, people will not quit bad jobs to not lose their insurance.  In the France model, everyone is insured, and you can buy private insurance to supplement your insurance, so that is not a factor in making an employment decision.

We are on the right track, I believe, I hope, and I am confident we are!!

I must say:

If I hear someone mention "socialized" medicine without knowing what it means, I will find where you live and force you to learn what socialized medicine is.  Yes. I will. ROFL.

Socialized Medicine/Nationalized Health Services

1. UK
2. Spain
3. Portugal

Salaried physicians are the norm and all hospitals are publicly owned and operated. 

Single Payer System

1. Denmark
2. Sweden

Healthcare is provided privately but paid for publicly. 

Multi-Payer System

1. France
2. Germany
3. Belgium
4. Austria

NONPROFIT "sickness funds" that collect payments and pay healthcare at NEGOTIATED rates. 

Medical practices are PRIVATE, and can be non-profit or for-profit.

The lack of education in the United States is killing people, literally, because they use words like "socialized" and have NO IDEA what the hell that means.  It is driving me nuts! lmfao!

for someone who keeps on bringing up the topic....you sound unsure of yourself.

Originally posted by Enigma

for someone who keeps on bringing up the topic....you sound unsure of yourself.

I am a very conservative person.

The public needs to demand it.  The public needs to write, attend meetings, and get involved.

Obama, himself, though the "real deal," cannot do it alone.  His honeymoon period will be the shortest, I suspect, in U.S. presidential history.  I was, briefly, watching Fox News, by accident.  And they were saying, Oh, this president is so popular, Obama will have this long honeymoon.  The opposite is true.  The popularity will wane but his honeymoon period will wane faster.  He needs to implement these "critical" changes such as

1. taking control of the bail-out fund;
2. reforming health care;
3. implementing a stimulus plan;
4. withdrawing from Iraq; and
5. achieving tax cuts

immediately.

The major benefit with "Market Healthcare" is the increased research money that leads to major breakthroughs. The vast majority of new technology has been created in America in the Healthcare field. Either by Americans (using american money and facilities) or by foreign researchers in America (using American Money and facilities). So yes the rest of the world gets these benefits for cheaper it is due to the money that our "heatlhcare" companies have that allows them to create these new technologies.
 

If you don't think it is true then just take a look at the Nobel Prize for Medicine and see how many have been won by Americans or by research done in America (using American Money).

That money has to come from somewhere.
 

Originally posted by Cabe2323

So yes the rest of the world gets these benefits for cheaper it is due to the money that our "heatlhcare" companies have that allows them to create these new technologies.
 

You are right about that.

it is why medicine is astronomically more expensive in the USA than elsewhere:

1. Government, unlike the REST of the world, does NOT negotiate for low prices; and
2. Americans subsidize the research and development costs for the rest of the world.

The EU needs to pick-it-up, already a more powerful economic bloc than the United States, the tab for its own defense and health care.

Originally posted by declaredemer

Originally posted by Cabe2323

So yes the rest of the world gets these benefits for cheaper it is due to the money that our "heatlhcare" companies have that allows them to create these new technologies.
 

 

You are right about tha