Kerbouchard
10-21-2009, 10:13 PM
I don't think anybody, here or elsewhere, is against reform. I pay over 700 a month for health insurance for my wife, daughter and myself. I'm all about doing something about that.
The problem is the country is split on what type of reform is necessary. There are the people who cannot afford 700 a month who want me to pay for their health coverage, and the people who can afford it but don't like it. The two groups have a fundamental disagreement on whether my care should be 900 a month and help to cover somebody that cannot afford it.
In any case, what we should all be able to agree on is what is driving the costs up.
1. Better quality care. 50 years ago, we didn't have MRI's, or radioisotopes, or any of the other high tech diagnostic tools that we have today. We have better care and that costs more. It's worth it.
2. Lawsuits. We also didn't have lawsuits regarding a doctor not finding an illness because there is a specialized test somewhere that would have found it. It's not the doctors job to run every possible test, and he should not be sued over something like that. Gross negligence is a different story, but I would rather have a doctor who does the best job he can rather than one who is just operating under the CYA mentality.
3. Government inefficiency. We didn't have the government telling the doctors how much they would be paid for a 'class of illness'. We had doctors who did their best to treat their patients within the ability of the doctor and the means of the patient. When the government stepped in, paperwork went up, billing became much more complicated, and quality of care was substituted for quantity of care.
4. Insurance inefficiency and widespread use. 50 years ago, most people didn't have health insurance. They went to the doctor when they were really sick, worked out a plan with the doctor, got treated and paid for the services. Now we have panicked mobs trying to get a vaccine for a strain of the flu that is more mild than it's common form.
5. Overuse of the health care industry. American's are over-medicated. Period. From the multitude of vaccines and antibiotics that only serve to breed more dangerous diseases to the kid who needs a spanking but is instead given Ritalin. Americans used to know how to take care of themselves. We had an aloe vera plant sitting in the living room when I grew up, and it sure did earn it's keep when cuts, scrapes, bites, or burns came around. Now, there are three aisles at the local walmart selling medications that don't do the job half as well.
6. Illegals. We can't afford it. Just because you snuck across the border does not grant any sense of entitlement. They are criminals. They aren't entitled to be here and they damn sure aren't entitled to free health care.
Let's work on 2-6 before we decide the government needs to completely take over the health care system
The problem is the country is split on what type of reform is necessary. There are the people who cannot afford 700 a month who want me to pay for their health coverage, and the people who can afford it but don't like it. The two groups have a fundamental disagreement on whether my care should be 900 a month and help to cover somebody that cannot afford it.
In any case, what we should all be able to agree on is what is driving the costs up.
1. Better quality care. 50 years ago, we didn't have MRI's, or radioisotopes, or any of the other high tech diagnostic tools that we have today. We have better care and that costs more. It's worth it.
2. Lawsuits. We also didn't have lawsuits regarding a doctor not finding an illness because there is a specialized test somewhere that would have found it. It's not the doctors job to run every possible test, and he should not be sued over something like that. Gross negligence is a different story, but I would rather have a doctor who does the best job he can rather than one who is just operating under the CYA mentality.
3. Government inefficiency. We didn't have the government telling the doctors how much they would be paid for a 'class of illness'. We had doctors who did their best to treat their patients within the ability of the doctor and the means of the patient. When the government stepped in, paperwork went up, billing became much more complicated, and quality of care was substituted for quantity of care.
4. Insurance inefficiency and widespread use. 50 years ago, most people didn't have health insurance. They went to the doctor when they were really sick, worked out a plan with the doctor, got treated and paid for the services. Now we have panicked mobs trying to get a vaccine for a strain of the flu that is more mild than it's common form.
5. Overuse of the health care industry. American's are over-medicated. Period. From the multitude of vaccines and antibiotics that only serve to breed more dangerous diseases to the kid who needs a spanking but is instead given Ritalin. Americans used to know how to take care of themselves. We had an aloe vera plant sitting in the living room when I grew up, and it sure did earn it's keep when cuts, scrapes, bites, or burns came around. Now, there are three aisles at the local walmart selling medications that don't do the job half as well.
6. Illegals. We can't afford it. Just because you snuck across the border does not grant any sense of entitlement. They are criminals. They aren't entitled to be here and they damn sure aren't entitled to free health care.
Let's work on 2-6 before we decide the government needs to completely take over the health care system