ObamaCare....Your thoughts

In before the sh*tstorm, but I feel it doesn't do enough. If we had the healthcare that Canada and the UK has, it would be way better. Just my opinion though. So it's a good start, but it could have been better. I would rather have Universal Healthcare. Then everyone could get basic healthcare. Also, would be nice if dental was covered.

I myself can't wait till i can get it after losing my job 5 years ago I have been w/o insurance. I can only find part time work and recently got laid off again. I don't qualify for state medical although my 10 yr old does (Thank God) . It would be nice to have something affordable so I could go to the Dr when I'm sick. I have been fighting a chest cold for over 2 months. I do go to a local free clinic for my female visits ( gyno/ mamogram) But when it comes to basic stuff I just have to deal with it or try over the counter stuff and hope it works.

As a bill that was intended to make health care affordable, and available to all Americans, it is probably a colossal failure. Prices are going up, and that means less people can afford it. (Mine went up to $17,500 a year for my family which does not include what my employer pays - I live in MA and we MUST have insurance) What I don't get is that poor people can have their insurance paid for by the government. Rich people can easily afford insurance, and now, we are forcing more people who already couldn't afford it, to buy it. And interestingly, Congress doesn't have to have this plan. And to top it off, certain groups can opt out.

While i am not that informed nor educated on this latest health care bill, i believe the healthcare system in general, among many others in the U.S., is a giant cluster**** and simply broken. I think modeling it along the same lines as the UK and Canada isn't a bad idea, but there are some major kinks to be worked out. Forcing everyone to pay for healthcare whether they want it or not and regardless of economic status, i don't think is a good idea. But, the argument seems to be that that is the only way to make it accessible and possible to everyone. Preemptively fund it, i guess?

I don't know what the answer is, but i do not think we've found the solution yet.

The thing I never get about US healthcare is how the US puts up with a situation were it spends such a high percentage of its gdp on healthcare but have so few people covered in so few circumstances. Most european countries have pretty universal healthcare and pay 9-12% of gdp for it. The US pays 18% of gdp for a system that seems to let a lot of people have no healthcare.

Many countries spend much less per person but achieve much better coverage (and longer life expectancy, lower maternal and infant mortality rates). It's a clear case of market failure. The way its being done isn't working and I think it needs a better rethink than obamacare- which is a good start from a humanitarian point of view.

As someone who lives in the UK, there are some difficulties with the UK system- as with all public sector entities it can be a big bureaucratic behemoth. But it has saved my skin several times and it costs the UK just a little over half in gdp terms of what the US pays ( just over 9% as opposed to just under 18%) France has a pretty good system that allows both universal provision and a market competition between providers that comes in at 12% of gdp. It is insurance based, premiums are capped I think, people have to pay a small fee to see a doctor so they don't go frivolously and anyone who cannot afford insurance gets state provided insurance. There is competition between different physicians and hospital chains and so on, so there is genuine choice of provider and incentives for providers to have good standards and a good reputation.

Now that we've fixed all the healthcare problems in the US, its time to fix other things.

I think the government should give everyone 'affordable transportation' also, so everyone can have a car.
The rich already have multiple cars, the middle class will have to pay more for theirs, and the poor will all be given free access to cars while the working class foot the bill for it.

Did you seriously just compare healthcare to cars?:huh:

I wish it was single payer. It's alright. I mean I have a preexisting condition in the form of a genetic condition and now I can't be denied because of that.

I was taught that if you can't say something nice about someone or something, don't say anything at all. Silence!!!!

The US already has universal healthcare, it's just a lot more expensive. In emergency cases, a person must be treated and stabilized, regardless of ability to pay. Since preventative care is expensive without insurance, those who cannot afford it do not seek treatment until the condition has progressed to emergency condition, which is almost always more expensive to treat. When hospitals cannot recoup those costs from patients, those costs are covered by tax dollars. Providing universal access to preventative care will help reduce costs. Tax dollars already pay for health care. This way, people get a better life for a lower total cost; the costs are just more visible now.

So accurate.

I don't know anyone who's rates have not increased. Doctors are being paid less for their services. And with more and more people getting on their state Medicaid plans, doctors will see even less money. And that's if they even agree to see those patients. It's not in the doctors best interest to see Medicaid patients so that will leave many people left out in the cold without a doctor to see.

I wish it was single payer. It's alright. I mean I have a preexisting condition in the form of a genetic condition and now I can't be denied because of that.
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Just curious how our why you have something denied thru a pre existing clause...as they do not exist unless you are without insurance for 6 months.

ok, I am going to PREFACE 1. I used to be an RN- 2. i currently work in HR 3. i have family in the insurance industry, so am fairly familiar with it.

then i am going to add my comments.
company supported insurance, the insurance company will analyze the company you are in and compare it to statistical averages within the industry of "comparable" so if you are ,
FOR EX. an accountant, and most companies that are the size of yours have about 60% obesity rate in the office,

it doesn't matter to them if your office is filled with fitness geeks -

because the statistical average over time for your office is not that model...

so the ins. company issues you a policy.. based on that average,

with maybe a bit cut off because your office is healthy, but not much

because,

in all your healthy office is going to help cover the costs of the obese guys across the street.


that's how the company makes money, they sell insurance to both healthy groups and unhealthy groups,
but unhealthy groups pay more, and healthy groups don't pay all that much less.... it is in effect a bit of (don't cry now) socialism..
everyone is all paying, and everyone covers everyone else..

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Obama care
at its heart is a GREAT idea, but it will not do what it was hoped to do , which is bring the cost of healthcare down by covering everyone, few surgeons are going to drop their prices, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies still must report a profit, medical equipment will still cost an arm and a leg, a Tylenol given in a hospital is still going to cost 5.00 per pill because EVERYONE has a hand in the pot , on the take .. the doctor who prescribes it , the nurse who dispenses it , the cup you drink out of , the portion pack company who purchased them medication and repackaged it the hospital bed you sit on and the lights in the room where you sit to take it

medicine is big big big business..
if the obama care type bill had been passed 70 years ago , we would be a far far stronger country--- as it sits, i hope it works for everyone.. mandatory insurance starts in january... if you are losing weight now, i wouldnt shop for it until december..
just saying

our HC system was ****ed up before and it's still going to be ****ed up. It's ridiculous that the wealthiest nation on the planet has such a ****ty HC system...how does the wealthiest country on the planet have a HC system that is ranked 21st in the world? Ridiculous and the Affordable Care Act does nothing to really change that IMHO.
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Who ranked us @21?

i have friends from canada who would disagree that their ins. is superior in any way to ours. They cross the border every time they need to go to the doctor or have a surgery. She needed a surgery and was able to schedule it within 2 weeks of diagnosis in the USA, for the same surgery she would have had to wait 6 months.

my 76 yoa neighbor who has survived cancer for 5 years thinks its a diaster as her doctor of 15 years has told her find another doctor as he will no longer accept medicare or any other gov. funded plans.

it will prove to be a diaster just like all other gov. funded frauds on the working class.