More Bad Grades for U.S. Healthcare

U.S. Healthcare

U.S. Healthcare is a rip-off! However, I believe government regulation (i.e. Universal health care) is not the answer. What the U.S. Healthcare system needs is more competition from oversea providers to improve our quality and price. More competition is the real answer here -- not more regulation. The growing field of medical tourism will address many, but not all, of the problems affecting our system. As consumers, we should have the right to decide if we want to travel overseas for an operation. Moreover, our insurance companies should honor our decision to go overseas if choose to do so much the same way they honor our decision to choose our own doctor.

Health Costs

Look at the three systems predominantly controlled by the government:

Education: High cost and low value--only advocated solutions are to give it more money.

Retirement: Social Security. Once a "funded" retirement plan. Has now become insolvent without MASSIVE benefit reductions to be finally targeted one income layer at a time. First with tax increases--then with benefit reductions.

Health Care: government run programs in cities are a complete disaster. Most cannot or will not even bill state or federal programs for funds. Worst access, longest lines, highest cost for service rendered.

Federal and State governments ALREADY have at their disposals the most valuable asset necessary to fix health care. Current pricing terms with providers under Medicaid and Medicare would immediately pay for all services and provide all care.

Selling the "pricing" contracts and the "established plans" to insurers or even companies OR individuals would reduce cost of health care by 20%. Most individuals would, astonishingly, be able to AFFORD to pay what Medicaid or Medicare actually PAYS for the services.

Making the program would be "easy." Medicaid pricing terms for people of low income, Medicare for everyone else. You could blend in the "middle," say at the median income level of income.

Under both Medicare and Medicaid, "providers" are obligated to provide all of the relevant care with the resources provided--so there are no "added" bills or "uncovered" services.

Government has squandered best asset so far.

Biggest obstacles to this will be:

1) BIG insurers who control the market--little insurers will like it as will companies longing to get a fair and consistent price.

2) Providers--not the poor ones--only the rich ones. Many top flight academic centers have dropped Medicaid and will drop Medicare--at least for the faculty practice plans.

3) Doctors--certainly do not want to have a consistent price. Perhaps you noticed on your "copays" and "balance bills" are nearly twice what medicare and medicaid pay for the entire service.

Health care

The only true fix for health care is the single payer plan as the canaidians do keep private insurance companys out of it.They only add extra cost.Make pharmacutical companies toe the line.I guess that there are too many bribe givers (campaign contributors)to expect that to be feasible.

J.Richard Gove

U.S. HEALTHCARE

MR. DANIEL DAVID CAN BE EXPECTED TO PRESENT NEGATIVE COMMENTS ON ANYTHING NOT DEMOCRAT.

I GREW UP IN A DIFFERENT WORLD. MEDICAL INSURANCE DID NOT EXIST. IT STILL DOESN'T EXIST. WHAT WE CALL INSURANCE IS REALLY PRE-PAID MEDICAL TREATMENT. MY OWN UNDERSTANDING IS THAT SO-CALLED MEDICAL INSURANCE WAS PROPOSED DURING WORLD WAR 2 AS A LURE TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK IN THE WAR INDUSTRIES.

PRIOR TO THAT WE PAID THE DOCTOR FOR WHATEVER TREATMENT WAS NEEDED. I REMEMBER OFFICE CALLS IN 1961 WHICH COST ME $4.

TODAY, I BELONG TO A KAISER PERMANENTE PLAN, WHICH IS A ONE STOP EXPERIENCE. IT ISN'T PERFECT. IT IS ASSEMBLY-LINE MEDICINE.

IN MY VIEW, THE ANSWER TO THE COST OF AND IMPROVEMENT OF MEDICAL NEEDS IN THIS COUNTRY IS MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.

SO-CALLED MED.INSURANCE IS A JOKE. SOME COMPETITION IS NEEDED.

WE HAVE BEEN CONNED BY THE INSURANCE PURVEYORS, THE MEDIA AND THE POLITIIONS INTO BELIEVING THAT EVERYONE NEEDS UNIVERSAL MEDICAL INSURANCE. OBAMA OFFERS ONE FORM AND MC'CAIN OFFERS ANOTHER AND THE POOR TAX-PAYER WILL FOOT THE BILL INCLUDING THE SKIM BY THE INSURANCE PURVEYOR.

MILLIONS ARE NOT COVERED. OFTEN BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD THE RIP-OFF COST. ALSO,MANY SIMPLY DON'T WANT TO JOIN IN THE GAME. MOST YOUNG DO NOT NEED ALL THAT COVERAGE. ONLY THE OLD.

U.S. Healthcare

As a Canadian planning to continue to reside in the U.S.I find the health care system in the U.S. highly deficient compared to practically all modernized countries such as England, Australia, Israel, all E.U. countries, even Cuba, etc.Universal health care is the norm.The U.S. is as backward in introducing universal health care as they are in introducing metrics., but at least there is Liberia which is yet to adopt the metric system. REB SHLOMO

U.S. Healthcare

Healthcare in our country is overly expensive, inefficient, controlled by profit driven insurance companies and out of reach for nearly 50 million Americans. I've been a member of Kaiser Permanente for over 20 years and I believe it promises the best model for universal healthcare. I turned to it because it offered one-stop medical shopping, virtually no paperwork and nominal out of pocket expenses in the form of copays.

It's time for our elected representatives to get off of their butts and come up with a workable solution to our healthcare problems. McCain's plan is underwhelming to say the least with tax credits as its main feature and the same cold hearted insurance companies at the top reaping huge profits from excessive premiums. Obama's plan would give those that want affordable health insurance access to it but not mandate that they have it. What's missing from both of their plans is a model that can meet the needs of most people in an efficient and cost effective manner.

This is more serious than you think

John McCain's "stated plan" does not count because Congress will NEVER pass any of it. The real Republican "plan" is to do nothing----guaranteed by McCain's veto of anything Congress WOULD pass. The other more passive Republican "plan" is for employers to incrementally drop their group plans and send citizens to TV, where they will be met by the likes of Billy Mays breathlessly selling health "insurance" guaranteed to keep you "under"-insured.

You know Billy. He sells OxiClean, mighty putty, the Hercules (picture-hanger) hook, and the handy switch for turning on your lamps. AND, YES, HE'S ALREADY ON TV HAWKING MINI-MEDICAL PLANS.

Elect Obama or expect Billy's style of marketing-over-substance to be all the health security you and your descendents get.

Over-dramatized, you say? No, it isn't. You're just behind on what's really going on.