ACP45 wrote:
For some time now, I have been wrestling with the idea of "Universal Healthcare". Being a free market kind of person, I have always felt that a "free market" solution was the best and most cost effective way to solve our health care problem.
I have come to realize a bit late in the game, that the United States no longer operates as a "free market" economy. While we say and think we do, we are really kidding ourselves. Large corporations and government have gotten together and perverted the issue of "free market". We have also gone beyond the point of no return, and the system is incapable of reforming itself, and correcting previous mistakes.
There will be those who say that we cannot afford a "Universal Healthcare" solution. They may be right, but only in the contex that the "black budget" items, military spending/weapons procurement, establishment and maintenance of military bases overseas, spying/surveillance portions of government spending make it impossible to spend money on where it is really needed, healthcare, and social infrastructure improvements and repair.
The most recent health care study published in the Lancet ranked the US 35th in the world compared to other nations.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-05-countries-healthcare.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-nwletterClearly, what we have been doing is not working, and we need to re-think and take a new approach to this issue.
For some time now, I have been wrestling with the ... (
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Some of us have been beating that drum for years, enduring accusations of being a Communist, Socialist, Satan worshiper and other vile monikers, but we continue the crusade anyway. That doesn't make us some kind of hero, saint, or whatever, it makes us Americans who believe in the ideals that made America great.
What does "universal" even mean in this context? Simply put, it means "universal access", where everyone is treated exactly the same way by the healthcare industry - because there is only one pay source. Now, you can be denied treatment by anyone ( or everyone ), because they don't like your source of payment. Some Doctors and facilities require you to pay your co-insurance up front, before treating you. I've even had a hospital do a credit check on me, before scheduling a procedure. This type of behavior is capitalism gone bad.
When did we decide that life giving, life sparing and life saving healthcare was a business? When did we decide that profiting off of people's misfortunes, illnesses and tragedies was perfectly ok? The Constitution says we have rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but life comes at a premium cost, we have to pay to keep our liberty - and the pursuit of happiness has a menu and a price tag. Those rights were purchased with the blood of American heroes, the unending heartache of their families, and the vigilance of their descendants - and may NOT be sold for profit!
We need a common sense approach to healthcare, absolutely sans partisan BS, where private enterprise and Gov. work together. There MUST be price controls placed on healthcare itself, because an MRI machine costs the same in NY as it does in Iowa, and prices ranging from $800 - $3500 for a scan is criminal. I don't have a problem with insurance companies bidding to administer our healthcare payments, thus avoiding the usual bureaucratic crap, and it would save billions right out of the gate, because they have the mechanisms in place already. I don't have a problem with payroll deductions for paying premiums, everyone MUST pay for their own healthcare regardless. Everyone must pay, and not just through income taxes, but with universal healthcare, those premiums would be adjusted by income, the more you make, the more you pay. There would still be co-insurance and copays, because if you use the system, you should pay more than those who do not - who will still have it if they need it.
When we get beyond the partisan rhetoric, and just use common sense, we'll all agree that the current healthcare system has gone rogue and is unsustainable. There is simply no excuse for private companies to be making 100's of billions of dollars in PROFIT every year, off of our accidents, illnesses or those of our children.