Democrats' health plans echo Nixon's failed GOP proposal

[SteveLaura 0]

There is no real competition in the health care market. Most people get their insurance plan through their employer, and are only offered one or two options. If you choose your own plan, how do you know it how good it is until you need it?

Even on the provider end, especially in an emergency, your not going to call around for quotes as to who provides the best care for your money. Even in a non-emergency situation, getting accurate costs from providers is not always that easy.

Health coverage through your employer is outdated and ridiculous. I have to drive as part of my job - maybe I should get my auto insurance through my employer too?

I didn't need to shop around in the UK. I was covered for everything. My parents, tho, choose private care on occasions - to bypass waiting times, or to get a nice room with a menu. They chose their hospital in the same way that most people decide their supermarket - location & value for money.

Edited November 28, 2007 by SteveLaura

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

i fully agree. remember the $500 hammers? just wait until the government is running the health care system.....

I remember. There's probably a boatload of waste in our military spending, as well. Someone needs to take a hammer to it all.

[SteveLaura 0]

i fully agree. remember the $500 hammers? just wait until the government is running the health care system.....

I remember. There's probably a boatload of waste in our military spending, as well. Someone needs to take a hammer to it all.

I agree. I would advocate for more transparency in government (am I correct in thinking that only a third of the CIA's budget is released to the public?)

Edited November 28, 2007 by SteveLaura

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

i fully agree. remember the $500 hammers? just wait until the government is running the health care system.....

I remember. There's probably a boatload of waste in our military spending, as well. Someone needs to take a hammer to it all.

I agree. I would advocate for more transparency in government (am I correct in thinking that only a third of the CIA's budget is released to the public?)

I wouldn't doubt it.

[Ban Hammer 13,364]

i fully agree. remember the $500 hammers? just wait until the government is running the health care system.....

I remember. There's probably a boatload of waste in our military spending, as well. Someone needs to take a hammer to it all.

I agree. I would advocate for more transparency in government (am I correct in thinking that only a third of the CIA's budget is released to the public?)

I wouldn't doubt it.

i won't hold my breath for that to happen. ever seen a government program that got smaller?

[Empress of Groovy 373]

i fully agree. remember the $500 hammers? just wait until the government is running the health care system.....

Here's how the current system would handle the $500 hammer:

At some point during your short hospital stay, it's determined that you need a hammer. The hospital charges your insurance company $1500 for the hammer. The hospital settles for the negotiated rate of $500. You didn't need the hammer in the first place and never asked for it. Two years down the line, the insurance company does some research and determines that your plan didn't cover that type of hammer at that particular hospital because you didn't divulge that you'd used a different hammer 15 years earlier. A bill shows up for $1500 that you're expected to pay.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

...costs escalated for no reason except to make a profit. We need to stop arguing about whether to have universal healthcare and just figure out a way to do it better, and cheaper than anyone else. Isn't that the american way?

Amen.

The episode of my recent trip to Ethiopia where I had both my wife and baby treated at private hospitals comes to mind.

Wife: Cracked a bone in her leg. Services provided by hospital: X-Ray, doctor's consultation, preliminary immobilization of the ankle (to allow the swelling to go back), full cast three days later, three follow-up visits altogether and prescription pain medication. This came to a total of just over $50.00

Baby: High fever - cause unknown. Emergency room at children's hospital - seen by doctor as we entered the hospital. We received: doctor's consultation (to explain the course of action to be taken), taking of blood sample and spinal fluid sample, lab work on both, second doctor's consultation (to go over the results and the treatment plan), antibiotic prescription, fever reducer prescription. This came to just under $35.00 altogether.

Had this happened to a visitor in the US, I think you could easily add two zeros to each figure in terms of what the hospitals would bill you.