National Health Care?

[Jesse]

I not saying that our current health care system is great and doesn't need some fixing, but should this REALLY be the top priority of our government right now? And if it is, is having the government run it REALLY the answer we're looking for? Seems to me that the government hasn't done anything right since drafting the Constitution and the original 10 ammendments 220 years ago, yet we keep giving them more and more responsibilities.

[Trexx]

Yes. The cost of healthcare has risen 6x the cost of living. I can only afford the most chincy of healthcare plans and it's not from my employer. My earnings have been reduced to about half of what they were 10 years ago.

Also, the argument about a "free market" of competition for health insurance is a myth. Insurance companies have been exempt from anti-trust laws since the mid-1940s. There is NO free competition. It doesn't exist. The middleman situation for health care is screwing hard working people. That's not good enough for Americans, in my opinion.

[Equinox]

I'm all for healthcare reform. But let's not just jump on the first crazy idea that's rolled out.

Any saving those of us from middle class America will get from rates not increasing so quickly, will go the way of taxes to fund this thing.

Plus, medicare gets raped to the tune of some $530M, so by the time I retire all the money I've been kicking in won't help me at all.

$1000 fines for having no insurance? Small businesses will be a thing of the past. 12% of income for insurance?

I just don't see how anyone who has the info on the plan can be for it?

And remember that congress won't be affected by this because they have their own healthcare plan, pensions, etc.... already.

[spacel0rd]

Nov 11, 2009 8:29:30 GMT -5 Jesse said:

I not saying that our current health care system is great and doesn't need some fixing, but should this REALLY be the top priority of our government right now?

Ask that question to someone who is dying cuz their insurance won’t cover what they need. Ask someone who won’t see 2012 cuz they have a pre-existing health problem that won’t be covered. I think u will find that it’s the only freaking thing that matters in the world to them…and there are way too many of these situations.
Having people dying over ticky-tacky, selfish reasoning by multi-billion dollar companies should be very high on our list of things to fix.

[Jesse]

Nov 19, 2009 15:46:39 GMT -5 spacel0rd said:

Nov 11, 2009 8:29:30 GMT -5 Jesse said:

I not saying that our current health care system is great and doesn't need some fixing, but should this REALLY be the top priority of our government right now?

Ask that question to someone who is dying cuz their insurance won’t cover what they need. Ask someone who won’t see 2012 cuz they have a pre-existing health problem that won’t be covered. I think u will find that it’s the only freaking thing that matters in the world to them…and there are way too many of these situations.
Having people dying over ticky-tacky, selfish reasoning by multi-billion dollar companies should be very high on our list of things to fix.

I'm not sure what angle I should use to answer this.

A) The Diplomatic Answer: Ok, I see your point, but, like Equinox said, does this mean we need to implement the first crazy idea that some team of lawyers comes up with and pass it before anyone can read and decipher all 2,000+ pages? Seems to me that something smaller in frame that would oversee the insurance companies as opposed to creating a Government run system would be a better option.

B) The I-Can-Be-An-Asshole-Too Answer: Ok, so by your reasoning we should ask families of murder victims or ask rape victims about due process for the accused as I'm sure they care little about the law, the rights of the accused and a fair trial, they just want vengeance. I know that is extreme, but c'mon, you can't look at 3 trees and decide what's best for the whole forest. I sympathize with those who's medical bills are piling up and insurance won't pay for it or they don't have insurance at all, but you can't write policy based on the most extreme of cases. You'll help those people while hurting the rest of the population. Our Government has a track record of fixing one problem by creating a dozen new ones, why give them a chance to do it again?

[spacel0rd]

I was only answering the question "...but should this REALLY be the top priority of our government right now?" Not the methods used or how its approached.