Anyone who believes in the illusion of “choice” with private insurance has never had a medical claim denied or been denied for a pre-existing condition.
And we all know how efficient government bureaucracies are.
Personally, I’m on the fence with this question.
pdooma: The corporate HR gets a kickback from the insurers, that is why you only get a small selection. Samething with the 401k plan.
If people had an actual “choice” there would be less profit involved for the company issuing the plan.
Best Answer: This is like asking if I would rather be shot or hung.
Either way, I'm dead.
What is needed is REFORM of the industry. I really don't want the government deciding my health care, however, corporations are ONLY interested in PROFIT and that is not a good thing for my health either.
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Trust the government!
Government Run health care – all the efficiency of the DMV, all the compassion of the IRS!
The difference is – with private care, I get to decide which plan I buy, with government care, Comrade Sam decides for me!
Anybody but the government.
The CUREENT CEO’s insurance people
FAILED MISERABLY
hahah ah hahahahahahah
but the government loves us……
I trust the free-market more than I trust the Government.
At least w/ private-insurance, a person has some recourse in the courts if denied coverage afforded to them. That’s not the case w/ the Government. If you get rationed out — you’re done.
In addition, the Government has been one of the primary contributors to the high cost of health care — paying a fraction of their obligation while hospitals seek to re-coupe those losses through you and your policy — premiums increase recently? If not, look for them — the Government just announced they’ll reduce Medicare reimbursement again by another 21% by the end of the year. Currently, they pay 64% of their obligation…that’s 64 cents on the dollar.
And for those dense enough to believe COST won’t be a problem w/in the Government, I point you to Medicare/Medicaid/Tricare/VAcare/ Medi-CAL/Massachusetts/Hawaii … etc. etc.. The Government is batting ZERO when it comes to sustainable quality insurance. “Hope” and emotion powers the Government “option” junkies.
As for every other developed nation having some form of Government insurance, they’re also going bankrupt. The UK’s rationing body is busy trying to cut costs and looking at a two-tier system to allow people to buy an HMO that would cover the holes in the Government plan created by the rationing board. Canada injected hundreds of billions of dollars last year and the service is only getting worse/more expensive. Australia’s system will be insolvent in 5 years.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Medicare has 36 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities BANKRUPT. Medicaid has another 30+ Trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities BANKRUPT. Massachusetts’ system BANKRUPT. Hawaii’s program BANKRUPT. Medi-CAL BANKRUPT.
Stellar stats…I can see why people are stoked about the Gubment stepping up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth – tie game.
Get off the fence: A government bureaucrat will be forced to put patients before profits, while the insurance company bureaucrats who currently dictate our health-care coverage put profits before people. Never mind losing their jobs, those people ought to be locked up. For criminally negligent homicide. No. I’m not kidding. Put ‘em in prison for choosing to let people die.
Once health care becomes not for profit…it will not matter who runs it.That’s what every industrialized nation on earth has.America stands alone among them by making it into a profit making scheme.
I think what is being discussed is a hybrid of both. Publicly ran health care and State ran Coops to keep the private insurers honest.
Sure everyone wants a profit making CEO determining whether or not the procedure necessary. Give me a break 14,000 die every week while they wait approval.
How about your doctor?
This is the beauty of individual insurance plans. I pick what I want covered. Then the insurance company pays the bills. If they do a bad job at it, I can get a different plan, but so far the one I’ve had works exactly as intended.
What I don’t understand is why we allow our HR departments to CHOOSE the plans we’re allowed to pick from. Generally you get 3-4 options of insurance that they’re offering as a benefit. This is very ineffective. Often it’s not necessarily the insurance company, but the plan chosen by the HR department. Ever consider that?
The government bureaucrat. At least the idea would not be to make a profit off of your health care needs. The government has a responsibility to it citizens and citizens can exercise some influence.
Insurance companies are mostly for-proft and the insurance CEOs have a responsibility to the shareholders. Their handling of premiums and claims has to show profit or they are out of business.
Access to health “care” is available to everyone. Access to health “insurance” is not.
You want reform? How about putting a cap on how much a greedy attorney can make on frivolous law suits taken on a contingency? That will do more to bring down costs than anything else. Oh wait. Congress is made up of those greed attorney’s aren’t they. Never mind.
Maybe term limits for Congress should be the first step.
This is like asking if I would rather be shot or hung.
Either way, I’m dead.
What is needed is REFORM of the industry. I really don’t want the government deciding my health care, however, corporations are ONLY interested in PROFIT and that is not a good thing for my health either.
False Dilemma. I support the idea of medical savings accounts.
private insureers. 1st of all t is illegal now for a prvate insurer to reject you for a pre existing condition, so big Obama lie. 2nnd. there is an appearl process for private institutions and or even legal recourse. A govt run plan their will be no appeal nor can you sue the govt. So if your mother is 85 and needs a pace maker, the govt mayso no as she is too old, and just let her die. Don’t think that this cannot happen.
The government would be better at managing health care. Look at the healthcare provided by the VA. It is rated the highest, even above any private healthcare provider in the U.S. The patient satisfaction rate is over 90%. And–they do it for about 2/3rds the cost of private health care providers. Nuff said.
btw, the next time you hear a “scare tactic” commercial or political rant about govt. healthcare being bad, consider the source. All of those talking points are taken from Lewin Group studies. The Lewin Group is owned by United Healthcare–one of the biggest insurance co.s in America. Geez!! Think there might be a connection??
gee, the neocons always say we have the finest fighting military in the world and THEY (the military) are certainly government run. And the neocons have said boy george was a great president and he certainly controlled much of the government bureaucracy, but now, of course, all that has changed and now—all of a sudden—the government is once again ineptly evil. How quaint. I like anything that gives me a greater choice in choosing my health care and i fear not any government bureaucrat.
Why is it that so many see the only two options as either the status quo or MORE government? Wouldn’t it be much better to manage your OWN health care?
BTW, enough with the preexisting conditions BS. Coverage of preexisting conditions makes a mockery of the entire concept of insurance. Insurance is purchased to cover unexpected expenses. You don’t purchase auto-insurance to cover oil changes, and you certainly cannot purchase it from the site of a car wreck.
If preexistingting conditions are covered, why would ANYBODY ever bother with paying premiums until they are actually sick?
Tribecca – People profit off fulfilling our food needs, our housing needs, and our clothing needs. How is that different? You say that citizens can exert an influence, but how is it that you fail to realize that customers can exert influence as well?
I’m not sure what to think either. Our current system sucks and is getting worse, yet I don’t really trust our government to do it right. If this was Germany or Taiwan I might trust gov run healthcare, but here in the US? It would just turn into a pork-fueled mess. Doesn’t matter if it’s the Dems, Repubs, or a bipartisan coalition, I still don’t trust them.
But I’m still hopeful that some kind of improvement can still be worked out. I would be happy at least if some of the regulations for pre-existing conditions were changed, and some realistic method for cost containment enacted, along with some efforts to make healthcare affordable to everyone. At least it would be a step in the right direction.
No where in Obamas plan will you find any mention of any Government management of health care. You also will not find it in what has been agreed on in the House version. There is a “co-op” management mention but that’s “not for profit” and NOT run by the government. What i like about Obamas plan is that if you have health care and like what you have you keep it. All on Medicare, about 80 million will keep that. All Government employees who have great health care will keep that. The Government is the nations largest employer. You effort to ad what is not there will fail.