“Physician health thyself” Luke 4:23
For all of those out there who have cried socialism at the prospect of healthcare reform, here’s a little more information on how the current free market system is serving Americans.
The American Journal of Medicine recently published a study which documents that 62% of ALL the bankruptcies in 2007 were attributed to medical problems. Not job loss. Not home foreclosure. Not irresponsible speculation or drug addiction. These were people who got sick, needed care, in most cases had insurance, and still couldn’t pay the bills.
Also the rate of bankruptcies due to medical costs rose 50% during the Bush administration.
This is all the more disturbing because the data came from a period before the current financial collapse.
This wasn’t just poor people either. These were middle class families who exhausted their life savings trying to pay their bills.
There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where hard working people can’t afford to fall ill.
That’s why the government has to step in to provide at least some baseline level of affordable coverage which doesn’t bankrupt individuals or businesses. You can call it whatever you want, but it is clear that those countries who are making this investment have lower healthcare costs per citizen, healthier populations, more financially secure citizens, and more profitable businesses.
As we’ve seen with the recent financial collapse, the free market system is not the answer in all circumstances. Healthcare is just another example. Kudos to the Obama adminstration for recognizing that the key to our recovery is dramatic change in the way healthcare is delivered in this country.
#1 why does everyone from opther parts of the world come here for medical proceedures when they can afford to.
#2 are you prepared to get in line for several weeks to get a proceedure such as an MRI?
#3 what will happen when “they” decide a proceedure you want/need is not in the best interests of “costs”
#4 have you boned up on the game “life boat”
sorry I like my choices
Keith,
Everyone isn’t coming to this country. It’s too expensive. They are going elsewhere as are people from this country. Here’s a link with more detail – http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/125/medical-leave.html
As far as rationing is concerned, try getting an MRI if you are poor.
“They” decide your healthcare today. You insurance plan dictates the physicians you can use, the time that physician can spend with you, and how much those procedures should cost. You end up paying for stuff without having any idea of what it costs or why it was ordered for you.
All but the wealthy in this country are one catestrophic medical episode away from bankruptcy.
You are living in the past my friend and consuming the koolaide of the folks who don’t want this system to change.
A young man from my office is currently in a coma in the intensive care unit of the University of Ann Arbor hospital. He is in quarenteen because the physicians don’t know what he has, but he exhibited flu-like symptoms that over the course of a couple of days became a severe resperatory infection. He has a wife and small children.
We took up a collection for him to help cover the anticipated short-fall of what our insurance plan won’t cover. I work for a $1.5B company with a good insurance plan. The couple of thousand dollars that we raised won’t even come close. We all are praying for his recovery, but from a financial perspective it would be better than he pass on in the next few weeks rather than linger for months because at least his life insurance policy will cover his bills and not leave his family in debt.
If they had taken him to the emergency room in Windsor right across the river in Canada, he would be receiving the same quality of care, but all he and his family would have to think about was his recovery because there would be no financial risk.
Unless you are a wealthy man, you don’t have the choices that you think you do.
Hey Jeff,
I did say people who can afford to come to this country.
Good friend in Canada hurt his knee in late Feb. he is still waiting for his MRI. My nephew hurt his shoulder on Feb 1st of this past year and he got an MRI on Feb 2nd…His mother has “normal” insurance.
Another nephew hurt his anckle yesterday, he got an MRI last night.
Would you rather be here or Canada if you are my nephews?
Your example above is tragic and true, we hear these stories all the time.
In Canada my very middle of the road wage earning friend takes home 47% of his pay. This is mostly due to “free medical care,” which they can’t always atain. They only attain what the system allows.
You want to reduce everyone to the least common denominator. If everyone can’t have something then it “isn’t fair.” How do you insure 48,000,000, I personally don’t believe that number, Americans with out you and I paying more. How do you like this idea of your heath care being TAXED to pay for others care. And by care I mostly mean the gov’t system and jobs created to oversee the program. NO THANKS MY GOOD FRIEND.
Rather lets tackle the outragous legal problems which had driven this mess.
I want my MRI and I want it NOW!!!!!!!! If I want foot surgery because I want to be able to jog pain free, then I WANT FOOT SURGERY NOW!!!!! I don’t want someone deciding if it should be provided for me or not.
NATIONAL HEATH CARE = RATIONING.
Keith,
Nice rhetoric. No facts. Which seems to be the case in many of our discussions.
So I beat you down with facts and then our discussion about the issue ends.
So here are some more facts
1. The US has the most expensive healthcare system in the world.
2. The US has the worst access to healthcare of any industrialized country in the world. South Africa and the US are the only industrialized country that do not provide healthcare for all citizens.
3. The US ranks 26th amoung industrialized countries in infant mortality.
4. The US ranks 24th in life expectancy. Amoung industrialized countries only Denmark ranked lower (28th).
5. The US is last in equitable distribution of healthcare spending
6. The US is 15th in attainment (modernization), but 37th in performance.
What this says is that most of the industrialized world is doing a better job with less money than we are. “Better job” by the way, means that more of their babies grow up to be adults. More of their adults live longer healthier lives. And over the course of those lives less money is spent on healthier living than we are able to achieve in this country.
This isn’t about rationing. This isn’t about taxation. This is about results.
The fact that your healthcare is just fine thankyou doesn’t cut it. Whether you like it or not, the rates that you and your employer pays INCLUDE what it costs to care for the uninsured. The fact that we choose to care for them in emergency rooms and clinics just raises the cost that you pay when you go to get your “on demand foot surgery”.
This is about results. The facts show that we are the only government in the world saddled with this sytem and it isn’t delivering results.
So you can howl against the wind as much as you would like, but the facts still stand. The rest of the world is out competing us because they have figured out what works and folks like you are unwilling to consider that there might be a better way.
If you can come up with references and facts from credible sources (please no Fox News) that present a different point of view, we can talk more.
Nice try but “beat down?” “no facts” “discussion ends.” Where to start…but nowhere since, I’m beat, with no facts, and nothing to say!!! (You once sited as a support for your agruement the losing attorny in the gore vs bush case….i think i referred to that as those you went into the losing locker room and asked the kicker who missed that last field goal weather it was good or not. nice try Jeff….but beat down???? You didn’t even come close on that one.)
Now you don’t want Fox included in the debate. I don’t watch them much, only on sunday morning at 9:00. Your media and publications are represented by all the rest. typical leftest, framing the languge and the debate….dems cant and won’t debate on fox,….but only on friendly networks…reb’s go everywhere……….why????????
Some of my comments come from principle or a premise, i.e. our homesexual agruements which I present the bible and you call it an inturpartation.
Taxes? I present the FACT that very few pay taxes but those very few pay most of all ALL TAXES….I only site this as your side of the ball only can call on the rich to “pay their fair share.” you made made comments “based in fact” but refused my premise of it being unfair to say the rich aren’t paying “their fair share.”
Abortion? Its a choice made over 45,000,000 times sucessfully and the murder of doctors 5 times if I’m correct. Your parcing of the time a life becomes a life can’t even be addressed by me, Maybe that isn’t correct on my part but LIFE begins at LIFE… When is that? I say when the egg is fertilized. You claim to not know the time life becomes life so you can’t say for sure weather I’m right or wrong. Since no one knows, according to you, how can I possible respond with FACTS????? You’ve admitted no one knows.
Life is simple and so are life’s answers…..they only become difficult when we want another answer or outcome. The bible to me is the “inerrent word of God.” I trust it for lifes answers. Therefore Gen 1:1 “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” part is simple to me. For everyone this requires an answer, as in did he? Is He the “creator of the heavens and the earth?” If so the rest of the bible just follows. If not then none of the rest follows. Jeff the question is a question of faith. There is no proof that “God created the heavens and the earth.” So others will come up with other things. I however believe it. And because of that I believe in a lot of things….That God created life….and this through a natural process. As soon as we interrupt with the “natrual process” then we have gone astray.
I’ll proved fact when fact is required. Life is a beliefs system. I believe universal health is not the business gov’t needs to be involved in. simple as that.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/202875
Here’s openness and I don’t blame him…….please be consitant in your critique of the Bush administration by continuing it for the Obama….
http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2009/20090625043708.aspx
Here’s the one of the many problems……….no one can explain it. I find the ending of this articule very “telling.” It basicly says “just let us do this and don’t ask questions, if you want national health care then that’s the only way its going to get done.”
And just like Al Gore”s “the debate is over” statement on global warming, it appears large librial idea’s are all the same…..no debate will be allowed trust us.
No oppsiting veiw allowed, the one guy who might have had an opposing veiw was not allowed a question but HE was questioned by the host then Obama was allowed to respond to his answer. Is this different then a dictatorship? (I am not suggesting that but comparing it as this is the way a dictatorship would do this)
Jeff,
Still wanna talk, I’m sorry, “carry on a dialog” with Iran?
I don’t mean that sarcasticly.