Comments on: Should the US have Socialized Medicine?

By: Levrye

Levrye — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:52:30 +0000

I just got done reading all of your comments and I am very intrigued about them. First of all “sherry” here is a very upset person obviously but I bet that she will not respond to all the things that George Bush has done to this country to drag it into the ground. But I think that the big thing is the fact that we cant do anything about the health care plan it was just voted in so that’s that and stop pissing about it and just shut up. Us democrats had to sit around and wait for 8 dang years to finally get somebody into office who is going to change this country, so now it is our turn to have a smile on our face and watch you frown. But in all goodness we should be looking at the fact that the economy is a crap hole right now due to the fact that we Americans would rather save a buck or two then spend our money on quality goods made in America. Allot of people are pissing and moaning about problems like the econ, and the price of gas but here they go and watch them walk right into walmart and buy crap that was made by other countries and then walk out only for the goods to fall apart in the next 3 to 7 months. The sad thing is we are throwing more and more money into countries that have the most dependency on foreign oil. Look at Japan people!! they import all of their crud oil and then turn it into gas, they don’t have any natural resources for there factories. So we our double messing ourselves up by buying foreign and then watch the economy go down and the price of gas to go up.

By: Sherry

Sherry — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:54:53 +0000

You are all unbelievable! Socialized medicine. Try checking out other countries and see how they handle. Oh, and don’t go to the normal news media to get the truth – go to other sources. They will tell you that people are dying prematurely because they have to wait so long to get an appt, OR, they are REFUSED the drugs they need to live longer. Are you saying you have more of a right to live than I do? Socialized medicine is an oxymoron. It has everything to do with our US Constitution. TRY READING IT!!! The 5000 Year Leap is a good book to start with. And, don’t give me that crap about times have changed so the constitutional points don’t count. That is just plain OBAMA-like. This president is a Marxist who wants to rule you with a sickle and hammer. You want that just for healthcare? This country is a capitalist country. You change it to anything else and you can kiss everything your own, goodbye! RE-DISTRIBUTE THE WEALTH. I will just take your 52″ TV because I don’t have one and you don’t deserve it. How do you like that? YOU’D BETTER BE AFRAID
*****VERY AFRAID *** OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION. They are a REGIME and mark my words, life as you know it is GONE and will suffer worse if you allow government to run anything else that is capitalist and private. Competition is what this country works best on. With ObamaCare, there will be none. Now, figure it out. Even paying out of pocket, will be illegal. READ THE CONSTITUTION and then come back here and tell me you want it or Obama.

By: Llama Money

Llama Money — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:03:06 +0000

Good point Sean. Is there a valid reason that surgeons make salaries well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars? Does a surgeon perform better because he makes $600k per year, than one who makes $100k per year would?

Maybe we need to take a long, hard look at doctor’s salaries.

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:42:58 +0000

The biggest problem with the American health care system is the high cost. If there were a way to reduce the cost of administering health care that would be a place to start and go from there. Universal health care is not the solution, increased taxes and decrease in quality.

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:36:45 +0000

LAL – I’m having a tough time believing that $14K figure for an “average” family to carry health insurance, unless you’re speaking of only those folks who are carrying individual policies, and who have experienced significant health challenges in the past. There’s a huge range in types of health coverage and, consequently, premiums available to people.
I feel that there are, indeed, some problems with the system as it stands, but I’m not sure that they need a wholesale change to a socialized, single-payer system. I’ve seen some good things done with private/public partnerships to provide health insurance.

The issues of substandard care are actually a totally different question – not tied into the problem of paying for health care. Cheap providers, such as student health services, can provide either very good care or very poor care, depending on the quality and workload of the professionals at that facility. More costly providers, such as private hospitals, do not necessarily provide a higher quality of care. Again, it’s an issue of performance. Some sort of ratings system for providers might be established, which consumers could consult on the web, or through a subsidiary of the BBB.

By: Llama Money

Llama Money — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:59:46 +0000

Well I’m not convinced that it will lower out of pocket costs across the board. Ultimately the hospitals will need to get (roughly) the same amount of money that they get today. Whether that comes from health insurance premiums and co-pays, or money from the government ( funded through higher taxes ), it still has to come from somewhere.

The question becomes, I guess, will the increase in taxes be *less* than the current health insurance premiums & copays? I’d imagine it would be different for every person/ family… but the bulk of the burden would fall upon taxpayers who actually pay taxes ( i.e. not those who make so little that they pay barely / no taxes at all ). Since I’m in that bracket, I have a feeling that I would take a beating. Plus, with the governement running things….. how inefficient could it get? The US Government isn’t a model of efficiency in most areas.

By: LAL

LAL — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:53:03 +0000

You realize that it would actually lower the cost in the US right? That people are paying $14k/year to insure their families on average and with a median salary of $48k that’s about 33%?

http://www.livingalmostlarge.com/2008/09/10/health-care-reform/

I think people think “oh my taxes will go up”. Yes they will but you won’t be paying monthly premiums.