Comments on: Obama's Secret Moves On Health Care

Marc Ambinder Provides A Behind-The-Scenes Look Into White House Maneuvering In The Health Care Debate

[cydygitt1]

Stop government by the corporations, for the corporations. Shoot a lobbyist, if you want affordable healthcare!

Posted by vista8635
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That is probably the most realistic approach to lowering health care costs in the U.S. and coverage of everyone for health care, by an OPEN SEASON on the GREEDY lobbyists that add absolutely nothing to our health care except higher costs and more propaganda!

[cydygitt1]

This is a complex problem but I honestly don't believe that government is the answer. Those clowns are already running the auto industry, banks, etc,etc.
Posted by xlib
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While this is truly a complex problem, I don't see YOU or any of the party of NO, offering real solutions or new ideas to solve those problems -- just more attacks on existing systems and making the comparison with Canada's 35th health care in the world vs. our 37th rated health care system. Why not compare it with the best rated health care systems in the world where human longevity is the highest and infant mortality is the lowest? Why not take the best parts out of the best rated health care systems in the world to model a new health care system for the U.S., since we already spend more than double per person that they all do, so why not use it more efficiently here in the U.S.?

Spending $2.5 Trillion or 18% of GDP on a bad system that just rewards for-profit insurance companies by denying coverage and keeping 50 million Americans uninsured is completely ludicrous. Let's use that huge sum more wisely for better health care!

BTW, it has been said over and over again by the GOP bozos, that President Obama has nationalized the entire private sector, but in actuality, only 0.02% of the private sector has been somewhat nationalized, so the vast majority or 99.98% of all business in the U.S. is still in the private sector. Your fearmongering without facts is getting the best of you and your kind, and mostly falling on deaf ears.

[cydygitt1]

the underlying complaint here is that - It costs too much -
Well - Find out why health care costs are so high - follow the money - Where does all that money go? Once you find out that answer then the solution should be clear.

Posted by forrestlayne
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Some of us already know exactly where all the money goes -- and it is the unnecessary repetitive tests in 30% of the cases, unneeded administrative costs, excessive CEO pay and bonuses, and huge profits by the for-profit insurance company middlemen that provide NO health care at all -- just decisions made by lawyers working as claims supervisors.

Paying someone excessive money to make health care decisions is ridiculous, since they should be made by physicians and patients -- not insurance companies putting profits well ahead of patient's well being.

[cydygitt1]

So you are saying universal healthcare is FREE health care? Nobody has to pay for any healthcare? How is that possible - something for nothing?

Posted by forrestlayne
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NO! Apparently, reading comprehension is not your strong suit, since I never said anything even remotely resembling that silly remark!

I said that we already spend $2.5 Trillion or 18% of GDP on health care, more than double the rest of the industrialized world per person, so how is that FREE?

Why do you foxnewsus propagandus junkies keep repeating the same garbage?

We simply need to remove the decision making from the for-profit insurance companies and have the decisions made by physicians and patients.

[piperdoc]

Having been a physician in the military for 13 years, the military and government health care is cheaper because they ration care. Patients routinely wait 2 months for treatment to specialists The care is generally good, however many government physicians are not necessarily the hardest workers, due to the non-fee-for-service payment system (salary). The physician gets paid the same amount whether he or she sees 1 patient or 30 patients in a day. Additionally, government support staff are not always the hardest working lot, hard to fire due to union rules, arcane job transfer rules etc..I found this all very frustrating and I left the military medicine system when I had pain back my time in service for my training. I am now happily in private practice where I have better support so I can spend more time seeing patients and I am not left doing non-physician tasks that I did in the military, but had a hard time getting the support staff to do it well, so I ended up doing it myself. Any government plan will eventually end up as rationing care by politicians and unaccountable bureaucrats as it will be too expensive when it ends up being "free" and the patients do not see the real cost of healthcare. Private sector competition would be more effective just as the medicare drug plan has been - under projected budget - as the drug companies competed in this program.

[doctorhousecall]

Since i was not consulted, you will not find my name on your insurance card. Mr Lincoln freed the slaves. CBS reported it at the time. I don't have to treat you and you don't have to have me as your doctor. Free country.

I WILL be happy to be your doctor if you pay me directly. Visa, Master Card, American Express, cash check or PayPal are welcome. If you are my patient any thing of value will work. A dozen eggs, a chicken, anything.

Do not ask me to work for the government or an insurance company. I will not do it. I refuse to deal with universal ANYTHING. My liberty trumps your "rights".

[oldestee]

I'm glad you asked.
1. Coverage at lower cost to patients. All the federal government payers (VA, military, medicare, medicaid) provide coverage at lower costs because they are non-for profit and have less overhead costs. Having a competitive public plan will force private insurers to reduce their overhead and charge lower premiums if they wish to compete and stay in business.
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Do you think if Medicare and Medicaid ETC. were trying to make a profit or at least break even their costs would rise, AND THEY WOULD NOT BE GOING BROKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Their will be no competition the GUBMENT idea is control and they have limitless resources to drive the privates out of business!!!!!!!! If it was not control why do they not allow now the deduction and refunds of private purchased insurance on the income tax(it is currentiy limited to itemizers and then only the amount over 71/2%) think of the COMPETITION for the business!!!!!!! Similar to the EIC!!!!!!

[joule18]

The people in our government do not get socialized care, but care provided by private entities whose price for such care in negotiated and whose business is competed for.

Besides, we all know that any premium paid for government workers is well justified and paid by our taxes.

Perhaps we should be in collectives that do the same.

[nofoolling]

Author Of Torture Memos Can Be Sued

The above story is running right now on this site, but CBS isn't letting folks comment on it.

I wonder what they're afraid of?

Maybe 10,000 pages of negative posts lol.

[valwayne]

We know in Canada and Great Britain that the average person is paying 50% or more of their income in income taxes to support Government Health Care! In Obama's America we're headed there anyway! We also know that health care is severely rationed for old people. No sense wasting precious dollars and keeping people alive who are going to die soon anyway. Just like paying taxes is a patriotic duty in Obama's America, old people will have a duty to die if they get sick. We also know that if you need surgery or other critical expensive treatment the wait to see a specialist can be years, and getting treatment additional years. The plan of course is that many who need the most expensive treatment will just die before the Government has to provide it. In Canada if you are scheduled for treatment in the fall you stand a good chance the program will run our of money in the fall and you'll have to wait for new budgets in the following year. However, despite all of that Obamacare may be the way to go. At the rate he is destroying our economy and unemployment is rising we may all be out of work and Obamacare will be better than nothing. Welcome to Obama's America......see Zimbabwe!