In your opinion, what would be the best solution to America’s health care problems?
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Question: I watched the movie sicko yesterday by micheal moore and I was astonished! I couldn’t believe that people in other countries recieve free health insurance. I believe that American health care can’t change over night but in my opinion I would like to see America have free health insurance to anyone who needs it but if you have a certain health insurance carrier your happy with then you should be able to stay with that. I know that my father who has owned his own business for 25 years pays over $1000/month for his and my mother health insurance because they are small business owners and they can’t get a group rate as their business doesn’t employ more than 20 people. As far as my husband and I go (and I didn’t know this until yesterday) his company pays $950 a month for our insurance and he only pays $230 out of pocket plus copays. I have heard such bad things about universal health care but actually seeing how it is in other countries it really opened my eyes! At one busy hospital and I believe that it was in England people were only waiting in the ER for about 30 minutes. Here in ny your there for hours waiting. So I think that our health care system really needs to be updated and I do realize it will not happen over night. In your opinion, what would be the best solution?
I would rather see the government put 30 M into health care for people who don’t have it and don’t qualify than 30 M into GM so that they can control it.
13 Comments
January 5th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Keep in mind that Michael Moore is a pretty bright guy and filmed that movie in a Biased way.
The main problem with America is that our congress likes to spen our money on foreign affairs, wasteful programs and huge pay raises for themselves. If we got rid of what I just said we would have PLENTY of money for health care. Because so many in congress love the idea of tax and spend, it will always be this way.
January 5th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
you have my vote… this country has allowed the balance of power to become so unbalanced…
January 5th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Free markets, private enterprise, and capitalism.
Don’t get taken in by Moore’s propaganda. He is a true America hater.
January 5th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
America does not have a health care problem . we have the best healthier in the world. we have a problem with people not wanting to PAY for it.
January 5th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Preventative care. That’s the best solution out there, but it’s one that no one is talking about because the medical industry doesn’t profit off of people who don’t need prescription drugs or expensive surgery.
January 5th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
They don’t get free health insurance at all.
They pay extremely high taxes to provide for the care and the care they receive isn’t very good which is why so many of their wealthy come here for their care.
I would improve our already excellent health care system by adopting “Loser Pays” court rules and by promoting health savings accounts to restore market forces to basic care.
January 5th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
if i were a conservative, i would say the solution is to abandon our citizenry to the tender mercies of the free market economy. if you feel your own life or the lives of your children are important enough, you’ll go out and get a job that has good health insurance benefits. if you don’t have a job that has outstanding health insurance, it’s just proof that you don’t care about your own family.
so speaks the conservative point of view.
January 5th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
Free enterprise is the problem with health insurance.It’s a vicious circle.Our problem now is two things.
1. The health providers are getting stuck with treating welfare recipients or anyone else that needs it for free.
2. Doctors and hospitals charge whatever they like and do unnecessary procedures to rip off health insurance and people.
I really don’t know what the answer is because it’s such a mess.I think the main place to start is by controlling American greed.I know a lot of people disagree with government invovement but the drug companies and the hospitals are ripping us off big time.Insurance companies just pass the buck to us because they can and they want to keep their high profit margin as do all other buinesses in this country.Free enterprise means (we the business owners can get together and decide what we want to charge and stick together on price increases and there is nothing you can do about it except pay.)
January 5th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
abolish frivolous lawsuits, adopt ‘the loser pays’ method when it comes to medical lawsuits. it would also be nice if people would stop using the ER to get treated for a cold or a hangnail.
and keep in mind, when you hear of countries i.e Norway, Sweden, etc..that have universal health care and their citizens are healthier and live longer than Americans, it is not due to the MEDICAL care they receive. it is due to their lifestyles. Scandinavians and many western European countries have very active citizens who ski, hike, bike, etc. their lifestyles are arguably healthier than many Americans but MEDICAL care…well, America has the best.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
They don’t get FREE health care! Taxpayers pay for it. They not only pay for their health care but everybody else, including people who don’t work.
What about people who rarely get sick and don’t have to go to the doctor very much. Guess what … they still have to pay for everyone else’s doctors visits. Is that FAIR??
The best solution to America’s health care problems is Americans should stop eating junk food, stop smoking, stop sitting on the couch at night watching TV, get out and ride bicycles, take walks, do exercises, eat fruits and vegetables. That would help out a LOT.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
I definitely believe that we should go to universal healthcare! My husband pays over $400 a month for insurance for the two of us, and when I went to the Doctor for a UTI a few weeks ago the damm insurance paid $12 dollars and I had to pay $96!!!
One of the main arguments against universal healthcare is that “I don’t want to pay for John Doe’s insurance!” but what many Americans don’t realize is that we already ARE paying for “John Doe’s” insurance! Families w/out insurance still go to the doctor, still get surgeries, still have babies, etc. And you know what? When they can’t foot the bill the hospital has to absorb it, and then it raises the costs for everyone. Plus our taxes go to help Medicade and Medicare, which doesn’t pay for me-but it paid for my teen sister-in-law’s pregnancy. So, I’d much rather pay $400 a month if I knew I’d get healthcare. As it is, I’m already paying a butt-load and I feel like I get screwed!
January 5th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
1 were the only country that get taxed for pharmucutical research. Our country pays for the entire worlds pharmuucitial research which makes our drugs cost more, that is why Canada is so much cheaper.
Our country protects our pharmucetical companies by not allowing us to buy from Canada. Funny we can buy anything from China, but can’t buy drugs from Canada. THis would make the drug companies have to charge other countries for that research tax, and create competition.
Insurance for doctors, nurses, etc. Goes up every year. A docotr at simple walk in clinic pay 15k a year in insurance, every year it goes up 15k to cover that year, and the year before. This never ends as long as the doctor works, he able to be sued from his first year.
on top of that Doctors are extra thurough because of law suits you come in for a head ache, there going to give you a MRI, just to make sure.. Even though they probably know, its just a head ache. So our doctors have to take extra steps even when someone comes in with a cold just to make sure they cover there foot prints, and be thurough. Other wise its wastes a lot of insurance money.
So get rid of the law suits and allow doctors to work.
Stop giving free medical care to illegal immigrants. Sounds harsh, but were paying millions of it through our own medical care.
Medicare is now allowed to negotiate prices. SO as long that occurs,
hospitals can charge medicare as much as they want, and they can’t deny paying it.
My point is, there is so much wasteful spending that can be cut, that would reduce health care by trillions nationally.
Do that first then discuss nationalized health care. If they nationalize health care in any way. Hospitals, and insurance companies will charge what they want..
I lived most of my life in a country with natinalized health care and it really sucked. Every time an election came by, we’d get knew hospital board memebers, and new policies, and new this, and that.
You said 30 million it would take billions on either side, and like I said if you dont cut the cost first, the cost will never be cut. Im not against helping the poor, like you said 1000 a month is a normal policy for a family, and I can afford it but I have employees with me paying half still cant afford it. I think our problem begins with cutting the cost so it is more affodable for everyone, and then see who cant afforfd it.
January 5th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
It has to be admitted that the health insurance is not free – just like the health insurance we have is not free. It’s just funded in a different way,
and the main benefit is that they cannot exclude anyone because of pre-existing conditions. All legal residents are covered. Your coverage is not tied to your employment or how sick you are.
Additionally, those systems are NOT perfect. They have their problems as does the US system. It’s just that they have different problems.
But, the opponents who want to play down the benefits of universal health care like to cherry pick the problems of the systems and various countries and make it seem as if they were the norm in all universal health systems.
In reality, you would never get the people who are covered by universal care to adopt a US style insurance system, even the ones who would be able to afford US style coverage, because of the risk you have when your circumstances change.
P.S. To Mr. Right Wing Radical – I’m willing to pay for health insurance – but because I had cancer several years ago, no insurer will sell me any – at any price. I did not bring this cancer on myself, – it wasn’t caused by any lifestyle decision – it’s just something that happened. They consider me uninsurable for anything, even things that are not related to the cancer. If I have even one serious illness it will bankrupt me.