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But if, as you claim (and I don't buy by the way) health care is already available to all - what is happening with illegals now?
I don't think that a tiny proportion of the residents of the country can sway the argument one way or the other frankly.
Can someone explain why on earth setting up a universal health care system would cost trillions of dollars?
I can understand that there will be a huge start up cost, but I sincerely doubt that it will make the cash spent on the Iraq war look like peanuts!
Also isn't the long term cost something that should be taken into account? If people start going to the doctor more, and earlier, there should be a shift towards preventative medicine over here too, leading to a much healthier population and therefor cheaper health care.
B) The size of their countries (geographically) are much smaller
Etc
Ok, I can understand what you are saying here. I am sure that the size and population of the USA will pose some unique challenges.
The USA is one of the richest, most advanced countries on earth. I do not think providing its citizens with health care should be beyond its capabilities.
The country manages to run an army, school systems, fire brigades, etc, etc.
Ah, of course you're right - Liberals and dastardly Democrats all love paying more in taxes.: )
This is the lamest argument yet.
English taxes are not much worse (if at all) than American taxes when you take property tax and health insurance premiums into account.
Plus care is aimed more at preventative medicine so as a whole health care costs a lot less than here, and people are much healthier.
I say again: the POOREST people of Britain are healthier than the RICHEST Americans.
That is astounding, it really is.
And why is this the case? Because the health care is preventative. That is key. You get your tests done quickly and people are not afraid to go to the doctor.
No-one wants to pay more taxes, but here's another liberal idea; take some of the BILLIONS of dollars being thrown away in Iraq and spend it on the citizens of America.
Liberals and democrats want to take more taxes from the people who have money and somehow feel some sense of entitlement to things they never earned in the first place. This is there MO and is clear on every single issue they stand for.
The poorest people of Britian are healthier than the wealthiest Americans. That's bloody rubbish. Only because of lifestyle choice, that's it.
Where in the world do you come up with this stuff?
Can someone explain why on earth setting up a universal health care system would cost trillions of dollars?
I can understand that there will be a huge start up cost, but I sincerely doubt that it will make the cash spent on the Iraq war look like peanuts!
First, we are talking about setting up a program for some 350 million people.
Second, inasmuch as a government program would essentially do away with the private insurance companies, under United States law, those companies may have to be compensated, by the government under the concept of Eminent Domain.
Next, depending upon how such a UHI program is setup, if the existing Hospitals, throughout the entire country, are going to be converted to government run / owned facilities, those hospitals - totaling in the 1000's, would have to be purchased at market value and compensation for lost profits paid. And, we are talking about the establishment of a program in 50 states plus United States territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, USVI and so on.
And the above is only the beginning of the costs.
Then, there is the establishment of the administration of collection of the revenue necessary for a UHI program - a whole new bureaucracy of our government -
Then, there is the issue of the Doctors and the negotiations’ with each and every doctor as to how much they will be paid for various procedures. While this is already done with Medicare now, many Doctors are refusing to take Medicare patients because of the very low re-imbursement rates. This could prove to be a major obstacle with a UHI program.
And there is more but, I think you can get the idea -
Just how expensive is it in other countries for middle income wage earners? In the U.S. 12% (no socialized health care systems), Canada is almost doubled at 22%, the UK is more than doubled at 27%, and France is more than tripled at 41%. Having someone else pay for your health care? Priceless... someone is paying and that someone is the middle class...
and also we have more illness within the population... taxes would be astronomical... that's why NO candidate (not even democrats) proposes a true socialized health care... what democrats are proposing is mandating everyone to buy health care insurance. Who does this affect? The uninsured... are forced to buy now. Here they are cheering for it.. the sheep... insurance companies stand to make record profits if democrats are elected...
Government: will ensure that health insurance is always affordable and never a crushing burden on any family and will implement reforms to improve quality and lower cost.
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