Republicans Badly Outmaneuvered On Universal Health

[Danno3314]

Originally Posted by Houston3

You really don't know to much about what all is involved in running a hospital do you?

You're referring to the cost? Well there's a problem there.....at one time they were run mostly by charitable organizations and there was no need for insurance because medical bills were affordable....for the same reason, since profitability wasn't a factor, the quality of care given was not an issue either. My father got in a car accident in the early 40's....he broke both legs and an arm. He had to stay in traction throughout his entire recovery so that his leg would heal properly (it broke again as soon as they let him try to walk on it) so, he ended up confined to a hospital bed for 6 months. My grandfather was an immigrant from Italy that work at Mac trucks hardening transmission gears (by no means a wealthy man). When it came time to pay the bill he was able to pay for it with cash....that's how affordable staying in the hospital for 6 months was at one time. Now I realize technology was primitive then compared to now and legal matters didn't exist like today but, considering the fact that we're talking about 6 months and not a week or two, something has gotten way out of proportion.

Now for where the problem comes into play today....with the price of the technology, hospitals are mostly non-profit organizations or for profit corporations today....either way both are concerned with profit. To explain why, go here:

EzraKlein Archive | The American Prospect

The bottom line is hospitals don't compete for business the way just about any other business has to....they don't have to convince a patient to do business with them....they don't have to appeal to a consumer. That should help when it comes to quality (so that maximizing profit doesn't interfere with quality) but, there's got to be some kind of middle ground so that the cost for services provided has some kind of competition to answer to.

[bouncing]

Originally Posted by JeffreySH

And what are all the great solutions to healthcare the Democrats have offered?


By the way, do you all REALLY think that turning American healthcare into a giant VA Hospital is the way to go?

I'll admit that I don't know what the solutions are, and that American healthcare is out of balance right now, but let's stop being stupid about it.

Also, people like the author of the OP link need to start being HONEST and talk about 50 million Americans without PRIVATE health insurance. Of those 50 million, I'd venture a guess that the vast majority are on MA, etc. - so they really DO have health care coverage. It's just that they're not paying for it.

The VA system is a lot more like the HMO system most of us get. I would propose a more market-driven solution like the one Canada has, where hospitals and doctors compete for patients in the free market.

As for your "guess" -- no, you're dead wrong. Pun intended:

NCHC | Facts About Healthcare - Health Insurance Coverage (http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml - broken link)

Many of them can't get health insurance because they have pre-existing conditions.

[mackinac81]

There is no "health care crisis", just a way to pay for it. You people make it sound as if there are no Doctors out there.

It you want a UHC system so bad, go and spend a day or two at a VA hospital.

It may give you an idea of what you may get.

Leave the system alone and find away to fund it for those that can't afford it..

You may open up a big bag of worms if you aren't careful.

I didn't say I supported UHC (at least, Canadian/UK style) but you can't deny that some serious tweaking is in order. My friend was denying that there was any need to even tweak the system.