We might get health-care for everybody,,, but you have to die in line... Government do not have incentives to be efficient... Good luck with Universal Healthcare,,, I waited 4 weeks for MRI and 43 weeks for a neurologist... and this is Universal Healthcare from Norway,, what a disaster.
@GiftOfLiberty of course I mean here in Australia we have a lower crime rate, better education system, better healthcare, effective government, longer lifespans. Of course the US is better oh and I forgot our currency is worth more as well. Yes I know this is a 2 year old comment but this has to be said.
As a health care professional, and from what I've heard of regarding the Canadian system, I'm concerned about quality of care, waiting for care, and too much government control vs. physician-guided care. I'm voting for McCain, but it seems that the shit is going to hit the fan.
The only things that screw it up is bad leadership and massive funding cuts. (Both of which are related and we have currently. Even though it's still decent.)
Timewarp. In a recent poll 59% of US doctors want universal single payer health care. HMO's are keeping them from treating their patients. Nothing is covered by insurance unless the HMO approves it. Doctors do not even have a say in our system.
Timewarp indeed! I see you are only 17 and live in the US. We have been told for decades the French are going bankrupt! England has had single payer universal health care since the 1940's and it is so popular it is political suicide for any politician to threaten any change!
In the US HMO's decide what doctors can and can not do. Health care is rationed by HMO's here. If you don't have insurance you rationed completely out of health care.
Obama's plan is the only one that makes sense. Children are the only one's who should be granted a government funded healthcare system. There is absolutely no reason why employed adults should be made to pay into an inefficient government run monstrosity. It's our money, not theirs! You all realize under socialized healthcare Dr's cannot choose where they want to work. If their are to many in one area, some bureaucrat will redistribute them in order to equalize the amounts in different regions.
Only Dennis Kucinich advocates single payer, not for profit, universal health care.
We must get the for profit insurance industry out of health care to make it affordable.
Kucinich was only allowed a few seconds at the end of this exchange to state his ideas, and was never allowed to lay it all out and defend the attacks on his proposals.
Now only Ralph Nader is talking about not for profit universal health care.
Clinton and Obama both support for profit health care.
Do you have to be an economic illiterate to be on the Left? Health insurance companies help individuals so much that they actually make a profit!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHH.
If people don't like the insurance companies they'll stop using them. It is not the government roll to be our momy's. The government does not know what is best for me. And it doesn't have the power to do so. Read the constitution please.
Only Dennis Kucinich advocates single payer, not for profit, universal health care.
We must get the for profit insurance industry out of health care to make it affordable.
Kucinich was only allowed a few seconds at the end of this exchange to state his ideas, and was never allowed to lay it all out and defend the attacks on his proposals.
Now only Ralph Nader is talking about not for profit universal health care.
Clinton and Obama both support for profit health care.
Every industrialised nation in the world, except the USA, has single payer (government run) universal health care which provides free health care (no bills, co pays, deductibles)for every citizen.
The only way to provide affordable universal health care is to exclude the for-profit-insurance companies from health care!
That is Dennis Kucinich's plan and he was not allowed to lay it out here, he was only given a few seconds then cut off.
You'd sacrifice quality for universality? People wait in line for ours in Western Europe and Canada. Their medical facilities lack equipment, and resources. They're going bankrupt! The French are actually beginning to privatize healthcare. The only reason they have it in Europe is because after world war two, those countries were destroyed. There could not be a free market system, because there were no markets! They turned to nationalization out of necessity. We have no such necessity.
Ppl want govt to run healthcare? FDR (dem) started Social Sec (SS) & made 5 promises which have all been broken. Who took SS from a trust fund to a general fund so congress could spend it? -- Democrats. And the dems were in control of congress. Who started giving annuity pymts to immigrants who paid nothing? - Carter (dem) . Who eliminated the tax deduction for SS? -- Democrats. Who started taxing SS annuities? -- you guessed it, the Democrats w/Gore casting the deciding tie-breaker vote.
Would you rather big business do it? Yeah why not, right? They're already doing a great job as it is:
As a global superpower we have one of the worst ranked healthcare systems in the world and the majority of Americans who file for bankruptcy on a yearly basis do so because they can't afford healthcare insurance.
You can't justify your opposition of universal healthcare by calling it the product of the Democratic party. That's exactly the kind of partisanship that has made Washington the shithole it is today.
I am for healthcare 'reform'....not UHC. I can see it now; as soon as govt is in control of healthcare, the next thing is mandating a healthy lifestyle. Goodbye Big Macs...hello Tofu burgers
ytd:"the next thing is mandating a healthy lifestyle."
California just passed a law that makes it illegal to smoke in your car. Canada has the same laws preventing truckers from smoking because it is considered a workplace.
California also imposed a new law requiring a thermostat that reports your energy usage to the Gov, and lets them override your use.
WeedaPeople, actually, the thermostat thing was a proposal, not a law, let alone an imposed one. Moreover, it was shelved very soon after it went public.
The proposal (I read it was a law passed...maybe they retracted the law as unconstitutional) was to pass a law giving Govenment power over your heat and air conditioning.
This is where the Government oversteps it's authority over the control of our lives.
Government is there to assist and to regulate, not to operate or control.
Free Market. The government shouldn't have a role in the economy, or at least they should have a very small role...that role...stop fraud...that is their one and only job. Also, the government played the biggest role in the depression and the severity of it. Ever heard of the Federal Reserve? Yep...read the book "Whatever Happened To Penny Candy?" By: Richard J. Maybury. It explains how bad big government is and how it started or triggered the depression.
Free market can fix anything. The government burdens people all the time...that is why "so many" people become poor. That is how all the liberals get their arguments, they raise taxes, they hurt people, they become poor and then those dumb liberals say..."hey look, the free market failed, we need more government to fix it" even though it was big government that messed it up in the first place. Government caused the great depression.
lol...no, that's not right Stalin. It's when you get off topic and are constantly attacking me and leaving rude or disrespectful comments, that's when I will block people like you stalin...thanks though!
You came to YouTube telling everyone else how to think. I explained to you that there are other views, some you are not going to like. We all have our right to them. You can tell people you want less Government, but then when you require Government intervention in a specific case, your credibility goes away.
Yes...I am acting like a child...lol. Look at you....you can't just get over it. you keep coming back and calling my adolph, lol. You keep on attacking me, yes I am the child, aren't I?
I had my appendix removed right after college, when I was making $400 a week and didn't have any kind of health insurance. My total costs added up to $19,000. In order to qualify for government assistance I had to be making less than $700 a month. Now I'm in dept of over $85,000 including student loans. I'm at a huge disadvantage compared to others my age who have no dept whatsoever. This is why we need universal healthcare and free college education for those who qualify.
I'm right behind you! lol. People have forgotten what America is all about. They don't want to work hard. They don't want to work for themselves so here comes the government to the rescue with free health care! That's just a great way become socialist and then communists. Take from the rich and give to the poor! NO! Get people working for themselves and not for the government and not for other people. A lot of people choose NOT to have health care.
Liberals scare me...and look at the spam message. Somebody spamed ytdsmom for showing some facts about health care. They don't want to hear the truth! Liberals...they sicken me.
Not necessarily,..those 45 million are either feeling lucky, chancing it, prepared to pay full cost out of pocket, or too poor to pay the insurance premiums. Either way, they are out of the pool which others pay into.
Socialized healthcare doesn't mean it's free by any means. Monthly premiums are charged to everyone and you have to pay. This covers much, but not all the cost. The balance comes from taxes.
The bottomline is that it covers everyone and costs less.
Why should I pay for something I don't want to pay for and I don't get anything out of? Why can't I just worry about myself and my family? Why can't we all just provide for ourselves? I am forced to pay into those programs, I don't have a choice.
It's not correct to say that you don't get anything out of it. You get insurance for healthcare which you may only appreciate when the time comes that you need it. It could be minor or big, an injury due to accident, an unexpected illness or disease, or your children who need it. All of these things are not only possible, but happen to 'the other guy' daily.
Nobody 'wants' to pay for auto insurance but are required to, because of the serious consequences for everyone if you don't have it.
The constitution is the outline for the legislative branch and has very little to do with the executive.... And besides, there are way more people and way more troubles than at our country's founding. Maybe it's time for change
i dont want free health care. i dont need the hillary and the government taking more money from me than they already do. I dont need them to tell me which doctor to go to, and what vaccines or inoculations to take. this is unamerican. the Bush administration destroyed health care in the U.S. only so hillary and michael moore could be the "saviors" and trick everyone into this SCAM!!!!!!!
Everyone in this country is afraid of socialism. Socialism is not good because you don't want the government in control of everything, but do you know what it is called when private corporations have the most power(as they are starting to do now) its called fascism. We need to be somewhere in the middle where we have a free market but we also have some things that the government such as healthcare. The public school system is socialism, but nobody is afraid of that.
People have a choice to pay for private school, or home school. School is also locally funded, not Federally mandated. Schools do not make a person dependent on Government, heathcare would make you dependent on Government.
It's included in taxes are you serious, we have voting on wheter or not to raise or lower the school budget based on whether or not taxes are raised. Pravite school is privately funded but public school is payed for with taxes. That's socialism buddy. It's not a bad thing at times because we need school just like we need healthcare. Not everyone has money like you do. Stop being so selfish.
I am not being selfish at all. I do not want to see poor people, which I am not anymore, dependent on Government, so they can not rise above and get out of poverty, like I did.
I want everyone to have the same opportunities I had.
I know it's not going to be an easy thing to accomplish, but I strongly feel that the rewards out-weigh the expenses. I just want to see the government make an honest attempt at doing it and to have a compromise of several different ideas coming together to make this thing work.
You can't even get them to agree that Social Security is a problem, when we all know it is. How will you ever get them to compromise and get UHC? Even if you did, you are asking to be dependent on the lest dependable people in history.
I am by no means naive, I know how things work in this government, but that doesn't mean we should all be pessimistic about it. If you don't like the way things are, then we have the power to change things. Vote for someone better or run for office yourself. Theres a Winston Churchill quote where he says something along the lines of "democracy is the worse form of government, except for all the other forms." Government isnt easy.
My favorite democrat right now is obama and my favorite republican is ron paul. I like obama becuase he for the most part seems sincere in what he says he will try to accomplish and hes not like hilary who seems like she will do anything to win (including planting questions). And I like ron paul becuase represents what the republican party should be which is just small government and such, hes not a crazy neocon.
We have enough money in the country to do this, all we have to do is just move some money around. If we just move spending from one thing to another, then people in this country can have universal healthcare. Also, not for nothing, but just think about how much money we lose to corrupt polliticians, but healthcare is still something that should be sought and it is attainable.
We may have enough money now, but 1/3 of the population is about to retire and stop paying income taxes. Where is the money going to come from to sustain it? The truth is it is not sustainable, and will kill this country economically.
Bro the population is increasing. We don't need the baby boomers because we have so many more people now. My generation is the largest, just like the generation after mine will be larger than mine. The population increases with each generation we aren't going to run out of people.
You have to understand that people have no idea what Presidential powers are. These people can promise anything, but can not deliver on any of it, unless the Congress creates a bill that they can sign into law.
So they say they will do this...or that...and when it doesn't happen, they blame Congress.
Sometimes things are so outrageously proposed that the President can not possibly sign them.
This is a standard Congressional trick to blame the President for inaction. They make a ridiculous bill that is way too costly and then, when the President vetoes it, they say he doesn't care about (X).
I mean really...you have come here and tried to influence people who live by a different rule than you that your way is better, and for you it might be, but we do not want it, it is none of your affair, and you have no real busioness telling people how to live.
Please, you worry about all Canada's problems and let us figure things out for ourselves.
unfortunately the threat to the Cdn system is but an arm or tentacle from American interests. This comes from both insurance and medical corporate interests.
I am supporting the movement which is growing in the U.S. towards the system we have here, because of the direct connection and shared interest.
You feel that your intervention on our system, by selling Americans on your socialized system, will somehow keep your system from conversion to a private, insurance based system.
Yeah, good luck with that. You need to focus on your own system, influencing ours is not going to save yours.
==== Edwards or Kucinich .... KUCINICH has much better plan ... EDWARDS is murky not clear enough like he is hiding something .... -dEFinetly Dennis Kucinich For president 2008 ------
America is a very rich country but maybe its size dictates that smaller rich countries like Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg should have a better healthcare system. However figures were quoted in this video placing the USA outside the top 40 for infant mortality and life expectancy AND to finance huge profits you pay through the nose, more than any of the countries on this side of the Atlantic with better systems. If that's not a crisis it must be a close run thing.
People run to the docs for every little thing. They just see there little co-pay and think that some magic fairy takes care of the rest. ? docs about extra tests & generic drugs. You know they get kickbacks from the pharm. Companies. Also Moms, you don't have to take your kids to the doc for every runny nose. We are built with immune systems for a reason. These are just a few reasons for the rising cost of healthcare. Just remember nothing is FREE including "free health care".
don't give me that crap. you don't know what people "think". This country is ranking in the 40's. That's on the list of countries in the world. Children are dying. Listen to gravel on health care. Listen to Kucinich. The wealth is going to the top. Welath is being amassed as well was power in the hands of banks, insurance companies and corporations. Beyond Money. Power to change the world--not for the better. Socialize health care. Support taking care of people. It can be done!
It always comes back to evil corporations and the evil wealth that someone emasses. Take off the tinfoil hat for a moment. Kids die in car wrecks a lot more than from the healthcare system. So do we ban cars, or try to make them safer?
The system has flaws, but socialism has never been the answer to anything. Governments telling us who gets care and when is ridiculous. I do not want to have to go to a "Walter Reed" and wait for care.
If you think that is bad now, wait until people can go anytime at no immediate out of pocket cost to them. They will go to the Doctor for any little thing, because it apprears as if someone else is paying for it.
Make no mistake, I am not confused about it at all. I know it well and do not want it for myself. I am a disabled combat vet and I know how the US Government hands out healthcare.
Hypochondriacs, and people who do not care what the costs are will abuse it, driving costs up. People will still have to wait in lines like Canadians do. Don't tell me you don't wait, we already had this discussion and you admitted to waiting.
Again, fo your small population, Canadian UHC may be adequate for you Canadians, with the option of coming to the states when you have a real problem and do not want to wait, or feel you can get better care here and are willing to pay.
We have too many people, our US Government legacy of waste and inefficiency, not enough tax money, and a bad track record already in Government healthcare.
Exactly. Very good questions all. None of which has anything to do with healthcare, but it is a big part of the reasoning why I do not want the U.S.Government taking over healthcare. They do not do much right, and if they did healthcare, it too would be a disaster.
These same people who can't get anything right, are the exact people you want to turn over a multibillion dollar industry to, and hope they will do better with it than they have with everything else. That is like touching a stove a second time to see if it will burn you, after it already has.
Corporations are accountable to stockholders first and foremost. Thus the tacked-on profit to every insurance premium in addition to the cost of the administrative underwriting process, which does its very best to cover those least likely to need service and avoids those who will.
As shitty as your government may be, they at least face a higher degree of accountability.
I never said that Insurance companies are good in how they operate, but going the 100% wrong way in a fix (Fed) is not the answer.
Was Bill Clinton accountable for purjury? Did he lie under oath, in a court of law? Everyone knows he did, he admitted to it, yet saw no jail time, no conviction.
So, you still want to talk accountability with me?
I personally have little time for the constant witch-hunts that go on at a personal level for all stripes of political parties. It's often an excuse to avoid looking at the bigger, societal policy approach.
Nobel prize winner Al Gore, rides around in a jet. Does this mean his message is not sincere or substantive ?
George W. Bush used to do coke. Dick Cheney has close ties to Haliburton Inc.
This is not about a witch hunt, it is about Government accountability. You said there would be more, but experience tells us there will be a lot less. You brought the subject up, I am just replying with specific examples of why you are wrong.
Al Gore's message is not sincere. It is political posturing for the one thing you seem to hate: Profit.
Weeda, you've lost me there. Where is the financial profit for Al Gore?
And I do support free-enterprise, entrepenurialism. I practise it myself.
I don't believe in gouging, and believe it doesn't belong in healthcare and other essential services that can devastate peoples lives.
I also srongly believe the oil industry should be getting a windfall tax. The production cost for a barrel of oil is a fraction of what it's going for now.
Al Gore just won a Nobel Prize. He can charge thousands more now for speaking engagements, on top of what he already charges. He is raking in the "green" off his "green".
Do you honestly think he flys around the world on his private gas guzzler jet, and drives his block long limo cars, and warms and cools his acreage of mansion using greenpeace donations?
You said you did not get where profit comes in for Gore. I told you how he profits from his rhetoric, true or not, hyporcracy or not. It is in his financial interest to promote this global warming scare. He is getting more wealthy from doing so.
Ed Begley Jr. promotes the lifestyle and lives it. That I can respect. He does everything he can to live the green life. While I think he is way over the top, at least I have some respect for his walk the walk attitude.
ED Begley may be a better individual example, but Gore may increase more awareness.
The guy buried in the forest may be the best example, but does so in obscurity. Whether Gore's message is only a scare, or a substantive warning is debatable. We know the multi-billion dollar oil industry wishes to maintain the debate, delaying alternate fuels and would never concede that fossil-fuel burning contributes to the CO2/greenhouse gas effect.
Everything is a crisis. Global Warming. Healthcare. Darfur. Education. Prescription drugs. Abortion. Illegal Drugs. Prostitution. Gambling. The War on Terror.
All exaggerated to get peoples attention and the elusive panic funding needed. Congress can't pay everything attention at once, so the loudest squeaky wheel is going to get the grease.
Perjury, Compared to war dead, all countries, How on earth can you compare BILL CLINTON to the Bush atrocities? Yes he lied, But no one died from his lie about a sex act. The number of dead can not even be calculated from Bush lies.
Bill Clinton sent my friend to die in Bosnia. He was the first person to die there. Clinton sent others to do what he deemed unconsionable for himself. Do not sit there and tell me no one died. Better yet, why don't you tell that to my friend's widow.
you fucking liar, no us soldiers died in bosnia you liar, they were only sent their as peacekeepers, they didnt fire a single shot on the ground, your a liar
Do you just troll any video with health care with your market is god nonsense? Perhaps if you actually knew anything on the subject and not just crap fed to your from the right. you would see that government while imperfect is better because we have some measure of control over it. While companies we have none. quit giving anecdotes as evidence and quote something noteworthy.
There are a lot of people trying to convince the world there is a "crisis", so they can steer the country toward socialism. Acutal numbers show a few people are truly poor and without care, and those are the people we need to focus on. We do not need to react out of fear, we need to sit down, create a plan and fix the problem, not trade one problem for another.
True story. I know someone that had no insurance and a need for a double-lung transplant due to life-long lung disease. The need was met, at NO COST to this individual. All anti-rejection meds are provided at NO COST. the need was met not through philanthropy, but by existing programs. This person is 2 years out, and THRIVING. It's a beatiful country we were blessed with. BE THANKFUL! We need LAYWER REFORM, not healthcare reform. Edwards is part of the problem, not the solution.
Okay NDN...here is where I get a little frustrated with you. You question other peoples motives, but no one is supposed to question yours. Don't you think that a little hypocritical? Isn't what is good for you, good for everyone else? You have to play fair here with all the other kids.
I am not asking anymore. You explained to me sufficiently, but you did not like that people question you, but it is okay that you question them. That was all I was saying.
Think about what you said here though. Your system as you know it and appreciate it even for all it's flaws, is under attack. So is ours, and we do not like it anymore than you do.
We need look no further than to our neighbors to the North to see what a destructive effect results from socialized medicine, run by Government bureaucracy.
Americans will not stand in line 6 months to get a brain tumor removed. We do not have the patience for it. We also do not have 10 times the population sitting to our South with a bailout program should we need care immediately, that we can pay for with our own money.
This debate would be much less emotional if it was purely ideological, rather than true life and death.
There is no disputing the weakness of the Canadian system at times when waits for some services are too long. Much of the emphasis on this is anecdotal in nature and not surprisingly, seized upon by private, profit-motivated treatment interests.
Canadians wish to see wait-lists reduced by fixing the one-qeue system, not by creating a parallel 'for the wealthy' line.
andrew, it's great that we can tease each other, because in addition to being each others largest trading partners, we are also best friends. Right?
And as best friends, we share constructive advice, especially when it affects each other.
But seriously, when you look at what your enemies do, some constructive advice should be welcome. Would I be wrong in saying you're feeling a little defensive?
well, thank you for being civil, and i was teasing, however, it is my understanding that canada doesnt like the conservative movement in america and for the most part they are a socialist country. ill do more research to make sure, cause i dont want to say something and be wrong. why dont you clue me in to canada, politically i mean.
Sorry, I only have one lifetime. But, Canada is probably more like the U.S. than any other country in the world. So, there's a start.
We are a free-enterprise, capitalist economy, with the exceptions of the obvious public essential services such as police, fire, primary education, public transit and highways.
And a small portion of the population we have. We have more poor people than you have people. Giveing public services to everyone, when you have so few people is much easier. But you still have to wait in line for healthcare, and our lines would be much longer, and Americans would be much more impatient.
Removing profit is not the answer. We need full on market competition like in lasik surgery to drive prices down. The worst possible thing to remove is the profitability factor.
I gave this video based on the last 30 or so seconds of the clip. Let's give Obama, Clinton and Edwards all the time in the world, throw Richardson a bone and give Kucinich a lick. Kucinich in '08 'cause I don't vote for clowns.
The culture of Canada is greatly influenced by America's and for that reason Canadians have considerable interest in it.
The U.S. is currently experiencing some real economic difficulty and this will have a direct effect on Canada. We are each others largest trading partners.
John Stossel's ABC report was biased towards the status quo of the free market health system that now exists.
The fact that millions of dollars flow into the hands of ABC from advertising for pharmaceuticals and health insurance is reason alone to explain Stossel's position.
His report felt like an infomercial.
This may serve the interests of ABC and its funders but necessarily its viewers.
Have you noticed how television is constantly trying to sell you something?
I have noticed, but again, I saw no bias, and again, I will ask for you to go beyond how the report "Felt", and to adress specific biases. I saw none. He pretty much attacked our system as it is and says we need real change now. He showed two alternatives and the benefits of both and the downfalls of both.
American culture has not wiped out Canadian socialized medicine. If it does eventually, then your system was not strong enough to survive, and should go away.
Turning Healthcare into a Govenment responsibility will further exacerbate the economic problems. Is that what you want?
"The impression I am getting...a great deal of dissatisfaction...with the current system."
The impression you are getting is from a few people, who are trying to sell you something (To use your own words). Moore makes his movies and people dance like puppets on his strings.
Moore is trying to sell us a Democrat in the whitehouse (Like he did 4 years prior), by creating a "health crisis" that does not actually exist. He claims 1/6th of the population is poor and without healthcare. Real figures show about 2-3%, but it is all part of the sales pitch.
If Moore can create the impression of disaster, and place blame on the current administration, he can influence people to vote for change. Even if they do not understand what they are changing or why.
Or, his observations will be agreed with and vote for responsible responsiveness to the issue because of it.
Eighteen thousand people dying each year due to inability to receive treatment and over half of all personal bankruptcies being caused by unpayable medical bills does constitute a health crisis.
The need for change is recognized widely, including the full political spectrum not only Democrats.
In 2007, the U.S.A. is the only western-industrialized nation to not have UHC.
18,000 out of 301 million is so few people in the grand scheme of things. It is less than .001% of the population, and all of them can get treatment at ER's, so they do not have to die.
I agree that change is needed, but there is no "crisis". We do not have to panic and make bad choices for change sake.
Just because we are the only one without it, does not mean we need it. We do need to focus on the problems, but not throw out the whole system because of lie based panic.
Somebody tell me how a system that covers everyone and costs less would be a bad choice.
It certainly would be bad for the profiteering health insurance industry no longer needed or greatly reduced in need. It appears the billions involved there may seem more significant than the lives now lost or ruined due to bankruptcy.
And ER's cannot save the lives of individuals dying from terminal illness' that went untreated.
"Somebody tell me how a system that covers everyone and costs less would be a bad choice."
Okay: First, you do not know that the cost will be less overall. You know the cost to the individual (Those who do not pay taxes) will be less. Those who must carry the financial burden will see increases in cost. When people have free care, some will use it for every sneeze and every cough. Most will use it more, because they do not see an immediate cost. This drives the overall cost way up.
Second, the USA is not in good financial shape now, and if we do not bring in the added revenues to support a federally funded program, the care will suffer.
Third, you can not expect the federal government to be fiscally responsible. If they take control over healthcare, multiple levels of bureaucracy will keep the individual from treatment, like in VA hospitals.
We have to develop a viable plan. Not just make broad brush statements, go in a general direction and expect to work out the details later.
We have to try to keep the Government out of it as much as possible. Government regulation is fine, but Government run business is what we need to avoid at all cost.
Weeda, the U.S. government is already deeply involved in that it has handed the role of gate-keeper of medical services to corporate insurance interests. Thank Richard Nixon who okayed the HMO process.
This collusion works for business profit with outrageously high monthly premiums, unnecessary, cumbersome employer participation, and all too often denial of coverage the result.
Single-payer means that billing goes to a non-profit funding body (state government).
No offense to you, but you are Canadian. You do not experience the US Federal Government on a daily basis. You do not know that they waste more money before 9AM than most people waste all day. You do not understand about congressional budgeting and "magic money".
Until you know our systems and how we "work", you really should keep your opinions based in a system you understand.
You certainly have my sympathy and my entire purpose has been to share how a different approach works for not only Canada but many other countries. It is understandable that you would not want more of a bad thing, however, government is unavoidable, so what is needed is a house-cleaning and I wish you luck.
As I see it, your process allows politicians to be bought.
I just wonder how bad H/C has to get before fundamental restructuring takes place.
Government is only unavoidable to those who believe in total dependence on Government. If you truly believe that Government is NOT the answer, you have no trouble avoiding it.
Our process is different from yours, and that is why your healthcare will not work here. Fixing needs to be done, but not full on replacement.
So, I hope this explains how that at this time, there is a simultaneous momentum towards socialized medicine in the U.S., there is also a momentum of conservative nature here away from the social system Canadians have strongly demonstrated support for.
To use a now worn cliche, profit-driven health insurance is based on greed, not need.
We might get health-care for everybody,,, but you have to die in line... Government do not have incentives to be efficient... Good luck with Universal Healthcare,,, I waited 4 weeks for MRI and 43 weeks for a neurologist... and this is Universal Healthcare from Norway,, what a disaster.
bjarnet3 1 year ago
It doesn't matter. The United States Constitution is better than any shit that came out of Austrailia.
GiftOfLiberty 3 years ago
@GiftOfLiberty of course I mean here in Australia we have a lower crime rate, better education system, better healthcare, effective government, longer lifespans. Of course the US is better oh and I forgot our currency is worth more as well. Yes I know this is a 2 year old comment but this has to be said.
irishgodfatherchris 6 months ago
As a health care professional, and from what I've heard of regarding the Canadian system, I'm concerned about quality of care, waiting for care, and too much government control vs. physician-guided care. I'm voting for McCain, but it seems that the shit is going to hit the fan.
mackydee24 3 years ago
You're a health care "professional"? LOL
You mean you are a lobbyist.^^
Atheist2007 3 years ago
Read the news, Hawaii just today ( 10-17-08 ) cancelled their Liberal Universal Healthcare EXPERIMENT.
I guess everyone wanted free healthcare and the system broke down, all within 8 months. But lets not let facts get in the way of Socialism.
Pjphoto 3 years ago
Well. You might start out by reading the UDHR.
Check out Article 25.
I find it very interesting:
udhr (dot) org
And conveniently... food, clothing, and water are mentioned in the same Article.
jroy375 3 years ago
AHEM.
Health care is a HUMAN RIGHT.
How can you charge for a HUMAN RIGHT!?
As a Canadian, I know our system works.
The only things that screw it up is bad leadership and massive funding cuts. (Both of which are related and we have currently. Even though it's still decent.)
Please, catch up with the rest of the world.
Oh, and go metric. Please. Just makes sense.
jroy375 3 years ago 7
jroy:"Health care is a HUMAN RIGHT"
Really? Where does it say that?
Not in the Constitution...no law...nowhere I have ever seen.
How did it magically become a human right, but food, clothing, and water aren't?
windy39 3 years ago
Timewarp. In a recent poll 59% of US doctors want universal single payer health care. HMO's are keeping them from treating their patients. Nothing is covered by insurance unless the HMO approves it. Doctors do not even have a say in our system.
nowellian 3 years ago
Timewarp indeed! I see you are only 17 and live in the US. We have been told for decades the French are going bankrupt! England has had single payer universal health care since the 1940's and it is so popular it is political suicide for any politician to threaten any change!
In the US HMO's decide what doctors can and can not do. Health care is rationed by HMO's here. If you don't have insurance you rationed completely out of health care.
votenader08!
nowellian 3 years ago
Easy there, Comrade. What about those who are already insured?
GiftOfLiberty 3 years ago
Obama's plan is the only one that makes sense. Children are the only one's who should be granted a government funded healthcare system. There is absolutely no reason why employed adults should be made to pay into an inefficient government run monstrosity. It's our money, not theirs! You all realize under socialized healthcare Dr's cannot choose where they want to work. If their are to many in one area, some bureaucrat will redistribute them in order to equalize the amounts in different regions.
TimeWarp66 3 years ago
Obama and Clinton are such spoilers. They should just drop out so we can have a "great" president, Ralph Nader!
Nader can beat McCain, but can Clinton or Obama? I doubt it.
I am serious about this. I am afraid the democrats will loose again. They should just drop out and give Nader a chance this time!
nowellian 3 years ago 2
Only Dennis Kucinich advocates single payer, not for profit, universal health care.
We must get the for profit insurance industry out of health care to make it affordable.
Kucinich was only allowed a few seconds at the end of this exchange to state his ideas, and was never allowed to lay it all out and defend the attacks on his proposals.
Now only Ralph Nader is talking about not for profit universal health care.
Clinton and Obama both support for profit health care.
nowellian 3 years ago 2
Do you have to be an economic illiterate to be on the Left? Health insurance companies help individuals so much that they actually make a profit!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHH.
If people don't like the insurance companies they'll stop using them. It is not the government roll to be our momy's. The government does not know what is best for me. And it doesn't have the power to do so. Read the constitution please.
TimeWarp66 3 years ago
Only Dennis Kucinich advocates single payer, not for profit, universal health care.
We must get the for profit insurance industry out of health care to make it affordable.
Kucinich was only allowed a few seconds at the end of this exchange to state his ideas, and was never allowed to lay it all out and defend the attacks on his proposals.
Now only Ralph Nader is talking about not for profit universal health care.
Clinton and Obama both support for profit health care.
nowellian 3 years ago
Every industrialised nation in the world, except the USA, has single payer (government run) universal health care which provides free health care (no bills, co pays, deductibles)for every citizen.
The only way to provide affordable universal health care is to exclude the for-profit-insurance companies from health care!
That is Dennis Kucinich's plan and he was not allowed to lay it out here, he was only given a few seconds then cut off.
nowellian 3 years ago
You'd sacrifice quality for universality? People wait in line for ours in Western Europe and Canada. Their medical facilities lack equipment, and resources. They're going bankrupt! The French are actually beginning to privatize healthcare. The only reason they have it in Europe is because after world war two, those countries were destroyed. There could not be a free market system, because there were no markets! They turned to nationalization out of necessity. We have no such necessity.
TimeWarp66 3 years ago
The only difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that the Democrats allow the poor to be corrupt, too.
-Oscar Levant
CountArtha 3 years ago
canada do it and now its 14%
spritedrin 4 years ago
You cannot even begin to discuss the health care issue until first addressing the illegal immigration problem.
On this fact alone, not one of these pandering fakes is fit to be President.
globalgringo 4 years ago
glob:"You cannot even begin to discuss the health care issue until first addressing the illegal immigration problem."
No problem. Have a citizen test to get care. If you are not a citizen, you get no care.
I know what you are going to say, "That is discriminatory".
The laws against discrimination only apply to Americans getting discriminated against in America.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Ppl want govt to run healthcare? FDR (dem) started Social Sec (SS) & made 5 promises which have all been broken. Who took SS from a trust fund to a general fund so congress could spend it? -- Democrats. And the dems were in control of congress. Who started giving annuity pymts to immigrants who paid nothing? - Carter (dem) . Who eliminated the tax deduction for SS? -- Democrats. Who started taxing SS annuities? -- you guessed it, the Democrats w/Gore casting the deciding tie-breaker vote.
ytdsmom 4 years ago
ytdsmom:"Ppl want govt to run healthcare?"
Would you rather big business do it? Yeah why not, right? They're already doing a great job as it is:
As a global superpower we have one of the worst ranked healthcare systems in the world and the majority of Americans who file for bankruptcy on a yearly basis do so because they can't afford healthcare insurance.
dmbenji1156 4 years ago
You can't justify your opposition of universal healthcare by calling it the product of the Democratic party. That's exactly the kind of partisanship that has made Washington the shithole it is today.
dmbenji1156 4 years ago
I am for healthcare 'reform'....not UHC. I can see it now; as soon as govt is in control of healthcare, the next thing is mandating a healthy lifestyle. Goodbye Big Macs...hello Tofu burgers
ytdsmom 4 years ago
ytd:"the next thing is mandating a healthy lifestyle."
California just passed a law that makes it illegal to smoke in your car. Canada has the same laws preventing truckers from smoking because it is considered a workplace.
California also imposed a new law requiring a thermostat that reports your energy usage to the Gov, and lets them override your use.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
The more control you give to Government over your life, the more they will try to take.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
WeedaPeople, actually, the thermostat thing was a proposal, not a law, let alone an imposed one. Moreover, it was shelved very soon after it went public.
physicq210 4 years ago
psycho:"WeedaPeople, actually, the thermostat thing was a proposal"
Yes...exactly! Someone proposed that Big Brother would tell you how much heat you could have.
Doesn't that alarm you in the least?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
The proposal (I read it was a law passed...maybe they retracted the law as unconstitutional) was to pass a law giving Govenment power over your heat and air conditioning.
This is where the Government oversteps it's authority over the control of our lives.
Government is there to assist and to regulate, not to operate or control.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Free Market. The government shouldn't have a role in the economy, or at least they should have a very small role...that role...stop fraud...that is their one and only job. Also, the government played the biggest role in the depression and the severity of it. Ever heard of the Federal Reserve? Yep...read the book "Whatever Happened To Penny Candy?" By: Richard J. Maybury. It explains how bad big government is and how it started or triggered the depression.
KaneFenton4Freedom 4 years ago
Free market can fix anything. The government burdens people all the time...that is why "so many" people become poor. That is how all the liberals get their arguments, they raise taxes, they hurt people, they become poor and then those dumb liberals say..."hey look, the free market failed, we need more government to fix it" even though it was big government that messed it up in the first place. Government caused the great depression.
KaneFenton4Freedom 4 years ago
Kane:"even though it was big government that messed it up in the first place."
This kid talks about limiting Government, yet he wants Govenment in your life when it suits him.
Don't listen to this child. If you go to his videos and he does not like what you say, he will censor your comments.
Isn't that right Adolph?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
lol...no, that's not right Stalin. It's when you get off topic and are constantly attacking me and leaving rude or disrespectful comments, that's when I will block people like you stalin...thanks though!
KaneFenton4Freedom 4 years ago
Kane:"It's when you get off topic and are constantly attacking me and leaving rude or disrespectful comments..."
I was not off topic at all, I was not the least bit rude, and I only attacked your "fantasy" with facts.
You could not handle the discussion, so you acted like a child and ran away.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
You came to YouTube telling everyone else how to think. I explained to you that there are other views, some you are not going to like. We all have our right to them. You can tell people you want less Government, but then when you require Government intervention in a specific case, your credibility goes away.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Yes...I am acting like a child...lol. Look at you....you can't just get over it. you keep coming back and calling my adolph, lol. You keep on attacking me, yes I am the child, aren't I?
KaneFenton4Freedom 4 years ago
Kane:"Yes...I am acting like a child"
Well at least we agree on something.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
I had my appendix removed right after college, when I was making $400 a week and didn't have any kind of health insurance. My total costs added up to $19,000. In order to qualify for government assistance I had to be making less than $700 a month. Now I'm in dept of over $85,000 including student loans. I'm at a huge disadvantage compared to others my age who have no dept whatsoever. This is why we need universal healthcare and free college education for those who qualify.
jamesdevo8181 4 years ago
Yay for Universal Healthcare!
ThisOneRocks 4 years ago 2
Dennis4President . com. Dennis Kucinich is my next President of the United States of America! Victory through Peace, and under Grace!
SyrenaRae 4 years ago
Wow. This makes me sick. Ron Paul or bust. If Hillary or any other clowns win, Im moving to Europe!
robrockstar 4 years ago
bye bye, robrockstar!
publicgood 4 years ago
I'm right behind you! lol. People have forgotten what America is all about. They don't want to work hard. They don't want to work for themselves so here comes the government to the rescue with free health care! That's just a great way become socialist and then communists. Take from the rich and give to the poor! NO! Get people working for themselves and not for the government and not for other people. A lot of people choose NOT to have health care.
KaneFenton4Freedom 4 years ago
And the millions who either opt out of insurance or can't afford it, is the reason it costs so much.
The more people in any group insurance pool, the lower the individual cost.
Simple arithmetic.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Liberals scare me...and look at the spam message. Somebody spamed ytdsmom for showing some facts about health care. They don't want to hear the truth! Liberals...they sicken me.
KaneFenton4Freedom 4 years ago
Why do you think it was a liberal ?
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Well it must have been someone who supports socialized health care.
KaneFenton4Freedom 4 years ago
Not necessarily,..those 45 million are either feeling lucky, chancing it, prepared to pay full cost out of pocket, or too poor to pay the insurance premiums. Either way, they are out of the pool which others pay into.
Socialized healthcare doesn't mean it's free by any means. Monthly premiums are charged to everyone and you have to pay. This covers much, but not all the cost. The balance comes from taxes.
The bottomline is that it covers everyone and costs less.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Why should I pay for something I don't want to pay for and I don't get anything out of? Why can't I just worry about myself and my family? Why can't we all just provide for ourselves? I am forced to pay into those programs, I don't have a choice.
KaneFenton4Freedom 4 years ago
It's not correct to say that you don't get anything out of it. You get insurance for healthcare which you may only appreciate when the time comes that you need it. It could be minor or big, an injury due to accident, an unexpected illness or disease, or your children who need it. All of these things are not only possible, but happen to 'the other guy' daily.
Nobody 'wants' to pay for auto insurance but are required to, because of the serious consequences for everyone if you don't have it.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Kane, do not answer this foreigner who spends all his free time meddling in American politics.
He is not even going to have to live with who ever gets elected.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Choose? Have you looked at one of your medical bills lately? WHICH DOCTOR OR HOSPITAL WERE YOU ALLOWED TO CHOOSE?
jemesser 4 years ago
Can we have Clinton, Obama and Edwards as co-presidents?
simplicitous 4 years ago
Not that we would want any of them, but to answer: No.
There is this really cool document called teh "Constitutuion", which tells what we can and can not do.
You might read it sometime.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
The constitution is the outline for the legislative branch and has very little to do with the executive.... And besides, there are way more people and way more troubles than at our country's founding. Maybe it's time for change
simplicitous 4 years ago
Change for the sake of change is foolish.
The Constitution spells out law for all branches. Maybe you need to re-read it. It is what our country is founded on.
I think you would be surprised how few powers a President actually has.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
guess i only made it through article 1 :), but getting there. can we please get a better public servant than what we have now?
simplicitous 4 years ago
We are going to get a different one, but "better" is a matter of opinion.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
i dont want free health care. i dont need the hillary and the government taking more money from me than they already do. I dont need them to tell me which doctor to go to, and what vaccines or inoculations to take. this is unamerican. the Bush administration destroyed health care in the U.S. only so hillary and michael moore could be the "saviors" and trick everyone into this SCAM!!!!!!!
nativeops 4 years ago
Everyone in this country is afraid of socialism. Socialism is not good because you don't want the government in control of everything, but do you know what it is called when private corporations have the most power(as they are starting to do now) its called fascism. We need to be somewhere in the middle where we have a free market but we also have some things that the government such as healthcare. The public school system is socialism, but nobody is afraid of that.
Ryanger91 4 years ago
People have a choice to pay for private school, or home school. School is also locally funded, not Federally mandated. Schools do not make a person dependent on Government, heathcare would make you dependent on Government.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
It's included in taxes are you serious, we have voting on wheter or not to raise or lower the school budget based on whether or not taxes are raised. Pravite school is privately funded but public school is payed for with taxes. That's socialism buddy. It's not a bad thing at times because we need school just like we need healthcare. Not everyone has money like you do. Stop being so selfish.
Ryanger91 4 years ago
I am not being selfish at all. I do not want to see poor people, which I am not anymore, dependent on Government, so they can not rise above and get out of poverty, like I did.
I want everyone to have the same opportunities I had.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Local taxes and Federal taxes are different.
Unless you own a home, you probably don't even pay property taxes to pay for schools anyway.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
I know it's not going to be an easy thing to accomplish, but I strongly feel that the rewards out-weigh the expenses. I just want to see the government make an honest attempt at doing it and to have a compromise of several different ideas coming together to make this thing work.
Ryanger91 4 years ago
You can't even get them to agree that Social Security is a problem, when we all know it is. How will you ever get them to compromise and get UHC? Even if you did, you are asking to be dependent on the lest dependable people in history.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
The people of New Orleans are dependent on this Government to keep them dry, alive, and protect their homes.
Maybe you should ask them how that has been working out so far.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
I am by no means naive, I know how things work in this government, but that doesn't mean we should all be pessimistic about it. If you don't like the way things are, then we have the power to change things. Vote for someone better or run for office yourself. Theres a Winston Churchill quote where he says something along the lines of "democracy is the worse form of government, except for all the other forms." Government isnt easy.
Ryanger91 4 years ago
Who do you think is better and why?
Tell me one Democrat or Republican that will make a positive difference and why.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
My favorite democrat right now is obama and my favorite republican is ron paul. I like obama becuase he for the most part seems sincere in what he says he will try to accomplish and hes not like hilary who seems like she will do anything to win (including planting questions). And I like ron paul becuase represents what the republican party should be which is just small government and such, hes not a crazy neocon.
Ryanger91 4 years ago
We have enough money in the country to do this, all we have to do is just move some money around. If we just move spending from one thing to another, then people in this country can have universal healthcare. Also, not for nothing, but just think about how much money we lose to corrupt polliticians, but healthcare is still something that should be sought and it is attainable.
Ryanger91 4 years ago
We may have enough money now, but 1/3 of the population is about to retire and stop paying income taxes. Where is the money going to come from to sustain it? The truth is it is not sustainable, and will kill this country economically.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Bro the population is increasing. We don't need the baby boomers because we have so many more people now. My generation is the largest, just like the generation after mine will be larger than mine. The population increases with each generation we aren't going to run out of people.
Ryanger91 4 years ago
Don't believe me. Look at census figures.
You have no clue. You are going to be hit hardest by these baby boomers you think you don't need.
When it happens, you will probably forget that anyone told you well before it occurred.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
What you have just witnessed is a bunch of socialists pandering to the american people. "I'm gonna give you the most...vote for me!!"
Backpackr3 4 years ago
Why would that surprise you in any way?
You have to understand that people have no idea what Presidential powers are. These people can promise anything, but can not deliver on any of it, unless the Congress creates a bill that they can sign into law.
So they say they will do this...or that...and when it doesn't happen, they blame Congress.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Bill Clinton promised all kinds of things, but did he deliver even 1 thing he promised?
Not 1.
Does that keep people from thinking he was good for the country? No. They still give him credit for...er...what do they give him credit for anyway?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
WeedaPeople....Well..I give B.J.Clinton credit for the largest tax increase in US history. Sadly, the Demrats in congress now intend to top him.
Backpackr3 4 years ago
So blame the people who won't pass bills? That would make sense since they are the ones who won't veto ideas.
Checks & Balances.
jace774 4 years ago
Sometimes things are so outrageously proposed that the President can not possibly sign them.
This is a standard Congressional trick to blame the President for inaction. They make a ridiculous bill that is way too costly and then, when the President vetoes it, they say he doesn't care about (X).
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
FACT: According to the U.S. Census Bureau:
Of the 45 million uninsured Americans:
18 million are aged 18-34 - they spend 4 times more on alcohol and dining-out and spent zero for MEDICAL insurance
17 million Americans earn over $50,000 dollars and choose NOT to purchase insurance
9 million Americans earn over $75,000 per year and choose NOT to purchase insurance
DON'T LET LIBERAL POLITICIANS SPIN THE TRUTH --WATCH THIS VIDEO ON MY CHANNEL!
IPOMonster 4 years ago
Those statistics suggest that 45 million Americans that could, are not contributing into the insurance pool.
This partially explains the increased cost for those who are.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Again, so what?
I mean really...you have come here and tried to influence people who live by a different rule than you that your way is better, and for you it might be, but we do not want it, it is none of your affair, and you have no real busioness telling people how to live.
Please, you worry about all Canada's problems and let us figure things out for ourselves.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
If a group of radical muslims told you that you could no longer believe in your God, how would you react?
Someone comes in and tells you that you have to live by their rules. Would you accept them with open arms? Hell no.
Think about what you are doing here by trying to influence others to live by a rule that you will not live by.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Weeda,
There is little point in you and I continuing this discussion/debate.
re: single-payer UHC, you say 'we do not want it'
More accurately, 'you' do not want it.
Almost everyone agrees your system needs change and a great many recognize the benefits of the Canadian system.
'Your' system as it presently exists denies many people treatment and now threatens Canada's system.
Let's unlock horns and go our seperate ways.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
You are right; I do not want it. I know what it will mean for my country, and I say no thanks.
Anyone can walk into an ER and get treatment in this country. It denies no one specifically by law.
You did not answer my question. How would you react if someone else told YOU how to live?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
It is okay, you can say it. You would be furious if someone came from another country and told you how to live. Just as anyone else would.
You know you would not accept it for yourself, yet you expect us to do it from you.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
You're absolutely correct and it is precisely American-style privatization efforts in Canada right now that threatens our system.
A two-tiered system means those with dollars get treatment faster than those without.
This might seem logical to rigid free-market capitalists, but Canadians don't wish to see it applied to healthcare.
And a growing number of Americans feel the same.
The multi-billion dollar insurance industry naturally is opposed.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Okay...so you work to preserve your system for you and we will work to preserve our system for us.
Cool?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
unfortunately the threat to the Cdn system is but an arm or tentacle from American interests. This comes from both insurance and medical corporate interests.
I am supporting the movement which is growing in the U.S. towards the system we have here, because of the direct connection and shared interest.
You and I may have to agree to disagree.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
You feel that your intervention on our system, by selling Americans on your socialized system, will somehow keep your system from conversion to a private, insurance based system.
Yeah, good luck with that. You need to focus on your own system, influencing ours is not going to save yours.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Watch the video on my site - it is very enlightening...
Who wants to give these freeloaders FREE insurance when they can afford to buy it, yet do not?
IPOMonster 4 years ago
==== Edwards or Kucinich .... KUCINICH has much better plan ... EDWARDS is murky not clear enough like he is hiding something .... -dEFinetly Dennis Kucinich For president 2008 ------
aviomaster 4 years ago
Sen. Clinton full of bull....
aviomaster 4 years ago
---- EDWARDS for president .... USA health care is the worse health care in the world .....
aviomaster 4 years ago
America is a very rich country but maybe its size dictates that smaller rich countries like Switzerland, Singapore and Luxembourg should have a better healthcare system. However figures were quoted in this video placing the USA outside the top 40 for infant mortality and life expectancy AND to finance huge profits you pay through the nose, more than any of the countries on this side of the Atlantic with better systems. If that's not a crisis it must be a close run thing.
Tony63efc 4 years ago
People run to the docs for every little thing. They just see there little co-pay and think that some magic fairy takes care of the rest. ? docs about extra tests & generic drugs. You know they get kickbacks from the pharm. Companies. Also Moms, you don't have to take your kids to the doc for every runny nose. We are built with immune systems for a reason. These are just a few reasons for the rising cost of healthcare. Just remember nothing is FREE including "free health care".
melliesue1 4 years ago
don't give me that crap. you don't know what people "think". This country is ranking in the 40's. That's on the list of countries in the world. Children are dying. Listen to gravel on health care. Listen to Kucinich. The wealth is going to the top. Welath is being amassed as well was power in the hands of banks, insurance companies and corporations. Beyond Money. Power to change the world--not for the better. Socialize health care. Support taking care of people. It can be done!
sashaweisfeld 4 years ago
It always comes back to evil corporations and the evil wealth that someone emasses. Take off the tinfoil hat for a moment. Kids die in car wrecks a lot more than from the healthcare system. So do we ban cars, or try to make them safer?
The system has flaws, but socialism has never been the answer to anything. Governments telling us who gets care and when is ridiculous. I do not want to have to go to a "Walter Reed" and wait for care.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
If you think that is bad now, wait until people can go anytime at no immediate out of pocket cost to them. They will go to the Doctor for any little thing, because it apprears as if someone else is paying for it.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Weeda, you seem very confused and afraid about what socialized healthcare means.
On one hand you're say people will flock to, and abuse the service.
On the other, you're saying the 'government' will be 'telling us who gets care and when'.
So which is it?
As a Canadian, I can tell you it is neither.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Make no mistake, I am not confused about it at all. I know it well and do not want it for myself. I am a disabled combat vet and I know how the US Government hands out healthcare.
Hypochondriacs, and people who do not care what the costs are will abuse it, driving costs up. People will still have to wait in lines like Canadians do. Don't tell me you don't wait, we already had this discussion and you admitted to waiting.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Again, fo your small population, Canadian UHC may be adequate for you Canadians, with the option of coming to the states when you have a real problem and do not want to wait, or feel you can get better care here and are willing to pay.
We have too many people, our US Government legacy of waste and inefficiency, not enough tax money, and a bad track record already in Government healthcare.
It will not be good for us here.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
In the 70's, during the Arab oil embargo, the price of a barrel of oil jumped to $40.
At that time, because of the enormous profits being reaped by the oil companys, a WINDFALL TAX was instituted.
Here's a geat question, - Why isn't that happening today?
And why are insurance corporations reaping record profits while people die from non-treatment?
Where is the government that should be overseeing this crap?
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Exactly. Very good questions all. None of which has anything to do with healthcare, but it is a big part of the reasoning why I do not want the U.S.Government taking over healthcare. They do not do much right, and if they did healthcare, it too would be a disaster.
Thank you for making my point for me.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
These same people who can't get anything right, are the exact people you want to turn over a multibillion dollar industry to, and hope they will do better with it than they have with everything else. That is like touching a stove a second time to see if it will burn you, after it already has.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Corporations are accountable to stockholders first and foremost. Thus the tacked-on profit to every insurance premium in addition to the cost of the administrative underwriting process, which does its very best to cover those least likely to need service and avoids those who will.
As shitty as your government may be, they at least face a higher degree of accountability.
And this is where voting is supposed to kick in.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
That is where you fail to understand where our political system has gone. They are the least accountable of anyone.
Two words: Ted Kennedy. Has he ever been accountable for anything? Including manslaughter?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
I never said that Insurance companies are good in how they operate, but going the 100% wrong way in a fix (Fed) is not the answer.
Was Bill Clinton accountable for purjury? Did he lie under oath, in a court of law? Everyone knows he did, he admitted to it, yet saw no jail time, no conviction.
So, you still want to talk accountability with me?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
re: accountability
I personally have little time for the constant witch-hunts that go on at a personal level for all stripes of political parties. It's often an excuse to avoid looking at the bigger, societal policy approach.
Nobel prize winner Al Gore, rides around in a jet. Does this mean his message is not sincere or substantive ?
George W. Bush used to do coke. Dick Cheney has close ties to Haliburton Inc.
.... Bad examples.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
This is not about a witch hunt, it is about Government accountability. You said there would be more, but experience tells us there will be a lot less. You brought the subject up, I am just replying with specific examples of why you are wrong.
Al Gore's message is not sincere. It is political posturing for the one thing you seem to hate: Profit.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Weeda, you've lost me there. Where is the financial profit for Al Gore?
And I do support free-enterprise, entrepenurialism. I practise it myself.
I don't believe in gouging, and believe it doesn't belong in healthcare and other essential services that can devastate peoples lives.
I also srongly believe the oil industry should be getting a windfall tax. The production cost for a barrel of oil is a fraction of what it's going for now.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Al Gore just won a Nobel Prize. He can charge thousands more now for speaking engagements, on top of what he already charges. He is raking in the "green" off his "green".
Do you honestly think he flys around the world on his private gas guzzler jet, and drives his block long limo cars, and warms and cools his acreage of mansion using greenpeace donations?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Google: Al Gore home. One house in Nashville is over 10,000 SF. The one in VA is 4,000 SF. He has a third too.
Gore also owns petroleum stock...a lot of petroleum stock.
He makes hundreds of thousands off speaking engagements, and profits from the movie.
Gore is not an non-profit guy living in a grass shack with a palm thatched roof.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
There's no denying the appearance of hypocrisy there.
However, almost every person driving a car today does so out of a sense of necessity.
And Al Gore really can't walk from city to city, now can he?
As for profit, people wouldn't be paying him if they didn't literally buy in to what he has to say.
I drive a gas-powered vehicle, but have made a conscious effort to cut back and would buy an alternate-fuel one if it was feasible.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
You said you did not get where profit comes in for Gore. I told you how he profits from his rhetoric, true or not, hyporcracy or not. It is in his financial interest to promote this global warming scare. He is getting more wealthy from doing so.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Ed Begley Jr. promotes the lifestyle and lives it. That I can respect. He does everything he can to live the green life. While I think he is way over the top, at least I have some respect for his walk the walk attitude.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Yes, Al Gore does profit from his talks.
ED Begley may be a better individual example, but Gore may increase more awareness.
The guy buried in the forest may be the best example, but does so in obscurity. Whether Gore's message is only a scare, or a substantive warning is debatable. We know the multi-billion dollar oil industry wishes to maintain the debate, delaying alternate fuels and would never concede that fossil-fuel burning contributes to the CO2/greenhouse gas effect.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
His crisis is not a crisis. I have been around long enough to remember the scares of the "New Ice Age", not too long ago.
Gore is a hack and suckers buy into his BS. Remember when he created the Internet?
As long as he can sell you on his BS, he will continue to make money off the fear.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Everything is a crisis. Global Warming. Healthcare. Darfur. Education. Prescription drugs. Abortion. Illegal Drugs. Prostitution. Gambling. The War on Terror.
All exaggerated to get peoples attention and the elusive panic funding needed. Congress can't pay everything attention at once, so the loudest squeaky wheel is going to get the grease.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Perjury, Compared to war dead, all countries, How on earth can you compare BILL CLINTON to the Bush atrocities? Yes he lied, But no one died from his lie about a sex act. The number of dead can not even be calculated from Bush lies.
jemesser 4 years ago
Bill Clinton sent my friend to die in Bosnia. He was the first person to die there. Clinton sent others to do what he deemed unconsionable for himself. Do not sit there and tell me no one died. Better yet, why don't you tell that to my friend's widow.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
you fucking liar, no us soldiers died in bosnia you liar, they were only sent their as peacekeepers, they didnt fire a single shot on the ground, your a liar
zlatanstanic 4 years ago
Do a Google search on this: LANDMINE BLAST KILLS U.S. SOLDIER IN BOSNIA
He died on Saturday, February 3 1996. He was 38 years old. He was a good soldier, husband and father of four children.
People do not have to fire a shot to die.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
satantastic:"you fucking liar"...
Well??? I noticed you dropped off the face of the earth and shut up. What happened? Figure out you were wrong?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Do you just troll any video with health care with your market is god nonsense? Perhaps if you actually knew anything on the subject and not just crap fed to your from the right. you would see that government while imperfect is better because we have some measure of control over it. While companies we have none. quit giving anecdotes as evidence and quote something noteworthy.
thelaughingman 4 years ago
There are a lot of people trying to convince the world there is a "crisis", so they can steer the country toward socialism. Acutal numbers show a few people are truly poor and without care, and those are the people we need to focus on. We do not need to react out of fear, we need to sit down, create a plan and fix the problem, not trade one problem for another.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
True story. I know someone that had no insurance and a need for a double-lung transplant due to life-long lung disease. The need was met, at NO COST to this individual. All anti-rejection meds are provided at NO COST. the need was met not through philanthropy, but by existing programs. This person is 2 years out, and THRIVING. It's a beatiful country we were blessed with. BE THANKFUL! We need LAYWER REFORM, not healthcare reform. Edwards is part of the problem, not the solution.
sonofrattler 4 years ago
The issue here is the cost of insurance. If we would educate ourselves on how the system works we could fix things.
melliesue1 4 years ago
Not sure how this works, but somehow my comment regarding the role of government was marked as spam and hidden from view.
I hope this function is not available to anyone who may disagree with a comment.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
You're right. It is just you.
The better question is, how many of the posters on these H/C threads are in the employ of the health insurance industry?
It is a multi-billion dollar racket.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Okay NDN...here is where I get a little frustrated with you. You question other peoples motives, but no one is supposed to question yours. Don't you think that a little hypocritical? Isn't what is good for you, good for everyone else? You have to play fair here with all the other kids.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Wow, where to begin,..
I have explained my motivation quite thoroughly, so why do you keep asking?
Canada's healthcare system is now under threat from privatizing/entrepenurial efforts. The vast majority of Canadians are opposed to this.
We need look no further than to our neighbors to the south to see what a divisive effect results from class-based care.
One very good reason that we have fewer poor is because we look after each other.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
I am not asking anymore. You explained to me sufficiently, but you did not like that people question you, but it is okay that you question them. That was all I was saying.
Think about what you said here though. Your system as you know it and appreciate it even for all it's flaws, is under attack. So is ours, and we do not like it anymore than you do.
Are you starting to understand?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
We need look no further than to our neighbors to the North to see what a destructive effect results from socialized medicine, run by Government bureaucracy.
Americans will not stand in line 6 months to get a brain tumor removed. We do not have the patience for it. We also do not have 10 times the population sitting to our South with a bailout program should we need care immediately, that we can pay for with our own money.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
This debate would be much less emotional if it was purely ideological, rather than true life and death.
There is no disputing the weakness of the Canadian system at times when waits for some services are too long. Much of the emphasis on this is anecdotal in nature and not surprisingly, seized upon by private, profit-motivated treatment interests.
Canadians wish to see wait-lists reduced by fixing the one-qeue system, not by creating a parallel 'for the wealthy' line.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
re:'levels of bureaucracy that are unnecessary, costly, and ineffective.'
That appears to be exactly what you have now.
So,....
Single-payer is simpler, without profit, meaning less costly and more effective in that it offers universal access.
No offense to you, but as you can see, I believe the U.S. could learn a great deal from Canada.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Learn a great deal from canada? lol......oh man you just made my sides hurt, stop it really.
andrew197553 4 years ago
andrew, it's great that we can tease each other, because in addition to being each others largest trading partners, we are also best friends. Right?
And as best friends, we share constructive advice, especially when it affects each other.
But seriously, when you look at what your enemies do, some constructive advice should be welcome. Would I be wrong in saying you're feeling a little defensive?
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
well, thank you for being civil, and i was teasing, however, it is my understanding that canada doesnt like the conservative movement in america and for the most part they are a socialist country. ill do more research to make sure, cause i dont want to say something and be wrong. why dont you clue me in to canada, politically i mean.
andrew197553 4 years ago
Sorry, I only have one lifetime. But, Canada is probably more like the U.S. than any other country in the world. So, there's a start.
We are a free-enterprise, capitalist economy, with the exceptions of the obvious public essential services such as police, fire, primary education, public transit and highways.
And most importantly, healthcare.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
And a small portion of the population we have. We have more poor people than you have people. Giveing public services to everyone, when you have so few people is much easier. But you still have to wait in line for healthcare, and our lines would be much longer, and Americans would be much more impatient.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Removing profit is not the answer. We need full on market competition like in lasik surgery to drive prices down. The worst possible thing to remove is the profitability factor.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
I gave this video based on the last 30 or so seconds of the clip. Let's give Obama, Clinton and Edwards all the time in the world, throw Richardson a bone and give Kucinich a lick. Kucinich in '08 'cause I don't vote for clowns.
HateThisName 4 years ago
should read 'but not necessarily its viewers'.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
The culture of Canada is greatly influenced by America's and for that reason Canadians have considerable interest in it.
The U.S. is currently experiencing some real economic difficulty and this will have a direct effect on Canada. We are each others largest trading partners.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
John Stossel's ABC report was biased towards the status quo of the free market health system that now exists.
The fact that millions of dollars flow into the hands of ABC from advertising for pharmaceuticals and health insurance is reason alone to explain Stossel's position.
His report felt like an infomercial.
This may serve the interests of ABC and its funders but necessarily its viewers.
Have you noticed how television is constantly trying to sell you something?
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
I have noticed, but again, I saw no bias, and again, I will ask for you to go beyond how the report "Felt", and to adress specific biases. I saw none. He pretty much attacked our system as it is and says we need real change now. He showed two alternatives and the benefits of both and the downfalls of both.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
American culture has not wiped out Canadian socialized medicine. If it does eventually, then your system was not strong enough to survive, and should go away.
Turning Healthcare into a Govenment responsibility will further exacerbate the economic problems. Is that what you want?
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
The impression I am getting is that there is in fact a great deal of dissatisfaction in the U.S. with the current system.
I hear you when you say otherwise, but as I attempted to show, Canadians are very wary of sliding into a system like the U.S.'s.
We are experiencing privatizing efforts, cheque-book medicine, and insurance that smack terribly of the American model.
The principle of profit-making and provision of universal care, especially for major illness are in conflict.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
"The impression I am getting...a great deal of dissatisfaction...with the current system."
The impression you are getting is from a few people, who are trying to sell you something (To use your own words). Moore makes his movies and people dance like puppets on his strings.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Moore is trying to sell us a Democrat in the whitehouse (Like he did 4 years prior), by creating a "health crisis" that does not actually exist. He claims 1/6th of the population is poor and without healthcare. Real figures show about 2-3%, but it is all part of the sales pitch.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
If Moore can create the impression of disaster, and place blame on the current administration, he can influence people to vote for change. Even if they do not understand what they are changing or why.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Or, his observations will be agreed with and vote for responsible responsiveness to the issue because of it.
Eighteen thousand people dying each year due to inability to receive treatment and over half of all personal bankruptcies being caused by unpayable medical bills does constitute a health crisis.
The need for change is recognized widely, including the full political spectrum not only Democrats.
In 2007, the U.S.A. is the only western-industrialized nation to not have UHC.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
18,000 out of 301 million is so few people in the grand scheme of things. It is less than .001% of the population, and all of them can get treatment at ER's, so they do not have to die.
I agree that change is needed, but there is no "crisis". We do not have to panic and make bad choices for change sake.
Just because we are the only one without it, does not mean we need it. We do need to focus on the problems, but not throw out the whole system because of lie based panic.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Somebody tell me how a system that covers everyone and costs less would be a bad choice.
It certainly would be bad for the profiteering health insurance industry no longer needed or greatly reduced in need. It appears the billions involved there may seem more significant than the lives now lost or ruined due to bankruptcy.
And ER's cannot save the lives of individuals dying from terminal illness' that went untreated.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
"Somebody tell me how a system that covers everyone and costs less would be a bad choice."
Okay: First, you do not know that the cost will be less overall. You know the cost to the individual (Those who do not pay taxes) will be less. Those who must carry the financial burden will see increases in cost. When people have free care, some will use it for every sneeze and every cough. Most will use it more, because they do not see an immediate cost. This drives the overall cost way up.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Second, the USA is not in good financial shape now, and if we do not bring in the added revenues to support a federally funded program, the care will suffer.
Third, you can not expect the federal government to be fiscally responsible. If they take control over healthcare, multiple levels of bureaucracy will keep the individual from treatment, like in VA hospitals.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
We need to heal the heathcare system. It has some problems we need to address. But we first have to look at the facts:
There is no crisis. We have time to do this the right way, not be hasty, and make bad mistakes.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
We have to develop a viable plan. Not just make broad brush statements, go in a general direction and expect to work out the details later.
We have to try to keep the Government out of it as much as possible. Government regulation is fine, but Government run business is what we need to avoid at all cost.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
Weeda, the U.S. government is already deeply involved in that it has handed the role of gate-keeper of medical services to corporate insurance interests. Thank Richard Nixon who okayed the HMO process.
This collusion works for business profit with outrageously high monthly premiums, unnecessary, cumbersome employer participation, and all too often denial of coverage the result.
Single-payer means that billing goes to a non-profit funding body (state government).
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Which means it will be burdened by levels of bureaucracy that are unnecessary, costly, and ineffective.
I have a few words for you:
FEMA. (We all know how efficiently thyey handled Katrina)
HUD (Has not paid their contracts for months).
FAA (Asking to collect user fees from pilots so they can do business).
This is my federal tax dollars at work. I know all too well how it works. No thanks.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
No offense to you, but you are Canadian. You do not experience the US Federal Government on a daily basis. You do not know that they waste more money before 9AM than most people waste all day. You do not understand about congressional budgeting and "magic money".
Until you know our systems and how we "work", you really should keep your opinions based in a system you understand.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
You certainly have my sympathy and my entire purpose has been to share how a different approach works for not only Canada but many other countries. It is understandable that you would not want more of a bad thing, however, government is unavoidable, so what is needed is a house-cleaning and I wish you luck.
As I see it, your process allows politicians to be bought.
I just wonder how bad H/C has to get before fundamental restructuring takes place.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
Government is only unavoidable to those who believe in total dependence on Government. If you truly believe that Government is NOT the answer, you have no trouble avoiding it.
Our process is different from yours, and that is why your healthcare will not work here. Fixing needs to be done, but not full on replacement.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
re: ' Government is only unavoidable to those who believe in total dependence on Government. '
Talk about making something black or white!
Only a fool would believe in total dependance on government, and only another fool would believe in total avoidance of government.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago
I never said "total avoidance", but major avoidance of Govenment is not the path of a fool.
WeedaPeople 4 years ago
4.
So, I hope this explains how that at this time, there is a simultaneous momentum towards socialized medicine in the U.S., there is also a momentum of conservative nature here away from the social system Canadians have strongly demonstrated support for.
To use a now worn cliche, profit-driven health insurance is based on greed, not need.
nextdoornorth 4 years ago