Health Care Crisis U.S.A. -- Part 1

[funkyflights]

Keep those tax dollars for war so we can blow everybody up!! Don't use any of it to help our sick because that would be a good moral thing to do... Sick people can just die right Hammer...

[TheHAMMER77777]

spare me...if someone wants something, they get it..one should only rely on themselves..stop relying on everyone.....spare me this crap about the RX companies..they are the ones making The Investments to make these products....and they ofer discounts to poor people and people can get generics cheap from many stores..so quit whinning people

[TheHAMMER77777]

sob stories....

[TheHAMMER77777]

AC is one of my favorite towns..but nonody has a right to anything..if u want a product, purchase it on the free market

[twinkiemicester]

from stephen's class and from atlantic city



[assiniboinesioux1]

anybody from stephens class in byui?

[wtfjaftw]

Healthcare is a right! So it's your right to put a gun to a doctor's head to take care of you?

[tarrasque420]

Nineteen thousand dollars yea right. Then if you don’t pay or can’t pay credit collecting vampires start jumping out of the bushes threatening to confiscate everything that you own.

[wtfjaftw]

@tarrasque420 Corporatism is not free market capitalism, it's a form of capitalism and socialism.

[TheHAMMER77777]

@tarrasque420 good point

[peacenlove2810]

Everyone check out dr sebi

[dorianstark]

greed is the reason we have terrible healthcare in the usa. i hate this country and wish i could leave. universal healthcare works in many other countries, yet our greedy govt , doctors, and health insurance corps want deep pockets and they threw the hippocratical oath out the window.

[iphoneguy2012]

welcome to cuba

[aviomaster]

Health CAre in USA is very simple:  Have money pay for it , do not have money Fuck Off

[DInara1999]

USA has the best healthcare system in the world, but it's not free.....And that's good....If you want something, you have to earn it. I agree that people suffering from disabilites should get it for free. BUT anybody else who can work, should put their asses to work. THere are a lot of healthy people who are on welfare and medicaid, who just give birth to several kids.....

[Darusdei]

@DInara1999 Best healthcare...

mate, France was ranked #1 and there are reasons for that.

for example take a look malpractices between u.s. and germany...

with those figures i wouldn't go parading with "best healthcare" :DDD

[dorianstark]

@DInara1999 the healthcare is way overpriced and not everyone can afford it. the hippocratical oath is a joke in the usa. our taxes should pay for healthcare as it does in other countries where it works. i cant believe i have to explain to someone that overall, your fellow american's health is more important than anything. what would u like to let people die who cant afford insurance? thats rich!

[DInara1999]

I just don't get why people trust government so much..... Why do you want to have a miserable healthcare for evrybody....?

[NolanRogers2]

You Americans are a Bloody Disgrace to the World. You should have had a National Health Service decades ago - now look what has happened.

I read the other day that 6 MILLION children in the USA have NO Health Insurance or access to a doctor!

Does that make you Yanks proud? Does that make you want to get out your Ratty Ass American flag and waving back and forth and sing "God Bless America".

You bent ass people. When will you wake up and see that your fellow citizens are suffering - Children!

[Embrigh]

@NolanRogers2 Stop blaming all Americans. I'm one of millions who votes for healthcare. In the politics of the United States it's the Republicans that basically have denied universal healthcare since Franklin Roosevelt tried to create it in the early 1900s. It's mainly those god-fearing folks who are responsible for it, apparently they think prayer works better than medicine. It figures since their "Jesus" always healed people and asked his followers to do the same, and look! they don't....

[Aliothemage]

In the video one woman complains that "you get to the point, at my age, that you don't have anyone to rely on, only yourself". Is that really such a bad thing? In fact isn't that supposed to be the case for every adult? Aren't we supposed to take care of ourselves? This video is promoting dependence on others. A moment later the woman claims that "people could help themselves if they had some help". What non-sense is that? You are NOT helping yourself if you need help from others!

[DInara1999]

@Aliothemage I agree! It's amazing that some people think that somebody else should pay for them and take care of them....I think this is THE freedom, when you are not a slave to other citezens..... Why so many people want to make somebody else to pay for them. USA is a country where people can achieve so much.....You want to make money - you make them.....

[marusak72]

@DInara1999 You'd be right if your system works far better than others. Your outcome for money is actually worse. You may be proud American, but belive me you would not buy Chevy for the price of Bugatti Veyron which is what you are generally doing in medical system.

Dont be lazy, take your passport, go to UK, Sweden, Germany, anywhere and make your own Sicko research. People in other OECD countries are not dying for lack of med treatment.

[pluto4847]

@DInara1999

I just recovered from traumatic leg surgery, and I'm still in physical therapy. What I hated the most was how people judged me.

They called me a 'Cripple' who wants to milk the system.

What am I milking? I just want to recover, go back to work, and be left alone.

So please don't judge the sick. I paid my Health insurance deductible. I might look like a helpless cripple, but I still believe in good ol fashioned hard work.

[funkyflights]

@DInara1999

You do realize a universal system would mean YOU would pay but a lower amount for yourself and your family and EVERYONE is covered... Why does that concept elude you people ? Plus you are a slave to your government and to the federal reserve if you feel government paper printed by the feds is your god to care... YOUR the blind one and a true slave to the government...

[Aliothemage]

Yes, in fact I CAN pay for my own hospital bills. Even though I am just a student even I have saved up enough money, working before I went to college, to handle any medical expenses I have, even in case of an emergency. If I did NOT have that saved up I would still be fine because I can get health insurance for a less than 50 dollars a month, about the same I pay for car insurance. Health insurance is NOT expensive, unless u get Cadillac plans.

[candoyja]

@Aliothemage You are from outer space, right?

Good for you that you are paying 50 dollars a month for health insurance. But wait until you are sick, your health insurance premium will skyrocket to about 20 times that.

Read the Wall Street Journal and learn what is going on in America: Many people are increasingly uninsured because health insurance premiums have been increasing every year.

[Aliothemage]

"your health insurance premium will skyrocket to about 20 times that."

Nice made up numbers, they don't mean much though do they? Anyone can make stuff up.

"How do you explain hospitals making record profits every year?"

Come on Candoyja, do I have to do your thinking for you? When do you THINK hospitals should make record high profits? MAYBE when medical technology is rapidly improving and when the baby boomers start to age significantly. Ohh! That would be right now! How outrageous!

[Aliothemage]

And how is it I who am being accused of being greedy when I am relatively poor and NOT demanding that other people provide me health insurance? It is those other Americans who think that they have the right to steal the wealth of others for their own personal benefit who are the greedy ones. And you call me close minded? Look in a mirror, you hold your opinions at least as strongly as I. You need to think about what you say before you say it.

[Aliothemage]

Also sonoacqua, if you WANT to give money to others for their health insurance that is your choice, but that doesn't mean you have the right to steal from others. American Conservatives statistically outstrip Liberals in the amounts they give to charity so you can't make an argument that they are being greedy, they are just being ETHICAL. It is completely immoral to use the VIOLENT FORCE of the govt again innocent people to take their honestly earned wealth and give it to the irresponsible.

[candoyja]

In American, even if you are not poor, hospitals can kill you financially. They will make up some fake medical items and inflate them and bury them in your bills.

Hospitals are true street thugs.

[Aliothemage]

Yeah right Candoyja. Learn basic economics. Hospitals provide a service that they have to compete to get customers to provide for. They aren't using force like street thugs do. It is true that they provide a service that we MUST have or we will die, but so do farmers and they can't get away with acting like street thugs, right? Hospitals have a lot of fines because they are EXPENSIVE to run because their is a very high demand for their services, it is just that simple.

[candoyja]

@Aliothemage

Well, smart person you are, right. How do you explain hospitals making record profits every year?

Did you know hospitals use very aggressive billing practice, making more people every year to go bankrupt?

If farmers all charge high prices for grains and bill grain processors erroneous bills deliberately about 90% of the time, what would you do?

Open your eyes because that is what hospitals are doing these days.

[Aliothemage]

Also, Candoyja, if you actually bothered to look up the relevant data you'd see that hospitals in the US have a very small profit margin. They have a profit margin of 3.6%, well below average for American companies. For comparison Electric Utilities make nearly double those profits at 6.1%, Shoe producers make 6.4%, restaurants make 7.5%, rail roads make 12.9%, and brewers make 25.9%!

Record profits for such an UNPROFITABLE business is a joke!

[candoyja]

@Aliothemage

Why are you making numbers up???

Type in brewery profit in your search box and see if you get 25.9%.

Where did you get 3.6% profits??? You just guessed, right??

[Aliothemage]

I got that data from a list compiled by Professor, of economics and finance, Mark J. Perry at the University of Michigan. I didn't cite it at first because the web-address is pretty long but as it seems that you have no argument with my argument, only the non-citation, I'll be glad to cite it now:

mjperry. blogspot. com/ 2009/ 08/ health- insurance- industry- ranks- 86- by. html

You'll have to get rid of the extra spaces I put in there, Youtube doesn't like us posting web addresses.

[candoyja]

@Aliothemage

I admit that you are right about the hospital profit margins are around 3-4%.

But the list of industries' profit from that professor is not too convincing. Go to Fortune 500 for better information.

Lastly, just because hospitals have low profit margins, it does not give them rights to deliberately sending out bills with overcharges.

Anybody would go bankrupt if they are forced to pay more than 100,000 dollars on cancer treatment or 10,000 for appendectomy.

[Aliothemage]

Fortune 500 is using the same data, they just have industries listed differently, they have brewers listed in with all "beverages", unlike the list I cited. There are no inaccuracies in either list. And the hospitals are NOT overcharging, how could they be with 3% profit margins? They are barely doing more then covering costs! You might be concerned about people having to pay large hospital bills making them go bankrupt, but hospitals would go bankrupt if they didn't charge as much as they do!

[candoyja]

@Aliothemage

Thanks for your insights.

[Aliothemage]

@candoyja

If you REALLY care about the issue then you shouldn't just be placing blame on the first thing that grabs your attention (hospitals) since I have already proven that there are no outrageous charges coming from then, or else they would be making large profits. What you need to do is figure out what exactly is costing the hospitals so much and why. Maybe SOME ONE is getting paid too much, but it certainly isn't the hospitals. Maybe it is malpractice lawyers or pharma companies.

[Aliothemage]

@candoyja

Also, you have to be careful about your information. Hospitals probably AREN'T making record profits in the first place, even though they SHOULD be! You see, the thing is, every business on average makes "record profits". This is due simply to inflation. Their profit MARGIN might remain the same or even fall but in an economy with constant inflation like ours so called "record profits" are the norm, not the exception.

[Aliothemage]

Being homeless and not having health insurance is not a "choice"? Of coarse it is a choice! You chose it when you did poorly in school and didn't work to get a worthwhile career! And she cleaned up in casino bathrooms? What are the odds that her visiting those casinos was a part of the problem in the first place?

Anyone can make a sob story of themselves, but each person can also make a Bill Clinton or Thomas Sowell out of themselves if they try too. Free adults are responsible for themselves.

[CoombesKidd]

you realize you dont need health care to have good health. ive never payed a cent towards medical indurance in my life and im doing just fine

[hadenufnow]

Contents of 3000 Page HC Mandate:

This document made of finely ground feces & dried urea has something for everyone::

$500,000,000,000 BILLION in Medicare Cuts TO KILL, GUN CONTROL, ABORTION CONTROL,OLD PEOPLE CONTROL, Punitive Exorbident Taxes, Punitive fees, Punitive Denial of Access to Millions of Poor, Punitive Restrictions to Access, Long Lethal Delays in Treatment, Wasteful Expensive Burocracy, Record Breaking Intrusion & Costs.

WHERE THE HELL IS THE HEALTH CARE??

Kill the Bill...!

[hadenufnow]

Kill the Bill..

Vote em out!

Nobody Wants It....

[insidethe222]

if you care about anything  help pass the word

[jsa2001]

At 7.00 she said it cost her $6500 through an ankle injury. I had 2 knee operations on the NHS in 2008 for free.

Cant believe that millions of Americans dont have access to healthcare, some American dream you're all living try waking up!

[OrmEmber]

Don't worry, when Max Baucus' bill gets passed and we are all forced to buy private insurance cos. insurance, we''ll all be covered; except we'll still have very high deductibles, high copays, high rx costs, and HMO plans that will take you forever to see a specialist (just like I have.)

The insurance cos. have bought and paid for our senators and Congressman, to give us over to them.

I know: I worked for WellPoint and Blue Cross.

Public Option is our only chance now....

[myyachting]

America is a such barbarian country!

[robb1031]

Those of you who have insurance can end up like this just get sick and find out

[lar4567]

Go get a job and stop being a whine ass.

[robb1031]

I don't need a job I am a trust fund baby. I have never had a job in my life and I have spent my entire life working for no pay. I also have the best insurance money can buy.

[TargetGuy2245]

b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t

[robb1031]

now there is a intelligent response

[DaMuttzNutz]

$110 for a single prescription? Here in the UK, it is £7.20 per prescription item, or £104 for an annual certificate which will pay for all the drugs a person will need for a whole year. Only those in full-time employment have to pay those. I often complain about the UK, but I'm damned if I'd swap my life here for life in America.

[TargetGuy2245]

I would be damned to hell before I moved to a rock that is crammed with people (increasingly non-eurocentric, I might add) and a government that likes to ban things.

[robson0172]

If the employer helps you get health care that you need to depend on... You are enslaved. It is a stupid broken system. I take Nexium and it cost me here $185.00 a month. In Brazil its free. But if I want to pay out of pocket it costs me $15.00 dollars. Can you spell : Profiteers from hell?

[FantomShadowz]

alot of it has to do with socialized work health plans-alot of it has to do with the monopolies in medicine-alot of it has to do with doctors lining their pockets

[doormankrw]

how can a man who took 4 months to pick a dog, pick all of our health care in a few days? This is a socialist movement, and the real Americans are not going to put up with it anymore. We will vote all these congress members who didn't read the bill befor voteing on it, out of office. DO TOU REALIZE THIS BILL IS GOING TO KILL YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT USEFULL ANY MORE. Obama said it him self " We'll give them a pain pill."

OOOH thanks Mr. Obama, My hero!

[ruralpotter]

doorman, which bill are you referring? As I understand it there are several floating around and no one has sent anything to Obama to sign.

You are listening to fear mongers who haven't read any bill. I have. HR 676 would NOT do what you say, but I don't think that is what was meant when Obama was speaking of waste. He was referring to a system that encourages doctors to do unnecessary tests and treatments on those with good insurance, while leaving others out in the cold.

[xsolidice]

If you want to know how socalized healthcare will work in this country, ask your military friends. thats what we have. we HAVE to see an on-base doctor for anything. Fine for sniffles and colds, but anything more than that, and you bet your taxpaying dollar that we request an off-base referral

[funkyflights]

So when you call the fire department you want a privatized fire department to come help you ? If you need the police for help do you want the privatized police to come help you ? I"m so sick of hearing the excuse that a state or government run health care program would some how give you worse care.... it's simply NOT TRUE....

[wishyoucared]

Yup! We once had private for profit fire departments. People died and houses burned under this system that wouldn't have if it were public. The movie/DVD Gangs of New York has a great documentary that covers private firefighting.

It was as inhumane as our health care system is now.

[cantbelievehowstupid]

Wouldn't it be nice for all of us to be able to get that referral? As it is now I and my daughter can't get any of the care we need.

There is NO way I will ever get the coverage I need with any plan other than a cheap public option. (Cancer and Lupus)Do you think that it is OK for me to suffer and possibly die soon simply due to poor health(that I didn't cause BTW)

[HarveyRex23]

I'm sure most people wouldn't mind paying a little more in taxes to have essentially a government run health care system. At least the option of a government run health care system should be on the table. Paying a little more in taxes on government health care beats getting ripped off by those private HMO's and the exorbitant monthly premiums they charge.

[xsolidice]

I keep getting the example of France; has more doctors and hospital beds per capita than the rest of the world and #1 in healthcare. nevermind the fact that they pay 52% of their paycheck to taxes and its still not enough to cover the cost. And hey, how about that, they're looking to how america does it to reduce to the cost... I don't have the answer to fix it, but socalized healthcare will give us sub-standard care and cost a lot more in the long run.

[hiodr]

to say health care is a right implies you expect someone else to pay for it. since you haven't got the guts to personally rob people for the money, you want the government to do it for you. stop sucking your thumb, change your diaper, and start taking responsibility for yourself, because i'm not going to be responsible for you.

[wishyoucared]

Can you please help me with more of your wisdom? I got crippling Rheumatiod arthritis at 19 years old. I got endometriosis the same year. I am 43 now and still work in severe pain (part time). Now I also have daily crippling headaches that won't go away and cause blindness in my left eye. I won't be able to work much longer. I worked my way through college and made good grades although it took over 10 years. I can't get a job that offers insurance. Please tell me how to "stop sucking my thumb?"

[hiodr]

that's sad, but all too common. so your solution is to make everyone else pay for your health problems?

[mrlopez2681]

What do you mean "Have everyone else pay for your problems", It is that exact attitude that makes the world such an awful place. Whats wrong with a big communal pot for everyone to have healthcare?

[hiodr]

everything. communes have been tried , even in the united states before. they always fail. why? simple. go look yourself in the mirror. no, not a piece of silvered glass that shows your outward appearance. open a bible. communes always are doomed to fail simply because of the flawed nature of man's character. a few work hard, some enough, others freeload. fights over who controls what and or who erupt inevitably and the thing collapses. the same principle applies on a national scale as well.

[DaMuttzNutz]

So, using your logic, if your house gets robbed, it should be down to you alone to pay for the police investigation?

[hiodr]

no. apparently you don't know what the purpose of government is. it is to protect the rights of the people. police protection, therefore, is a legitimate function of the government. it is not the purpose of the government to provide the material means of living, food, shelter, clothing, etc., only to protect one's right to lawfully acquire them.

[DaMuttzNutz]

We'll have to agree to differ then I guess? I believe that the rights of the people include the right to free healthcare

[hiodr]

there is no such thing as free health care. what you're saying is that you believe you have the right if you can't afford it, to take from others to pay for your health care. this is morally wrong.

[DaMuttzNutz]

What I mean is free at the point of use. I'm fully aware that I pay for my health care through my taxes.

[hiodr]

so what about those who do not/ cannot pay? do you believe everyone else is morally obligated to give them health care?

[DaMuttzNutz]

Anyone can fall on hard times, so why not? Why should somebody on minimum wage have to fear hospital bills?

[hiodr]

it's called personal responsibility. the lack of it, in adults, is most exemplified by criminals. and what of those who deliberately abuse themselves? is it fair to make others pay for their foolishness? of course not.

[DaMuttzNutz]

I'm not talking about criminals and drug addicts, I'm talking about the 45 million of your countrymen and women who cannot afford health insurance because they are too poor.

[hiodr]

the figure of 45 million/ 15% of the population. of this number, 5% are illegals, 5% can afford it, but don't want to buy it anyway. only the remaining 5% are citizens who want insurance but cannot afford it. supposedly for the sake of this 5%, some would deny the right of the whole population to choose where to spend their money for health care. some may consider this acceptable, but the vast majority of americans have said they do not.

[ACiDLordLocust]

Your rights aren't being denied; under the proposed changes you can continue to throw your money into the same money pit that benefits everyone working for the flawed health care system EXCEPT doctors, nurses and hospitals.

[ACiDLordLocust]

The vast majority of Americans? The vast majority of Americans are silent on the issue because they're too busy working. But it's time to break the silence. Where do you get these statistics? Its very well known that those 45 million are CITIZENS who need affordable insurance, but are deterred by politicians, the top 10%, who keep misinforming people like you into believing that privatized health care is the way to go. The only place our money is going is into the pockets of wall street.

[hiodr]

part of the task of protection involves prosecution and punishment of violators when appropriate. the answer again is no.

[doormankrw]

Well if you read Obama's plan, all he wants to do is give you a pain pill. Insted of funding medical reasearch that could save you the pain and discomfort of your alements. This is how he is going to save money, not by helping you, but by giving you a pill my and shoving you in a corner until you die. Is this the American way? Lets save money by letting sick and old people die. WOW, THANKS MR. OBAMA. YOUR MY SAVIOR TOOOOOOO!

Sorry bout my spelling and grammer, but my teecher were a democrat.

[angnmini]

Health care for everyone? Look man I work on Wall street and we need more bailout money. Shit I need that bonus.. My yacht needs gas and my kids are in private schools, look I am down to my last case of Glen. You poor people are gonna have to wait....

[funkyflights]

good point..... kinda makes you sick when you think about it.... Americans are on the verge of really getting sick of this crap ....

[chollonerd]

The best solution would be to not get the government involved at all. Have insurers pay for any illness, none or this copper, silver, or gold coverage bullshit. so if you have a crappy job and only have copper coverage and you get cancer you're not covered? punish the insurer for not covering an individual and make health insurance a law like car insurance, a must have document. that will make it cheaper for everyone to have since insurers would be making a "killing"

[voinvarvar]

Sosializm + Kommunizm the best!!!!

[dawance88]

Ralph Nader will stop all this misery if he becomes president.

Nader/Gonzalez 08

[fgrod]

The Germans had Auswitz we have our basic out of control healthcare system where thousands are sentenced to death. We are as brainwashed and in denial as the german people were during the halocaust. This is a halocaust right under our noses due to our lack of proper care for all people.

[Pariah2001]

I'd rather have Socialism than a system where the majority of bankruptcies are caused by people priced out of an overpriced insurance market. The free market can't solve every problem, and what's so bad about Socialism anyway?

[YogaNate79]

Socialized medicne = High Income taxes through the roof

[Pariah2001]

I got news for you...taxes are high now; the only difference is that we don't receive much for them (locals get more in the form of pork barrel spending of the national taxes we pay).

[YogaNate79]

Andall the more reason not to have universal healthcare. Taxes are igh now just you wait until that wacko Obama socializes this country. They'll be out of this world.

[BeyondTheSpectrum08]

Hmmm--which is better? The current system which makes affordability prohibitive for about 50million+ Americans without insurance, (and some of those who have it), which crates a system whereby most personal bankruptcies are due to hospital bills, or a system where people don't die from preventable causes and their bills are paid, and no one goes into destitution? Socialism is not a bad thing; its only bad to those ideolgically opposed to being proven that the free market cannot solve everything

[YogaNate79]

You are living in a dream world that favors the poor, disadvantaged, and sick.

The United States is Capitalistic and it's healthcare system is "for profit."

If you want to mooch off of the government, then move to Cnaada or to Europe where all of their people are freeloaders and will not work in order to earn a living.

[BeyondTheSpectrum08]

I will ask you again...what part of the US Constitution, the various state constitutions, or federal law says that any solution to America's health care problem (or any problem) MUST be a free-market solution? You are living life through dogmatic ideological beliefs when you should be living based on reality. But as my father used to say, "Time and age has a way of showing you what I'm unable to tell you."

[YogaNate79]

And when are you going to realize that the United States Constitution mentions no wording that states that the government has sole responsibility to maintain the physical health and wellness of the American people?

[BeyondTheSpectrum08]

Logic dictates it...no good health for people means no people, no taxes, and no government. I have yet to see any solid research that says that Socialism makes one "lazy" and "bad work ethics." Thats belief, not fact...like religion.

[YogaNate79]

France is a country plagued with socialism... their people are lazy and have bad work ethics... 35 hour work weeks and six weeks of paid vacation....

Americans need to work and get a job with benefits in order to earn their way. It's called work.

[Freez57fr]

@YogaNate79

Yes, and with 35 hour work weeks and 5 weeks paid vacation (not 6), we are more developped.

The same for Canada and the others countries of Western Europe...

If you like have 3 jobs and work 80 years week for a shitty pay, have fun ^^

We don't want your shitty "work ethic" (your interpretation of "slavery") in Europe...

[Freez57fr]

I mean:

...and work 80 hours week (not years)

(let's not get carried away ^^)

[scouser691]

Quick question, if someone is hit by a car and is lying by the side of the road dying and it is apparent that he doesn't have the financial means to pay for treatment that could save his life, should he simply be left to there to die?

[YogaNate79]

Quick question, if someone is sleeping on the streets lying in a cardboard box in the cold and it is apparent that he doesn't have the financial means to pay for food that could put food in his belly, is it the responsibility of every American to come to his aid and rescue?

You might like government hand outs and expect something for nothing, but I am not going to financially support someone through welfare programs for somebody I do not even know let alone who does not affect my own life.

[scouser691]

You answer a question with a question? The two situations are quite different since the first situation dictates that a persons life is in immediate jeopardy and requires a prompt response. So what you wanna do Nate, give him the help he needs or let him rot in the gutter?

[YogaNate79]

The government does not have the responsibility or an obligation to provide social and welfare programs such as universal healthcare.

Healthcare is not a necessity nor is it a basic right. It is an earned privilege.

Why should a hard working American like myself pay taxes to support the illegal immigrants? The poor? Or the uninsured? Why should I have to be financially punished because people are too lazy to get a job with benefits or purchase it out of pocket?

[scouser691]

Why is it so difficult for you to answer a simple question. If someone is hit by a car and is lying by the side of the road dying and it is apparent that he doesn't have the financial means to pay for treatment that could save his life, should he should simply be left to there to die? A simple yes or no should suffice

[YogaNate79]

The answer to your quiestion is... NO I WOULD NOT.

[scouser691]

So sad. You are a poor excuse for a human being.

[funkyflights]

Dude .... the American health care system is sucking the life outta this country .... if you even come close to loving your country then you better pull your head outta your ass really quick like ... this is no longer a health care problem ... it's a health care CRISIS ..... I have friends from Canada and family from England and they love there Nationalized health care system ... they would REVOLT if the government tried to touch it right now... I hope u open your fucking eyes someday dude

[bobilator1]

Are u blind ? There is a lot of people cant work because they cant pay for there healt care in USA .They are fucking injury and they cant work for get operation . Who are u to say they deserve to die because they cant pay for there food and healtcare ? U fucking stupid.

[raudatee]

as a med student, one of the 1st things we did in starting med school was take the Hippocratic Oath - we gave our word to help people who need it, no matter who they are or where they're from, or how much money they have.

That's why today, SO many people who walk into ERs do get the healthcare they need - and it ends up being covered by the gov't or hospitals. This is good in one way, BUT it's bad in another - that people have to wait until they're dying/in an emergency to actually be helped :(

[raudatee]

so to sum up the answer - yes, I would help them, as anyone else should.

You help people for the sake of saving lives in medicine, not for the money.

To say people are too lazy to get jobs, or shouldn't be helped b/c they might be illegal immigrants, etc...isn't fair. College educated people still have trouble finding jobs, especially now, and all people are human beings who deserve the right to a good life, fair treatment, and a good and dignified death.

[scouser691]

Of course you are correct but to acknowledge that human beings should be given access to healthcare regardless of whether they have the means to pay for it would establish that healthcare is a basic human right. This is an avenue Yoganate doesn't want to go down, apparently he'd rather be a heartless bastard

[funkyflights]

I hear ya .... I've had no health care for years because of a pre existing condition I have ..... NO insurance company will touch me .... so when i'm sick I just wait until I absolutely have to go in to the ER ... then the bill is about 2,000 dollars .... last time I needed treatment I just went to Canada.... saved me TONS of money ... USA health care is a fucking joke... we should all take to the streets and protest I swear to god... As a people it's crazy we've allowed this for so long!

[LGLF1]

Im sorry to hear about your troubles with the system in the us funkyflights.. And im happy that you came to our country to get the care that you need and deserve.. Somehow wee need to ALK SOME SENCE INTO ALL THE RIGHT WING oBAMA HATERS THAT SOCALIZED HEALTH CARE WORKS!! And works great.. I cant beleive that some people are so outraged that it could be a reality in the US, they think there beloved free market will solve the problems. Ya its worked out good so far hasent it??lol

[funkyflights]

Well said .... and thanks ...

[BeyondTheSpectrum08]

The kicker is that conservatives like to say that Canadians and the British wait for basic services. If anyone has ever been to an inner-city emergency room on a weekend (or any day of the week for that matter), you wait! The free market cannot solve every problem...use what works! No law says a solution must adhere to free market principles.

[glenncookiowa1979]

Don't tell Rush Limbaugh or the other right wingers this. I use to listen to talk radio a lot, but they are telling more and more lies everyday. My wife couldn't see the doctor the other day because we did not have 95 dollars hanging loose in our pockets. They all say this is a market driven issue and that the market will correct its self. Guess what guys. PEOPLE are dying every day because of Washingtons greed. The poor drive up the cost of everyones healthcare costs!!!

[HackebeilHarry]

America offers its POOR citizens two things: Prison and the army.

[Apostolinen]

I have to say that you have to be a complete idiot not to realize how seriously FUCK.. UP American health system is. Besides, I'm tired of hearing this stupid trash about people lining up by the hundreds in Europe to see one doctor. That's bull#¤%"! I've lived in Europe over 10 years and I've never waited longer than an hour to see a doctor. In this country, unless you have insurance YOU DON'T SEE ONE! You tell me what's better.Especially since evnthough you have insurance you can still get F'ed

[stangeriam]

Its quite simple really. Our governments have NO INTEREST in healthy citizens. Inadequate health care systems bleed tax payers, and let the governments leech our hard earned money. It ALL works in best interests of BIG GOVERNMENT, BIG PHARMA, and BIG CORPORATIONS. The MORE POWER those goofs have, the more were screwed.

[urbanverificationist]

When the government works to the benefit of big business, it's called capitalism. When the government works to the benefit of the average citizen, it's called socialism. When a people take democratic control of their own society, it's called social democracy. And that scares the shit out of the corporate capitalists.

[YogaNate79]

I don't want universal healthcare. Unlike the rest of Europe that is socialist, Americans do not need to have every facet of their lives controlled and dictated by their government. Healthcare and wellbeing is a personal choice in the United States and the government should and ought not be responsible for babysitting the American people by enforcing a bunch of medical coverage rules through being taxed to death. Say NO to big government!

[poobah42o]

say YES to big pharma!

[Tihbialdunav]

US govmt=big corporations who leech the blood of US citizens. Strangely, no European lives in constant fear of getting sick. Your lives in US are in total govmt control-you pay 35% taxes and get NOTHING back. That's idiocy.

[YogaNate79]

Yes an unlike you, the USA is not one big failed welfare state where people mooch off of the government like a bunch of needy leeches.

I work for a living and earn my way, unlike the European way of 30 hour work weeks and 6 weeks of vacation. That translates to European laziness. Hence why Americans have better work ethics than you people.

What a sad state you are in.

[Tihbialdunav]

We enjoy life, not live paychech to paycheck and pray to stay healthy while eating deep-fried sugar -filler junk. We have peace, you have stress. Pay for healthcare, pay for school, college-things taxes should pay for...that's LIVING hell. We have more time for our families, for spiritual life, not just blind consumerism...

[YogaNate79]

You enjoy being lazy. Every penny I've made I have earned which is more than I can say for you moochers.

I refuse to have my tax dollars go to support another person in the US just because they are too lazy too get off of their ass and find a job. That might be your way, but it is not our way.

[BeyondTheSpectrum08]

Everyone's tax dollars support something...and in the end, you have no more control over that fact than you do your money going toward fighting a needless war. I don't have children, but MY taxes pay for the schools for others' kids to attend. The same goes for the free health care that our legislators enjoy...I don't have free health care, so why should MY taxes go to both their salaries AND their benefits? It's the way of the world.

[YogaNate79]

I refuse to have my tax dollars support healthcare for 305 million Americans. Its not my problem nor my responsibility to keep other people healthy. If people want socialized medicine, then they need to move to Canada or Europe where everybody is a moocher and welfare ridden. No way, no how, and not in America!

[BeyondTheSpectrum08]

As I said before (which you did not address). No matter WHAT you feel about "your" tax dollars going to "support the uninsured," they support something else you are not fond of: wars, local pork barrel projects of some other district, etc. You have no say so in this either, so why should paying the health care cost of the uninsured matter? You pay anyway because of the higher premimums YOUR insurance company charges YOU. Please learn to think outside of your beliefs.

[YogaNate79]

Who says I am against having my tax dollars support wars and our military? I support our defense it 100% and feel it to be way more important than people's healthcare.

If people are too lazy to go out and find a job with benefits, then that is their own fault. Hence, I will not be held accountble when they get rushed to the ER and lay on their death bed.

[BeyondTheSpectrum08]

You sound young. Who in THIS economy is able to find full-time employment with benefits that include medical? Have you seen the unemployment stats? Sounds more like you think based on dogmatic ideology rather than what's going on in reality.

[YogaNate79]

There are many jobs out there. Obviously those who can;t find work cannot compete because either they have no education, no skills, or no experience in order to compete in the job market.

[BeyondTheSpectrum08]

If you say so. However, I can assure you that you won't feel the same way in another 10years. But if it helps you sleep at night believing that Urban Legend, go for it. ;)

[Pariah2001]

It's no wonder conservatives are so "popular" (yes, thats sarcasm Einstein). We're left to our own devices because dipshits like yourself are too blinded by their own apparent success to see that there is a different reality out here...one that doesn't support your narrow view of a "perfect system" where things work themselves out if you adhere to some bullshit belief. Beyond's right...you either have some more living to do, or you've been incredibly sheltered from reality!

[YogaNate79]

No, I am just not a moocher of government programs. I've earned my way through life by hard work which has so far given me the lifestyle in which I am accustomed to.

If you want to be a freeloader, then move to Canada or Europe where bad work ethics will bury you in mountains of socialism.

[Pariah2001]

Oh yeah...and CEO's getting rich off bad decisions that you are I will have to pay for in taxes works SOOOO well. LOLOL

[KeKLENKE]

taxes would out of the roof!!! for less quality healthcare!!!!!!! GET A FUCKING JOB AND GET SOME HEALTHCARE!!!!

[rightdemocrat]

Our "free market" health care system is simply not working. We need some form of national health insurance.

[jjbarbados]

College costs a fortune too, adult ´kids´ have to be sent to university by parents.Absurd health fees , absurd school fees...when banks and Corps do wrong they always ask the goverment for help. They have to lower the rate and loan them billions. The whole country is a contradiction.

[ajss7]

For the corporations and by the corporations this is what I put for the American Democracy, what a Sham. People are being scared over and over that something inevitable is going to happen and the way life is going to be affected. The word freedom is being abused again and again.

[Darusdei]

Universal healthcare is in place most countries in the western world...

you go to war and say "we go to save some ppl in iraq" but ur own poor and sick u are willing to let just die... what kinda moral do u preach there?

[aviomaster]

bearsagainstevil ---- I LIVE here in the USA .... IT is even worse health care than in SLOVENIA ,,,,, BRITISH in USA people die and nobody talks about it ......

[aviomaster]

--- PEOPLE in USA need democracy .... PEOPLE can not even choose who is going to be next president ..... USA health care IS GARBAGE ..... ONLY RICH PEOPLE are covered with a PRIVATE health care ,,,,, IN SUDAN,Zambia,Cambodia RICH people are covered ......

[aviomaster]

USA has worst health care in the world ....

[caled2care]

I love to hear people's stories because if we hear them often enough, hopefully, we'll change. This cheapening & devaluing of human life all in the name of profit is NOT fit for ANY civilised society. We need to learn from the Europeans & End The Madness!

[KeKLENKE]

guess what???? Europe is having their own healthcare problems!!!! they have lines out the door and around the block waiting on 1 doctor!!! a doctor FAR less educated then OUR doctors..... do some research!!! I prefer having quality healthcare

[Tihbialdunav]

I'm from Europe and what you say is simply not true. My father had an emergency and was hospitalized for 2 weeks; guess what? He only had to pay about 20 dollars for medication. Same would've cost him over 120 000 dollars in US. He is so lucky he is NOT American!

[StefanoBrasil]

I prefer the Cuban healthcare

[bluenote71]

she's diabetic. she could die.

[ryan5843]

i hate to burst everyones bubble but the only way that socialized medicine is able to support drug companies, who although they do over medicate us still provide us with the drugs that we do need to survive in hospitals and when we are sick, comes from the fact that America is a capitalist economy in terms of pharma while the government gives prives to companies under socialized medicine

[bearsagainstevil]

Im british and I feel really sorry for you guys , micheal moores bringing out sicko a film on this subject things could change in the usa if you make free universal healthcare a big issue

[irvpat]

to bearsagainstevil: I certainly hope so this doesn't make sense, every american politician is in someone's pocket!!!! What is the point of my vote.