Obama pushes health care plan at town hall meeting

[dirtydesertdog]

now its fifty million?funny how that number keeps creeping up.

[bluenine69]

I am not sure that anything is broken and needs fixing. It is time for personal responsiblity. Say no to socialism.

[theninjaman87]

So, I have a proposal: If our health care is too convoluted, our tax code is worse! So, if Obama can start with fixing that, then he will have my full support on health care.

[satanic6ritual]

All these people in the medical industry are like a big mafia all the way down to the nurses. This bill is just another example of Obama's socialist network. Why don't they ever promote alternatives to drugs and nutrition. How many doctors talk about colon flushes? They are not healers.

[satanic6ritual]

At 40 i've never been layed up in a hospital. I believe people get sicker in the hospital and the most common cause of death is wrong diagnosis. Doctors are not well versed in nutrition, they only sell you drug after another. I heard something about you would pay a fine if you refused health care. This would be something very unfair to people that don't want health care. I for one am one of those people. This is another political stunt to make another band aid for the failing economy.

[okayplayer82]

So you're blaiming doctors now?

[AnnieSweetieOakley]

Single payer is the only way everyone can recieve good care and everyone will be covered. That's why Obama used to support it before the lobbyists waved their money/threats in his face:

watch?v=Wi1acHg3mhw

[clearsky24]

Debbie Smith is a prime example of what is wrong with Obamas plan. She is a severely over weight person, most of her medical problems (besides cancer) could be traced directly to her weight.

Since she has chosen to live her life so irresponsibly it now falls on us to take care of her?

She serves as the exception not the rule, and should be helped by private charities and churches, who would have plans for people like her... if we were not taxed too much already, we would be more generous.

[oilhammer04]

Government run healthcare will neither be health nor care. The government is a big reason healthcare is already so expensive. Why didn't Obama offer to pay for the woman's health care?  He can afford it.

[ktchong]

Not really. There are a few examples of governments that are quite successful in running the national health care.

However, the U.S. government -- given its track records -- won't be one of them; and the U.S is not in the financial shape to finance a national health care.

Most likely, China is going to end up paying for Americans' health care. Hopefully, China will finally take a stand and refuse to further finance American's wasteful spending.

[oilhammer04]

Countries like Britain's socialized health care system got to start with a health care system built by the private sector. That was a big jump start and now they have a typical system of restriction, rationing, and waiting lists. And, some Brits pay for private health insurance, because of the restrictions and rationing. And to top it off, socialized medicine will be more expensive that private health care.

[ktchong]

For most people, waiting to receive health care is way way better than NOT being able to get any health care, or being bankrupted by the health care system. Please do not simply overlook or dismiss those two main problems with the current system in the U.S.

Now, if you don't want to wait, then you can always pay for your own priority care. But most people would rather wait than not being able to afford health care, which is what happening in the U.S. right now.

[ktchong]

One of the things I don't like about conservatives is that you LIE about the comparative costs of health care.

The health care expenditure per capita in America, at about $7900, is the HIGHEST in the world. Total spending in 2007 was $2.4 trillion, again the HIGHEST in the world. It represents 17 percent of the GDP, also the HIGHEST in the world.

So how is our private health care any "less" expensive than socialized health care in other countries? Ours is the MOST costly.

[ktchong]

Atop of all those costs, our health care system is not even ranked the best in the world... not even close. Our is ranked 37th by the WHO. It's the lowest among Western nations. (Our health care system has been consistently ranked as one of the lowest among industrial nations by VARIOUS non-profit organizations.)

[CoIIegeguy]

Well ktchong, did you know that the ranking system that placed the U.S. at 37th was based on quantity, not quality. Yeah, france was number one because every frenchie has health coverage, just try going to the hospital with hemorhagic bacterial infections and wait in line behind the hundreds that go to the hospital daily to skip work with a "cough." If you aren't responsible enough to get an insurance policy you should be left out. Im not paying for your flu symptoms!

[WinterHaven]

For countless millions of people in America who cannot afford health care-there is NO health care. Step into a walk in clinic they want $200 up front. You see a doctor for 5 minutes. Tests? A few simple blood works-CBC, Astra 8, lipid panal-$600. God help you if you are prescribed meds. That one simple walk in clinic visit will cost you $1,000.00 if not more with labs and meds.

[WinterHaven]

Most people never see a doctor because they can't afford it-or until they code and nearly die and end up in the hospital without insurance which is easily about a million dollars for a few days in the hospital.

[CoIIegeguy]

Well, I worked for my money. Its sad that in todays world it is a sin to be successful. I have bought my own insurance policy and I don't believe that my Army money(being one of the highest rate taxed income) should pay for the piece of crap that never did anything with his/hers life's health insurance policy.

[okayplayer82]

You don't have a job according to conservatives, since you work for the government.

[CoIIegeguy]

I doubt any conservative would say I don't have a job because I am in the military.

[CoIIegeguy]

What hospital charges that much? I think most hospitals charge an acceptable amount since you are staying in one of their rooms that needs light, a/c, defibrilator on standby, the tv, electric adjustable bed, bathroom, drip set up, and you are paying for the nurses and doctors coming to see the patient. Shouldent be hard to see why it costs money to be in the hospital.

[WinterHaven]

ALL of them do-DEPENDS on the procedures done-when one is in the hospital you don't just lay in bed. A single open heart surgery can be a half to a million dollars. Intensive care costs.

[WinterHaven]

My father was in the hospital in 1996 and had about 6 inches of his bowel removed. He was in there 3 days. His bill back in 1996 was $100,000.00 for three days for a simply 6 inches of bowel removed.

[oilhammer04]

Like I said before, part of the problem of cost is government regulations. The government is part of the problem with high cost of medicine and then they proposed to be the solution. What a joke!

[ktchong]

FYI, our health care system is the more privatized than other industrial nations, which happen to to have CHEAPER and universal health care.

I'm sure our current system is less "regulated" than universal health care in other countries. So why isn't ours cheaper or ranked higher?

[ktchong]

And don't throw around ideological nonsense like "part of the problem of cost is government regulations" unless you can prove it or show some comparative figures and data. Because that simply ain't true.

[CoIIegeguy]

Ok, you might get healthcare for "free" with increased taxes, but what happens if the first treatment dosen't work? In Britain, if you have arthritis and the first round of treatments don't work you are screwed, no second chance. It costs too much to go for a second treatment. In the U.S. you can pay for your own plan and get specialists who have devoted their lives to understanding the problems you have, so if you have a problem paying them for it, go for a yeah with debilitating arthritis.

[CoIIegeguy]

Shite, I meant go for a year with debilitating athritis, my uncle in britain got a misdiagnosis and therefore the wrong treatment for his rheumatoid arthritis, he got no second chance. Do you want that shit in America? Screw that, I say no to paying for the ditch diggers health insurance.

[WinterHaven]

So you are saying misdiagnosis never happens here? HA!

[CoIIegeguy]

Well winterhaven, you do understand that diseases don't come with post-it-notes saying what the problem is. I never said that misdiagnosises did not happen in the U.S. I said that in Britain you have one chance. But to build upon your ignorance, unless you know someone who knows someone kinda thing, you are entirely screwed in every country that has universal health care. Bottom line. Misquote me again if you feel like it verifies your ideals. Im used to liberlal spin.

[WinterHaven]

Many specialists can also screw you up here. Worse.

[CoIIegeguy]

So you would rather be treated by a general practice doctor than a specialist?

[WinterHaven]

ONLY if the condition TRULY warrants a specialist-in most cases, doctors refer to specialist on conditions they themselves can treat - and many times it is due to milking medicare/medicaid that clinics encourage this practice. I know this to be true because I knew this one elderly lady who had so many specialists-EACH prescribing their own meds, she went into liver failure due to the toxicity of all of these drugs.

[CoIIegeguy]

That does not prove your theory but it is sad she died. Liver failure is not uncommon in elderly people to begin with. If this woman had a lot of specialists as you say than I take it she had many things wrong with her. Toxicity due to medications is a possibility, but you do realize that the people who go in for treatment aren't exactly olympic athletes in perfect condition. There is only so much that doctors can do. And unforseen complications do happen, no how the doctor bill is payed.

[CoIIegeguy]

*no matter how the doctor bill is payed. Socialized medicine will not change this. Just make waiting lists to see doctors much longer. Malpractise lawsuits should be curtailed so doctors dont feel so much pressure to refer patients to specialist so they will not be sued for not "trying hard enough."

[CoIIegeguy]

Government ran health care has failed misserably in every European country that has blindly accepted the idea that if everyone is covered then there will not be any sick people. Only to find that human garbage(shit cakes) wind up going to the hospital almost daily because of a "cough". So screw that, get a job and pay for your own healthcare. I don't want to pay for your syphilis treatment!