Single Payer Health Care Congressional Hearing

[TheTruthWanderer]

Dr. Grazter is not a healer... he is just a hack and a lobbyist with and MD.

[vlunney]

Why can't we just take $1 million from every fortune 500 company and get rid of nukes we're never going to use? No president in their right mind is ever going to use one. if we didn't after 911 we never will. they piss too much money away.

this can easily get us out of our china debt and legalizing weed will rake in millions that can also be used to put the middle and lower classes, based on income on the same plan the politicians get without "punishing" the rich. everyone wins!

[sinclair61]

Re: Stats. If I have No car...but my neighbor has TWO Rolls Royce´s, then I own one Rolls Royce. But I will never get to actually driving it, unless of course you look at some other equally misleading stats! I must admit though, this Gratzer guy should be up for an Oscar...textbook slaesman...I can just imagine him taking the lead in a movie about the life of Woody Allen...he is perfect for that.

[verummossolvovos]

Like Butts & Bums, everybody has one; my opinion is: It takes smaller, less bureaucratic governments, and the re-direction of tax dollars, away from bombs and bullets, to provide all human being, with the same level of health care, as the affluent. The affluent equates to less than one quarter of the entire world's population. The MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES decide; should Doctors be paid what Doctors deserve? Or, should we spend the money on a new TANK, GPS guided BOMB, or FLU VACCINE.

[jjrglobal]

Why dont they bring in any real Dr's to testify to the true nature of the problem. Dr Angell is a member of the Harvard MEdical School Faculty with zero real life experience in medicine The same goes for Dr Gratzer, he has no real world experience either. Bring in some docs that are in the trenches day in day out and understand the true nature of rising costs and lower quality.

[JSparkleZ2]

Single Payer is the only real solution... This is why on average America has the worst rated healthcare in the industrialized world right now...

FUCK PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES!!!

[jjrglobal]

How do you figure that the US has the worst rated HC?

[JSparkleZ2]

Fair enough... We're 37th in the world... Behind all of the countries with single payer...

You don't have to be last in line to lose the race...

[jjrglobal]

37th in what?

[jjrglobal]

What metric are you using to come up with 37th in health care for the US?

[jjrglobal]

Why do the most important people from foreign countries come to the US if they need serious medical care? If you've ever taken a basic statistics course you know that statistics can be presented in a manner to support any argument, no matter how ludicrous the argument you can find stats to support it. ie: Mortality rates do not include murder or accidents, etc. HC has very little to do with mortality rates. Diet, Stress etc. have far more of an impact than HC does.

[JSparkleZ2]

Why do Americans cross to the Canadian border in flocks every single day to get affordable rx drugs? Bc Single payer keeps costs down...

The reason ppl from other countries come here for medical treatment is bc you watch too much fox news and aren't aware that they really don't...

[philravens10]

Proud to be CANADIAN!!!

[logtype47]

Would anyone care to know who provides financial support to the Manhattan Institute of which David Gratzer is representing?

Answer:

- CIGNA Corporation, a private healthcare concern

- Bristol-Myers Squibb, a pharmaceutical corporation

David Gratzer is a young policy hack who was quickly promoted to senior fellow due to his ability to tow the line for private healthcare. He offers industry scripted arguments based on pseudo-calculations.

[loola456]

This is the long overdue bill that past presidents have tried to avoid for political gain and not for the wellbeing of the country. Healthcare is vital to a robust economic recovery and we all have to pay attention to whats being put on the table. Its not about democrat and republican , its about reforming the health care system. Republicans talking about deficit and still wanted to spend billions on planes that are not neccessary anymore for an evolving military.

[hellotommy]

This healthcare battle is so important. Do you ever go to the post office? Obama wants to destroy the private health industry, he wants an "all in" Government system, there are recordings of him saying that it will take about 15 years to knock out the private insurance companies because nobody will accept him taking away their care at once. The stimulus failure is just money; this will delay critical lifesaving medical treatments causing premature deaths.

[wdgeo]

Can someone please direct me to another copy of this that actually has audio????

[wdgeo]

Audio????? what's the deal with the audio?????

[rightgonewrong]

I am choosing not to participate in any further discourse with you deanj59, as it is my belief that there is no sincere effort on your part to discuss rationally. In addition, I lost a very sweet and most beautiful niece - her life taken at the young age of 27 - because she had no health insurance. I will admit therefore to being emotionally connected to this issue to an extent that leaves your comments seem most foul to me. Have a wonderful life - as long as you have access to healthcare.

[rightgonewrong]

Dr. Gratzer does a pretty good impression of Woody Allen on Prozac, but strip away his manipulation of facts and buzz words (like socialism) and all we have here is a con man *capitalizing* on the healthcare crisis.  Capitalism has no place in life and death decisions about your health.

[deanj59]

It does with your car insurance...should there be a single payer governmental car insurance program? To say nothing of the fact that R&D research will virtually disappear if there was no profit to be made on any drug. Research costs money, and it's only by capitalizing on past research and technology do you get new ones. It's the same reason any private business strives to produce more/better for less and less. If they are constantly losing money they don't have the funds to fuel that research.

[rightgonewrong]

The health insurance co. decides if your son can have a life-saving transplant, your auto insurance company decides on the Kelly Blue book on your totaled '91 Toyota. The comparison is inhuman. Single-payer system won't hamper medical research. Lap. gallbladder removal: pioneered in Canada. CT scan: invented in England. New treatment for diabetes using pancreatic cells: Canada. When HMO's "strive to produce more/better for less" the "more/better" is money, and the "less" is health care.

[deanj59]

Without monetary compensation of no means inventions may be made, however no company will create the product around the invention if the price caps or restrictions are such that they can never make a profit on it. Doctors in Canada & England still profit off of care, it's just the government is picking up the tab. You think they should just work for free then? And yes, car insurance providers DO make decisions about health care when one or both parties are injured in the accident.

[rightgonewrong]

I'm not sure how the leap was made from single payer health insurance to doctors working for free, but I hope you had a safety net. Doctors will not work for free under a Universal Health care system. Auto insurance companies do not make health care decisions; they do not decide if the accident victim lying in the road with a severed arm while bleeding to death can or cannot receive life-saving emergency care. Where *do* you get your misinformation? I'd suggest that you do some research.

[deanj59]

It's not a leap, I'm responding to your statement "Capitalism has no place in life and death decisions about your health." the fact is they ARE capitalizing on people's health care if they are making money off of it. Auto companies don't make a decision whether a person in need of emergency medical care gets treatment, the point is asinine. They make decisions about PAYING for the treatment received. Where do I get my information? Read your car insurance policy, or go sit in on a case in court.

[rightgonewrong]

Im not sure if there is a sincere miscommunication going on here, or if youre making a concerted effort to twist words to suit your agenda. You take my statement about capitalism and extend it to health care PROVIDERS. I did not state this, as your quotation confirms. A *private, for profit insurance industry* SHOULD NOT be making life and death decisions; the doctors should. The doctors are paid for that service and will continue to be paid under Universal Health care.

[rightgonewrong]

And, I see youve changed your tune about auto insurance and that admit that they do not make health *care* decisions, but rather decisions regarding payment on a claim. When pre-approvals are required for tests and surgical procedures, and the health insurance company denies, you do not receive the treatment.

[deanj59]

ALL of my statements were in direct response to your statement about capitalism having no place in heath care, not about a single payer system. If you want to take offense at some one disagreeing with you then I can't do anything about that. I'm truly sorry for your loss, but that doesn't make your case any stronger or weaker. I have lost people too, so don't question my dignity as a human being if I happen to disagree with you.

[dalecampbl5]

Right now as things stand, health care is crippling and needs to be made cheaper. for god sakes, it's health care...the technology and medicine we have NOW is enough to save many lives if its affordable...we need to make sure people can afford it...health care is not software engineering where it reinvents itself every 3 years...R&D while needed is not essential to helping everyone NOW.

[cmontesi23]

No, that's called profitting from human health rights.

[cblairnyc]

We won't have a healthcare system that works for people until we take profit out of the system. Greed is not good. It kills.

[blueline99]

I love the fact that they argue both sides to a public health care option.

1. The government is incapable of managing something so vast as healthcare. It's too risky!

2. If there is a public option in healthcare, it will drive the private insurers out of the business... why? because medicare spends 2% on admin and private insurers spend 33%.

[avaistheone]

Single payer health insurance for all Americans. Everybody in. Nobody out.

[PierreElliottTrudeau]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HA!!! What the hell is this about Single Payer having all these side effects? I haven't seen one in Canada.

[buckeyefan05]

DId you see the part where Dennis Kucinich verbally bitch slapped him about those so called statistics?

[peapin]

No kidding. When I hear about how Canadians suffer at the hands of their single payer system, I end up feeling really bad for them. Hey wait a minute. I'm CANADIAN!  Who the hell are these guys talking about. Not very honest is it. We all know it about lining the pockets of their medicare providers and not taking care of their people. How sad. Glad I was born a Canuck.

[peapin]

PETrudeau:  I agree with you. Greed is what controls these people.