American SiCKO Donna Smith Talks Health Care and Ted Kennedy

[jonrmahnke]

That will never happen in this shitty country.  there is too much greed and not enough people willing to do anything about it.

[granger18trains]

to all you people in the UK and other places who think the US is the perfect place to live.....you ought to watch this !

[dave777blaster]

surely afford a complete no pay universal health system .

the best universal system in the world at that

otherwise how can America justify sending

almost a trillion dollars to all those countries and bases world wide. and 2 trillion a year on military machines with no enemies except manufactured enemies

IT would behoove the American govt to get a grasp of this reality and take care of their people and country.

[TheAustrian08]

So instead of stealing from people for war, we should steal from people for healthcare. That's the good kind of stealing?

[dave777blaster]

Americans pay 30 billion each year to Israel which pays for their Universal medicare system

nicely .

[TheRevolutionCanada]

@dave777blaster LOL NICE

[rickc1945]

Sad story but very interesting.

Rick from Lindsay Ontario

[inkey2]

yeh, here in the USA you have to keep working while you are dieing because if you lose your job you lose your health insurance.

[fuhmeregan]

Emmigrate to Canada - make a statement!! enough of you do, and your govt will wake up and look after like ours does. Simple.

[nothingtoobig]

every government looks after its people, canada, uk, even cuba offers healthcare to every single one of its citizen

[TheRevolutionCanada]

@nothingtoobig CHECK FUCKING MATE !!!

[phillipmarch22]

Please get on line and write your local Congressman and Senators that we will not accept anything less then a "Public Option" heathcare plan. The GOP keep saying that they do not want the Government involved in your healthcare. You all might want to know that the GOP overwhelming voted against Medicare many years ago and ask anyone over 65 how they feel about Medicare.. It has been a good deal for them. Please, do your part. Insurance companies are ripping you off!

[SeoulMan]

Imagine such a change. When I imagine it, I think back to the Communist takeover of China, having rounded up the bourgeois, landlords, bureaucrats, and traitors, label them as enemies, and punish/execute them.

Could anyone imagine this being done to the "enemies of the state", i.e. the people who advocate or continue to support the flawed US health care system?

[tombstonetom]

The social security system is not much different. It is not working as well as it should but after it was put in place, seoulman, 'the bourgeois, landlord, bureaucrats and traitors' were not rounded up, punished or executed.

However, it you were to take away the health system of another country I could image that might happen.

[Davidmeimers]

Donna, thanks for all you're doing! We need a dignified health care system that covers everyone. Everyone in, no one out. Fair, shared cost by employers and employees. Everyone in. No one out. No more health care related deaths!

Time to start from scratch and design a system that is not dependent on our employers crappy plan designs. A consistent level of quality care for anyone that gets sick. Not welfare - single payer health care.

[LostWondr]

This is such a worry for people of all ages. I know that I grappled with an HMO to pay for an x-ray, a lousy x-ray to figure out why I had back pain, which they refused to pay for because "traditionally x-rays do not find the source of backpain" even though it found mine.

[cosmicskydaddy]

The US government cab bailout rich bankers and others for what will likely be more than 1 trillion dollars,and also finance a useless war for 1 trillion,and they can't come up with money for a national health plan.

[tombstonetom]

Germany started their healthcare system in 1883. That's right 125 years ago according to wikepedia. Surely America can show as much compassion as the 19th Century Germans.

[JayEey]

I didnt know that, I thought we British were one of the earliest to bring in free universal health care for all. That was 1947.

[tombstonetom]

I thought it was pretty interresting too. Baron Otto Van something or other came up with it. Which kind of takes Marx out of the blame for it.

[StopUnumNow]

Sicko on its way in the UK?

NHS INSURANCE VOUCHER PLAN MOOTED

The BBC Tuesday, 9 September 2008

Healthcare organisations should compete to insure patients under a state-funded scheme which would radically transform the NHS, a think tank is proposing.

Plans from Reform would see everyone given a £2,000 "voucher" each year, funded out of general taxation, to buy health insurance.

Competition between private firms and primary care trusts would drive down costs and improve choice, it argues...

[JayEey]

Reform - is a think-tank with links to the Liberal Democrats. They just went down in my opinion. The only true friends of the NHS are old labour. Vote Socialist Labour Party, or vote for Labour candidates that will defend the NHS. (this coming from someone who hates the current Labour party!).

[mufasa10811]

i,m sorry we can not aford we have i loy of wars to finance we are ment to kill thats fuckin sad!

[xpo50]

most industrialized countries did this many years ago, but the USA is a backwards country a country where Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh are popular

They wouldnt have jobs in any other country

[tombstonetom]

Rush Limbaugh would do just fine in Iran or the tribal areas of Pakastan. Ann Coulter would have done fine the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany. Any country that embraces hate over reason would embrae them.

[odetomy]

I really admire Mrs. Smith and what she is doing! I'm so glad to finally see these videos make it to the YouTube homepage. The TV media has tried so hard to keep HR 676 out of the limelight. Most reporters like Mr. Gupta only confuse and scare people against HR 676 with their health care reports.

Please contact congress and tell them we need HR 676 (universal single-payer health insurance). It's the only way we are going to get TRUE universal health insurance for ALL!

[hypnofan35]

Status defends status. Don't get hurt at work. My experience with workmen's comp is it is a simple matter for a big insurance company to conspire with the ajudicators. Just figure it out. You get the shaft and they get a new luxury home or car. Better plan on getting reemed. That is what happened to me. Thank you Liberty Mutual!  Now i have first hand experience of true insurance butt reaming with fisting collusion.

[3101010]

Thats why I love Canada

[marniespeaks]

Teddy wasn't concerned about paying for his illness he has the best medical the tax payers money can buy

[pongman]

Yeah but, I can't wait for the kid that works in that little cubical at the insurance company to send him a bill with the words "Not Covered and Experimental" and also stating he didn't get prior authorization to have his surgery done at Duke when he was out of network and out of state. Seriously why do you think the former CEO of United Healthcare made off with over 2 billion dollars when he left? lol

[marniespeaks]

the tax payers will pickup his tab

[pongman]

lol, no Duke will send him to a collection agency. I think that's why he went to Duke and not have it done at Harvard. It's hard to collect from out of state patients.

[marniespeaks]

Americans will still pay along with the collection fees

[martin31406]

We pay taxes towards stuff we don't want anyway! Why can't we pay for someone elses health care? You benefit too if you require medical attention.

[marniespeaks]

that's the problem, Congress gets the best care your tax dollars can buy, and it's not like most of these guys can't afford it from their investments alone, and those who don't get health care still pay for their care. It's a pay or die system in the US where 18,000 people die each year because of lack of health care and 35+ million more are tittering on the edge.

Saying, "We pay taxes towards stuff we don't want anyway" only shows how irresponsible, ignorant and ill informed you are.