California has a worsening shortage of nurses. The problem is that the Community Colleges that train them get equal funding for each student, and nurse are a lot more expensive to train than your average English major. There are some special grants to improve this, but the last report I heard said that there were long waiting lists to get into nursing programs.
I’m sure the situation is not going to get any better soon.
The Tenth Amendment maybe?
I see what you are saying. I have insurance on my home in case it burns down. My insurance doesn’t cover changing the filter in the a/c, because that type of coverage would be ridiculously expensive and unsustainable.
Again, I agree, but I can’t see something like this happening. You said that we would cover the poor 100%. Medicare will cover the elderly and give them modest co-pays. Fine, that is going to drive up costs, though, agreed? The doctors are going to lobby the government to pay a hefty price for the trouble.
And then we will have the working poor. Some guy works at McDonalds and gets a $500 bill for taking one of his kids to the doctor (with a couple of extra tests) that he can’t pay. His wife gets into a car accident and although he has a catastrophic policy, he can’t pay the $5000 deductible.
Sure, he should have saved, but he didn’t. Since when do we demand responsiblity from people? Really, its not all his fault, because he’s barely paying the bills as is. We will hear stories about how, in Canada, doctor visits are “free” and why can’t it be like that here. I know we have that argument now, but your solution doesn’t address it.
I am not sure this would work. It would probably cost millions in lost visitors because, let’s face it, if you add the cost and hassle of getting an insurance policy to the current Homeland Security nightmare many (more) people would just avoid traveling to America. It is bad enough as it is. It may be cheaper to just treat the visitors and send them a bill. Or whatever Europe does these days. I do not believe they require health insurance for visiting Americans. Or do they? I have no idea.
When I needed urgent treatment in the U.K., in theory I was supposed to be charged for the doctor visit in cash on the spot. In practice, the small-town clinic where I was seen had no idea how to deal with it, so they decided it was easier to just write off the 20 GBP or whatever for the office visit. If I’d needed extensive care, though, I imagine they might have bothered figuring out how to take my money. (But I would have been eligible for reimbursement for medically necessary overseas urgent care from my U.S. insurance plan, anyway.)
No one asked me for proof of insurance. My daughter is in college in Germany for the year, and she needed insurance (same as here.) We decided that it was far easier for her to buy German state insurance ($70 / month) than to figure out how to make my insurance work over there.
Well, the Tenth really should just be repealed. On the one hand, by restricting the ability to tax monies that cross state lines, it constrains states from protecting their own interests. On the other, it’s invoked by the unthoughtful to try to prevent the one government with the power actually to govern from serving the public.
Assume heavily in the government’s favor and you’ve still got just another insurance provider.
We need tort reform. Malpractice insurance is out of control due to a combination of frivolous/opportunistic lawsuits and disproportionate payment of damages by the judiciary. The system has been so abused that medical practitioners’ largest expense is usually insurance.
Unfortunately, tort reform alone cannot undo what has been done. Malpractice insurers continue to hike their rates by pointing to these disproportionate awards and spinning out of control propaganda. Doctors will have to unite and demand lower premiums or the system will stay deadlocked.
Pharmaceuticals are expensive and it’s easy to see why. In addition to funding cutting edge science, drug companies are required to test, test, test. This means a host of expensive clinical trials and other expensive hoops designed to keep the citizenry safe.
I’d rather take tested, approved drugs but if the clamor for acceptance into clinical trials is anything to go by, people are willing to accept a certain amount of risk to explore new avenues of treatment. A combination of de-regulation and tax incentives based on FDA-approval would provide greater access to drugs while lowering the cost of their development.
There are myriad ways to tackle health care reform through legislation without drastically altering the existing framework or corrupting the Capitalist system. If we don’t attempt to cut costs before including the government we’re passing these gross overages onto ourselves, the taxpayers.
Can you tell me where exactly in the constitution or bill of rights it says that the government job is to provide for individual needs?
Slee
I think that sailor has an excellent point. Why provide insurance? Forget that step. We are so used to thinking in terms of insurance and forms. Just provide medical care and health care.
Constitutions are documents that organize and arrange a government and its constituent polity - they’re not the be all and end all of what defines a society and its values.
(btw “constitution or bill of rights” uses an incorrect conjunction)
Social Security runs at a fraction of the cost of health companies. They are far more efficient. The government does a great job.
Insurance companies do their damnest to get out of covering. They spend millions denying coverage. Their incentive is to not provide care.
We have almost 50 million without any health coverage. They do get sick. The government and tax payer have to provide it. Doesn’t that strike you as strange, our health care providers are doing everything they can to curtail health coverage? Bring us your rich, your young and your healthy. We want them. If they get sick we will claim it is a preexisting problem and deny them. Nice if you can get away with it.
aye, but the constitution, along with amendments, does define the scope of the United States Federal Government, and health care does not seem to be a listed power. Maybe a constitutional amendment should be passed, nah we dont do that sort of thing, we have judges make up reasons why the power is their all along just no one noticed till now.
Someone else said do away with the tenth amendment. Personally I think the ninth and tenth amendments are one of the best safeguards to keeping America a free nation. Imagine a more charismatic George W. Bush and co in power. How much more damage could they of done to the nation if the central government had more power?
Personally I think it should be the other way around. The government closest to you and thus the easiest to change by your voice should have the most power over you and most direct influence in your day to day life.
Alexander Hamilton would challenge you to a duel, no doubt
Does a government owe its citizens anything but protection from other countries? Should a government take care of its people ? What is the reason for setting up a system if you think we should protect our borders but have have a free for all inside them?
Most first world countries think they have a responsibility to its citizens. People who worship money do not.
People who worship money are more trustworthy than the people who complain about people who worship money.
Warren Buffet admits he prefers reading financial statements instead of looking at vacation photos with his frends. He says he likes to “watch capital grow.” I’d trust him more than any of the plumbers and painters that have gone through my house.
The loudmouth self-righteous priest that points out everyone’s sins? He’s the one to look out for because he’s the one secretly sodomizing the boys.
[quote=“Rumor_Watkins, post:51, topic:499167”]
Constitutions are documents that organize and arrange a government and its constituent polity - they’re not the be all and end all of what defines a society and its values.
So the Constitution should be dismissed if inconvienent? When were you planning on becoming a judge? 
I had to pay when I studied in the UK for a term. I did not have to pay as a tourist though.
I think for a work visa you should show proof (IF we require it of everyone), but not for tourists (take the risk I guess).
Personally, I make sure that I am covered and that my family is covered whenever I travel abroad.
Which, again, requires allowing states to regulate interstate commerce. I’m not kidding about this, the Tenth is toxic to state’s rights, because it guts the power of most states to effectively tax or even police their borders.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m proposing cutting a big plank out of the Bill of Rights. The Constitution was made for man, not man for the Constitution.