Healthcare: What most of the candidates JUST DON'T GET:

[youthere]

It's not about getting INSURANCE..It's about getting HEALTH CARE!
I want to see a candidate that is going to go hell bent and completely revamp health care as we know it. I want some smack downs of the gluttonous insurance and drug companies and have them pulled back into check.

Right now my family pays nearly $500 a month for health care coverage. The premiums have nearly tripled in the last eight years, the co-pays have nearly doubled, the deductables have increased and the coverage is consistantly reduced each year.
When my kids are sick, I can't take them to the doctor because a lot of times I can't even afford the co-pay on the office visit...and even if I CAN get them in, I usually can't afford the medications that the insurance company is willing to pay for (which is almost NEVER the medication the doctor wants to prescribe.) I've even been told by my doctor that he knows the medication he's prescribing won't work, but he HAS to prescribe that one first and have it NOT work, before the insurance will cover one that will. That means, another office visit with co-pay and another trip to the pharmacy. One trip to the doctor and pharmacy can cost us (assuming we've met our family deductible) upwards of $85, and that is a conservative figure,and that is NOT including the pay I've lost from leaving work. What the hell? BECAUSE I have insurance, I can't get treatment. So why don't I drop the coverage? Because I'm scared as hell if we ever had a major medical situation and I didn't have insurance we'd be ruined. THAT's where we're covered, on major medical...unless the COMPANY decides they don't want to pay.

Most insurance companies won't pay for birth control like the pill, or IUD's but they'll pay for births.
Most insurance companies don't pay for smoking cessation options, but they'll pay for chemotherapy and surgery.
Most insurance companies don't cover weight loss programs, but they'll pay for treatment of diabetes, heart disease and strokes.

That's what the healthcare system is like in this country for people lucky enough to be insured, and it's 100 times worse for those who don't have coverage.

The entire SYSTEM is broken. From end to end. It's not about getting affordable insurance for everyone, it's about getting good health care for every single man, woman and child in this nation.

[againes654]

1. Then check this out

http://www.ontheissues.org/2004/Dennis_Kucinich_Health_Care.htm