I wish that every time some Republican or Blue Dog Democrat

[samrock]

asked.. Do you want the government running/getting involved in your health care? Someone would turn right around and asked them back.. Ohh you want insurance companions to make those decisions??? You LIKE having your health being treated as a commodity on their profit/loss statements??

[surrealAmerican]

1. "insurance companions"?

They're no friends of mine. LOL.

But, yes, I agree.

[Georgia farmer]

3. Healthcare

Has anyone looked at this health care compared to the VA
health care?  One doesn't read too many articles praising the
VA system. Seems as though both would be run the same way.
Poorly.

[Vickers]

5. Are you a veteran? Have you ever used a VA hospital?

:shrug:


BTW, I come from a farming family (Atkinson County).

[Georgia farmer]

7. Are you a veteran?

Yes, I am a vet(8 yrs in USAF) and go to perhaps one of the best VAMC's in the country. But even their medicines are not the newest, too expensive. They use a 'what works' when it comes to medicine to reduce costs.

[Lasher]

6. I have both VA health care and employer provided insurance.

The VA is far superior. The private insurance sucks and it's getting worse over time. For example, I had a suspicious mole that I needed to get removed and checked out to make sure it wasn't cancer. The private insurance company works with very few physicians in the area, so I couldn't get an appointment until November. I went to my VA doctor instead and he got me an appointment with a specialist within a month.

There are VA clinics nearby but it can be a long drive to a VA hospital. That's one reason I even bother with the private insurance. Another is, I can't get my wife covered with the VA.

[Georgia farmer]

8. Healthcare

I completely agree. But you may agree with me that we are the exceptions. My 'gate-keeper' told me that NJ was sending 300 returning vets here because they couldn't handle the load. And the VA only has about 8 million vets. What is going to happen with 300 million?

[Lasher]

9. The answer is simple: More eligible vets, more VA funding.

Regardless of relative size the VA model is sound, particularly when compared to private insurance coverage. And the VA would get even better if expanded, since it would then be feasible to have more facilities closer to more vets' homes.

[geckosfeet]

2. Top 10 health care FACT over FEAR FAQ

Saw this posted in another thread by abumbyanyothername and just had to re-post here.

Top 10 health care FACT over FEAR FAQ

Fear: We can't afford the public health insurance option.
Fact #1: Since it will have national bargaining power and lower costs, the public option will force private insurers to compete on cost. That will SAVE money. It is self-sustaining based on premiums. Administrative cost for private insurance is 15% compared to only 3% for Medicare, a public plan. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office says it will SAVE $150 billion out of the total cost of health care reform.


Fear: I don't want to pay for 50 million uninsured Americans' health care.
Fact #2: We're pay in to take care of the uninsured now. Hospitals charge more from patients with insurance to help make up for those who can't pay their bills. We're all paying more in taxes to cover payments by the governments to hospitals that take care of uninsured patients.


Fear: Some government bureaucrat will come between me and my doctor.
Fact #3: Private insurance comes between you and your doctor now. Insurers decide which doctors you can see and what drugs you can take. They require hours of paperwork before approving a treatment. Health care reform would standardize claim procedures and reduce administrative waste.


Fear: The government will ration care.
Fact #4: Private insurers ration care for the first 64 years of life, which increases costs in the long term - 80% of overall health care costs are incurred in the last year of life for care of chronic conditions, many of which are preventable. They ration based on your ability to pay. That's what we're trying to fix.


Fear: The public option will be unfair to private insurers.
Fact #5: The public option will be required to follow the same rules as private insurers. Americans will need to pay premiums for the public option just like for private plans. The difference is the plan will be affordable and focused on your health, not on profits or stock value the insurer.


Fear: I'm happy with my employer insurance. The government will force me to give it up.
Fact #6: Obama and Democratic members of Congress have said repeatedly that people who are happy with their insurance won't have to change it. Employers who don't offer insurance would contribute to a fund that helps employees buy it on their own. Small businesses would be eligible for subsidies. Everyone will have standard and comprehensive benefits similar to what a member of Congress h as.


Fear: Health reform means a government takeover of medicine as in England and Canada.
Fact #7: It will look nothing like those in England and Canada. Obama supports a uniquely American reform that would build on the current employer-based insurance while ensuring affordable comprehensive coverage for those who lack it. Obama wants to fix what's broken and build what works.


Fear: Comparing the effectiveness of treatments and drugs will lead to rationing.
Fact #8: Comparative effectiveness research evaluates which treatments work best for different medical conditions and different patients. That's information based on science, not drug-company advertising. It helps your doctor and you decide what's right. That's not rationing. It's just being smart.


Fear: The public option means socialized medicine.
Fact #9: No one will be forced into the public option - period. Like FedEx and the Post Office, you have the choice. This is not socialism, where the government runs the doctors and the hospitals.


Fear: The U.S. has the best health care in the world
Fact #10: The U.S. health care system ranks 37th overall in the world. In fact, there is a growing field called medical tourism, where Americans travel overseas for medical procedures that they can't afford at home.


Thanks for the original post abum!

[Odin2005]

4. I'd rather have civil servants making the divisions rather than corporate bean-counters.