WOW! - you BESHies have gotten off on the healthcare tangent - and here I thought I was coming to give you an update on freezer-beezers... ok, as you wish:
Contrary to belief - insurance companies don't run treatment, they are just part of the equation. I have no love affair with them, but I don't think they are out to inflict suffering. Treatment is left between my doctors and myself. Insurance companies are allowed to make decisions on what they will and won't cover (within applicable laws). I believe NHS does the same thing with denying service based on age, weight or in rationing (wait lines) based on funds available.
Under Obamacare I won't be allowed to switch jobs without going to the govt option. If my current company decides to go to the govt option, I won't have any choice in keeping my selected plan. (that's in the bill, not in the rhetoric) As it is now, my company offers three choices and so does my hubby's.
scorp for the record - we paid for our ice-ice babies ourselves or whenever we want treatments that aren't covered. (have to admit that the assumption did get me fired up - independent spirit and all - but you are completely right about my love of liberty. I love having the freedom to do what I want with every aspect of my life, and liberty from oppressive taxes is part of that. The Land of the Free is about being granted the freedom to succeed for everyone no matter your class, background or financial status- but we are reliant on ourselves, not the government to make us successful or to take care of us.)
Also contrary to belief, just because someone/some company makes a profit from something doesn't make them evil. In fact, profit motivates companies to develop new equipment, new techniques and treatment, and new drugs. If we don't do that - where will Canada get all of their cheap drugs???
Excellence in doctors: what motivates someone to go through the rigor of med school and the enormous financial burden? We should reward those that are the best and brightest with financial as well as altruistic rewards. If the US government was able to inspire excellence the US postal service, unemployment office, Veterans Administration would be prime examples of excellence... not so much. I cannot trust congress with healthcare if they cannot even fix Medicare which will be bankrupt in just a decade. And it is shameful that Congress have ignored the majority of Americans on this issue, and the largest petition against a bill ever submitted. Medicare SERVICE is good because it is private doctors, who accept both regular and medicare patients.
Re: "uncaring" Americans - I believe in giving more directly, giving to people I know that are in trouble and need a hand, not in the govt taxing me and then deciding who to give my money to - based on their choices of eligibilty. For two years before last we gave over 10k a year to someone in need that was actively working to get on their feet - not being a bum. I take charity very close to heart, but I dislike govt being involved in that as well because I like to CHOOSE where it goes, not be told.
This whole idea that compassion must be given in the form of national healthcare is ridiculous to me. First of all - free care is given on demand at any emergency room for the uninsured. Second, if someone is elderly or disabled and unable to work they can qualify for medicare (unfortunately the financial end of this program is fundamentally flawed). Thirdly, there are non-profit healthcare groups, and coops that are formed by bands of people who cannot get healthcare through traditional means who cover doctor ordered treatments.
"brutal and inhumane"? - pfft
The number of uninsured is overinflated by certain measures because people between jobs usually take the risk because they are generally healthy. Lest you think there aren't changes that I would like to see, I've always thought it was ridiculous that healthcare be tied to my job. If I could change one thing, it would be to make health insurance more like car/home insurance where I can buy it on the open market, firms can compete for my business (across state lines would even increase the choice and quality) and then I could keep that policy for as long as I wanted it, whether I was leaving a job or not. That's an emphasis on personal responsibilty, thinking ahead, planning for a rainy day.
Results: We have excellent healthcare - some of the best in the world. Survival rates in the US are excellent for cancer and other life threatening illnesses (apples to apples comparisons) - it's truly exceptional. Healthcare might be free in Cuba, but the level of care is stuck decades behind in old equipment, meds, lines, and training of doctors.
Costs - yes, healthcare costs have risen - but so have costs in every other industry. By comparison, they are within range for other markers. What other service or good would we feel entitled to? We NEED food and shelter also, but we're not depending on the govt to provide those for the whole country - only for those in desperate need, same as our current healthcare.
I wouldn't expect you to understand, especially since you are judging from the outside and you are very accustomed to gov provided healthcare. I believe in a safety net for those who are not truly able to care for themselves, and there are improvements in our system to be made, but I do not believe in a nanny state. I don't want to be grateful to, or dependent on government, I want to thank the doctors, nurses and the strength and will of the patient. In my view, govt should have a very limited role in my life, and I want to take care of myself and my family. When you feel sorry and expect little from people, you get little.
Prager said it most simply: The bigger the government, the smaller the citizens.
And that's all I've got to say about that. I'll check back to see if I have a boot mark on my ass from the palace. I will surely understand, because I knew coming in here that most of you fall in the range of socialists but I was drawn in by your dark wit and fetching eyes.
GO get DIFFED you twats!