Ash UK/US

Just saw a new commercial on TV (or at least it is new to me). Telling America the evils of universal health care... they even have an English and Canadian doctor on there telling us to stay clear of UHC. Must be Obama has them worried!

http://cprights.org/

fatbrit

Where's Trace when you need her?

We'll have to hope Tamms and Rete can keep the boat afloat!

"Having Scott lead the charge against healthcare reform is like tapping Bernie Madoff to campaign against tighter securities regulation. You see, the for-profit hospital chain Scott helped found--the one he ran and built his entire reputation on--was discovered to be in the habit of defrauding the government out of hundreds of millions of dollars."
Source: http://www.thenation.com/doc/2009033...l=hp_currently

chartreuse

Oi Oi, Son!

In truth, there's not a lot to disagree with on the site linked to. The problem is that it's probably funded by insurance companies, seeking to carry on making money by ass raping us all.

Yes, insurance companies. Outfits that are joined at the hip with the (government enforced monopoly enjoying) ratings agencies that landed us in the current economic pile of poo.

That's the problem. Of course private companies are rapacious profit seekers - that's their job. A truly free market allows consumers to exert influence, by exercising choice. Then the government comes along. It says that it will improve things, but what it does is dish out monopolies to its mates. Then we're screwed.

So the answer is less government, not more. That do you, FB?

snowbunny

Uh-huh. So - how does a person with cancer get private cover for his/her illness after they've lost coverage with their previous insurer for exceeding the lifetime cap?

Health insurance does not follow the insurance paradigms that other types of insurance do: that an event cannot be easily predicted, that it may never occur, and that if it does occur, the damage can be capped to replacement value.

What is the replacement value of a human being?

tamms_1965

No help from me....I don't give a sh*t any more.

chartreuse

I'm not saying that the current system is perfect - I believe I made clear my view that All Insurers Are Bastards.

What I'm saying is that the typical government fix, of dishing out monopolies to their cronies on the the gravy train will just make it worse, not better.

We have seen the odd example of getting it almost right - for example, the conditions attached to group plans that mandate coverage of pre-existing conditions. Where it goes Pete Tong is that the insurance bastards spend billions buying legislators to limit or prevent such positive action.

In my view, the fact that government is purchasable makes it a problem, not a solution.

chartreuse

You are Dagny Taggart and I claim my £5.

Ash UK/US

This is the actual commercial I saw...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD7gfJiqT24

Marty J

People who don't like nationalised healthcare seem to forget that you can go private and/or have medical insurance if you want. The insurance companies are the ones who'll lose out, and of course, we can't have huge faceless corporations who would happily grind us all into dust if it would improve their share prices making less profit. That just won't do.

My fiancée didn't have insurance last year as she was only working part-time (she's full-time now, so she gets company benefits), and she was pretty ill for awhile when I was visiting. I sure enjoyed watching her exercise her "choice" of not being able to afford treatment or not being able to afford treatment, especially when she ends up in the ER because she couldn't afford asthma medicine. What fun.

I then get told by Americans that it must be awful to be from somewhere with nationalised healthcare, where we all apparently have to wait 6 months for a doctors appointment, as opposed to being from the healthcare paradise that is the US of A.

Titchski

What a pile of shit.

fatbrit

Health care is far too important to be left to corporations. We're not selling beans or music downloads here.

Some things the government does pretty well. Invading a country went quite well -- although they hadn't got a clue what to do after they'd accomplished the feat. They seem to be pretty good at putting out fires, too. Or running libraries.

I agree that they aren't much use at, for example, making cars. But then health care isn't like making cars, is it?

AmerLisa

You go girl!

Titchski

I hope not..

US heart transplant: human heart swapped for a much larger cows heart, custom fitting new, bigger, ventricles to jack up the heart somewhere around the shoulders. Room also added for 85 plasma holders

UK heart transplant, dr goes on strike halfway through op. Comes back after a 4 hour lunch and finishes up. Replacement heart leaks everywhere and there's a beer can rattling around inside it.

Japanese heart transplant: Heart replaced with some giant tentacled cartoon monster penis thing

Michael

The main problem with trying to change the health care system in the US is that most people have their health insurance paid for by their company. They don't consider that they may become unemployed or lose their company paid insurance so like the system as it is.

It also doesn't help that the republicans use tactics that scare the hell out of little children.

cranston

Seems that big change is underway.