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Originally Posted by drcampbell
We have a public health crisis which the private sector has proved incapable of solving. A fifth of the country has no access to health care. Three fifths are being bled dry by insurance premiums and are still at risk of being entirely ruined by a serious illness or accident. It's time to put results ahead of ideology.
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Here's some more "fifths" for you:
Of the uninsured:
One fifth are not US citizens.
Two fifths are young and choose to use their money on things other than health insurance.
One fifth are older, make over $75,000 per year and chose to not purchase health insurance.
Leaving one fifth who are US citizens that would like health insurance but currently do not have it. That's unfortunate, but the problem isn't as big as it is commonly portrayed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drcampbell
Three fifths are being bled dry by insurance premiums and are still at risk of being entirely ruined by a serious illness or accident.
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I read that 78% of those currently insured are satisfied with their health insurance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drcampbell
Eloquent oratory, but it's red herring which has nothing to do with any of the current proposals. None of them -- not even H.R.676 -- would limit anybody's choice of health care. (Unlike for-profit medical insurance plans, HMOs and PPOs, which often have an "in-network" list of approved providers)
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I think that it definitely does apply. It has been made clear that there will be rationing of services. Given the reduced profit potential for doctors and a planned for increased number of people being pushed through the system, the quantity and quality of care will decline for most unless the US govt has managed to suspend the laws of supply and demand.
You often knock for-profit insurers. They are currently helping to prop up medicare and medicaid. When those programs force doctors to accept artificially low rates, the doctors turn around and charge private insurance more to make up the difference. If this were not the case, for-profit insurance rates would be lower. Additional government intervention into medical care will make this situation worse until private insurance is prohibitively expensive and more move to the "public" option. When the private insurance industry dries up, the medical providers will be left in a very bad place. This will certainly not help them provide more and better care.
Obama's "Public Option" Insurance Will Abandon 100 Million Citizens
