A Few More Interesting Health Care Statistics...

YOU - annoying, Pro? NEVER!! Where do I begin, or should I begin since I know we're never going to agree on this subject, which is fine, heck a lot of people don't agree with me on this subject. OK, first I will say I'm not in favor of the government running health care and I don't think anyone is proposing that at all and if they are I've yet to see any evidence of it. Next, you're right, I did neglect to mention liability insurance. I know it's a part of the problem but once again, I blame the insurance companies for charging good doctors outrageous premiums when they've never been sued along with the lawyers who bring "frivolous" cases to court. I don't think a person or their family's right to sue if they're injured or even die due to a health care professional's mistake or neglect should be taken away. Our former esteemed U.S. Senator from my state of Pa. Rick Santorum, who spoke out constantly against lawsuits and trial lawyers was hard-pressed to explain his own wife's suit against a chiropractor. http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=1300271 Somehow, although he'd sponsored two bills calling for a $250,000 cap on non-medical expenses awards in lawsuits he "supported his wife" and testified for her in court when she sued for $500,000. Seems the poor guy had to carry laundry up the cellar steps for her and her weight gain had made her ashamed to accompany him on the campaign trail. Excuse me while I cry a river for him... OK, I'm done bawling... As for this going on since the seventies, I remember the seventies very well and things were nothing like they are now. Of course many advances have been made since then but if someone needed care they got the best care that was available regardless of how much money they earned. There were some totally stupid things insurance companies insisted on that made no sense - for example, when I had my tubal ligation I had to be admitted into the hospital for a minimum of 18 hours, so even though it was a simple procedure and I was able to go home a few hours after it was done I had to go in and spend the night for my insurance to pay. That was stupid and cost them more money than it would have had to but nobody suffered because of it, except for my husband who had to change his own TV channels one night...lol (Yeah, that was before the remote control was universally used. It existed, but many of us didn't have one yet!) Here's an example of today's HMO - I have a really screwed up back and hip. I know it, my primary care doctor knows it, my chiropractor knows it. My doctor wanted me to have an MRI a few years ago but before my insurance would pay for it I had to go through a series of physical therapy, which did me more harm than good because they were putting me through these exercises and stretches to the point where I was walking in and almost crawling out. Finally the PT said he couldn't help me anymore and I had the MRI. Last year, my doctor decided I should have an other one done because my problems had worsened and stopped responding to treatment and medication as well. This time he decided to send me to a specialist instead of the PT because the specialist could order an MRI without as many preconditions. I went to the specialist's office, they took an x-ray, he pushed a few spots on my back and set up an appointment for an MRI. I paid him $25 for that and my insurance paid him $300. I guess none of this really "solves" anything, does it? Statistics and figures can be skewed to serve anyone's purpose and I can't disagree with some of what you've said. My feelings are - and, yes, they are feelings because these are people who are dying needlessly in my opinion, whether it's really 18,000 or slightly or a lot more or less - insurance is too expensive, health care services are too expensive, there are many reasons for it including greed and people who get services for which they can't pay, passing the costs along to those of us who can, and people are suffering and dying, not to mention losing their homes and going bankrupt. Too many are finding out too late they have a serious condition that could have been treated much more quickly and less expensively and some are dying because of it leaving spouses and children not only without their loved one but also in financial trouble due to loss of income and unpaid medical bills. To me this is a moral issue and an economic issue. Annie

I did mess up and lumped government run healthcare with the universal (since I've seen some differences here and there). You are correct on that, please excuse the slip (it happens). I'll add this then I've said my peace for now. Its not completely an economic issue for me either. Its also one of the most complicated of problems to solve (I still rake my brain over it from time to time). Even with some solutions I've been thinking about, the implementation escapes me. Plus I realize implementing such change is far more difficult that imagined. (This doesn't mean I give up!) I'm just restating some of the difficulty in the problem. Of course the main issue is that many citizens are really hurting over this either financially or morally. No matter the stance... something has to be done here.

"If I could pay for insurance I'd already have it. Since insurance can cost anywhere from $150 to $500 a month, it would kill me to spend that and certainly wouldn't leave me any room to pay the deductibles if I actually had to go to the doctor." Believe it or not, since I'm pretty much "on the record" as being in favor of universal health care, I totally know where you're coming from and - sorry to use an old cliche - I "feel your pain" for real! From what some friends of mine have told me, $150 to $500 a month is a bargain compared to what some pay for health insurance, depending on how many people are covered or the type of coverage, of course. I still don't understand where anyone is getting that it would be free for the poor but the rest of us would have to pay the same or more than what most pay now. The idea is to make it affordable for everyone, and it's not about putting the government in control it's about putting us in control instead of the greedy, corrupt insurance companies. Annie

The problem is that forcing us to pay for health insurance means we have NO control over it. I have no control over my auto insurance. I have a car, so I must have insurance. By the policies proposed, I am alive, so I will have to have health insurance. At least with car insurance I can choose not to own a car. Being alive is a much different situation.