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UDress4Me -> RE: Pro death penalty Anti single payer. Wtf? (9/30/2009 11:49:52 PM)
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There are several misconceptions here.
Foremost is that anyone is "entitiled" to health care insurance. Insurance of any kind is NOT one of the inalienable rights in the Constitution. Those that feel a moral obligation to care for those less fortunate are welcome to contribute to the social welfare charity of their choice to provide for those that can't provide for themselves.
Next is the concept of insurance itself. Insurance is a way to mitigate risk. It is not a panacea to cover every concievable circumstance. Insurance companies are businesses and just like life, auto, disaster and yes, health insurance, there are limits of coverage. These limits are set by actuarial tables composed from claims experience. You should get what you pay for.
Yes, there are some that cannot easily afford some form of health insurance or those that choose not to have health insurance. What they can afford defines the limits of coverage. Those same folks that cannot easily afford health insurance or choose not to have it are the same folks that have other niceties of life rasther than insurance and that is their right and choice. Don't expect others t come to your rescue because you didn't properly plan ahead.
Then there are those who legitimately cannot afford insurance at all. They do have access to health care through clinics and for catastrophic events, emergency rooms of hospitals.
Are there abuses of the system? Of course. This is what needs to be addressed, not to provide for everyone, especially that single payer crap. The single payer is you, you blithering idiots in favor of single payer. You pay for it every week when you get a progressively smaller paycheck!
There is need for reform to reduce the skyrocketing costs of healthcare for you, for me, for everyone, but our government isn't addressing this and that's what we should be pressurinig them to do as follows:
1: Tort reform. Yes, there are legitimate cases of malpractice and those that violate the "First do no harm" doctrine should be penalized. There are far more abuses from false claims or exagerated claims. Definitions, limits and penalties for false claims is a good start. If a false suit is determined by the courts the loser should pay all legal fees including the medical professional's costs to defend them. This alone will reduce suits considerably. Many doctors are afraid to practice practical, efficient medicine because they're afraid of possible malpractice suits and they order unnecessary tests.
2: Prior condition exceptions should be addressed but not eliminated. There should be no prior condition limittions if someone needs to relocate or suffers temporary unemployment. I can't see paying for cancer treatment or HIV treatment for someone that has never had insurance but now that they have an expensive illnes "let someone else pay for it" is a bad idea. It will only cause premium increases for the rest of us.
3: Portablility should be available. Just becasue you move doesn't mean your insurance should cease.
4: Increased competition. The free market is the best leveler of costs in any industry. There are states that don't allow competition or restrict it.
5: Reduce abuses in charges and payments. Have you ever looked at your Blue Cross statements and seen what charges are submitted and what Blue Cross pays? There should be a scale of what each procedure and/or office of hospital visit is allowed, adjusted for geographic location. A proedure in NY sure costs more than one in Florida. Reduce unnecessary and/or duplicate testing. (see tort reform above)
6: Give reductions in premiums for those that have regular doctor visits and maintain a relatively healthy lifestyle. Smokers and those that are obese (just 2 examples)should pay more beause they are higher risk from things they can control. Those that participate in their own wellness should be rewarded both in better health nd lower rates.
7: Businesses pay for employee healthcare as a way to induce people to work for them. It's not a right nor should you expect to get health insurance just because you have a job. If you have skills valueable enough to warrant getting health insurance s part of your employee package you can shop employers for the best deal. if you don't you take what you can get or get your own. Forcing businesses to include health care as part of employee compensation will only increase the cost of doing business and ultimately that cost gets passed down to us, the consumer.
The wierd thing about common sense is, it ain't too common. And the current legislations proposed make no sense at all unless you're one of the have nots or a bleeding heart liberal, wich is fine. You want to feed and clothe and house and insure theless fortunate YOU pay for them. Don't dip your hands into my pockets!
Let thegovernment work on these as a start and stop trying to completely rwork a system that, for the most part, works OK. Don't forget 85% of Americans are happy with their healthcare. Fix what's brokem don't start all over and make a majority pay for the minority.
Just one WORKING man's opinion but I don't want more government in my life and if you think about it you don't either.
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