Poll: Obama loses ground on health care

A simple solution to the health care "crisis" that everyone is overlooking is just to incorporate a walmart style program where quality American trained doctors are replaced with doctors imported from the inner most sections of mainland China.

Since these current doctors believe they have earned a right to an above average income (similar to many previous business owners of the past) and somehow need more than minimum wage to be successful in America and have contributed to the expense of health care it should be mandated by any one of the current Czars that these incomes be capped.

Otherwise just import health care just like every friggin thing else so many yearn for and are only able to afford due to exploiting third world nations and physically destroying the majority of the American manufacturing sector to the point that we are almost poor enough to compete again.

Put those same pressures on health care professionals, medical equipment manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and anything else medical and see how inexpensive health care can be.

Think of it like a "dollar store" hospital where everything is only a dollar and some times it works, and other times well it just does not, sorry :doh

OK that all is a joke, but it is not funny that we have devalued ourselves to the point that even skilled, educated, and experienced working people and families either do not have, can not afford, or are just totally struggling with the costs of health care.

I am not talking about the homeless, or those without employment, or even those who found their way to become way too reliant on government for their very survival, but the average person who in generations past was able to afford their care etc.

The idea of there only being certain areas or industries that are not or can not be devalued to levels of third world nations like has been done to so many in our country is also no joke.

When you consider that current earnings support the ability to live and purchase items that are made at considerably lower costs than if made domestically by those needing to receive a wage that allows one to survive in this country as being the only reason most (not many or some) Americans can even afford the living standards they now have it becomes obvious that this health care problem is deeply rooted in the imbalance of imports, and loss of American manufacturing, and the many good paying jobs that were also lost to imports from third world nations.

Also it was only a few short years ago that most full time employees enjoyed health insurance that was fully funded by their employer. The idea of having to subsidize this with ones income is still very new in comparison, and the fact that it seems only certain positions that are mostly with government and a select few unions actually do cover the full costs and also supply better coverage with lower or nearly non existent costs or co pays etc.

Since most of these employee contributions only go towards the bottom line it seems obvious that something changed that caused this to be needed in order for employers to remain profitable and maintain previous levels or for some just remain in business.

Maybe not everyone is able to see this, but why not address the real causes of the many problems like we seem to have with health care.

I watched countless people complain about the bene's seen at GM during the government take over, and except for the really unusual ones like the paid furloughs etc these are benefits that many Americans used to enjoy in the past before our government joined in the party of sending our wealth overseas, and to corporate concerns.

Why should not everyone who works enjoy the same benefits of a GM worker, a state or federal employee, or better yet the members of the US Congress?

Should we not be fighting to restore our way of life instead of apologizing for it, and stop trying to strip it away from anyone who may continue to enjoy it (our health care professionals included) instead of creating an entirely new dysfunctional system run by some Czar who is little more than a servant to those who are part of the system and those who benefited from screwing up the previous or current system.

Wake up people!!!!

Is it a bird?

DRUDGE REPORT 2009®

Pelosi flipping off press?

Oftencold said:

I said somewhere else that it is beginning to look to me like he'll essentially be a lame duck before the end of his first year in office.

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I'm curious. You work for the volunteer EMS system in south Alaska, right? Over 70% of the residents of Alaska participate in one of several federally funded health care programs including IHS, Dod, VA, Medicare and Medicaid. Alaska clearly has extensive experience dealing with government health care programs.
Are you saying that in your professional experience, the government run health care systems in Alaska are not working, and that is why you object to a single-payer option to health care for the country as a whole?

underdog334 said:

Is it a bird?

DRUDGE REPORT 2009®

Pelosi flipping off press?

Click to expand...

Dunno, but it's now filed away as a potential avatar. :mrgreen:

I object primarily on the grounds that the Government was not created, nor is it in the long term interest of the People for the Government to be the provider of a set of services that are far from the most basic of those required for a fulfilled life.

Since health care would appear far down on the hierarchy of needs, the Government would be able to justify providing everything higher in that list. For instance food, clothing, shelter, employment and energy.

Further, what Government gives it may withhold, modify, ration or corrupt. Thus Government run Health Care should be seen as a potential (and in my opinion clear) power grab.

With medical technology advancing at a rapid pace, one is well advised to consider the implications for a future Government having unfettered access to one's body for any purpose that Government sees fit.

Finally, one of the reasons you see so many people on one public form of health care or the other in Alaska, is that all Alaska Natives ("Indians,") are on native health care programs. Those programs are a marvelous example of Government run, substandard health care at an outrageous price.

I live without health care, and do not participate in public programs to provide it.

I must've been more than half asleep, 'cause this was supposed to be an e-mail

Most of my beliefe is anectdotal and I could never prove that it occured, and don't necessarily expect you to just take my word for it. But, I heard complaints regarding VA care (most often about waiting times, at times verfd with medical records) at least once a month from either a VA patient making a claim for HIP benefits, or a spouse/family member making claims for life / ADD benefits.

jackalope said:

From the CBO:



http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/88xx/doc8892/MainText.3.1.shtm

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VA overselling its medical care - A Front - News & Observer

A review by McClatchy of the quality measures the VA itself commonly cites found that:

* The agency has touted how quickly veterans get in for appointments, but its own inspector general found that scheduling records have been manipulated repeatedly.

According to a 2005 report from the agency's inspector general, VA schedulers routinely put the wrong requested appointment dates into the system, often making waiting times appear to evaporate. In many cases, the scheduler checked for the next available time slot and declared it the patient's "desired date."

* The VA boasted that its customer service ratings are 10 points higher than those of private-sector hospitals, but the survey it cited shows a far smaller gap.

If the VA were to use the correct comparisons, it still would score higher, although the gap would be half as much -- 4 points, in the case of outpatient care. If the survey were adjusted for age and gender differences between the VA and private samples, the gap would tighten even more, although it still would be about 3 points and therefore significant, VanAmburg said.

* Officials repeatedly have said that a pivotal health-quality study ranked the agency's health care "higher than any other health-care system in this country." However, the study they cited wasn't designed to do that.