What do you feel is the answer to the health insurance crises within the United States?

I was in the hospital last week with a viral infection and I don't have health insurance from my employer. Lucky for me I have a medicaid card that will pay for my hospital stay but there are way too many people that can't afford health insurance, their employer doesn't offer coverage, and have no means of paying for a hospital stay. All of the people running for president (on the GOP) don't want the government to be involved cause it would increase taxes and they don't want to force employers to insure their employees either. Hospitals should not be forced into taking a loss cause the patient doesn't have insurance. This is one of the few things I agree with Hillary Clinton on and normally I'm a conservative republican.

What do you feel is the answer to the health insurance crises within the United States?
All I can say is that it's a disgrace that the United States of America is incapable of providing health care for it's citizens. I won't even bother with the argument that we can spend billions on a war but not on our own citizens.


If somebody wanted to reform the government (i.e. reduce the horrific waste in money) there would be no need to raise taxes. We're already providing great health care to all those federal employees. That's right kids, you are paying for George and Dick's insurance, all those congressmen, and even the guy that audits your tax form. I won't even mention medicare and medicade.


Meanwhile, the average working stiff has been brainwashed into thinking his taxes will go up, even though he's paying anywhere from half to 2/3 of his own premium supplied by his employer.


I see no reason at all why we can't have some type of universal health care, except for the fact once those idiots in Washington get their hands on it, we're all doomed.
Reply:Cut the Insurance Companies out of the loop - they are soaking up all the money.
Reply:Most health problems stem from people refusing to take care of themselves, especially self-abuse (alcohol, drugs, tobacco, over-eating, promiscuity, dangerous living, refusal to eat properly...).


If people do not want to live according to healthful guidelines, why should any one else have to pay for their medical care?


If you take all the doctors, nurses, pharmacists, half are below average, yet still treat people. So, less than half of health care is average, which is not that good.


Drugs cause more problems than they resolve.


Solution? Live properly, be responsible for your own actions.


I have never been covered by health insurance; can't afford it.
Reply:Where do you think this money will come from? It will come from OUR pockets.. and it will be MORE than we're paying now. What will we have gained from it?





The #1 problem is the lawsuits hospital face.. deal with those and see what the situation is then.
Reply:GET THE GOVERNMENT OUT!!! government regulating and control over the health industry has skyrocketed prices and the quality has shot down. If you want national health care go to a VA hospital and let me know how you like it.
Reply:Put an end to the frivolous law suits. Adapt a "loser pays" methodology; it would still allow legitimate suits to be filed, and, if our courts weren't so tied up with insane law suits, the suit would be resolved much, much faster.





BS law suits have driven the cost of malpractice insurance - even for the best doctors - right through the roof. Not only have these law suits helped drive the cost of health care up so much, but the prohibitive costs are starting to drive doctors out of practice.





As someone with a chronic health condition, I have to say that I do NOT want the govt taking over my health care. Good gravy - it took me fifteen years to get a diagnosis with excellent private benefits; I'm sure I'd still be waiting for the feds. Plus, someone close to me has MS pretty badly - the only relief she's found is from experimental drugs. Do you think the feds would make experimental drugs available to her and others in her situation? I don't think so.
Reply:Tort Reform is a big one. Unlike goldwater republican stated we need some government intervention in the way our insurance companies practice. Also how about letting small businesses cluster together so they can buy health insurance for their comapnies.
Reply:Three things: The medical industry including doctors, nurses, hospitals, etc. have to charge less for their services. They are grossly overpaid. The other is that the prescription industry have to cut the cost of medicine and other medical related supplies. Lastly, there should be reasonable control against malpractice.
Reply:Most people can't afford to buy a house. Should the government provide them?


Social programs caused this problem. More of them is not going to fix it. Take your pet to the vet. There is no insurance. He can give your dog the same medications humans take for a fraction of the cost. Go to the eye doctor, the dentist. Why aren't the costs spiraling upward in these areas? Could it be because very few of their services are covered?


Medical insurance should be for catestrophic care only. Think about it. We all have auto insurance. What does it pay for? Damages that result from accidents to vehicles or people. It doesn't pay for tires, batteries, brake pads and oil changes. Could you imagine what the price of these things would be if it did? People would be running in getting new parts and serviced whether they need it or not. Why not, they don't have to pay.
Reply:My solution?





Take a balanced approach.





First of all, instead of finding new cures and such, start doing research on how medicine and health care to the average person can be made more affordable. If heart surgery cost only 100 dollars to perform, would you need to pay for insurance? No, for the need for insurance arises when people need something, but cannot afford it. Insurance companies are like financial communes with a private corporation calling all the shots (usually not to your benefit but theirs) where people pool their money together to help one another out. Kinda like a bunch of people living in one apartment and a accountant subleased his room to them.





Second of all, create a health care system designed to treat infectious disease only. This hospitals would be used to treat any thing that is a communicable disease, may it be the common cold, the flu to AIDS or anything that can be considered a threat to the public at large. This would seem cold, but things like cancer and heart attacks would not be covered by this public health plan for this are not problems that can be infectious. The idea behind this is if these infectious diseases are taken care of, in the long run eventually the cases will cease to exist, thus eventually in the long run will reduce the need for such a program. While at it, we should design these hospitals to be able to handle an epidemic or a bio-terror attack. No hospital in the US currently is equipped to detect or handle the workload or the massive trauma in such an emergency. We should focus on this now.





Get rid of the campaign contributions. Lobbying is why medicine is so expensive for the pharmaceutical corporations constantly lobby politicians to pass laws in their favor and such financial influencing works, thus laws get passed the increase these corporations' profits, at every ones' expense. In fact, finding a way so any one can afford to run for a federal level election and still get as much air time as the major candidates are now would be a major start to improving a lot of things in our country.





The last option I have thought of is do it yourself.


Since mentioned early, insurance companies are nothing but a bunch of people pooling their money together to reduce everyone else's expenses, why not cut out the greedy, corporate middle man? Either get together with extended family members you can trust or with members of your communities and pool money together to cover each other in case some one in the group does gets injured or ill. The advantage of this is you are all keeping an eye one each other and know each other, so you know right away who really needs the money or not. This way you will not have insurance adjusters refusing your claim when you fall deathly ill, just to have an increase in profit at the expense of your life nor would you have to deal with the long lines and wait times dealing with the goverment for approval who don't even give too shakes about you, much less knows that you exist. I however suggest talking with a legal expert or an experienced mediator who has extensive legal knowledge to find a way to set such a thing up


in order to keep all members in check and trustworthy.
Reply:Well how on earth did you receive any treatment if you have no health insurance?


Why is it that you received the healthcare that you needed even though you had no insurance, but no one else does? Could it be that in reality, the "crisis" is way overblown for political purposes? The cases of people not receiving care because they had no insurance are few and far between. Why do you not rely on your own personal experiences, but instead rely on the bull sh#$ fed to you by politicians with an agenda?
Reply:Just like medications, Wal Mart started selling some for 4$ a prescription. Now other drug suppliers are doing the same. It will have to come from the private sector. All the government does is F#CK THINGS UP!