My comments, from the perspective of newly diagnosed serious illness, so TOTALLY biased...that up front...politics be damned, these are personal comments...
A truly 'free' system is an extreme that has never existed in the US. We have always depended on the enforcement of a moral order, codified into law by a system of representative government.
Reminds me of the stop signs or crosswalks put up AFTER a child is killed....reactive NOT proactive.
This is what keeps the free market in check so that it does not become what Charlie paints it out to be. When it gets out of balance, our system allows for new laws to deal with it. Charlie's argument is flawed because it presupposes that the entire system is broken and anybody who is in the business of making their living in the medical field is a greedy leech.
I've got absolutely no problem with a system that rewards work, effort, and expertise with financial gain. It's called making a living. In my own business, we frequently are distained for charging for our services...all too often we are expected to provide those for free because, after all, our customers have OTHER costs of doing business.... it truly is mind boggling. Fair compensation for fair work is not a concept I dispute.
That said, a recent test I had cost $8,000. My health insurance company is refusing to pay (fighting that one). Have yet to hear a good reason why (tho I suspect it is the cost ALONE, as the procedure is standard diagnostics). There is no way it should cost that much...no way. Thousands yes, those machines are expensive, but 8 grand, no way. Part of the problem IS what is being charged...it's what the market will bear and that's our system...the market needs to change.
There are hundreds of millions of people who are happy with their insurance and the way the medical system works.
I keep hearing this...and I have yet to meet them. I'm thinking "happy" is a relative concept, with the alternative of NO health care insurance as the unthinkable alternative.
Many a clusterhead can comment on the trials of our system. For myself, the fight just to get O2 covered took years of diligent and anguishing work (helped immensely by what I learned at ch.com and the truly remarkable folks here). Likewise triptan coverage...years to get the amounts I needed...years of unneeded suffering. Years of hearing "we don't cover that BECAUSE we don't" ..it was like arguing with a 5 year old...only I know exactly what the motivation was....deny, deny, deny...and hope I went away. I didn't, the beast taught me something about perseverance....
There are (and always will be, under any system) some people who are not happy with the system. This does not warrant wholesale destruction of a system that literally has over 250 million happy customers, and which employs millions of people (all who make money).
Again, I aint one of the happy ones...I take what I can get and damn glad of it...but happy? NOPE.
What scares me...what causes me actual fear for my life... is:
that any day my employer could determine that health coverage is a cost they no longer wish to bear (almost happened this year, next year who knows?)
that any day my employer will no longer be willing to accomodate my "special" needs because of this illness. I'm an "at will" employee...the next mistake I make could be my last...and they would be totally within their rights to decide my services were no longer needed.
that I am 54...11 years away from medicare...and would be without insurance that can and WILL be denied because I have a pre-existing condition.
that the medical costs I will incur will bankrupt me and make my hoped for retirement a nightmare.
that beyond my own selfish needs there are millions who would be in the same boat. Ask any ER what they think about "uncovered" patients...they are gonna see more...and we all pay for that
The idea that the system is sooooo broken that it needs the have the government running it is just not justified.
It is busted...or at least running on 3 wheels. I have no idea how to fix it...I really don't...and I'm not sure anyone else has either...and that there is scary.
Didn't a 5 year old boy related to someone on this board just get word they are getting a life-saving transplant? How does that happen in a socialized system?
WHAT? Where does that come from? I appreciate your comments...they are well thought out and cogently stated...whether I agree or not...but THAT is crap.
I say we need to fix what is broken, not allow our theoretically 'limited' government to take over yet another critical part of our lives. Tort reform would drastically change the way in which doctors provide care. As it is, they order far more tests than necessary just to cover their ass, and this raises costs for everybody.
Previous comments indicate that government is the solution...now it's not, I am puzzled. Myself? I don't know...but tort reform?..oh my yes...with the current system and the lawyer lobby...not expecting it's gonna happen...
Best,
Jon