Why are there people opposed to National Healthcare? WHY???

I hear so many people on here say that people should just ';get a better job with benefits'; yada yada yada yada.





Well, I have benefits, but it took me 3 years to get them. My parents' insurance dropped me on my 23rd birthday while I was still in college. Then the job market sucks so bad that it took me 2 1/2 years to find a decent job with benefits. Within that time period, I had to work 2 jobs, went to the dentist 5 times at $265 a pop and had to pay FULL PRICE for prescriptions every time I got sick and even had to pay $765 for a catscan!





Is that fair??? In AMERICA??? Come on! How do you honestly justify that? We're not all lazy welfare queens you know. Just honest working people who deserve good health just as much as the rest of you. Am I wrong?Why are there people opposed to National Healthcare? WHY???
I couldn't agree with you more. While I've worked steadily over the last ten years since I was taken off my dad's insurance, I have held only two jobs which offered any benefits. One was obscure and despite repeated attempts to get the list of doctors from them, I kept getting the run around. The other offered them after 6 months, but by the 6th month I was madly in hate with the entire place and had to quit to keep my sanity!


I moved back home to MA recently and they have passed a law that makes it so all residents of the state must be on some type of health insurance, and they began a new program specifically to assist everyone who doesn't qualify for other types of healthcare. Thank the powers that be in MA, I can finally see a doctor when I need to instead of putting off health issues because I'm scared of piling onto the medical debts I already have!


I sincerely hope that the rest of the country goes in this direction as well. Quality health care should be available to everyone regardless of their position in life. Other countries do it, why don't we?Why are there people opposed to National Healthcare? WHY???
To quote my favorite cartoon lion:





Scar: Life's not fair, is it? You see I -- well, I... shall


never be King. {exhale lightly}
national healthcare does NOT equal quality healthcare.
Why are some people supportive of National Healthcare? WHY???





This is the worst idea to come down the pipe in decades. No wonder Hillary Clinton was soundly defeated on this issue back in 1993. The US people don't want this nonsense here.





If you want some healthcare, fine....pay for it yourself. Just keep your grubby hands out of MY pocket.
Very well said. My hope is that ';Sicko'; does for our healthcare system what ';An Inconvenient Truth'; is doing for global warming. :)
Because they've automatically gravitated to the worst case scenario for universal health care . . .
Why is paying full price not fair? This is not a socialist country.
I Probably because it would raise taxes for everyone ...


If you look at certain countries where they do have national healthare you will notice that it doesn't really work and people are abusing the system....


But personnally i am for it.


It is unfair that only rich and middle class people have good healthcare....
It all comes down to the dollars. If the private sector can make money off illness by denial of treatment why would they want change? And since they get all the dollars they can buy the politicians. Politicians don't need health care they are given a better benefit than 99% of the population. So they are bought by the industry. Like the whores they are.


In the end we are screwed.


We have universal health care, the indigent get it when they walk into an ER and can't be denied.


Just who the hell do we think pays for those visits?
propaganda..... the insurance companies make vast amounts of money. of course they will tell any lie they can to prevent it from happening.





one of the things people will say is that taxes will go up. If taxes go up less than the insurance premium that I won't any longer be paying , then I am ahead of the game.





I am on a very small group and family coverage is nearly $1000 a month. That is $12,000 a year just for health insurance. A lot of people don't even make that much in a year.
Well, some of us are put off by the messy bureaucracies we observe in countries that do have universal healthcare. Some of us are wary of a system where you may have to wait 7-8 months for an MRI, or go through a bureaucratic process so byzantine in order to qualify for surgery, it will make dealing with HMO's look like a walk in the park.





I grew up in a country with universal healthcare. Under such systems, access to healthcare is often make-believe. Keep in mind that having universal healthcare OFFICIALLY isn't much of a consolation when you have to spend months, if not years, in agonizing pain waiting for a necessary service -- and sometimes, not getting it at all.





Keep in mind also that universal healthcare is not free. You still pay for it, by way of higher taxes. As people in some other countries have learned to their chagrin, universal healthcare very easily turns into a system where you pay, but don't get the services.
I'm not necessarily against a national health care system. I've just never seen one that works very well without bankrupting the country. I certainly don't see any of the present candidates coming up with any good ideas. Like everything else in government, somebody has to find a way to pay for it. Try running for office saying that as far as you're concerned the sky is the limit on taxes and see how many votes you get no matter how great your health care ideas look. It's funny really and not unlike what happens with teacher salaries. Everybody wants teachers to make more money until it comes time to vote for a property tax increase initiative.
Because they like paying $500/month for health care that the health insurance industry will do anything that they can to deny them coverage for.
Do you honestly think the government is going to do a better job? Have you not seen the VA scandals, which the government acted quickly to insure nothing would be done. We already have socialized health with medicare and Medicaid and you see how many people on that are happy with it.





Socialized medicine means everyones standard of care goes down. Believe me, the government will not raise everyones standard of care when it is cheaper to put everyone on the lower standard.





Besides, what major care do you need at 23? There is health department for lower income people and doctors visits are not that expensive. Just because you have the flu does not mean you need the more expensive emergency care and that is what most people are looking at. Keep full coverage on your car and that will cover traffic accidents.
The Federal Government generally screws things up, not make them better.


Do you include plastic surgery in your National Healthcare??


Where do you draw the line? Who determines what is deemed cosmetic, and what is deemed ';health/wellness related';, like a breast reduction??


A Doctor? A Bureaucrat?
Benefits are a privelage not a right. If you want healthcare YOU must take the responsibilty to acquire it not the government, not corporate america. The national healthcare system in England, France, and Canada is an enormous strain on those governments. People who don't pay taxes will have healthcare, which means like welfare I will be paying for someone else's healthcare. Universal healthcare will never pass because the congress will remain almost evenly divided and a 2-3 dems will be all it takes to get rid of the bill
Why do you feel someone else should be paying for your healthcare? Why would you even think national healthcare would be free? Don't you realize that you will have to pay higher taxes for a government program?
It's actually quite simple. Look at how poorly run and mismanaged any government organization is, at almost any level from local to federal. A prime example is the DMV, do you want your health-care run in the same haphazard manner?





Another example is the poor conditions at the Walter Reed Army Hospital. Need I say more. I think many people are confusing national health-care with affordable health-care.





I have awesome benefits through my job so I can't complain. I am definitely in favor of affordable health-care, as long as it isn't run by the government.





In all fairness, don't you think it's hypocritical for people to say they want a smaller less intrusive government, yet want the government involved in the most personal aspect of their lives? I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said: '; A government big enough to give you everything has the power to take it all away'; . Think about that.
Righties... don't you realize that the reason health care costs are so out of control is BECAUSE of the 40-50Million people NOT covered in the US? Everytime one of those people go to an ER and have to have medical services that they cannot pay... IT EFFECTS YOUR PREMIUM!


So yeah.. you are already paying for their healthcare, like it or not.


It makes more sense if everyone was covered. The populace as a whole would be healthier and use health care less...and the cost would come down... so less taxes would have to go towards it.
Mayo clinic had an excellent outline for free health care.





Basically it amounts to a very low end setup free of charge, only handling a few preventative things that are essential and ignored today. Anything more would be available via gov't or employer.





This would actually cut our costs since tax payers and insurance companies wouldnt be eating the cost for hospitals having to treat things like oral cancer that can be very easily prevented with a little money spent before the problem presents, instead of a lot of money afterward.





Another reason people are against it is because they realize it would be opening the door for gay marriage. A major reason for opposition is monetary-giving tons of people (who are high risk for AIDS) healthcare.








Opponents to national healthcare though. Why cant we at least have options for people like the asker? I was in a similiar situation for awhile, a gap between employer provided and school provided-compounded by the business I worked for going out of business. Ive never understood how youre supposed to afford Cobra if youre out of work-something needs to be done even if it isnt that. At least the people asking for national healthcare are suggesting something other than telling people their SOL.
Lately there has been a lot of noise from Washington about ';universal healthcare';, with both Democrats and Republicans throwing figures around, and plotting out plans to cover everybody in a ';cradle-to-grave';, Canadian style, universal healthcare system. With the cost of healthcare constantly rising, logically people are scared, and look to ';big brother'; to protect them. The knee-jerk reaction is to socialize healthcare, to make sure everybody is able to receive proper healthcare, at no cost. The problem with such systems is that the only thing ';universal'; about ';universal healthcare'; is the reduction of quality in such systems.





Other nations have experimented with ';universal healthcare';, mostly with disastrous results. The best known case (at least for Americans) is the example of Canada; but much of Western Europe has a ';universal healthcare'; system, which in almost every case has left consumers with no choice, high cost, and poor service. Here is an excerpt from an article from the Journal News:





While recently presenting a continuing education course to doctors in Ireland, and in a recent visit to a colleague in Canada, I learned first-hand how astronomical income taxes, long waits, and limited access characterize their universal health-care systems.





Ireland boasts the richest economy in Western Europe, but in a country of about 4 million people, there are 17 neurologists, it takes up to a year to get an appointment to see one for the initial visit, and patients could wait up to six months for a follow-up visit. It takes about four months to get an MRI scan, about 14 weeks for diagnostic ultrasound, and surgical cases are put on waiting lists.





Canadians pay roughly a 50 percent income tax to help support their national health-care system, but in Ontario, most Canadians who can afford it purchase private extended health coverage rather than relying upon the government-sponsored programs to avoid similar problems.





Government-sponsored health-care programs in our country also have serious problems. [1]





Is it any surprise that foreigners who can afford it gladly ditch their ';universal healthcare'; and come the United States for healthcare when they need major medical care?





Many people believe that the problem, however, is endemic to those nations uniquely, and that if implemented properly, ';universal healthcare'; would be a wild success in the USA. However you don't have to look oversees to see that this just isn't true. We have a couple great examples of the glory of ';universal healthcare'; right now in the United States. Two prime examples are HMO's (Health Maintenance Organizations) and the VA (Veteran Affairs) hospital system.





Here is a definition of an HMO from Wikipedia:





A Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) is a type of Managed Care Organization (MCO) that provides a form of health insurance coverage in the United States that is fulfilled through hospitals, doctors, and other providers with which the HMO has a contract. Unlike traditional indemnity insurance, care provided in an HMO generally follows a set of care guidelines provided through the HMO's network of providers. Under this model, providers contract with an HMO to receive more patients and in return usually agree to provide services at a discount. This arrangement allows the HMO to charge a lower monthly premium, which is an advantage over indemnity insurance, provided that its members are willing to abide by the additional restrictions. [2]





HMO's are not government run institutions, however, they do show what happens when consumer choice is taken away. Because customers are essentally locked into certain doctors, and allowed only certain types of procedures, many abuses take place within the HMO system. The horror stories about HMO's refusing routine procedures, paying for only partial preventative care, and not covering people in catestrophic circumstances, continue to make their way into the media. If you support ';universal healthcare'; than remember you're supporting a giant HMO for everyone.





The VA hospital system is another example of ';universal healthcare'; in America. The VA is a system of hospitals throughout the USA designed to provide rehabilitation care for our wounded war veterans. While the government does have a serious responsibility to take care of our wounded soldiers and sailors, the VA hospital system is a great example of the conditions faced under ';universal healthcare'; systems. Attention has been directed to the poor conditions of, and the low quality of service from, VA hospitals, recently due to numerous scandals, especially the Walter Reed Army Hospital Scandal. Here is an excerpt from an article from the Pensacola News Journal, which gives some indication of the conditions our veterans face under a ';universal healthcare'; system:





';More than a quarter of military veterans with disability cases before the Department of Veterans Affairs wait six months or longer for the agency's decision'; on their case, Gannett News Service reported. This creates ';financial hardships for many veterans and their families, veterans advocates say.';





Sadly, while the money isn't that much -- compensation for a totally disabled single veteran tops out at $2,471 a month, less than $30,000 a year -- for many veterans that can be the difference between self-sufficiency, and bankruptcy and homelessness.





Worse, the numbers are large. With more than 400,000 cases pending, almost 115,000 have been stalled in the system for at least six months.





';Some veterans have died while their claims ... were unresolved for years at VA,'; a veterans advocate said. [3]





There is simply no excuse why our veterans should face such poor quality of care, especially when across the United States we have the finest medical institutions the world has ever known. Instead of spending millions of dollars to fund such awful VA hospitals, the Fed should instead foot the bill for our veterans to seek quality medical care at private hospitals!





Why so much discussion about this topic now? Because it is politically expedient.





Healthcare costs are on the rise, there is no question of that; but why are the on the rise? The simple answer is GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT. The problem we face in the healthcare system isn't one of too little government involvement, but one of TOO MUCH government involvement. Here is what I mean...





Currently it costs a fortune to become a doctor. The cost in time and money to take a student and get them through their primary education, their secondary education, their undergraduate college education, their four years of medical school, the cost of testing for and obtaining a medical license, and finally their years of internship has a cost ranging in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more! Is it any wonder that fewer and fewer American students are choosing to become medical doctors? Is it any suprise that we are seeing greater numbers of doctors coming to the USA from India, and Pakistan, where such costs are significantly lower? Because of the high cost of training a doctor, that cost is passed along to the consumer in the cost of a doctors visit. There is nothing wrong with doctors being well trained, but often times it isn't necessary to see a doctor with as much training, or such expensive training, to treat minor medical problems... in fact often times a Nurse or a Medical Assistant would be more than qualified by their education and experience to provide non catastrophic, routine medical care. Yet the medical community is regulated by the federal and state governments to limit who can provide what sort of care to whom, thereby making it impossible for a consumer to choose to go see a less extensively trained, but satisfactory, and far cheaper alternative.





Moreover, because of the tort laws in this country, doctors are being sued constantly for medical mistakes, driving up the cost of healthcare further. Malpractice insurance already costs doctors a fortune, yet, with bloodsucking ambulance chasers like Jeffery Fieger out there, the cost continues to rise even higher. Because the cost of such insurance, as well as the risk premium for performing a procedure for which a patient may be harmed, the cost of healthcare is furthermore increased. Americans, always looking for a good ';get rich quick scheme'; frequently target doctors, even in cases where clearly the doctor has no fault! That is not to say that we should completely throw out the tort laws, they are necessary, but they are necessary like nuclear weapons are necessary... that is that they should be used infrequently. The only good way to limit usage of the tort laws for frivolous schemes, is to institute a ';looser pays'; system. Then only those with legitimate grievances would use the tort laws for reparations.





Furthermore, the cost of purchasing medications continues to rise exponentially; but here again is another example of government intervention distorting market forces. Currently it cost a fortune to produce a new drug. Drug companies are huge institutions with millions of dollars, and still it takes years and years for drugs to make it by the FDA's trials. All the time millions of sick people suffer without being able to utilize new life saving wonder drugs, because government red tape keeps these medications out of the hands of those who desperately need it. As a result of such red tape, drug makers tend to produce drugs that have high marketability, yet are for non life threatening conditions. Every year dozens of new drugs for erectile dysfunction, anti-anxiety medications, and drugs to lower blood pressure are introduced to the marketplace, yet there are few if any new antibiotics or new vaccines introduced. I'm not advocating doing away completely with the FDA, certainly some degree of regulation is likely needed for the drug market, but the red tape needs to be cut through. Likely we would be better served if the FDA simply provided information, and allowed doctors and patients to weigh the risks of using certain new medications... not government regulators.





Overall, there are problems with the healthcare system in the United States, however, more often it is a problem of too much government, rather than not enough government. PJ O'Rourke said, ';If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until the Government gives it away for free.'; This is something we all need to realize, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and healthcare is no exception. Imagine how outrageous the costs will be when the government takes over!





Do you think it's any coincidence that the things we are most disappointed with in this country... i.e. the post office, FEMA, public schools, Amtrak... are all government run monopolies! It's not... having the government take over will make the healthcare system yet another example. I furthermore would like to point out that in the 1950's there was a similar debate in the United States about federal control of the public education system... at the time the United States had a public education system that was the envy of the world, and American students were the best educated students in the world. Bureaucrats in Washington, however, decided that things could be better run from Washington, and thus they begain funding education, and dictating what needed to be taught in the schools. Competition amongst the schools was squashed when the government dictated that school districts be consolidated. Today American public education is a joke among the rest of the world, with American students coming in near the end of the list in most respects. This is not a coincidence. Government monopolies do not work well.





Do you remember the last time you were at the DMV? That is a perfect example of how ';efficient'; the government is. You think the wait at the ER is long now... just wait!





For god's sake, wake up everybody! Socialism is not the answer to our problems. Please, abandon this path to certain destruction! Stop the discussion about Socialist healthcare, and realize the folly of such a program!





The answer to the problem of healthcare costs is as simple as it is easy to implement... get the government out of healthcare, and get the free market in!





As recently as the 1960s, low-cost health insurance was available to virtually everyone in America - including people with existing medical problems. Doctors made house calls. A hospital stay cost only a few days' pay. Charity hospitals were available to take care of families who could not afford to pay for healthcare.





Since then the federal government has increasingly intervened through Medicare, Medicaid, the HMO Act and tens of thousands of regulations on doctors, hospitals and health-insurance companies.





Today, more than 50 percent of all healthcare dollars are spent by the government.





Health insurance costs are skyrocketing. Government health programs are heading for bankruptcy. Politicians continue to pile on the regulations.





The only healthcare reforms that will make a real difference are those that are draw on the strength of the free market.





Here are some simple solutions to the ';healthcare crisis'; facing us today:





1. Establish Medical Saving Accounts.





Under this program, you could deposit tax-free money into a Medical Savings Account (MSA). Whenever you need the money to pay medical bills, you will be able to withdraw it. For individuals without an MSA, all healthcare expenditures should be made 100 percent tax deductible.





2. Deregulate the healthcare industry.





We should repeal all government policies that increase health costs and decrease the availability of medical services. For example, every state has laws that mandate coverage of specific disabilities and diseases. These laws reduce consumer choice and increase the cost of health insurance. By making insurance more expensive, mandated benefits increase the number of uninsured American workers.





3. Remove barriers to safe, affordable medicines.





We should replace harmful government agencies like the Food %26amp; Drug Administration (FDA) with more agile, free-market alternatives. The mission of the FDA is to protect us from unsafe medicines. In fact, the FDA has driven up healthcare costs and deprived millions of Americans of much-needed treatments. For example, during a 10-year delay in approving Propanolol Propranolol (a heart medication for treating angina and hypertension), approximately 100,000 people died who could have been treated with this lifesaving drug. Bureaucratic roadblocks kill sick Americans.