Healthcare (USA)

Posted: Thu, Oct 02 2008, 9:52 pm Post subject: Healthcare (USA)

Whose healthcare plan do you support? Obama's plan to centralize healthcare under the federal government or McCain's plan to give a $5000 credit through tax returns for Americans to purchase their own health insurance?
(Please only base your vote on the healthcare plan and not on your views of the candidates in general)
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Posted: Thu, Oct 02 2008, 10:04 pm Post subject:

$5000 for a whole family isn't very much. That is like 3 months of premiums.
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Boy 10, Boy 8, Girl 7, Boy 5, Boy 3, Boy 15 months

Posted: Thu, Oct 02 2008, 10:09 pm Post subject:

Posted: Thu, Oct 02 2008, 10:10 pm Post subject:

Platinum Member Joined: May 13 2007 Posts: 8153

That is because you are in NY. $5000 would just about cover my family's premiums.

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 27 2005 Posts: 6728

I cant vote because I really dont know the details of either plan nor if they will ever get it passed anyway. I heard (idk if its true or not) that mccain plans to also make the employer deductions taxable - that is bad for regular working people but centralizing medicine is also bad in many ways. I think both of them should keep themselves busy with other issues and not ruin healthcare even worse than it is. {s/t its best to leave things alone - if only someone let the iran-iraq war keep going they would still be fighting each other instead of the rest of the world, but s/o had a brilliant idea.}
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"Vision without action is a daydream; Action without vision is a nightmare"

Gold Member Joined: Nov 20 2007 Posts: 1152

Obama's plan is sort of like the healthcare plan that they have in Canada. True everyone is covered, but then you can say bye bye to a good health care plan with great doctors offering good and accomodating service.
Just listening to some of the birth experiences of some of my Canadian family and friends gives me the chills and makes me want to stay miles away from such a health care plan in the US.

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 27 2006 Posts: 4760

Posted: Thu, Oct 02 2008, 11:29 pm Post subject: re: Healthcare (USA)

"Ideally, Obama would like all Americans to have free health insurance. He would set up a marketplace where families and individuals can choose between private plans and government-run plans like Medicare. Insurance companies would be required to insure people regardless of whether they were sick or not. Parents would be required to insure their children. Large companies would be required to either offer acceptable insurance plans, or pay into the government's health fund."

Gold Member Joined: Nov 20 2007 Posts: 1152

Gold Member Joined: Apr 16 2005 Posts: 1943

As I've said before, central healthcare works great here in Australia. I'd be over the moon to have a similar system in America. Here, there is always the option of "going private" if one wants a specific doctor or type of care not covered by the national plan; there is no need to "pay under the table". Generally, this isn't necessary, however, because public heathcare is quite good.
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Binah

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 27 2006 Posts: 4760

Gold Member Joined: Apr 16 2005 Posts: 1943

B"H, I haven't needed much specialty medical care, so I might not have everything 100% correct, but I will tell you what I know.

There are very good doctors working both privately and in the public system. Many doctors do both. Private health insurance here is much more reasonably priced than it is in the US, because even if you use a private hospital or doctor, the government still pays a portion of the costs. Many people (most?) have private health insurance, but it isn't necessary to have. I don't have it, but I still get good healthcare without it. It seems like there is plenty of business for private doctors.

For example, when a woman is hiring a doctor or midwife for care during pregnancy and birth, she can chose either system (public or private) or she can be a private patient in a public hospital. If a woman goes 100% public, she will choose the hospital she where wants to give birth. Each hospital has different programs. Some people just chose the one that is closest, but often people pick the one that they like the best of ones within a reasonable distance. You can choose to be seen by a team of doctors or a team of midwives, and in at least one case I know of, you can choose a program where you'll have the same midwife for all your appointments. If a woman decides on the private system, she can chose a doctor or midwife who works privately and give birth in a private hospital. She could have all her appointments with that one doctor or perhaps only the doctors in his practice, and be sure that have that doctor when she gives birth, whereas in the public system she would generally get whoever is on call at that time (usually the doctor or midwife would be from a certain team, so she would have met him or her before). A lot of people have private health insurance and still go to public hospitals, because they are good. As far as I know, they aren't inferior in any way. The only extra thing I can think of that a private patient would get in a public hospital is a private room if her insurance covers that (usually rooms are shared).

Silver Member Joined: Jul 23 2007 Posts: 869

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 27 2005 Posts: 6728

I think with such a plan a big majority of the good dr's will go private & pple will go into greater debt to use them because most pple with access to loans who need specialty medicine just would do that. Result would be middle class deeper in debt. Poor & rich would not be deeply affected. Yup, I am convinced both plans majorly mess up the middle class even more and dont have much of an effect on anyone else.

Posted: Fri, Oct 03 2008, 9:27 am Post subject:

Alot of top doctors don't take health insurance so what is the difference.

Also there are alot of things that the government runs and they work fine. USPS, train systems, airports.

Many companies are already choosing not to insure their employees and people are turning to government covered health insurance.

Posted: Fri, Oct 03 2008, 9:29 am Post subject:

Platinum Member Joined: Oct 27 2005 Posts: 6728

I know that socialized medicine works decently in numerous countries but you have to factor in the dr's reactions to switching systems, when they worked themselves to the bone going thru school & taking loan upon loan socialized medicine is not what they had in mind. I highly doubt either plan would really pass as is.

Silver Member Joined: Jul 23 2007 Posts: 869

Posted: Fri, Oct 03 2008, 10:12 am Post subject: Re: re: Healthcare (USA)