The point I made is that you were dependent on public education.

 

The reality is that the U.S. system of private health care is the most expensive in the world, it is less popular than health care systems that are financed by the government, and it gets inferior results.

 

Oh, I understand, all right. Your guiding principle is the law of the jungle, every man for himself. It was a popular view in the days before man climbed down out of the trees and became civilized.

 

As a european it is hard to understand what the fuss is all about,
personally i'm pro health care. Is there a decent argument contra?

 

Call yourself what you want. The policies you promote are socialist by definition. Again, that's your right ...your LIBERTY to believe whatever you want.

As for me, I tend to return to this statement when common sense seems to be just out of reach: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

I have yet to see any reason to give 1/6 of our economy to the inefficient and wasteful federal bureaucrats, many of whom are batshit crazy. I will not claim our system is perfect but the idea that our elected politicians will make it better makes me shake my head in bewilderment.

 

Why is it so expensive again? That can be addressed by the government, start with tort reform to reduce unnecessary tests and procedures and reduce the cost of malpractice insurance.

Again, high cost does not mean low value. A $10 screwdriver that works well is cheap compared to a $2 screwdriver that breaks.

Not less popular with me ...or anyone I know.
The government has no money, they spend OUR money.
Inferior results? According to what?

 

Americans have this thing called liberty and most of us will defend it with our last breath. If not for ourselves, for our children and grandchildren.

 

The U.S. health system is 1/6 of the U.S. economy because of the inefficiencies inherent in a private health system.

 

It works better than "From each according to his means, to each according to his need."

 

2-6% profit. That's hardly what makes up 1/6 of the economy.

 

Tell me, did you remember this quote when George Bush was pushing the Patriot Act through Congress and wiretapping American citizens without a warrant?

Those things do a lot more to trample on the liberties of Americans than universal health care or public education do.

 

I did not like the patriot act and I wrote my representatives with my concerns ...but it was done as safely as possible. The act expires unless congress votes to extend it. In other words, it was a stopgap with a set timeframe and then it dies.

Healthcare is a different issue entirely. ...and it was designed to affect only those Americans who communicated with persons in hostile lands.

 

So, you're willing to trample on Americans' liberties in exchange for your safety, as long as it's only during wartime. Tell me...has the Patriot Act expired yet?

I assume your second paragraph was about wiretapping, not health care. Assuming that's the case, how do you know the wiretapping was only of Americans communicating with "persons in hostile lands"? Because that's what George Bush and Fox News told you?

 

please your hero Obama has continued these practices if not worse, what are you afraid of? the liberals will always defend the enemy and i thought the program did some good. i am a law abiding American citizen(nothing to worry about here) so blaming Bush for trying to protect Americans is a lost argument on me, can you let him go? this economy and war is all Obama's now, your tirades get old.....and my liberties have only been trampled on since the current administration took office.

 

you guys have to factor in the massive cost of medical liability in the US, and BTW...its a purely US phenomenon...

you go in with a migraine and they do a CAT scan because they dont want to miss anything the hospital can get sued over later on.

it will be the sole underlying cost factor in US healthcare till its resolved....

strange thing is that no one seems to want to touch it in the US......

 

you are simply wrong DL, someone has to tell you. the government will never improve your life in anyway substantially? have they because having Washington in charge of healthcare is without a doubt the most ludicrous idea i have ever heard of, seriously there is a reason it has not passed in over a century, Americans do not want socialism at the hands of politicians, your health is your responsibility and yours alone. if you have a family then i guess you are responsible for them to, better get a job and show the world what you can do.

 

Okay, here's a short quiz.

1. What percentage of total health care expenditures does medical malpractice insurance and damage awards constitute in the U.S.?

2. What is your proposed solution to that problem?

 

Deidre, could you please make a little less noise. We're trying to have a conversation here.

 

Kimiko? someone has to get in your face. the promulgation of lies and propaganda you post here has to stop somewhere. doesn't it?

 

Costs of Health Care Administration in the United States and Canada

The New England Journal of Medicine, Autust 21, 2003

Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., M.P.H., Terry Campbell, M.H.A., and David U. Himmelstein, M.D.

In 1999, health administration costs totaled at least $294.3 billion in the United States, or $1,059 per capita, as compared with $307 per capita in Canada...

In 1999 U.S. private insurers retained $46.9 billion of the $401.2 billion they collected in premiums. Their average overhead (11.7 percent) exceeded that of Medicare (3.6 percent) and Medicaid (6.8 percent). Overall, public and private insurance overhead totaled $72.0 billion — 5.9 percent of the total health care expenditures in the United States, or $259 per capita (Table 1).

The overhead costs of Canada's provincial insurance plans totaled $311 million (1.3 percent) of the $23.5 billion they spent for physicians and hospital services. An additional $17 million was spent to administer federal government health plans. The overhead of Canadian private insurers averaged 13.2 percent of the $8.4 billion spent for private coverage. Overall, insurance overhead accounted for 1.9 percent of Canadian health care spending, or $47 per capita (Table 1)...

A system with multiple insurers is also intrinsically costlier than a single-payer system...

Conclusions The gap between U.S. and Canadian spending on health care administration has grown to $752 per capita. A large sum might be saved in the United States if administrative costs could be trimmed by implementing a Canadian-style health care system.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/349/8/768