will the fear-mongering every stop? Will governing ever begin?
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/2009/03/medical-bankrup.html
Looks like this bit of overblown rhetoric is getting a bit of well deserved backlash. On the other hand, approx. 1/3 of bk’s are attributed to health costs.
good article. thanks for the link. Don’t worry Obama and his legion of socialists will not let data interfere with their goal to socialize the country.
Let’s see. My insurance (with my company paying half of the premium) went up 28% Jan 1st with higher deductables. My 20 year old son who is a temp-to-hire for the state writing Homeland Security grants (has no insurance) had a one time seizure walking home from work and the resulting ambulance ride, 1 hour in the ER, and 2 doctor visits resulted in $6,000 in medical bills. Maybe the data isn’t current, medical costs are skyrocketing. If you don’t see this, you either have your heads in the sand or up somewhere else. This is a real problem and although it may not ever affect the wealthy of this country there are many people in this country that could lose everything with one hospital stay.
very true. But, the statement - made as fact by the President, still isn’t accurate.
Notice I called it “fear mongering”. Which is what he was doing. Very few people would argue that medical costs are exorbitant. But, let’s sit down and talk about…let’s not try to scare the hell out of people so that they will blindly accept whatever socialized agenda the Dems throw at them.
Hell, while we are at it - let’s go reform malpractice lawyers, I’m sure they account for a massive amount of the inflated medical bills we see.
I agree, malpractice claims are a major cost. I believe that Obama’s health care meeting today included just about every interested party, from insurance reps to Republicans. At least he’s making an effort to get input from all sides.
I heard a clip where Obama said that the economy was not going to recover until healthcare is revamped. Next, it won’t recover until the union has total control of industry, and the fairness doctrine is enacted. I’m sure there are a few other things that are preventing the economy from recovering.
Hell, while we are at it - let’s go reform malpractice lawyers, I’m sure they account for a massive amount of the inflated medical bills we see.
Ooops! There you go making the same type of mistake as Il Presidente.
There are a ton more input factors into high healthcare costs than we’ll ever be willing to tackle with more than populist rhetoric. The danger in universal healthcare is a stifling of innovation and a gargantuan bureaucracy in which some deserving people are going to die as a result of incompetence and a lack of effective, and expensive, treatment modalities. The danger in not reforming healthcare is that we continue to shamble along in the manner we’ve been doing, and also in which some people die because of incompetence.
Really, I think a lot of people are running scared in this country right now, and more than a few politicians are playing off that fear in order to enact certain things that we can’t possibly afford until we get our financial house back in order with common sense measures; not by promising to spend trillions more dollars that we already don’t have. You beat problems in government by nibbling around the edges, incrementally. Not by trying to rush through change that’s bound to hurt just as many people in some way as it is just a likely to help others in a different way.
I remember a time in English history when people were put into so-called ‘debtors prisons’ when their economic circumstance put them behind the 8-ball. Thankfully, at least, nobody’s tossed in clink when they can’t pay up nowadays.
T.
Your right, the cost are rising and you think the govt can solve this?
With the advances that have come, people living longer…healthcare can only go up.
With more and more people on the dole…hearthcare can only go up
With the demographics changing…healthe can only go up
We need to focus on healthcare outcomes and change the processes to improve the delivery but we DO NOT need univeral healthcare - it will not be more cost effective.
***Hell, while we are at it - let’s go reform malpractice lawyers, I’m sure they account for a massive amount of the inflated medical bills we see. ***
You mean the medical malpractice laws, don’t you?
Everybody hates lawyers. Until they need the services of one.
T.
yes, typo on my part. Or, freudian slip - take your pick 
jr
I think we need to look at the big picture. Sure, medical costs are high, but your paying for a service that not only includes the dr’s fee’s, but hospital fee’s, malpractice ins fee’s…and so on…My biggest bitch is, that most people have no problem bitching about paying what ever they pay for ins but never bitch about how much they pay for the big house, the boat, the beemer, the toy trailer and all the toys that go in it, the 5,000 dollar tri bike with 2500 dollar wheel set,etc…
What ever happen to priorities? Take care of yourself and family first with food, shelter, medical/dental…then worry about the toys, the bigger house, the beemer, the second home, the time share,…my neighbor down the street is always pissing and moaning about his cost of health ins for his family of 6, but the tool has a motorhome, toy trailer, numerous dirtbikes, a ford f250, and 4 other vehicles and 3 horses!
Also, when will we address the huge cost of medicine due to self neglect. For instance, if i dont have medical ins or marginal ins, should i be eating junk food, super sized meals, drinking alot, smoking, jumping out of airplanes, running with knifes,etc…and for the fatties,dont tell me its a “hormon problem”…
Why should tax dollars go to people who are more worried about “things” then themselfs or to people that are on a path of self destruction…
I am all for helping people in need, but not the people that dont need it.
For the most part I agree.
A “reasonably” healthy family can go out and get health insurance for significantly less than a house payment and for some, less than their car payments.
The problem comes in when you have chronically ill folks that can’t get coverage or their coverage equals that of their house payment or more.
On top of that there is a fairly large group of people that are even reasonably healthy that live off of a lower wage and their health care costs would be more than their rent.
I think health care can and should be lowered. I also think people need to understand it’s never again going to be “Cheap”.
~Matt
Like I said, I dont mind helping those in need, even those that do have the unsuspecting serious issue that arises…And I think our country does a damn good job of keeping people alive. Be it thru the hospital or dr themselves, charity, or government assistance!
I have not pitty for the person that smokes 8 packs of cigs a day, or eat all their meals at fast food joints…that dont excercise or maintain a healthier lifestyle!
I have not pitty for the person that smokes 8 packs of cigs a day, or eat all their meals at fast food joints…that dont excercise or maintain a healthier lifestyle!
Although I agree with the sentiment the above “Lifestyle” changes would likely have very little overall effect on health care costs. Yes we’d probably see a small reduction and yes I’d say people should be given intensives to stay healthy, but we have FAR FAR larger fish to fry than the fatty at Mcd’s, smoking a cig.
~Matt
preventive medicine is the best medicine…
Absolutely agree, but preventative medicine still costs a lot of money if the system is inherently expensive. Even the healthiest people with the best preventative medicine still get sick and get cancer etc etc.
~Matt
The problem comes in when you have chronically ill folks that can’t get coverage or their coverage equals that of their house payment or more.
My husband’s lab tech is like that. He’s only in his late 30s, but is a stomach cancer survivor with high blood pressure, and his health issues kept him from working full time for a long stretch in his life.
Since he’s only part time right now while he’s getting his college degree, he doesn’t get group insurance at work, and no private insurer will touch him, even with the exclusions, because of the cancer and BP. So the only way he gets health insurance right now is by going through a state program that is pretty limited in what it covers but at least has let him be in a position to get the blood pressure back under control and has some hospital coverage in case of emergency.