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I don't think there is a clear answer right now.  Something needs to be done to try to control the Healthcare costs in this country, however I don't agree with a government controlled system.  At this point only time will tell how it all plays out.

Stu

Christian, that is the problem, no one has a clue. This country runs on the greed factor now and that definitely includes Health insurers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. With the Democratic and Republican party unable to work together, no resolution containing any common sense will be handed down to us, the commoners.

Malpractice has caused too many expensive test. Many doctors have an interest in the image clinics. We all  k now they give the expensive RX instead of a generic or another drug that will work. Its money.S ome of the top doctors in Houston will not take medic aid patients. I do not know the answer, but the cost is out of control. I am not for universal health care. I am now in the do nut hole for the next 2700.00 of out of pocket medical expense I fell into it last month when I spent $790.00 out of pocket.

The think obama needs to have the TV newsfolks on site to photo the people who die each day from lack of insurance. I have not heard of any, but you know it must several hundred each day.

I still do not have any answer, except just to not get old. I was never in a hospital until I was 54, but I caught up this year.

My wife went back to finish up nursing school a couple of years ago and she did a major paper on Universal Healthcare.  I don't remember the number of people who die each year from a lack of insurance but they are absolutely staggering.  The biggest problem is not that people die simply from not having insurance but because they don't go to the doctor to take care of the small routine issues that lead to larger ones in the future......One instance I remember from her paper was a young boy who didn't go the the doctor or dentist with a massive tooth infection because he had no insurance.  Some 6 or 7 days later he died from a massive infection that started in the tooth and spread to his brain.

This stuff happens every day and no one knows about how much could be avoided.  I for one can testify that my insurance premiums for me and my family started out 8 years ago at 298.00 per month for good BCBS insurance.  I just changed plans a few months ago and the last payment I made for my old plan was just under 1300.00 for that month.  My monthly premiums slowly increased over that time period over 1000.00 per month.  THAT is out of control.  The average persons house payment isn't even that much.

I am going to quit now!  If I go on about this much longer my blood pressure is going to get up and I won't be able to sleep.  Ray,  I'm sorry to hear about you recent donations to the local doctors!  What kind of health problems have you had this year?

Ray, I don't understand why you owe that much. My cancer surgery and resulting phlebitis ran almost $160,000.00 and I paid very little of that expense. Thank goodness for Medicare and my supplement provider. Medicare pays for all my COPD medication, has bought me a Jazzy mobility chair, and pays my Pulmonologist when I go to her.

There are thousands of people that die needlessly every year because they do not have the money to pay premiums, therefore they do not have the money to see Doctors. This is, of course, a travisty and needs to change. I am in hopes that the politicians can get their animosity of each other out of the way and start working to help us peons.

I envision that it will be similar to the way the NFIP is run.  Consumers have the option to purchase flood insurance or purchase an alternative, manuscript policy from an overseas broker or get hit with a high cost, lender placed policy.  You as a taxpayer will still retain the option to keep your current policy, but the heavily subsidized NFIP policies typically destroy anyone else who decides to try to take a stab at competing.

The only reasons why there are a few manuscript flood policies is because of limited coverage by the NFIP (I recall its still $250K  for dwelling and $500K for Com. structures) and some counties still don't participate with flood mapping. 

The lender placed policies are somewhat competitive because they are retroactive and usually only cover for Covg. A and B items only.  Yet, even then, they can cost far more than your typical Homeowner policy.  In short, these (lender placed, flood policies) serve a unique and specific function.

I suspect that these are where many of the similarities will begin when/if Healthcare is reformed.  We can still keep our current Health insurance, but most people will ask themselves why they should pay twice- once for private and a second time for your Public Option policy?  If reform occurs, I suspect that there will be some doctor's and care facilities that will refuse to participate for more work and mediocre pay.  This would be a reason to pay twice so that you can still opt to get the quality of care that the US Government just won't ever be able to posess.  We never heard Ted Kennedy ranting about how he wished he had Government doctors caring for him before he passed away, did we?

This 'Public Option' semantic is simply an egregious act of deception so that our big Government President can make a power grab and convert the rest of our country into a socialist state of affairs.  Any attempt by private investors emboldened with the entrepeneurial spirit that started this country will be crushed by the heavily subsidized and mediocre government care.

Somebody please tell me why Tort Reform is such a bad idea?  I know why it won't happen during this term, but isn't that really what the American public wants?  It's out of control Plaintiff attorneys that are a significant contributor of atrocious costs for R&D and Health Care.

Posted By Tom Toll on 27 Sep 2009 09:45 AM

Christian, that is the problem, no one has a clue. This country runs on the greed factor now and that definitely includes Health insurers and pharmaceutical manufacturers. With the Democratic and Republican party unable to work together, no resolution containing any common sense will be handed down to us, the commoners.

It is called Capitalism.

The fact is that most of those that do not have medical coverage never had medical coverage until they needed it and then found that pre existing conditions are not covered. A fact that is true of all insurance. Show me a property policy that provides coverage for damage done prior to the inception date.