Comparison of McCain's and Obama's Healthcare Plans

[kandrathe]

How many of those haven't applied out of ignorance?

Some people here are too stupid to get out of the rain. A phone call to social services would get them hooked up.

And, for a person wtih a pre-existing medical condition, getting coverage can suck. Have psoriasis... no dice; have depression/anxiety and have the audacity to try to treat it... no dice; born with asthma... too bad.

This is where government has a role in setting up fairness in policies, and preventing abusive behavior.

Corporate bureaucrats don't do any better: HMO's requiring pre-approval for coverage in medical emergencies (sorry patient we can't treat you, your HMO told us that it was "unnecessary" surgery to stop the internal bleeding, guess you'll just sit there and bleed to death). The only thing that corporate bureaucracy does is make a different set of people rich off the graft and corruption you see in government agencies.

Part of the problem is that the system is so out of control that the price of health care necessitates having insurance, at least for catastrophic circumstances. It is ludicrous that some bureaucrat in an HMO is second guessing a doctors diagnosis and prescribed treatment. On the other hand, there has been too much garbage pressed onto HMO providers, like treating alcoholism, smoking cessation, or other self inflicted health conditions.

Also in the "private is better" matter... you know how many private insurance companies had to be sued before paying under contract obligations after Katrina, Wilma, etc.? I don't want to hear that private is "better" than government or more efficient.

How would you like to fight the government on getting your medical bills paid? At least with corporations the "lawsuit" is an option.

The only solution is better people. Making everything private isn't the solution, making everything public isn't the solution either. Accountability, integrity, and *real* penalties for transgression is the only way to go.

The only way you can make it cheaper is to get government subsidies out of the game. There needs to be *real* competition in the marketplace. Governments role is to regulate who can be a care provider (licensed), or hospital, and through the FDA what drugs can be sold. There is a problem with FDA as well in requiring "perfect" drugs before licensing. There should be an intermediate phase where the drug is available, but considered "experimental". People can decided if they want to take the risk or not.

Another issue in US health care is the propensity to try to save everyone as if they were all 20 years old. Most of the money is spent on trying to save people who have a very slim chance. We have trouble letting anyone die.