It's 2008 but the US still hasn't got a health plan

Morning P1ke.and yes i'm still here I'm one of them that can't afford any insurance..they call up all the time trying to get me to buy it but unless you can afford it we need help and fortunately i'm ok and don't need any.But what if someday i do? Well then we have to go under the Hospitals charity fund..all Hosp. have them, but they don't like to admit it otherwise all would come in and use it up. Until then i stay out of trouble and eat only farmers market veggies i know aren't tainted..now the jalapenos here are found to have salmonella in the news last night..and us Texans love out Hot and spicy food! But hey hot and spicy is good right? huggs

I wish I could say you were wrong but what you know to be true about the state of our health care is true. Many people cannot afford it nor is it available to everyone and the government just doesn't seem to care. That's it in a nutshell.

The problem is that health care costs too much. NOT that we need "someone else" (us, the taxpayers) to pay for it. Where do you think the money will come from? The sky? The government has no money of its own. It uses ours. National health care is a feel good myth propagated by socialists, to make us believe that our government will "take care of us." Who is this government? It used to be of the people, for the people and BY the people. Not any more.

I have a few points on this: 1-The US does not purport to provide healthcare for its citizens. We are an open market capitalist economy and we let medical providers offer their services just like any other market in our country. 2-Those that are in severe need like the impoverished and the elderly DO get special medical plans under Medicare and Medicaid. Now, if they need more help is another story. 3-You have to choose between paying for insurance or paying more taxes to pay for the government to give you insurance. 4-Competition breeds the best product, that is well known. Look at the government and how they handle things. Do you really want governmental red tape making the already difficult process of getting and paying for health care. 5-The US has by far, the most accessible and most advanced technology. We have the most xray machines per capita and the best xray machines on average. If you want to wait three weeks for an xray in Canada while you're arm is broken, then fine, but I prefer being able to get one asap.

There are two reasons why health care is so expensive (well there are probably a lot more reasons) Illegal Immigrants and politicians. for those who say that Doctors don't work for free. They do on the border. I have also seen DR.'s that go to South America and fix kids with Cleft Palate, Or there is Doctors w/o Borders. I am not defending Doctors by any means, Some of them are Greedy B@$t@rds. But not all of them. And I think the real problem lies elsewhere. But Gov't is NOT the answer. It's the problem. More and More Regulation only drives up prices more. And while Gov't will not Enact Tort Reform, they certainly do practice it. I was in an accident involving a worker for the city I live in. They are "self insured" Which means they don't have to pay premiums like the rest of us. Then They limit liability to $100,000. Even if your med bills are 5 times that. Anything over that amount takes an act of Congress and several years. Then when we went to settle. They said they would only agree on an amount that was LESS than the cost of the medical bills!!! Forget about the lawyer.(Who earned every dime he was paid BTW)Forget about the fact that now I have to Write "Back Injury" On every job application or Insurance form I fill out. Just a peek at Gov't run health care???? Hint: They don't give two rips about you and me. When GW Bush was first elected President, He tried to bring in a plan with Health Savings Accounts and Insurance for Catastrophic Illness. The Liberal Democrats and Press in this country VILIFIED him. Since they apparently believe that taxpayers are too stOOpid to get out of bed in the morning w/o BigBro's help. They fought tooth and Nail against him, As they have with everything he has tried to do. Now, WHOLE FOODS MARKET(r) has been using that SAME plan for about 6 years and they LOVE it. The whole country could have had this plan if not for the Democrats. But of course then they would not be able to blame Bush for America's Health "Crisis". On Fortune 500's list of top co's to work for, Whole Foods is #16. It's #4 on benefits. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2008/benefits/health_care.html

Even if they implement a health care program who will staff it? There has been talk and the doctors have decided to pull out it is not making them any money and they didnt go through 10 years of schooling to work for free. They are not very happy about it. I think we will see a lot of great physicians retire if this happens.

This is for all Americans interested in changing health care. go to www.dividedwefail.org. It is sponsored by AARP and is dedicated to supporting our leaders who support health care change. Maybe if we all show an interest things will work out for the better.

No, we do not have a blanket system of health care. It has to do with free enterprise and freedom of choice. health care programs that are gov't sponsored usually dictate who you go to , etc. americans are reluctant to give up their right of choice. That said, I agree that we need a better system than the hit and miss one we have now.What we need is the right politician with the right plan. Even then, it would be a controversial subject. I, myself , have good coverage because of my husband's wisdom in choosing a profession that provides well. I notice that this becomes harder and harder to find, though. We do have welfare for the poor or jobless, so at least they are covered. In the state of Utah we have coverage for all children below a certain income level. So, there is some help for them. So you see, there are reasons for the present state of our health care. Also, it is not as bad as you have heard.

You are so wrong....NOT! So don't go away!I wish I could afford medical insurance for me and my husband. Right now though we cannot afford it.We need it especially for my husband but I am positive that everyone else needs it also. But alot doens't have it as you said. I wish we could get it and it be affordable.

No sir, I wish with all my heart you were wrong, Love. Fact is that young adults working adults between the ages of 22 to 50 are among the highest percentage of people who can not afford insurance and has none. Children under the age of 21 most states allow coverage of some sort or another, women who are pregnant are also taken care of, but there is a vast vast hole in which many many hard working viable Americans are lost.

I Know it P1ke, and you know it! All the best Countries in the world look after their poorest citizens. All but the "Good Old USA!" Its unconscionable, but its a Fact. Canada has had a Federal Health Plan since 1984 and It's one of the best things that ever happened in Canada.Our plan is not perfect. There's sometimes a long wait, but nobody loses their Home and Life Savings because of poor Health. The US is money motivated, the Insurance Companies are rich, and stand to lose too much. So they pay off the politicians to ignore the poor and infirm. Bill Clinton tried for a Health Plan,and nearly got impeached. Hillary isn't going to get a chance. Lets hope Obama has the guts and brains to get it done. (there's already talk of assassination!) God Help America!

Hi p1ke the USA does sound like a third world country the fact they have no free medical cover ..no offense to all those in the USA..but something should be done about it and helping those that are unabe to pay for healthcover littleowl

pikey sorry but you are so right, my son is fifty and he doesn not have a good health plan as he is working for a small company and they cannot afford health plans for their employees, now I am 81 and have medicare and my very good gap insurance Secure horizons on the evercare program for poor seniors, but there are thousands of people like my son who c annot afford the high costs of insurances like blue cross or blue sheild, and its high time that the USA had a national health insurance like other nations do.but our government has fought against it over and over, so we the people need to demand this.You are right all US citizens whould be able to receive affordable health care,but so far this has not happened. so yes we need to lobby our politians and get this fixed.

The US economic model is closer to capitalism than any western democracy. The reason why America is so powerful is because growth and profits have almost always trumped all else. It means that the US has promoted a culture of work through incentives for growth... low taxes make working more bearable, consumerism makes people work more to spend more and the welfare state is virtually non-existant... you sink or swim. I think it's true that the American dream is that of personal gain and wealth creation. Social programs, such as health care, get in the way of wealth creation and personal growth. There are more healthy people than unhealthy people, and from an economic standpoint, there is no benefit for healthy people to pay for unhealthy people. According to the law of the jungle, unhealthy people will pass away, thus easing the economic burden on society. I may be totally off, but health care in the US simply costs too much to really be worth it. So sadly, affordable health care is basically available only to those who have money to pay for it.

I completely agree that every citizen of the United States is entitled to healthcare regardless of socioeconomic background, race, we should all be entitled to the same benefits.

The government needs to pull their head out of their a** and see what is happeninig all over the country! There are sick peole who don't seek medical care simply because they can't afford it. And even those who have insurance are stuck with bills that the insurance company refuses to pay. I don't think we will ever have a national healthcare program simply because the insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies won't let it happen!