Why Hilda Needs Universal Health Care

A week doesn't go by in my district offices without some constituent, often several, calling in a panic about a personal health care crisis. These calls come not only from people who aren't insured, but increasingly from those who are -- or think they are. Most of the time, they are shocked and furious that, now that they actually need the coverage, their policies don't seem to apply.

I know my office is not unique among Congressional offices. Thus, one would think that a massive overhaul of our completely dysfunctional health care non-system would be a no-brainer. Maybe in an Obama administration it will be, but I doubt it. There will still be those defenders of the insurance industry, mostly Republicans, who think the system is just fine, with maybe a few tweaks. Even with a supportive President Obama, it won't be a cakewalk to take on the pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, HMOs and all those who profit handsomely from sick Americans while contributing generously to political campaigns.

Hilda is an example of one of the common, everyday stories we hear. She lives in my district, is uninsured, and too young for Medicare. She grosses about $1,300 a month as a home care worker for an elderly woman. If you think about that, it's easy to get really mad. She works full time at an important and difficult job taking care of another human being, but can't afford the care she herself needs.

Hilda has severe pain in her stomach and also in her neck. A doctor told her she needed an ultrasound in both places in order to make a proper diagnosis. Because of her situation -- uninsured and low income -- she could only afford one. She picked her stomach. It hurt the most.

The doctor discovered a large fibroid tumor on her uterus and a cyst in her ovary. She was told that she needed a hysterectomy. This was financially out of her league. So, she continued to work while in severe pain, this time knowing why and what to do about it but unable to afford the surgery. Meanwhile, Hilda's neck was still killing her but in this case she didn't know what was causing the pain because she couldn't afford the ultrasound.

Because my office was able to get a local hospital to examine her and perform the surgery at a 100% discount through their charity care program, Hilda will have the operation this week. It's unclear how long she will be out of work, and, as if this whole ordeal weren't a big enough pain in the neck, she still has the pain in her neck.

My office has been trying to enroll Hilda in the Medicaid program, but today we heard from the Illinois Department of Human Services that she is not eligible for Medicaid or any other state program because she didn't prove that she is disabled. Who is her employer that can't offer any health coverage? The Illinois Department of Human Services.

This common to us story would sound strange in most first-world counties. Every other industrialized nation in the world considers health care a right and has figured out a system to make it available to all of its people, some more effectively than others, and all at considerably less cost. Japan for example spends half of what we spend and has much better outcomes. Compare the U.S. to the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Japan, and you'll find that people in those countries live longer, have lower infant mortality, and overall get more bang for their buck.

I myself favor a single-payer system, a kind of beefed up "Medicare for all" system as the best way to go. I like the Obama plan because it moves in that direction. Under his plan, consumers may choose to enroll in a public plan (like Medicare), or choose a private insurance plan that meets the high quality standards set by the government. I think the public plan in the end will prove itself to be by far the most efficient way to finance a health care system.

Until the United States joins the rest of the world in providing universal health care, families will continue to muddle their way through as best they can. Some people simply won't make it. The Urban Institute estimates that 22,000 people died in 2006 because they didn't have health insurance. Many other people will face bankruptcy, stick to a job they hate to keep the insurance, cut their pills in half, or pray their kids don't fall off their bikes. But I hope some of them - maybe you - will take the time to contact their member of Congress and demand an American health care program that guarantees everyone accessible, affordable, quality health care.

If you have a health care horror story to tell, I'd like to know about it.

Comments

[UnbiasView]

"These calls come not only from people who aren't insured"

Who's fault is that?

Are there people that decide to take the cheap route and it bites them in the butt?

[bamabluedotgirl]

No--there are people who can't afford anything but the cheap route. Sheesh.

[BlackWidowPilot]

Wow, BiasedView, better be careful; your *compassionate side* is showing.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[Chavez08]

Social Darwinism totally rocks when you're on top of the pyramid, doesn't it, chief?

[apexfork]

And confiscation of wealth totally rocks when it's someone else's, doesn't it, chief?

[Annette]

Under the current system, some people are literally uninsurable. My brother had cancer. Fortunately it was caught in time and he has been cancer free for over12 years. But if he didn't work for an employer with coverage he couldn't get insurance at any rate. He was thinking of opening his own law office (he is now a public prosecuter) he found out that there was no insurance comapny in his state willing to insure him because he had cancer back in 1995. One melanoma on the back of his neck which was caught and cured when it was smaller than a pencil eraser has basically made him uninsurable for life.

Sure we have a great system.

[quidam56]

This is what is deemed and defended by Wellmont Health Care Systems as an 'acceptable standard of health care'. So far, even though this was according to the East Tennessee health licensing board acceptable but horrifying. My Congressman ( Rick Boucher ) says there's nothing he can do. Apparently this is acceptable to Virginia agencies also. Seems The University of Tennessee nursing program has a nursing instructor who thinks when a patient showing all the signs and symptoms of bleeding after a minor surgical procedure ( they said it would be a three day procedure ) and were told to watch for a bleed, BP going down and down, heart rate increasing, sugar spiking, confusion, profuse sweating, "it could have been caused by the room temperature". If Nursing instructor Dona Boyd is teaching this, her students may need to know this patient with 'this' condition was going into shock. Their advertising is misleading and fraudulent, but they can say anything they want according to the Tennessee and Virginia advertising agencies. This man laid and rotted until he lost his legs, was sent home with MRSA-VRE. We just can't seem to figure out how our communities are getting 'the super-bug' ( MRSA ) Methicilli­n-Resistan­t Staphylococcus Aureus, which killed more Americans' last year than AIDS. All this ( and much, much more ) at our expense for the mega profit machines !

www.caringbridge.org/visit/timmullins

[TXfemmom]

As a health care professional, I can tell you that we have the most expensive, most inefficient, most greed-driven system of care in the world.

Go to a single-payer system, tell the pharmaceutical industry we won't pay one more cent than the rest of the industrialized countries, ditto for the technology, and then put significant, important sensors into the system to watch for fraud AND PREVENT IT, INSTEAD OF CATCHING IT AFTER MILLIONS, IF NOT BILLIONS ARE STOLEN.

[Annette]

So true, when we were in the UK the two specialists we delt with were both Expat Americans who had moved there to be able to be doctors. They both said that in the US they spent about 1/2 their time fighting with insurance companies to get approval for care, they had to spend hours justifying necessary care. They paid thousands in medical malpractice insurance because the insurance companies colluded on costs. The surgeon said he had never had a malpractice claim but paid over $80,000 for insurance coverage.T­hey moved to the UK. They have excellent incomes there, but even more important to them they get to practice medicine. The surgeon says he works harder there, does more surgeries, but since he doesn't spend hours on the phone fighting insurance companies he has more time to see each patient, and to see more patients. They both said that they wouldn't return to the US without a single payer system here. As the urologists said, might as well practice in Uganda.

[Marmann]

Dear Rep. Schakowsky:

As you mentioned, you story may not be unique, but you are. I, too, am uninsured, and have been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Before my official diagnosis, I had recurrent hospitalizations for pancreatitis. Finally, on my fifth hospitalization, someone decided to do diagnostic DNA testing for cystic fibrosis (without my knowledge or consent). The test came back positive. My chronic pancreatitis is caused by cystic fibrosis, a disease for which there is no cure.

The difference in our two stories is that I, too, wrote to my representative, Marilyn Musgrave, but she never gave me the courtesy of a response or even acknowledgment that she had received my letter.

Your constituents are lucky to have you as their representative.

[jmpurser]

Yes, for any non-brain dead American NOT in favor of killing Americans for profit reforming our disaster of a system is a no-brainer.

And it's also a non-starter. The most radical suggestion either major party is willing to consider is to prop up the current system with more tax dollars.

Sorry. Maybe in 2012 though I wouldn't bet on it.

[UnbiasView]

I am all for reforming it, I am not for madating government anything.

It always sounds like a good idea when it starts and ends up as a black hole financially.

[jmpurser]

Okay, we've GOT the magical "government is the problem" and "let the market fix it" solution. It's here. And it's the most expensive in the developed world AND consistently delivers the worst results.

Really.

This has been true for decades.

And it really does kill thousands of Americans every year.

When the problem is you're shooting yourself in the foot getting a bigger gun is not the answer.

[RightWingMarine]

Why should anyone be forced at the point of a gun to pay for someone else's healthcare? How American is that?

Why is someone else's healthcare my responsibility? I take care of myself, why can't they do the same? Since I'm paying for them to see the doctor can I also require them to quit smoking and eat food that I deem healthy?

What kind of quality doctors are we going to get out of this? The most skilled surgeon in the country charges more for an operation than the surgeon who studied in a third world country. What incentive would the most skilled surgeon have to continue his practice once the government takes over and sets the prices of what can be charged for the care provided? Or are we going to let doctors set their own rates and the government simply pays it? I predict multi-millionaire doctors by the end of the year and a bankrupt government.

Isn't government sponsored health care already a huge portion of our national debt? How does taking on more help us?

[Paprikapink]

At the point of a gun? What gun? Another way to look at "paying for their healthcare" is that it will save us all money in the long run. More healthy able-bodied workers, fewer people whose health has deteriorated so severely that they require major health expenses once they do qualify for Medicaid. Your concerns are valid, but as Rep. Schakowsky points out, single-payer health care is already working -- without multi-millionaire doctors and a bankrupt government (well, at least not any moreso than we have already) -- in many first-world countries around the world.

[RightWingMarine]

If someone were to decide to not pay their taxes for a while men with guns come to collect it. It does not matter who the person is. Spiro Agnew was charged while he was the sitting VP.

If I pay more in taxes for healthcare than I receive in healthcare then that surplus doesn't come back to me it goes to pay for someone else, thus I am paying for someone else's healthcare. Why should I have to pay for both my healthcare and someone elses? What if I don't want health care at all but would rather have the money in my pocket, why can't I do that?

I don't want a surgeon educated in a third world country operating on me. I want the best surgeon in the country, but since the government would pay either of them the same amount there is less incentive for the best to continue his practice or to accept government health financing. My private insurance would pay for me to see the specialist of my choice because I pay for that option. Without private insurance I have to see the doctor willing to work at government rates and I can't afford to pay for someone else to have healthcare and for me to see the best.

[hippynanainblingland]

Dear RightWingMarine:

Government sponsored health care may be a huge portion of our national debt, but, I assure you, not nearly big enough, and certainly just a tiny proportion of what the government spends on boondoggles, such as immoral wars, the hugest military in the world to wage such wars of aggression, bridges to nowhere, pensions for undeserving so-called public servants, prime health care for same, tax breaks and other welfare for corporations that are making uxti mega bucks off the backs of the suffering public, and tax breaks for the ultra rich.

But then again, your handle clearly implies that you'd rather your tax dollars were spent on government boondoggles than on your fellow suffering brothers and sisters!!!!

PS: For the answer to many of your questions, you should watch SICKO.

[RightWingMarine]

so because we are already spending vast sums of money on war means we should also spend vast sums on healthcare?

Then if we spend vast sums on healthcare shouldn't we also spend vast sums to improve the homes Americans live in? And if we spend vast sums on that shouldn't we spend vast sums on something else too?

I'd rather my tax dollars not be spent on health care, corporate welfare or any of the other things you listed. In fact I would support a Constitutional amendment that the government cannot provide for any benefit for one American unless it provides that same benefit for all Americans

[magen]

Why should I be forced to pay gazillions in taxes for a war that I never agreed to at the expense of everything else?

Why are Iraqis my responsibility?

If you took the money wasted on Iraq which had nothing to do with 9/11, and put it into healthcare, education, and alternative energy, the average American would be a lot better off.

But you wouldn't like the military budget (which is the biggest in the world) being cut would you, marine?

What do you suggest for people in this lady's situation to do, soldier, just die??

[wolfgangmo]

That is exactly what our big brave marine is suggesting.

And yes, the military budget could be cut by 90% and we would still spend more than any other country in the world.

Why are we the self proclaimed police of the world.

[FreedomBeforeDemocracy]

"Why should I be forced to pay gazillions in taxes for a war that I never agreed to at the expense of everything else?" Because defense of the nation is a responsibilty of the federal government. The US constitution gives the federal government the right to take your money through taxation in order to fulfil its constitutional duties. "Healthcare, education, and alternative energy" are not responsibilities that the federal government can legally assume, i.e. based on the US constitution.

I am assuming that you don't believe the Iraq war was necesary to defend our country. If you don't think the federal government is doing well at the things it is supposed to do, what makes you think they'll act more responsibly given these new tasks?

[Marmann]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as a Marine, aren't you eligible for VA healthcare? If so, I'm glad to pay for your healthcare through my taxes and, in fact, think veterans should receive better healthcare than they are currently receiving.

As far as forcing someone to pay for my healthcare, how's THIS for an example: I work on a production basis, and the sicker I became, the less I could produce and earn. When my health insurance premium rose from its original $622 a month to $711 per month, I had no choice but to discontinue it, since it was literally HALF of my gross income. (And this doesn't count the thousands of dollars I will soon be sued for in the form of deductibles, copayments, etc.) As a result of my huge monthly expenses (my health insurance being the most expensive), I was found to be eligible through the CICP program designed to help "indigent" people. So with every paycheck I earned, the FIRST thing to be deducted was my $711 monthly health insurance, while "you" paid for the benefits I received through the CICP program. The only winner here was the insurance company. I finally had to cancel it, and since DNA testing was done without my consent or knowledge, I now have a "preexisting" condition that just happens to be a fatal disease.

Whether you realize it or not, you are already paying for "people like me."

[Annette]

The most skilled surgeon in the country are moving to other countries to practice where they don't have to spend all their time fighting with the insurance companies.

Why is the right wing's desire to fight in other countries my responsibility? Why do I have to pay huge tax dollars to pay for Bush's vanity war?

For your information in countries with "socialized medicine" people live longer. Our system is inefficient, costs more and delivers worse results than almost any other country. By the way you are already paying for all those other people, your doctor and hospital just adds some of it onto your bill. of course if you are actually in the Marines you already have socialized health insurance and all of us are already paying for it.

[wolfgangmo]

Excellent points Annette.

Yes, the marine does get socialized health care. He just doesn't want anyone else to get it.

Yes, many highly skilled doctors are leaving the country, and while some skilled ones do show up here, it is usually only for about 10 to 15 years so they can suck the system dry and then return home to a rational country where they will continue to practice. Few who come here seem to retire here.

And no, we shouldn't have to pay for a war that only a minority wanted. Let them foot the bill for the macho bull-pucky.

[NEWTin2012]

I am an independant trucker that pays 454.65 a month for health coverage. Most to the unisured are self employed. What we need is a way for trade groups to ban together to get group coverage. But, I'd rather pay the 454.00 and get care when I need it than wait forever for the governement to decide I am near enough to death to give me an MRI

Also, many people simply don't take responsibilty for their health insurance. There are some people that are really too poor to afford insurance, but there are also plenty of people who just don't make purchasing insurance a priority. I know people that have no insurance while maintaining a 350.00- $400 a month car payment. How about a getting a cheaper car and buying insurance. If more uninsured would make health insurance a priority like electric or groceries there would be far less unisured in the US.

[Paprikapink]

It is true that many people are irresponsible when it comes to their health and their healthcare. But they are the exceptions, not the rule. And if we leave them to suffer their own consequences, the truth is we all suffer. Ultimately it does become an expense for all of us. What really, really hurts is when you are responsible and you're paying your hundreds of dollars a month for insurance, and everything's great until you are actually sick and suddenly your insurance won't cover the treatment your doctor recommends. This is especially likely to be the case with group coverages arranged by trade groups, for instance, or small not-for-profit businesses, or any small business. In order to make the premiums even remotely affordable, many common treatments simply aren't covered.

[apexfork]

Hello?! Common treatments *shouldn't* be covered, because they're common. Common treatments are exactly the sort of thing that should be paid out of pocket.

Exceptional treatments are the sort of thing for which they sell insurance.

Why someone would buy insurance with a deductible less than $1000 (at a minimum) is completely beyond me.

[QuicksilverKW]

What about the percentage of us who used to have insurance and now have a "pre-existing" condition?" I no longer have the same job. I lost it when I became too sick so work. That was 10 years ago. Now I manage a retail store and the owners - like many owners of small businesses - simply can't afford to offer health insurance. I make enough to sustain myself - but since I have Hep C, no insurance will touch me at a rate that is no less than staggering. $454? I wish. Now in my mid fifties, job opportunities are not overflowing. Selling on Ebay is helping me make ends meet. Oh - and I ride a bicycle and don't have a $400 car payment. So in my opinion - as I know MANY people who don't have health insurance - we would GLADLY take responsibility for health care IF the option was there. I don't consider myself poor. Most of the uninsured are not self employed. Many business have dropped health insurance as a benefit. I also don't get overtime, paid holidays, paid vacation, sick pay. What I do have is a caring doctor who charges patients less when they have no insurance. He lets you pay what you can afford. How novel - a doctor who cares about his patients. He told me once he would never not see someone who was sick just because they couldn't afford to pay him. Gives you a little faith in

[Marmann]

And the older we get (I'm 55), the more likely it is that we WILL have pre-existing conditions by virtue of aging! I, too, cannot get access to health insurance. It sounds like you have a great doc. My cystic fibrosis doc and staff are wonderful, too. They were able to enroll me in a program where I get my enzymes free. (They otherwise would cost more than $1,000 a month.) They also had my indigent card re-rated since my income is so much lower now. They have a wonderful, caring staff that is unfortunately 70 miles away from where I live. My car was repossessed, and my daughter's car is a "klunker" that most likely wouldn't make it that far, so each time I have an appointment, I have to rent a car. Since I don't have a credit card, I have to pay $250.00 cash, which is really difficult for me to come up with.

I believe there ARE doctors out there who are driven to choose medicine as a career because they want to help people, just like there are teachers out there who want to help people. We have a capitalistic society that is fine for most things. Healthcare isn't one of them. We need to regulate the drug companies and get rid of the health insurance companies altogether.

P.S. I hope you feel better.

[Annette]

In countries with single payer systems the doctor and patient decide on necessary care. In the US the doctor has to get approval from the insurance companies. If you need an MRI now you doctor almost certainly has to get approval. In the UK they get the MRI. Americans have under HMO come to believe that there has to be approval for medical care from some sort of gatekeeper. Not so in countries where there is a single payer system. If the doctor finds it necessary it is done.

In the US health insurance for a family of 4 averages $1200.00 per month. The average income in the US is about $46,000 per year. about 1/4 of average household income. Some people cannot buy health insurance anywhere for any money. My brother because of a skin cancer in 1995 cannot buy health insurance at all for any amount of money. Fortunately he is a public prosecuter and has health insurance through his job. To be honest, unless you are very fortunate or have a minimal policy your insurance rates will soon jump.

[fleaba]

I and my husband are self employed, both related to the construction industry. He is in residential and I am in commercial. Due to the fluctuation in wages and the very slow economy, we have lost our insurance. We have gotten hammered by big business. We have taken a big hit directly from EXXON, NAFTA (not big business, but same as), airlines, shark loan practices, healthcare providers.
It would really be nice, if, for the hard working folks in the U.S. we could actually get some healthcare insurance. Previously we were paying over $800.00/mo­nth for two adults and one child. This was with something rediculous like a $5K deductable. We just do not go to the doctor.
Only my daughter would be eligeble for health insurance, because my husband and I both have pre-existing conditions. If I try to get health insurance through the schools, it is virtually useless and requires 6 months prior insurance coverage anyway. Thank you United Healthcare. It isn't insurance, it's more like Blackjack where the insurance companies always win in the end. We need a health system that isn't tied to the investor/lottery game and payoff to the big boys in suits.

[wolfgangmo]

Hey. This post is an insult to bookies everywhere.

When my bookie lays a bet he pays off if he loses. My insurance company. Not so much.

We would be better off if bookies were running insurance companies. At least someone honest would be in charge.

[ceindependence]

Lets face it, the insurance companies are not in the business of running at a loss. How could they keep the doors open. They were never designed to provide unlimited care for low cost premiums. If I pay $300 a month for ten years and then have a heart attack that costs $50,000 the insurance company lost $14000 on my account.

When was the last time anyone of you went into the Social Security office. Did you notice the wait time? Did you notice the security guard? He wasn't there to protect against terrorism, but to guard against an irate citizen. England has no transplants after age 65, Canadians come to the US for medical service. Most people will scream when their taxes are increased to levels paid by Germans and the Swiss. Maybe we can get the oil companies to pay the taxes for our health care.

But protection from life's bad luck is a "right"! The government should provide protection from colon cancer. lung cancer, type II diabetes and the hurricanes. And if I cannot afford it, everyone else should have to chip in to pay for me! Kinda like life, liberty, persuit of happiness and protection and remedy for all that's bad in life.

[wolfgangmo]

Hogwash and balderdash.

What does a social security office have to do with this topic? Yah, nothing. But nice try.

England will transplant after 65 and I know this because my aunt, who lives there and is 72 just got new hips.

Canadians do come to the US for health care, and the Canadian government covers the cost and sets the appointment up. It's called budgeting and using your resources wisely. They actually save money when they do that.

And most people would not scream if they had the benefits that the Germans or Swiss get for their tax money.

Go away you freeper twit.

[mayzebra]

US citizens are going to other countries for medical care. I guarrentee the average american pays more in insurance premiums and/or healthcare then Germans do in taxes.

"England has no transplants after age 65"
I'm more concerned with my childs health, then how long I can leach off the dead. Besides, we have an age limits too. Maybe it's 70, but there comes a point where you're just "not a good candidate.­" This comes from a shortage of donations rather than a limit of funds, so both countries want the donor to live as long as possible after the donation.

"life, liberty, persuit of happiness"
It's arguable that life and persuit of happiness should include basic medical, especailly for children who have no control over what they are born into. Protection from life's "bad luck", is much different than decent care for the sick, elderly, and/or injured, that doesn't bankrupt the entire family just to make some rich guys even richer.

[wolfgangmo]

Oh,

And where in the world did you find insurance for $300 per month?

It sound like a fairy tail to me, but let us know. Some of us could use it.

[ReadyNow]

Here is a problem in Canada --plenty more..chec­k em out before you turn over the best heatlh care system in the world to the folks who brought you amtrak, the post office, DMV, FISA, IRAQ intelligence etc....do you really think the Govt won't screw it up?

http://www.biggovhealth.org/stories/#canada

"Lindsay , 66, was told he had a brain tumor but that he would have to wait four and a half months to obtain an MRI to rule out the possibility that it was cancerous. Unwilling to risk the progression of what might be cancer, Mr. McCreith obtained an MRI in Buffalo, which revealed the tumor was malignant. Even with this diagnosis in hand, the system still refused to provide timely treatment, so Mr. McCreith had surgery in Buffalo to remove the cancerous brain tumor in March, 2006. In Ontario, Mr. McCreith would have waited eight months for surgery, according to his family doctor. Eight months is enough time for a cancer to worsen, spread and progress to an irreversible stage. Had Mr. McCreith not paid $26,600 for immediate care, he might be dead today"

[gemcando06]

This poop from ReadyNow is not an answer to the medical crisis in the USA. Our medical system should be the best in the world. Now where do we find the ideas for our best program? From the Danes? The English? The Poles?

We are the only industrial country in the World without universal medical coverage.

[Gidster]

I believe this may be apocryphal
So he had 26 grand in pocket eh? is that Canadian or American dollars?
My wife has lupus, she needs MRI's to track the lesions in her brain and her neuropathy, our insurance while we had it said the Dr. ordered MRIi was not 'Medically Necessary"! Yet the insurance industry claims it does not dictate care.....
Lindsay obviously had cash, here in America Cash is king.

[apexfork]

Yes, cash as king is clearly an america-only phenomenon.

[jmpurser]

Do you REALLY believe you can get brain surgery done for $26,000 with no insurance in America today?

How would an MRI show that the tumor is malignant? The doctors I know need a biopsy for that.

There are BUS LOADS of Americans going to Canada for meds. And you've got only ONE Canadian (with a very odd story) coming to America?

[wolfgangmo]

Ready now, get ready, steady. Now lie your ass off.

Ahem.

You are either a fool with bad information or a troll shilling for the insurance industry. If the latter then I hope you get your karmic deserts.

While the Canadian system is not panacea for the US, it is less costly and has better outcomes for it's citizen's. As a bonus no Canadian has ever lost their house because they got sick.

Here is a fairly balanced piece that was reprinted from PubMed to this site. It have chosen the alternative site because most of you will not have a pubmed subscription account.

http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/mythbusting-canadian-health-care-part-i

[optech007]

"While the Canadian system is not panacea for the US, it is less costly"

In one of your previous posts on this thread: "Canadians do come to the US for health care, and the Canadian government covers the cost and sets the appointment up. It's called budgeting and using your resources wisely. They actually save money when they do that."

So the Canadian system is less costly but they save money by sending their citizens to the US health care. These two statements would seem to contradict each other, unless the Canadian system costs less because they send their citizens here for treatment.

[optech007]

We already have a single-payer system in America and that single-payer is the American taxpayer. Through payroll deductions for private insurance and taxes for government run insurance, the American worker pays for every cent of health insurance in this country.

[Arleang]

Actually, the American worker you describe is the lucky one. After you pay for taxes and health insurance all of your working years, when you retire you still need to pay each month for Medicare, Medicare Part D and a Medicare supplement. In my case that is at least $250 a month. Co-pays for drugs are about $100 a month until August or early September when Medicare Part D runs out. Then I will be paying at least an additional $300 a month for medications.

Interest rates are low to stimulate the economy, but if you are trying to survive on interest income plus social security, life can be difficult.

Hang on to your job. I worked for 58 years, until I was 74, but that still wasn't long enough to make retirement worry-free.

The really scary part is that having been born during a depression it looks like I get to die in one too.

[leftLibertarian]

The most important job for Congress should be impeaching the criminals Bush and Cheney.

I do NOT want my tax dollars being spent on some criminal's retirement package.

[elbzee]

AMEN!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!
Then, give us health insurance!

[ReadyNow]

Get a job and buy your own health insurance.­....Am I supposed to buy you a house too? Pay your rent? Buy your food? No one you "give" anyone anything..­..they should work for it....

Eliminate business deduction for health insurance
Allow individuals to take tax credit instead
Allow companies to sell across state lines
Allow companies to sell different types of coverage..­..i.e. I don't want to buy coverage for mental health - which some states require you to buy....

Then watch prices plummet as competition increases.­....Can you imagine what LASIK would cost if health care gave it to you for 'free" 50000 vice 5000

[GoCards1978]

I live on Social Security Disability and had to opt put of Part B coverage to pay monthly bills. I can't afford to see my internist anymore, who was treating my BiPolar illness. Our current "health care" system is merely a cash cow for Big Pharma and insurance companies. Everyone else sacrifices to maintain the status quo, and that stopped working a long time ago. It's past time to cut the accountants out of making health care decisions for the rest of us.

[LeonBNJ]

To me the biggest block to universal health care funding is the shift of costs to the government meaning substantualy higher taxes as is true in almost all other countries. To some extent it would be offset by the savings to employers and individuals, but it would mean higher income taxes for all taxpayers at all levels, federal sales taxes or much higher state sales taxes. All but a few politicans are brave enough to do that even thought it would be the right thing.

[Gidster]

Would it be worth higher taxes paid to actually have something tangible to show for it? I for one am tired of my taxes going into corporate coffers in the form of subsidies and tax breaks while being told that my child's school needs to be closed due to lack of funding!

[hippynanainblingland]

LeonBNJ:

And why on earth should having universal healh care have to mean higher taxes? Just cut the damn Pentagon's budget in half, and we could not only afford single payer universal health care, but more likely than not, day care centers for working mothers, higher disability payments for more of the disabled, better care for our veterans, you name it!!!!!

The "pursuit of happyness" shouldn't mean that some of us get to live very well indeed, while the majority of us get to lack basic necessities.

[paix]

We need Medicare for all, now! Medicare for all is not socialized medicine. Medicare beneficiaries choose their own private doctors and hospitals. Medicare for all would simply reduce over 600 insurance payers down to one. Medicare is run more efficiently than private insurers. Some large insurance companies have 39% and up overhead. This overhead is for pushing paper, it does not go toward health care services. In contrast, Medicare's overhead is between 4% and 10%, depending upon which costs are figured in. This difference in overhead is enough to fund health care for the 46 million uninsured!

Don't be fooled by the scare tactics of the medical industrial complex. A single payer system will not lead to rationing of care. The current payment system, that rewards procedures over preventive care, has led to a shortage of primary care physicians and the rationing of care. The uninsured crowd ERs causing extended wait times.
Social Security and Medicare will not go broke. Just as we handle our home budgets, the President and Congress can allocate our tax dollars where they choose. If the current administration was able to find Billions of dollars to fund a war in Iraq, surely funds are available to provide guaranteed health care for every American.
Nothing will change until we call or write our Senators and Congressional Representatives to let them know that universal health care should be priority one!

[justobserve]

"Medicare's overhead is between 4% and 10%, depending upon which costs are figured in. This difference in overhead is enough to fund health care for the 46 million uninsured!"
Agree!
This is amazing! The 600 insurance payers have to make profit on health care while the government Medicare is more efficient and good enough for elderlies. So why are we waiting for so long to fix the broken system while people are dying? We are a first-world country and our health care system is worse than most? That's a shame!

[Gidster]

Let's not forget that Congresspersons get free (Taxpayer paid for) health care for life. Why is that program not good enough for everyone else?