FROM BUDDY: Sam Fields was 65 last Saturday.

“Bleeding Heart” Buddy has nothing to worry about.

Those with poverty incomes ($21,000 for a family) are still going to get Medicaid. Medicare will still be available for the elderly of whom, as of last week, includes me.

Virtually all proposals limit the premium to no more than 8% of income.

So who is this person that is going to be left out in the cold.

1. Illegal aliens because they cannot participate in the program. That will definitely depopulate the Emergency Rooms. It will keep them from crossing the border to birth children in our hospitals while simultaneously making their kids American citizens and footing us with the bill that in some cases can be a million when the baby has birth defects.

2. Risk takers. For example the Twenty Something making $30,000 grand a year who would rather use the $2500 (roughly 8%)to pay for his lifestyle. Fine . But when the lifestyle leaves him HIV positive—a preexisting condition— that’s a big OOPS.

Let the media run enough stories about how dying risk takers bankrupted their families and the rest will shape up. to fail. We cannot survive very long if the responsible of us are forced to subsidize the reckless.

Let’s not forget that freedom means the freedom to fail.

One woman age 25 already had 8 kids crossed the boarder to have them, collects 1300 per month from Uncle Sam for welfare because the kids are US citizens and gets all the free medical she needs.

So I ask we need to clean up this illegal mess first! Send them all back stop anchor babies and repeal Dryer vs Doe

thanks, sam fields, for initiating the debate. do you think the Canadian health care system is a good system?

However, commenting that America’s health care system is the best in the world is in my opinion, an inaccurate statement.

Yes, we have some of (if not most of) the finest doctors and hospitals in the world. I believe the finest medicine is practiced in the United States. I believe we have some of (if not the) best medical technology in the world.

But America’s “health care” is not the best.

It is rationed to those with cadillac insurance plans or those on government plans where pre-approval isn’t required.

There are billions wasted on unnecessary tests and procedures because of the potential of liability (and I have handled both sides of those kinds of cases).

There are untold billions wasted on insurance forms, processing and miles of paperwork.

The United States spends multiples more per capita than any other Western country on health care, yet we do not achieve, on average better results.

Doctors and pharmacists in other countries with mandatory health coverage for all citizens make very good livings.

Delays for ELECTIVE procedures can occur, but for important issues, waiting is not a problem.

You choose your doctor and you get treated for your illness.

People say I don’t want socialized medicine, but we already have it in the United States — it’s called Medicare. And Medicare, which treats the oldest and most sick individuals in this Country, while underfunded at present due to the incompetence of the Federal Government, is still FAR LESS EXPENSIVE than private health insurance and care in this Country.

Per dollar spent on Medicare costs, the costs for processing and handling the claims is apparently 1/4 or less than what private insurers spend per dollar of health care. Wow, more dollars going to treat patients and pay doctors rather than claims processing, paperwork shuffling, etc.

Even as a fiscal conservative, I believe that government is there to do for the people what it is not cost effective or efficient for people to do for themselves — that’s why governments build roads, pay a police department, support a military, patrol our borders.

Some basic level of health care is also something that government has the ability to do cheaper and more efficiently than the patchwork of private insurers.

Do we scap the private insurance system? I’d advise against it. But providing some level of basic health care of all Americans so we don’t spend $2,500 having some uninsured person go to an Emergency Room because of the flu instead of a primary care doctor seems worth the cost.

I agree with your statement that Americans would not stand for people dying in the street in front of hospitals because they were refused treatment because they were poor, or mentally ill, or too old, etc.

Similarly, if people were told in simple language that 25% of every dollar on private health insurance was spent on processing paper and only 5% of Medicare spending was for the processing, most would choose to pay some of what they now spend on healthcare for some plan offered by the same, more efficient entity that provides health coverage to our parents and grandparents.

Sorry for the long post. Enjoy the blog and I think Sam’s post was excellent as was your response.

Thanks.

Sam apparently believes that all those who lack health insurance are voluntarily making that choice.

That thinking reminds me of Ronald Reagan, who believed that there was legions of welfare cheats using their government money to drive Cadillacs.

What about the mentally ill homeless? What about the working poor who can hardly put food on their tables?

Americans would not sit still for people being allowed to die on the streets in front of a hospital for lack of insurance.

Under Sam’s plan, a monied person with the same illness would be ushered past the dying mob in the streets into the hospital to be treated.

It wouldn’t solve our health care crisis. It would turn America’s health care from the best to the worst in the world. And the most heartless!

—buddy nevins