I am Not sure what kind of healthcare plan would be best for america right now. I do agree however that a medicare like plan would unbalance the economy but then again noone has money for health insurance today. Honestly anything we do to make healthcare more affordable will threaten big companies. But we can't continue to go on without Americans getting the health care they need so something has to be done.One idea would be to incorporate it into you taxes (note this is my personal idea and has nothing to do with any politicians) and then medical centers become just like police station fire stations and other emergency services there when you need them and paid for by the taxes. But this system would probably only cover services then you could recieve medication assistance from a private insurance company or it could also become part of the taxes. I don't know the best solution but i hope that the Obama administration comes up with a real good one.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Obama's Healthcare Plan
On March 5th Obama stated that fixing the healthcare system was a very important goal and was needed for economic reasons. He said that no longer will americans stand for the outrageous prices of healthcare. Obama said that we cannot stand for a stalemate because it threatens our economy. Obama also stated that "those who seek to block reform at all will not prevail this time around" basically meaning that nothing is going to stop him from fixing the healthcare system. Obama said that the question is not whether all americans should have quality heathcare that's affordable, but how? Debates between lawmakers and advocacy groups have been held about whether or not to create a medi-care like healthcare sytem for people under 65. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, sent a letter to Obama signed by several other Republicans, including Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, saying that they would not go through with such a plan, which private insurers see as a potentially fatal blow to their industry, because it would "create an unlevel playing field and ultimately doom true competition." (boston herald) During a confrence a group of liberals stated that it's no wonder that republicans don't want a plan that would threaten profits. In his budget last week, Obama set aside $634 billion over 10 years for healthcare, what he called a down payment on an overhaul that many analysts estimate will cost more than $1 trillion. The healthcare system now costs about $2.5 trillion a year, and is on track to consume one-fifth of the economy by 2018.(boston herald)
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It seems to me that profits of those in the health care industry are part of the problem. Perhaps one step to curtailing the cost of health care would be to place a cap on the salaries of those at the top. Those at the top living the lifestyle of the "Rich and Famous" without regard to the very heart of their earnings truly do not care for helping others, only themselves. They get the best health care that money can buy, they live in big fancy mansions, penthouses and estates while those they claim to be helping are walking the streets looking for work, making choices between going to the doctor and paying their rent or mortgage payment, or putting food on their table.
ReplyDeleteDig a little deeper into possible solutions and write about it for your next blog.
Good job!
Part of the issue is that we are one of the ONLY countries that do not provide a univeral health care to our citizens The insurance companies make FAR too much profit for those of us who have worked in healthcare and see the reimbursement doled out to hospitals and phys you would think that the "savings" would be passed on to the policy holders Anthem for one reimburse at a rate of 45% of billed charges yet that deep discount is not passed on to the policy holders thier premiums continue to raise every year (By the way Medicaid reimbursement is only 25% smacks of "corporate welfare in my opinion) it should not be that hard that hard to see that the healthcare industry is driven by profit and it is largely the insurance companies benifiting
ReplyDeleteMedicare has been strapped and not allowed to negotiate contracts as the private insurances do This is part of the problem for Medicare The HMO's (Medicare and Medicad) make profits and are allowed to negotiate AND collect stipeds from the government Allowing Medicare to negotiate might be a good begining
Good Luck with "ferretting" out what needs to be done
Part of the problem with heath care in this country is that we spend more money on post problem care and not enough on preventive care... because that is where the money is. A health diet and exercise is very cheap compared to open heart surgery down the road. It is my opinion that if our system was redesigned to make primary preventive care a priority, we would as a society begin to see major cost savings down the road.
ReplyDelete"Part of the issue is that we are one of the ONLY countries that do not provide a univeral health care to our citizens" This is very true, Liz and i do agree that we need a universal healthcare plan but we also need to be careful to think it out carefully so that we don't create a bigger problem for ourselves
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