ANSWERS: 16
  • It's long overdue. Of course, if that happened then, we'd have to bailout the insurance/healthcare/pharmaceutical industries but, oh, well, we're bailing out everybody else what's one more?
  • Yes. While the insurance companies control everything involved, as they do now, even many insured patients can't get the best treatment available in the richest country in the world. The insurance companies need to be taken out of the loop, and when they are the costs of doing business with them by all other parties involved will go away and reduce overall costs for everyone.
  • Oh God I hope not! It would be a nightmare. I'm not paying (through my taxes) for everyone's healthcare. NO THANKS!
  • Yes. It is time for more than that. It is time this country gave BASIC health care to everyone. The cost of one day of war in Iraq would pay for a LOT of health care for everyone. Basic medical care would reduce costs in the long run, because medical issues would be treated before they became true issues. Treat bronchitis with an antibiotic, or wait until it goes to pneumonia and pay for a hospital stay. Those that cry they do not want to pay for other people's medical care do not think. They already do. They pay for those hospital stays, in higher hospital and doctor costs. They pay for emergency room visits by those that wait until they have no choice. They pay in higher ambulance costs for those that would not have needed one, if they had preventive care. They pay in higher insurance costs for those that wait, until it is or is almost too late. And they pay for 'state' funerals of those that do not get the help they need. I think we need the best of both worlds. Pay for basic universal care, for everyone, then anyone that wants more can pay a lesser fee for insurance to cover the extras.
  • LOL! Ok. It's a pity that some downrate without anything other than a two-letter, one-word answer. Why does it stun you? We're not ready for that sort of healthcare system yet by a long shot. If and when this is introduced, it will need to be a complete redesign of the US healthcare system. Physicians will need to be protected from lawsuits, but not so much that the work of some becomes shoddy. There will need to be excellent checks on the tendency by some to abuse the system ... and you KNOW there are pleanty of those folks around. There will need to be some method of controlling hospital costs, yet without denying those who manage and own hospitals an adequate return on investment; and the same thing goes for pharmaceuticals. Failure to adequately address these issues will result in a total breakdown of the US healthcare system. Hillary Clinton tried once to come up with a workable national healthcare system. The attempt failed miserably. People will rebel if we limit their options.
  • When you or your employer pay for your insurance now you are paying up to 22% in insurance company administrative and executive costs plus profit. That means that as little as 78% of your insurance dollar goes to health! The rest goes to admin+exec+profit. - Medicare administrative costs are less than 3%. That means that 97% of the Medicare money goes to health. - Universal Health Care administrative costs would be about the same. - Now, subtract all the existing payments to insurance companies from the increase in taxes that would be bourne by corporations and individuals--and there will be a surplus in favor of UHC> plus we would be covering every citizen, adult & child, employed and unemployed, old and young. - Right now there are about 45 million uninsured persons in the US, and with unemployment climbing there will be many more.
  • SanityC. Take a long trip to Canada and see what a joke their healthcare is up there. Canadian's are running to the US for decent care. People in dire need of help in Canada cannot get the care they need becuase of the ridiculous wait time. Please consider the reality of the downside and how fatal it can be for our citizens before you make statements like that.
  • Long overdue. The rest of the world is running on it and they seem to be doing just fine, in fact, much better than we are
  • Run it like the VA, their administrative costs run something on the order of 3%. Compare that to any insurance company and you'll get an idea how to start controlling costs.
  • No, never, absolutely not. Socialism is not the answer to anything.
  • Well who is going to pay for this Universal Health Care. Maybe the tax payers who are already paying for failed compays already and the cities that want bailouts just about anything they can think of. Universal Health Care has not worked in other countries, I met a lady that worked in Italy and she payed 1/3 of her check went to health care.
  • (snip)
  • No, you've been saying we can't have it because the current inefficient, ineffective, cumbersome bureaucracy is somehow better than another one that has the added benefit of providing healthcare for everyone. Supply troop?
  • OK Let's draw straws to see who gets to be the payer. Ooops!!! It's YOU! There is no free health care!
  • So people in Canada and UK have options we don't? They can choose to get free healthcare at home or go elsewhere and pay if the wait is too long? Sad, isn't it, that many of us have to do without?

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