I'd say all your solutions are pretty sound. Requiring patients to show proof of citizenship for non-life threatening conditions is a good idea, although it may cause problems for children, since they don't exactly have a drivers license, and their social security card probably isn't carried around by the parents at all times. It would be a minor hassle, but would help tremendously keeping illegal immigrants from receiving care and then not paying the bill.
As an alternative, my view of a government insurance option would look something like this:
This care option would only cover the very basic needs, such as doctor checkups, vision care, and routine dentist appointments. The co-pay would be a bit higher than your conventional insurance options (which mine is usually 10 bucks per visit, I imagine you could up this to something like 30). Think of it as more of a discount, rather than full coverage.
You impose a small tax increase on ONLY the individuals who select this service, so as the rest of America does not have to pay for it.
Given your solutions, cost of doctor appointments and such could go down, which would make the co-pay even lower if your idea worked.
This could help younger folks who don't have as many health problems as the older generation to save some money.
Again, just an idea that I'm throwing out there. Hopefully this doesn't turn into a pissing contest.
This can't become anything BUT a pissing contest, but I'll do my part to play nice.
(sarcastic summary of problem). Big fat cat insurance companies are super rich and charge too much for thei insurance, and that isn't right.
(sarcastic solution). F- them and get me free health insurance and I better not have to pay some stupid copays.
This all started when FDR put caps on wages. So in order to attract workers to their companies, bosses started throwing in health care benefits to sweeten the deal. Became expected that e eryone should offer it, and lo...here we are. Instead of making some chicken soup, we run to the doctor every time johnny has a snotty nose. Why? Because I have insurance to pay for it.
There's also an artificial limit on the number of doctors graduating every year. Imagine if it was like lawyers and they had to compete for your business. Prices would go down.
Of course tort reform and multistage shopping are huge fixes, but that would piss off trial lawyers in a big way.
Finally, take some responsibility for our own actions. You have sex with a woman, you pay the bills relating to her pregnancy. You smoke, then pay for your own oxygen tank. Eat too much candy and drink pop all day, don't ask me to subsidize your root canal. To insist that I do is wrong. The legislate it is redistribution of wealth.
�Poor Al Gore. Global warming completely debunked via the very Internet you invented. Oh, oh, the irony!� -Jon Stewart
ScottaWhite wrote:This all started when FDR put caps on wages. So in order to attract workers to their companies, bosses started throwing in health care benefits to sweeten the deal. Became expected that e eryone should offer it, and lo...here we are. Instead of making some chicken soup, we run to the doctor every time johnny has a snotty nose. Why? Because I have insurance to pay for it.
I think this is more of an issue of education.
well, it passed the house, barely, 220-215.
i really don't see it passing through the senate, though. too many moderate democrats have said they won't support a government run public option. joe lieberman, for example, said "as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote."
which is good because there's no way our government could properly run health insurance.
Check out my build thread!
For me its as easy as this.
It�s not in the Constitution. Therefore, It�s is not the Federal Governments job to do it.
Simple Right?
Chris
"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not of the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
Speech at the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia (23 March 1775) Patrick Henry
Think of it this way,
A clunker that travels 12,000 miles a year at 15 mpg uses 800 gallons of gas a year.
A vehicle that travels 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg uses 480 gallons a year.
So, the average Cash for Clunkers transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.
They claim 700,000 vehicles so that's 224 million gallons saved per year.
That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.
5 million barrels is about 5 hours worth of US consumption.
More importantly, 5 million barrels of oil at $70 per barrel costs about $350 million dollars
So, the government paid $3 billion of our tax dollars to save $350 million.
We spent $8.57 for every dollar
saved.
How good a deal was that ???
They'll probably do a great job with health care though!!
Right?
Chris
"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not of the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
Speech at the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia (23 March 1775) Patrick Henry
Taetsch Z-24 wrote:Think of it this way,
A clunker that travels 12,000 miles a year at 15 mpg uses 800 gallons of gas a year.
A vehicle that travels 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg uses 480 gallons a year.
So, the average Cash for Clunkers transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.
They claim 700,000 vehicles so that's 224 million gallons saved per year.
That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.
5 million barrels is about 5 hours worth of US consumption.
More importantly, 5 million barrels of oil at $70 per barrel costs about $350 million dollars
So, the government paid $3 billion of our tax dollars to save $350 million.
We spent $8.57 for every dollar
saved.
How good a deal was that ???
They'll probably do a great job with health care though!!
Right?
Chris
while i wasnt a huge fan of the cash for clunkers, your looking at it from a money standpoint, versus the oil saved. granted its not a huge dent, nor do i think it was meant to be. but nobody said getting the U.S. dependance on oil stopped was going to save us money. reality is its going to cost us more to get off our dependance on oil. but paying more to get off oil would be better then just one day going, oops were out. lets decide to change our entire country now that we dont have any.
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I hear ya.
To all...Cash for Clunkers was flawed, but hey! how could any one plan please everyone across such a spectrum of needs and wants and political positions and government / private enterprise / etc. Overall, it's amazing it went off as well as it did. It was corporate welfare too, sure...but we did need to sell some cars, and I think about 700,000 sales were enhanced or created by the program. I know, it's got its ups and downs, and no one likes it in every possible way. Still...could have been worse. MUCH worse!
Taetsch Z-24 wrote:For me its as easy as this.
It�s not in the Constitution. Therefore, It�s is not the Federal Governments job to do it.
Simple Right?
Chris
Still goes back to this for me...
As for the oil.....
How about drilling in SD, ND ?
Chris
"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not of the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
Speech at the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia (23 March 1775) Patrick Henry
Im all for that.
But unless you count nuke power, crude pound for pound has the highest yeald of power.
IMO the human race will be long gone before that black gold is gone.
When I did the huracane katrena evacuation, you dont want to know how many oil rigs along I-10 that where "dry" yet this black @!#$ was spewing out.
weard that no news covered it right?
OR OR the fact that on base we had a lot for HUMMWV (hummers) that where off limients and if we where patroling them, we had to go to medical if we where in the lot for more then a half an hour at a time. all where wraped in some white tarp like thing, being sucked down in to this big box in the middle.
Guess we f-ed up our own trucks.
ya. news is good.
Chris
"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle sir, is not of the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."
Speech at the Second Virginia Convention at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia (23 March 1775) Patrick Henry
Taetsch Z-24 wrote:Im all for that.
But unless you count nuke power, crude pound for pound has the highest yeald of power.
IMO the human race will be long gone before that black gold is gone.
When I did the huracane katrena evacuation, you dont want to know how many oil rigs along I-10 that where "dry" yet this black @!#$ was spewing out.
weard that no news covered it right?
OR OR the fact that on base we had a lot for HUMMWV (hummers) that where off limients and if we where patroling them, we had to go to medical if we where in the lot for more then a half an hour at a time. all where wraped in some white tarp like thing, being sucked down in to this big box in the middle.
Guess we f-ed up our own trucks.
ya. news is good.
Chris
dry probalby doesnt neccisarly mean every single drop of oil was gone. it just likely means there was no longer enough oil worth getting, that the supply had grown to small so they moved on. and personally i'd rather not take the bet on when the oil will run out. id prefer to have alternatives in place and runnning long before that ever happened. as for the hummers, i dont have any idea what that is about.
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Agreed, mostly. As someone pointed out, proof of citizenship would be catchy. And for every person sent away based on someone's definition of "life-threatening" you have another chance for a huge settlement when they end up dead.
I had to sit on a jury for a malpractice suit, it was the biggest waste of resources ever. I believe completely that if that woman had been facing large fees for filing such a frivolous suit, she never would have gone through with it. And if the prosecuting lawyers has been facing fees themselves, they never would have accepted the case.
Oh, I say make smoking in public 100%, completely, shot-on-sight illegal. Just felt like throwing that in there.
And Bill, love the sig. Not totally down with the donkey, but the elephant represents my crazy aunt perfectly. If the right didn't have the Palin-types, they'd never have any significant competition.
fortune cookie say: better a delay than a disaster
