Wait just a second. would it be possible to file a class action lawsuit and sue the gov, or the insurance companies for failure to provide adequate service? I mean if people are being forced to pay into a service that does not actually provide for them would that not be a breach of contract or something along those lines?

Just throwing out ideas here.

It's a shame not many people even know or hear about Kucinich. He's the only democrat I would vote for.

I think the only silver lining I can see here is that this issue has been elevated. It wasn't even really a starter in the last two elections, but that probably has a lot to do with Iraq. Maybe the care of the soldiers that this administration purports to give the pedestal treatment will be the tipping point. It is going to take some Herculean level denial (not that I think it's unlikely) to ignore the medical problems of our returning troops.

Good luck navigating the Justice System, bub

I'm kind of confused about something. I recieve nearly free health insurance through my employer, if one of the plans that madate everyone to buy health insurance went into effect, would my current plan be taken away and I be forced to buy health insurance through one of insurance companies directly?

making it mandatory for everyone to pay for health care is a step in the right direction. you cant have social benefits if nobody wants to pay for them.

the way they want to go about it (trusting insurance companies to do the right thing) is backwards though. more money in the system is fine, but not when it goes straight into pockets instead of providing more care for those who need it. start with a governing body that actually dispenses fair medical care without a vested interest in the funding.

+1

god, i fucking love watching that man speak

he's the only person running who isn't a soulless bought-and-paid-for political sock puppet (except maybe dodd) operating with the collective hand of big business shoved up his/her ass.

there is nothing we as citizens of the US can do that will be as beneficial to the future of this country as putting kucinich in the white house

I've been a completely drug-free organic vegan for 20 years. My lifestyle keeps me very healthy. I'm responsible for no one - no kids or parents, 1 perfectly capable sibling, so I've chosen to have no health insurance (other than maximum hospitalization coverage on my auto insurance). I get a physical every 2 or 3 years... those cost me about $100. I've had one health issue in the past 20 years - a cyst that had to be removed surgically... $550. So in all that time, I've spent about $1,500 on medical intervention, whereas health insurance premiums (~$200/mo) would have been close to 50 grand.

So now the Dems are telling me they're going to FORCE me by law to contribute to a system that insures a pool of smokers, fat-ass-burger-junkies, and drug-munching retirees?

Blow me. You can have my organic carrot when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

Thats the Spirit, now we just need to remove the carrot and put an HK 416 in your hands.

The thing is that you are already paying for it, through normal federal taxes. The sick people instead of being covered by an insurance which could have potentially caught future problems before they happen are overusing the social Medicare and Medicaid system. So in the end are you really paying more? That is the question I am interested in, if these plans cost me more money, does my federal tax money going to current social programs lower when they go into effect? Interesting thing to watch in the future.

-sean

If the politicians actually fixed things, then they would have nothing to pontificate about...

No it won't this is just a subsidy for the health and pharmacutical industries. That extra tax money thats already being paid will get paid out in pork projects or some other stupid shit most likely...

For profit healthcare DOES work, it just doesn't result in an equitable distribution of healthcare.

The only way you are going to move it to be non-profit is to do what Canada did: Require core surgeons to work for the government, and as for other doctors, make it pretty much impossible for them to practice privately and charge whatever they want (privately practicing doctors are subject to price caps).

Needless to say, you have to remove a lot of freedoms from an entire profession to make it not-for-profit, and it's a pretty big pill to swallow. But then again, a lot of healthcare savings in other systems are provided by paying doctors less, paying less in R&D/Infrastructure investment, and not an overall more efficient system

Create a quasi-government agency similar to how the Post Office works. Let's call it the Deparment of Health Care (DHC). The DHC collects payroll taxes, which would be less than what we currently pay for insurance because we are eliminating profit, commissions and overhead. To remain eligilble for care you must get one physical exam per year. If you don't, you're tax goes up.

Review current reimbursement rates for each medical specialty and create similar and reasonable rates. The DHC pays those rates for care.

Doctors can opt out of the DHC, but then can't opt back in. People who want to pay cash for care can do so. Just about every doctor I know HATES insurance companies. I would not anticipate many of them objecting to their removal from the process.

Keep the DHC off the fed budget, just like the PO. All money they collect goes for health care.

I don't even want credit for this. Just do it.

I don't smoke or do drugs, but I drink like a fish, eat red meat, and don't think twice about ingesting caffeine, non-organic produce and all sorts of other nasty processed things that I find palatable. I haven't had a major illness ever save for a 4 day long bout with bronchitis 7 years ago. Since then haven't had to visit a hospital for anything other than an STD test or for slamming the car door on my finger like an idiot.

Meanwhile, I know a vegan (essentially straight-edge) friend with terrible athsma that she has to heavily medicate. I know another vegetarian who has constant bouts with ulcers and other gastro-intestinal ailments. Still another had a pituitary issue that put him in the hospital for weeks last year. None of the three above smoke or (to my knowledge) do hard drugs of any kind.

Now, I'm not a fan of forced health insurance either (largely because I haven't really had use for it in my life), but my point is this: The sun does not shine out of your ass because you are "organic", "vegan" or otherwise. Sure, there are certain things that one can do to increase your chances of being healthy, but no lifestyle is a panacea.

One day, you will get sick, you will need medicine, and you will die. The question becomes how to prepare best for that eventuality as a society.