Thoughts on Universal healthcare

[Wifezilla]

People have complained that a government run healthcare system would decide which doctor they could see, would limit coverage, and would regulate what medications they could take. My insurance company already does that

This is true, but with Universal care, it will be even harder to switch doctors, get second opinions, etc...

The government runs many programs and services that work remarkably well. The USPS runs service to EVERY home and business in the United States, every one; not just the easy to get to ones. It is the third largest employer in the US, and handles the bulk of world mail. It is amazing in size, volume of product and level of service. Yes it has problems....but everyone trusts it, and it works.

"If the U.S. Postal Service has its way, people will be getting mail only five days a week.

Faced with a budget deficit that some experts say could reach $6 billion this year, the post office plans to eliminate 100 million work hours. It has asked Congress to change the way it pays for retirees' health benefits and to allow it to deliver mail five days a week, probably eliminating Tuesdays, if its financial situation doesn't get better."

Oh yeah, I can hardly wait for the same clowns in charge of the post office to be in charge of my health [/sarcasm]​

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
They do have it available and the cost is minimal. Unfortunately, it requires that the parents actually fill out the paperwork and pay the minimal amount. I know some families may not qualify and have a child with a catastrophic illness. Nobody minds helping them. It's the deadbeats that are the problem. Some peolple need government to wipe their butts and hold their hands. After all, why can't government be all things for all people?

 

[HennysMom]

Hey... USPS delivers my RX meds via mail order... dont hate

ROFLMAO!!

(ok ok... I had to make a joke there... c'mon ya'll know that was funny.. look at the irony of it all *snickering*)

 

[mom'sfolly]

If it was easy to get children on these state plans over 8 million American children would not be uninsured. When Texas privatized the running of the CHIPS program, they made it more difficult to get and keep coverage, and more children were dropped from the rolls, and fewer children got insurance. Its not just "deadbeats" who don't have insurance coverage.

 

[Jena]

Quote:
lol.... Hi Geareduplyn.

You could be right.

1. I am no socialist except that I do not want to live in a country where people in need will suffer. I am a quazi socio/conservative. basically just an old fashioned woman. I have seen people feel that they can not get help when needed. I am not talking about America by the way. My sons used to do charity work in eastern europe, and I have been there, and seen the state on families there.

I have also dealt with so many health issues here with asylum seekers and refugees. It is a caution to see how their health is affected.

2. yes I have had a busy morning and have taken an hour out to enjoy staring at the computer and communicating with good people.

3. Speedy? Sometimes but no accounting for accuracy.

Glad you have enjoyed reading, I did too.

 

[horsejody]

mom'sfolly :

If it was easy to get children on these state plans over 8 million American children would not be uninsured. When Texas privatized the running of the CHIPS program, they made it more difficult to get and keep coverage, and more children were dropped from the rolls, and fewer children got insurance. Its not just "deadbeats" who don't have insurance coverage.

What exactly was the more difficult part? I only know how it is here. Was there more paperwork? Were kids dropped for no reason? Did it become more expensive? Did parents have to show proof of income or need?​

 

[HiDelight]

Quote:
Yes, but is this in-house? From the sound of it, you're working for a medical clinic - that I can understand the need for electronic records in that instance; you have many doctors IN your clinic building working together side by side. My GP works the same way - its a practise with many other Drs and specialists in and of itself. That isnt what most people are concerned with...it is the nationalization of our healthcare records that is the concern, that anyone in the medical community can access them, they are held not on private servers (such as this case and in mine) but in a database of sorts. THAT I will not approve of, ever.

Our entire lives are online as it is and are stolen every single minute thanks to the invention of the internet, no one need know my medical information. Hackers break into things all the time and the only failsafe is not to do it in the first place, it should be a patients choice - not a governments rule, but thats just my opinion.

Nice that the pts in your clinic can actually access their lab results online and whatnot. We cant even do that and we're electronic; guess that only goes so far with my drs office as they believe that lab results still warrant a personal phone call vs. logging in to check it. What does your office do if lab results are bad? That could be very nerve wracking for someone that gets awful results and they see them before the doctor talks to them. This is why my dr will call.... if there's an issue, he wants to be the one to tell you, not have you find out while sitting there alone.

yes we are "in house" so far but bit by bit we have expanded and there are systems where the in house communticates with the out of house and we are moving more and more towards that

honestly this is patient driven and more people want this than not it seems because more and more people who have choices are opting for systems like this one

I understand the fears of "privacy" and respect that. and yes worry about it

but bottom line from my perspective is safer and more accessible than a private practice doctor who simply does what they want with charts and infor and advice

this way no one person the pharmacies catch many med errors just by the red flagging system

in house a Dr can send an rx to an outside pharmacy and it is still in your chart so if you opt to go somewhere else we are still aware and know that sending another rx in house that may be contraindicated is caught by the computer

it is NOT perfect but it is so much better and safer in my opinion

I bottom line as an old nurse feel that universal healthcare is what most people want need and hopefully will get

including me

also I am not sure why folks trust their doctors in private practice more than one in an HMO or millitary healthcare

Of all the places I have worked in my many years of nursing if I could choose right now I would choose an HMO over private practice any day! and over that a universal plan is the plan of my dreams

imagine how I have felt when I have worked in both charity hospitals and private practice when folks are turned away because they can not pay

why blame them? Most people who are not insured are working they just do not have or can not afford the plans ...people have problems and concerns and I believe healthcare is a right not a privilege for few

I became a nurse to take care of people and if I can do that with electronic systems in a safer more effective manner with out having to turn anyone away

then I have reached a nursing nirvana

ps if I was covered by a national policy and had to go to a hospital in another state I would be thrilled and feel much safer if they could pull up my records and not have to listen to me tell them my history! that is if I were able to tell them a history!

 

[klf73]

Ok, gotta add something about everything getting done by computers. The governmet took my husbands military medical records and put them all on computer files so they could be accessed anywhere. Well, 2 years later, after they shredded(and incinerated) the originals they were missing more than half of his records from his *file*. Luckily my husband is smart and got his own paper copies before he got out. This was only a small amount of the population that has it done and they couldn't do it right

.
They even tried accusing him of it being his fault, how could he not keep a copy of his own records, actually expected him to have that copy they told him he shouldn't have in the first place.

I really think all these people need to go into the military just to see how the *government* runs things, I left the state my husband was in just so I didn't have to deliver in a military hospital again.....

what really needs to be done is regulating the drug companies, c'mon, over $1000 per pill!! There should be a cap. Yes they should be allowed to make $$, there needs to be incentive for coming up with new meds, but they don't need to be making billions (just my 2 cents).

 

[WalkingWolf]

Does anybody realize with universal health care uncle Sam will have COMPLETED access to ALL of your medical records. Seek counseling for your marriage lose your gun rights and possibly your CDL. Have a heart attack as I did immediately lose your CDL and if the doctor puts you on anti-depressants as some do because of the depression that always follow. And lose your gun rights and CDL. The list is endless of the government intrusion into your personal life. Do you really want to give government this kind of power. Many many will lose their second amendment rights for shear lack of common sense of government.

We already have socialized medicine, almost every county and large city health departments provide clinics with basic services with most free or a minimal charge($25). Life and death emergencies cannot be refused by the hospital. This is why Hospitals over bill insurance companies to cover the cost. The insurance companies are well aware and accept the charges to avoid the greater evil of more government.

Take a look at politicians, take a look at the crime in their city, take a look at the corruption. Does anybody really want to give them this kind of power over us.

 

[Xtina]

Why is it that everyone feels that if kids are insured, then the system is ok? I thought all of us were created equal, whether we be old or new. I think children are precious blessings who will own future, but I own the present and I'm not keen on the idea of me or a parent being bankrupted to pay for medical emergencies or cancer. My family history says I will get cancer and there is no way that two hard working people earning good salaries could ever save up enough money to pay for cancer (for all those of you who tout medical savings as the answer).

And for the last time, no one is touting communism or socialism in America. I just want the spending to be diverted away from bombs, guns, banks, and the insurance companies I pay for my health, home, and auto coverage. They get government support at the drop of a hat. Why don't I? I can guarantee you I work harder than any CEO. I sure work harder than mine.