Agreed, doctor's, pharmaceutical companies and the government make affordable healthcare almost a fairytale dream. But: we all need healthcare. And the system, being what it is and has been for too many years, isn't going to change in the immediate future. It is sad that it seems like a total scam.
However, anger over the process doesn't make for a good discussion. A scenario if I may. I know for a fact that a colonoscopy, which everyone over the age of 50, and probably some before that, typically costs between $5,000 and $8,000, more if biopsy's and cycts need to be removed. I don't care if it's inflated or not, that's what it typically costs. Your average, middle income 51 year-old-man, getting by, pay check to pay check, without health insurance because either his job doesn't offer it, or he's self employed, or whatever reason exists for him to NOT have health insurance, cannot afford a $5-8,000 scope to ensure he doesn't have cancer. Said man celebrates his 56th birthday, same financial situation, same health care scenario, suddenly gets ill. Ignores it for awhile until pain is so severe he can no longer not go to the emergency room. Fast forward to a week later, he's been diagnosed with colon cancer. Colon cancer his doc says, that could of been stopped if he'd had it checked 5 years ago. Like it or not, this happens EVERY DAY, EVERY WHERE, whether it's colon cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer or any other cancer or disease that caught early enough, could of either been prevented or at least treated and put into remission, etc. EVERY DAY, EVERY WHERE, there are people who simply cannot afford what you get to take for granted and be angry over. They cannot afford to be able to even get a cute little bill, distorted and inflated and disected by insurance companies and doctors. There's people wishing they could be in your shoes to get butt raped, because at least when they broke a bone, instead of an emergency room visit and subsequent doctor's visit running in the $1,000's, they could at least have a somewhat manageable copay, or deductible, etc. You're living in Utopia if you think that the insurance companies will lay down that segment of the business, and say to all the docotrs, "you're on your own". Get real. I'm all for anyone's solution to this problem that will work, and by god, if a president or congress needs to get involved in at least this, then I hope they help, because i'm telling you now, the greed of pharmaceutical companies and the greed of doctors and the greed of insurance companies will NEVER EVER EVER abate enough for the private sector to come up with a solution. And yes, as someone who is self-employed and only BARELY getting by right now, *I* cannot afford proper healthcare. I barely maintain my thyroid treatment. I can't even go to a dentist. Even signing up for an Dental HMO, at $25 a month (very affordable), I need over $3,000 worth of dental work because a filling cracked between two teeth, and they want to pull both of them out and give me a root canal and a then a crown. Damn right this country needs to do SOMETHING to fix healthcare. I don't know what either, I'm not smart enough to come up with a plan. That's why I'm not running for president. On 2/7/08, G Money <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Feb 7, 2008 12:18 PM, Erika L. Walker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > How should health care be handled in your view? > > I don't really know. That is such an enormous question. What I DO know is > that: > > 1) Health insurance is a scam > 2) The government never makes things better > 3) Competition is usually the best way to make things affordable > > Universal health care encapsulates the first two, and eliminates the last > one....yikes. > > > > Do you currently have health benefits where you work? Or does your wife? > > Rich doctor, rich insurance company, oblivious customer....bent over > backwards and butt raped....and none the wiser. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;160198600;22374440;w Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/message.cfm/messageid:253724 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5
