Hi Vivian (Coelho), I am not sure about the gist and what exactly are you implying in the random statements you have made below. Yet let me take a chance and respond to these statements even though I do not understand where you are coming from. I have not followed your prior posts on this subject. VC: I stand by my contention that anyone in the US has access to healthcare that they don't have to pay for. No one who lives here will deny this.
GL: By law no one irrespective of insurance can be denied emergency healthcare (law signed by Pres. Reagan). Many physicians will refer such patients to the hospital's emergency room. For non-emergency patients, doctors can / will decline patients with no insurance or insurance from a carrier that the doctor does not deal with. VC: I also stand by my contention that SOMEONE is going to get rich by forcing all Americans to purchase health insurance. GL: The goal is to provide the patient service and care. Anyone / corporation who does this is entitled to the compensation. So in other words no one gets rich by sitting on their rear end. VC: If Obama wants to provide free health care more efficiently to people who are uninsured, by all means do so, but why insert another bureaucracy between patient and doctor if not to get rich from it? GL: So exactly how do you propose these patients handle the reimbursement for their care? Are you suggesting the system to be like in Goa / Mumbai - direct payment by the patient after the service is delivered? In practice, we know that "Self-pay" means "No-pay". Insurance as an intermediary assures that the patients is not financially ripped off by the healthcare provider - doctors or hospitals (which is what happens now). VC: I don't know anyone who is against providing free health CARE to those who can't afford it, it's the FORCED INSURANCE that is the problem. GL: This statement is most confusing. Who and how will this "free healthcare" be paid for? Conclusion: Providing care is not caring for an individual when they are sick. There is a lot achieved in Preventive and Maintenance care. And there has to be a system of someone supervising these aspects of care. It is the absence of Preventive and Maintain care that results in expensive care at a more advanced stage of the disease. This is the one of the main problems with the current healthcare system, specially in a society which has less and less social support at home to ensure the individual is prompt in their medical appointments and following-up the doctor's advice. Regards, GL
