Hey, I'm a red neck American. I have the attention span of a crack ba....Oh Look! A squirrel!
Where was I? dj On Sat, Sep 5, 2009 at 2:53 PM, gruff<[email protected]> wrote: > > What a pleasure it is to get some rational and positive feedback. > Quite a change from the Kingman Daily Miner where most people are > narrow-minded, ignorant bigots who believe Obama ought to be shot. To > be even-handed about it, this is the heart of redneck country so I > guess it's to be expected. > > DON, it's only 10,500 words. That's about a 22 page pamphlet. This > IS the Reader's Digest condensed version. My first draft was over > 30,000 words. > > But I'm glad you're in favor of disconnecting health insurance from > employment. That's too much control and power to give to one's boss > be it a multi-national conglomerate or a mom & pop operation. There > are numerous other reasons too, but mainly I'm hoping the idea catches > on. > > I was 25 years in the legal profession and saw first hand the greed of > attorneys in going after punitive damages which are generally treble > the actual damages, of which the attorney got between 1/3rd and 50% of > the actual award plus attorney fees from the losing side, so I was > long primed to support tort reform. I know one attorney who would not > take a case unless it were an easy slam-dunk (which meant I did all > the work on the case and he got most of the money) or the case had > potential for enormous punitives. > > I'm sorry but I can feel neither any sympathy for big pharma or the > insurance companies nor for any support of them. Between the two they > add up to the biggest sources of greed in the healthcare industry. > The legal drugs I'm taking would cost me over $1,000 a month if I > wasn't covered. The hoops pharma makes you jump through to get > assistance from them is mind boggling. Paper work up the yinny and > every three months I'd have to reprove my poverty. > > Babies being born in the street in front of a hospital is nothing > new. Hospitals also have a nasty habit of dumping poverty cases back > out on the street regardless their inability to fend for themselves > and their sickened condition. > > One other point with regard illegals. Hardly any of them are drawing > Social Security, most of them pay taxes because it's taken out of > their paychecks (and frequently pocketed by the employer), and they > can't vote. The only exception to the above is when they have > falsified ID which gives them a SS number but even then they still > can't draw SS. > > Nor am I a blind faith believer in our current administration. I do > have high hopes for Obama as a leader both now and in his future, but > I don't glom onto everything he says without a critical eye. My main > complaint at the moment is that he has only told Congress in a very > general way what he wants in a healthcare bill and is leaving it up to > them to come up with something valid, but I suspect he is getting > tired of their childish games and in this upcoming speech to them next > week will straighten them out. He seems to prefer the soft touch but > I think he'll get pretty rough with them this time. > > As for government involvement, remember that depends to a huge degree > on the administration in power at the time. Bush virtually dissolved > all regulation and let his agencies run wild, which they did. > > RIGSY, my first draft contained things like nuclear family problems, > stress from both parents working, the effects of poverty and other > thoughts but in the interest of brevity (though some would question > whether 10k words is brief) I left a lot out that didn't directly bear > on the healthcare issues. It was originally written just for > publication on the Daily Miner which is what prompted me to eliminate > the poverty aspect. Most of the readers in this community think that > people in poverty should do the world a favor and walk out into the > desert and die. > > JUSTIN, I never meant for my article to be a comparison to any health > plan proposed by the administration or Congress. I tried to take an > independent approach that highlighted the problems with healthcare as > I saw it independently from any other analyses. > > As for rationing, we have that now and to a very large degree except > it's called raising premiums, deductibles and co-pays, eliminating > conditions covered, dropping people's insurance if they get an > incurable disease and other such immoral practices. Have you ever > known anyone with end-stage renal disease? They can't get coverage > from any insurance company because of the huge expense entailed. In > fact that's the first question insurers ask a potential client: Do you > have end-stage renal disease? > > I put little blame on the actual medical providers. I think most of > them do a great job in spite of being under a lot of pressure from > government and healthcare and malpractice insurers to burn the candle > at both ends ... i.e., don't order so many diagnostic procedures but > cover their asses to protect against malpractice suits. They can't do > both. > > However doctors are in business to make a living besides providing > care for the sick and ill, and most hospitals and clinics are in > business to make a profit even if a lot of them are not, yet the bind > forced on them by pharma and insurance turns a lot of them into > criminals because they have to cheat to make enough to cover their > overhead and still make a reasonable living. I think a doctor's > average earnings of $250,000 to $300,000 a year to be very reasonable > given the cost and length of their education and their critical need > by society. > > In the statement you quoted from the Harvard Business Review the key > phrase is "unblinking faith" which is foolish business in any field. > A certain degree of doubt and questioning is a healthy practice for > all individuals. As for the healthcare industry, there is little in > the way of competition which I think would be very healthy for all > concerned. And of course as I have mentioned myself numerous times, > were human beings able to function without misbehavior any system > would work well. > > RETIREDJIM, torts cover more than just the healthcare field. Torts > are any civil wrongs committed by anyone, anytime, anyplace and if > there is a breach of the implied contract of dealing in good faith > punitive damages apply. > > Overall, I'm in favor of rational and limited regulation -- just > enough to prevent the excesses of the past few decades from occurring > again for quite a while. Regulation is necessary to govern greed but > it must be doled out carefully because over-regulation or the wrong > kind can kill the heart of a free-market economy -- competition. > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
