Tuesday, July 28, 2009

What really scares me...

I've got a house and a couple of cars.

If I went outside and found my car a smoldering hulk, while I'd be sad, I know that my auto insurance would at least give me enough money that I could go to a dealership and get myself another car. Yeah, it would be a hassle, but it would be okay.

Same with my house. If a pipe burst and my cellar flooded, or if there was a fire or a tree landed on my house, I know a phone call later things would be okay.

However, I don't hold out any illusions when it comes to health care.

Getting sick, even though my health insurance comparatively speaking to others is probably really good is a scary proposition.

It amazes me that in this day and age, the number one reason of people going into bankruptcy is because of medical bills.

Yet our congress, who I might add apparently is fully of weaselly dipshits care more about keeping their health care constituents happy then actually serving the people they supposedly represent.

I fully understand these fucks live in some wacky bubble where real world shit doesn't affect them, but I have a distinct feeling, their caving to the health care industry is going to back fire in a huge way, at the ballot box.

How much more expensive is health care going to be, while supplying a inferior product before these nitwits wake up.

If we can't have nationalized health care system, then I think the government should demand that any health care provider who wants any government perks must become a none profit.

I don't understand why these nitwits fear becoming a government entity anyway. It's not like real market forces effect the government. Got an over priced weapon system designed to fight an enemy that doesn't exist? No problem, we'll still fund it! And these guys would actually produce a useful product.

I think the problem that these guys have is that if the government was to provide a universal health care program, or was to nationalize the existing systems into the Department of National Health non democratic countries around the world would see it as a failing of capitalism.

Unfortunately, the health care system, strayed away from capitalism a long time ago. The first big issue is that in a fee based system, healthy people don't make you much money. Thus there's really no incentive for them to treat a problem when it first appears. If it looks like you might be diabetic, offering a free gym membership isn't going to be nearly profitable as selling them insulin, lancets and syringes the rest of their lives... Being efficient isn't profitable.

Thus, until a really great health care system comes out that is both profitable and good for the patient (and can get past the red tape and monopolistic behavior of the existing health care providers) we'll be stuck with our current bad medicine.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Actually, the current healthcare system of insurances is a gamble. The healthcare company is gambling you will not get ill. They want healthy people paying in and want them to stay healthy. The reason being: healthy people cost them very little.

The problem comes in when you get sick. They dont want to pay. It costs them money. That's the difference between health *insurance* and health *coverage*. Or, worse yet, you have an ongoing, expensive illness such as diabetes.

Many insurances do not cover 'pre-existing conditions' just for this reason - to save money.

Another real problem of the system is the fact that insurance is given through work (at a reasonable cost) or you have to buy it privately (at a very expensive cost). Massachusetts is good because you can get cheap insurance through the commonwealth care program.

The arguement and reason why most folks are against universal healthcare is because they think it is socialistic... which it is. the problem is.. nothing is wrong with socialism from the governement. But when these people hear socialism, they think communism - and the two have very little to nothing in common.

Consider this: Every 'advanced' civilization has universal healthcare - except the US.

We are clinging to an archaic system that says 'our government is for private business and industry - not for the people'.