dailykos.com — Part one of a series providing basic information regarding how the health care system works, basic health care economics, and other general background to health care reform, with a single payer focus. The goal is provide a broad background that is NOT driven by specific events, news, or headlines.
Dec 19, 2008 View in Crawl 4
unpollolocoDec 20, 2008
The solution for the healthcare crisis in America: reduce medical malpractice lawsuits. They force doctors to provide a standard of care above and beyond that which is necessary in every case. Instead of having a tiered healthcare system, we force medical facilities to provide an extremely high standard of care which is above the ability for most people to pay. A prime example of this is the effort to block in-store clinics that many drug stores and even Walmart have tried to install. Instead of letting a nurse practitioner diagnose and treat strep throat for $20, we force people to go to emergency rooms for doctors to diagnose and treat it for $500.Putting healthcare under the government's control will only result in a lower standard of care for everyone because liability is shifted to the government rather than private companies.
sparkleshineDec 21, 2008
Emergency rooms in the US can not refuse care to anybody with an emergent situation based on their inability to pay.
drredaDec 22, 2008
I propose that Primary Care should be provided by complimentary physicians (e.g., naturopathic physicians, chiropractic internist, etc.), which should cut down on overall social costs of health care & fill the current shortages in primary care providers: 1) preventing patients' from becoming dependent on pharmaceuticals and receiving unnecessary surgeries, both of which are very costly to society. 2) utilizing preventive, complementary (alternative), primary care, will help patients restore balance so that exacerbation of the same ailments will be reduced and future diseases will be avoided. This is especially true for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer (all 3 being the major causes of mortality in the US and utilize the most health care resources). To implement this, the following steps must be taken: 1) the benefits of complimentary, preventative health care should be recognized more, and not overshadowed by pharmaceutical lobbyists. 2) more students need to be encouraged to become complementary (alternative), primary care providers via greater recognition of this type of service through it's licensing in many more states.
grasshopprDec 22, 2008
See www.21stcenturymed.org for an example of Open Source Healthcare. ;)
davidmesaazDec 23, 2008
How is that any different than the Uninsured in the US? People in the US that don't have healthcare can't be denied service.
kindpastorJan 11, 2009
I got dugg down by an Idealist:-(.
coffeehoundApr 27, 2009
The disadvantages of National Healthcare.This posted from a legal immigrant that moved from the UK due to NHC..............."there is a waiting list for Cancer Treatment. I had Cancer so I guess I would be dead, had I stayed there. Not only that, but there was a two page spread in the newspaper, of the millions of British Pounds paid out on NHS medical blunders, over the last five years. This is compensation paid to patients who received the wrong treatment, or mistakes were made etc. It gave me a lot more to think about if we change our healthcare system to Nationalized Healthcare." We need to stand together and lobby heavily against this. If this passes we know that "we the people" will be paying a huge price for these medical blunders.
upsetwithbhoAug 16, 2009
I am disturbed about President Obama. I fell like I finally need to speak out. He told us he was going to save and protect us from corporations and give the power to the government. He told us he was going to pass a heatlh care package so we could get free healthcare. Now he is taking out the end of life discussion groups and NOW I heard that he is going to take out the single payer option. Well what gives. Why is he caving in to these coporations and the the extreme right wings whackos?Man those peopple should just shut up but our President must be listening to them. Why is he throwing us under the bus? We elected him to protect us but it is begining to look like he is just the same. Mr. Obama please stand up for us. We are looking to you to protect and save us. Dont let the crazt right wingers win. Dont turn you back on us as it looks like you are doing.