Health care, again

[twirlgrrl]

I'm so excited that the national health care discussion is at least on the table again, politically speaking. I watched a Noam Chomsky clip the other day in which he said that it's now politically feasible to discuss it since big corporations are complaining about their bottom line with the uncontrolled increases in health insurance premiums for their employees. He said that the vast majority of Americans (70-80%) have indicated that they were interested or strongly interested in universal health care for decades, and "in a working democracy" that would be reason enough for politicians to address it, but not in this country. :\

Anyway, here is an interesting post in which the OP asks people who live in other countries what their health care experience is like:

http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_political/3361941.html

I would love to do a version of the same. I've always wanted to be a researcher/sociologist/person who polls other people for a living. Among other things.

Comments

Call me crazy...

[gen-here.livejournal.com]

... but I want to know what ass he's pulling that 70-80% out of!!!! No matter what news I read/watch (local, national, internet) or who I talk to (in real life or this box), there seem to be very few that are in support of national health care. I'm hearing more and more talk about long waits like in Canada or being denied life-saving treatment if it costs more than Uncle Sam is willing to pay. The big talk round here is the woman in Oregon that (I believe) last year got a letter from OHP (medicaid) saying they wouldn't be willing to cover the cost of some pricey cancer treatment... but did you know that doctor assisted suicide is legal in Oregon? We'll pay for those meds for you!

This country, as a whole, is too cheap to invest in what will actually work - and the doctors and, more importantly the pharmaceutical companies, are too greedy to take the cuts that would be necessary to make national health care work. And how is this going to be paid for? We're already going to be paying off the stimulus plan for decades... are we going to have 30-50% of our income taken in taxes to cover health care?

I'm sorry - none of this is gonna work unless the the drug companies and the doctor's insurer's get kicked out of DC as lobbyists campaign contributors. Once they aren't responsible for congressmen on up getting funding for their campaigns, maybe some real work can be done on knocking costs down for everyone. But if that doesn't change, there's no way that national health care will work in the US.

[tellinellen.livejournal.com]

DOOD. i just read every single comment. amazing. amazing!!!! things are so idiotic here. did you watch the michael moore video, the whole thing?