DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Sarah Palin: batshit, or howling-at-the-moon batshit?

**dushappeaps** · 08-22-2009, 02:41 AM

Straybow posted:

"The only scarcity is in places like Canada and UK."
See Lori's post in the first thread. Scarcity for health care exists in every nation. Health care is one of the most important services produced. The problem is that resources are often diverted to less important areas of the economy.

"The rising cost of health care isn't a problem."

1) People are struggling to pay their bills.
2) Many people can't afford insurance.
3) People forgo recommended care.
4) Less employers offer health care benefits as the cost increases.
5) The federal and state governments have strained budgets due to healthcare costs.

You can't be serious dude.

"The costs rise because we're getting better diagnostics and treatments over time."

That's only a small part of the reason. But the increased cost of those treatments must be justified by both the benefit of them and the implications for the whole health care system and the economy. It's not enough to just say costs have increased because health care is now better than it was before.

"More hospitals with MRI and CAT machines."

Again. Sure that's better because a patient doesn't have to travel as far to get to one of these machines, but does the increased cost justify this? And can we as a society afford these costs.

"More effective drugs."

Indeed. The inflation rate for prescription drugs far exceeds the general inflation rate. Same point does the benefit exceed the cost.

"The most serious obstacle to availability in this country is the enormous tort insurance burden placed on doctors and hospitals, which none of the Dems are addressing."
Source?

One of the major problems is that the American dream of the 1950s, working for a big corporation and getting a decent wage has largely vanished. More people now are working for small businesses or working part time, perhaps even multiple part time jobs. They're not being offered insurance as part of their employment package.

You do realise that they typical insurance package costs about $ 4000 to $ 8000 / year. If your wage is $ 10 / hour, you make $ 20,000 / year, and a health insurance policy would eat up 1/4 of your pay, or if your employer shelled out for an insurance policy it would be essentially a 25% raise.

It amkes me wonder. If the US had government had gone ahead and instituted universal health care 40 years ago would the flight of industrial jobs out of the country been prevented? How different would US society be today?

08-22-2009, 02:41 AM	#7
dushappeaps Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 420 Senior Member	Straybow posted: "The only scarcity is in places like Canada and UK." See Lori's post in the first thread. Scarcity for health care exists in every nation. Health care is one of the most important services produced. The problem is that resources are often diverted to less important areas of the economy. "The rising cost of health care isn't a problem." 1) People are struggling to pay their bills. 2) Many people can't afford insurance. 3) People forgo recommended care. 4) Less employers offer health care benefits as the cost increases. 5) The federal and state governments have strained budgets due to healthcare costs. You can't be serious dude. "The costs rise because we're getting better diagnostics and treatments over time." That's only a small part of the reason. But the increased cost of those treatments must be justified by both the benefit of them and the implications for the whole health care system and the economy. It's not enough to just say costs have increased because health care is now better than it was before. "More hospitals with MRI and CAT machines." Again. Sure that's better because a patient doesn't have to travel as far to get to one of these machines, but does the increased cost justify this? And can we as a society afford these costs. "More effective drugs." Indeed. The inflation rate for prescription drugs far exceeds the general inflation rate. Same point does the benefit exceed the cost. "The most serious obstacle to availability in this country is the enormous tort insurance burden placed on doctors and hospitals, which none of the Dems are addressing." Source? One of the major problems is that the American dream of the 1950s, working for a big corporation and getting a decent wage has largely vanished. More people now are working for small businesses or working part time, perhaps even multiple part time jobs. They're not being offered insurance as part of their employment package. You do realise that they typical insurance package costs about $ 4000 to $ 8000 / year. If your wage is $ 10 / hour, you make $ 20,000 / year, and a health insurance policy would eat up 1/4 of your pay, or if your employer shelled out for an insurance policy it would be essentially a 25% raise. It amkes me wonder. If the US had government had gone ahead and instituted universal health care 40 years ago would the flight of industrial jobs out of the country been prevented? How different would US society be today?
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