Free health care in America

For it/against it Why?

I think it would be great for the country. There are thousands of people or more who don't have health insurance, who can't afford health insurance, there for can't afford the whopping hospital bills. Let alone you get a proscription and it's 100 to 700 dollars... Sure there are clinics on a sliding scale income based. But they are always full and hard to get into. If your sick you gotta wait a week to see the doc, and by that time your probably better.

I already know what a lot of you will say.. a big resounding NO, because of the increase in taxes. And the pharmaceutical industries here are raping people on prices of meds. In Britain there are no meds that are over 10 bucks. 10 bucks for the same meds they got here that people are paying 100's of dollars for. They are the biggest drug pushers in this country. A lot of drugs, pain killers, benzo's are addictive but they keep pushing them out.

I went to a sliding scale clinic for my migraines got a great med for them.. went to the pharmacy and they wanted 150 bucks for it.. I had to turn around and walk out.

Not to mention... you go into the ER and you get a 600 dollar bill for some shots of benedryl and they charge you for every bandaid you use and all that BS. I know this my dad is an RN and has worked in the hospital industry for years.

 

I don't know much about this but wouldn't taxes go like... way up? So poorer folk (like me ) wouldn't be able to afford to pay hundreds of extra tax dollars to pay for others' health care.

Like I said, I have no clue how it works so I'm sure some more informed and intelligent people will chime in...

 

first off they would have to raise taxes tremendously to pay for it,,

my monthly blue cross/ blue sheild premium cost me $253 A month now, but thats with cobra,, about the best insurance you can get,

kinda against it,,cost to much,,

 

ask any canadian what they think about it

 

taxes wouldnt go way up if the government spent OUR money wisely. come on look around you, our tax dollars are wasted on some of the stupidest crap. how about transportation? anyone wanna guess what we spend in fuel to JET OUR POLITICIANS around the world?

 

Ditto,,, yea i heard about the 6 month waiting list

 

watch "sicko" with michael moore.

he can be a bit of an arse, but it's a very informative movie.

tells you what the canadians think.

and wait till you see the part where he took 9/11 ground zero volunteers who developed life threatening and/or permanent injuries/diseases from the crash site down to puerto rico and they took these folks right in and did what was necessary. then sent them home for free.

their own providers denied them care after they developed problems. but another country's health care system took em in, and took care of them. for free. with no "waiting list." :p

and you'll crap a brick when you see what prescriptions and inhalers, etc cost in other countries . the same ones that are being mfg. here in the u.s. and they're charging you hundreds of dollars for.

i'm rambling.

watch the movie and you'll see.

 

i just moved this to Off-Topic, as i see no reason for this to be in The Pit

 

I put it in the pit because it's political and sometimes they tend to get nasty.

Sicko is def a good film. Some very sad parts in that movie. The insurance companies will do anything to not pay out. They deny sick people treatment.. calling some cancer drugs "experimental" so they won't pay for them. If you have a pre existing condition theres a pretty good chance that you won't be offered coverage. I worked for Sams Club (wal mart owned) It was crap.. I waited a year to get insurance and needed it for hospitization.. but the insurance I had wouldn't cover it... because it wasn't physical and you had to wait another year for them to pay for it. I get hounded all the time by lawyers for doc bills that I have no way of paying. I got teeth that need fixed really bad... but look at the price of to have a tooth filled. Thankfully theres a dentist in my family tree and they took me in and immediately got to work at getting my rotted wisdom teeth out I got 2 more to pull maybe 3 all wisdom teeth and some fillings.


Here's an idea... legalize marijuana... tax it... and then you stop having some many people in jail for a damn plant and America would make a SHIT LOAD off of it.

 

"he can be a bit of an arse" Quite possibly the understatement of the year,LOL

 

Lets not turn this into a debate about Michael Moore

 

I take 2 medications and have to go through the sliding scale system.. which when you have no income it's free. I only pay 2 dollars for what they have there. My doc said that if I was buying them on my own from the pharmacy that I'd be paying 700 a month! I believe it too because a friend of mine takes one of the same and with insurance for her it's still 150+

America needs to take care of it's own.

 

I wasn't trying to,just making a joke.Although he is a first rate turd.Him and Rosie O'Donnell I truly despise.But,that's a whole different topicI do think medication and doctor bills are to high.

 

Agreed with the last part gh.

 

its nice to see my tax dollars are paying for your meds, when i can barely cover my own! i have been diagnosed as an epileptic who has grand mall seizures, and my meds cost me out the ass, plus i pay for yours w/ my tax dollars:mad: if i can work construction with my issues, i cant stand to hear someone crying about a f-ing thing! im raising 2 kids to top it off. so many of the people out there can work, they just dont want to. america doesnt need to take care of its own, you need to learn to take care of you and yours:rolleyes:

 

Geez thanks for the meds dude... :rolleyes: Tax dollars go to all different types of programs. So I should pay over a 100 dollars a month to talk to a doc and another 700 odd dollars to pay for my meds. Sorry thats 800 bucks a month and thats ridiculous.. Our rent is around 500, plus other bills. We can't afford to pay for them. So I deserve to suffer from this shit because I can't pay for my own meds because they are close to 1k a month! Actually I filled out a form for the drug companies that supply the place with meds and get them free from them. hence why we need free medical care for EVERYONE. Everyone would benefit from it.

 

''america doesnt need to take care of its own, you need to learn to take care of you and yours'' 100% TRUE

 

Well, from my perspective, having a daughter with CF, and being a Canadian, I couldn't be more THANKFUL for our system. Of course it isn't perfect, but I couldn't even BEGIN to wrap my head around what my daughters health care has cost up until this point and she's only six and her care is only going to get more intense. She spent the first eight months of her life in hospital, multiple surgeries and has been in and out ever since, nevermind the daily medication she takes. Just ONE of her meds costs over $2000 a month and she is on about ten different things. There has never been ANY hesitation on the medical industries part to give Raven whatever she needs. In fact, sometimes I think they ''over test'' her if that's possible. Having a CF kid, I'm glad I'm Canadian.

 

But sometimes we can't take care of "us & ours."

I'm a tax payer too as well as seizure patient & guess what?? I have got fired from a good paying job for having a seizure at work (I was "too much of a liability" to hire back) & am unlikely to find another that pays as well b/c of my seizures. My state is an "at will" employment state, so they can terminate you for anything they make up. So if you have a seizure, you're gone. And if prospective employers even HEAR the "s word" (as I call it) they're not even going to look at you.

As for medications, I take around 15 pills a day & just ONE of my meds (Depakote ER) used to cost $273 a mo. We even had to at one point take out a loan just to pay for my meds! I had to switch to generic, which I'm sure as an epileptic you know isn't the best & Praise GOD my pharmacist found out a way to lower the price on the generic Depakote. But I still have 4 meds I have to take as well as visits to a neurologist every 90 days & a physical & blood panel every year, combined all cost almost my yearly salary.

As for sliding scale, yeah, that nice, but what if you don't qualify? In my area they go by HOUSEHOLD income, not the individual's income, which disqualifies most applicants - to include me. If they looked at my little measly mouse income, yeah, I'd be in like Flynn, but when they combine of both my husband's & myself, I'm out in the cold.

Then there are other things - I hurt my back falling during a seizure & I can't go to the doctor for it. Can't afford it. Sometimes I get UTIs. Allerigies in the spring & fall which untreated lead to sinus infections that can get so severe blood comes out of my nose. Can't afford to go to the doctor for any of that either. I have to sit home, suffer & hope I don't get sicker & the home remidies work. Meanwhile the "fat cats" who can afford insurance are plump, healthy & can have every need taken care of.

(BTW, as a side note, I *HAVE* tried getting insurance several times both through work & independently. I either cannot afford it - $600+ per mo. - or once they hear of my seizure disorder they just hang up on me!)

This is fricking insane. Am I less of an American? Do I matter less b/c YES I admittedly due to circumstances beyond my control cannot afford all my medical needs? Should I be just left to suffer & die b/c I can't afford Blue Cross & Blue Shield? I pay my damn taxes too, you know! I vote, I have served my country, the whole nine yards, but I should be left out in the cold b/c - yes, I admit it - cannot take care of my medical needs on my own?

So, yeah, I'd say we need nationwide care. Taxes wouldn't have to go up if we'd stop giving millions to every tom, dick & harry warlord in whatever flavor of the month nation it is we're supposed to save. Bring American money back home & use it here, for Americans in need! If our gov't (both parties!) would stop giving our money away to support other counties, we could probably pay for health care & have money left over.

Plus, I think we should crack down on the money being given out here. Here's something for ya - I think we should put a time limit on welfare. 6 mos & you're done. I also think we should put a child cap on it too - pay for 2 & no more. She can have as many as she wants, but welfare should only pay for 2 & pay for them on a time limited basis. No welfare forever, & no welfare increases for each child born. We shouldn't be PAYING women to lay around all their life & shoot out kids like pinballs, using them as income!

Furthermore, I support drug tests for those on welfare. Fail once & you're off forever. I also think you should not be able to get disability checks for things like alcoholism & I don't think kids should get checks b/c they have ADD. I think disability money should be used for those who have TRUE disabilities & alcoholism & ADD aren't it.

Stopping all that bull right there would also put a lot of money BACK to support a system that IMO is badly needed.

JMHO ...

 

I here it will save the country money somehow, im not sure exactly how but i know that alot of us who have needed to go to the E.R wouldnt have to anymore, especially for the millions of homeless people. They also warned the quality of healthcare will go down. It probably has its good and its bad.