US comes up way short in health care again

[Riot]

64 out of 100.

This is why private health insurance sucks. The idea that you'll pay someone a stipend, and they will pay for your health care if you need it - but they only make money if they do NOT pay for your healthcare - is ridiculous.

We need single payer, national health care, now. Everyone gets health care in the US.



Overview

The National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2011, updates a series of comprehensive assessments of U.S. population health and health care quality, access, efficiency, and equity. It finds substantial improvement on quality-of-care indicators that have been the focus of public reporting and collaborative initiatives.

However, U.S. health system performance continues to fall far short of what is attainable, especially given the enormity of public and private resources devoted nationally to health.

Across 42 performance indicators, the U.S. achieves a total score of 64 out of a possible 100, when comparing national rates with domestic and international benchmarks.

Overall, the U.S. failed to improve relative to these benchmarks, which in many cases rose. Costs were up sharply, access to care deteriorated, health system efficiency remained low, disparities persisted, and health outcomes failed to keep pace with benchmarks.

The Affordable Care Act targets many of the gaps identified by the Scorecard.

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publ...Best-2011.aspx

[dellinger63]

What we lack in quanity of care we make up for in quality. All we need to do is look at what SS and Medicare have become, multiply it by ten and we can see the financial side of what Obamacare would be. It needs to be repealed now.

Private insurance companies should be able to operate across State lines and tort reform would do a world of good lowering costs. Obamacare would raise costs, lower the access to care, and in some cases make those who pay in wait behind those who don't pay for treatment. The government being involved in any way is frightening.

[Danzig]

we have seen astronomical rises in medical costs, yet we're no healthier as a result.

truly, the only way to ensure care for all is to tax everyone, and cover them thru a govt agency.

[Clip-Clop]

Best thing I think I have ever seen.

Preventable death...

yeah.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Danzig

we have seen astronomical rises in medical costs, yet we're no healthier as a result.

truly, the only way to ensure care for all is to tax everyone, and cover them thru a govt agency.

I agree. Single payer, Medicare for all. You retain complete control over your private hospitals and doctor choices, it's simply that the insurance is the same for everyone, and every citizen is insured.

I'm so angry Obama took that off the table three years ago, but the ignorance and opposition was great at the time. But only going for correcting the more odorous practices of the insurance companies (kicking sick kids off due to lifetime caps, rescission, etc) helped some, and will hep more when all provisions are on-line, but didn't get all the uninsured Americans covered by private health insurance.

Think of the cost savings with single payer. Everybody getting preventive care? No delaying seeing doctors because you don't have the $100 for an uninsured office visit? Yikes. We would be a far healthier nation, at far less cost.

If we got the right House and Senate, we could have single-payer healthcare passed within 4 years.

[Danzig]

i doubt it happens. too much money invested in the insurance industry, too many like what they have, too many lobbyists, etc etc. people dont like change. they dont want higher taxes, and i dont know if the tax would be similar to current costs. too much fraud and waste...

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i doubt it happens. too much money invested in the insurance industry, too many like what they have, too many lobbyists, etc etc. people dont like change. they dont want higher taxes, and i dont know if the tax would be similar to current costs. too much fraud and waste...

Insurance companies can hang around, sell their own policies if they want (and can find anyone to buy them), sell supplemental policies, end-of-life policies, etc.

Why we, as a country, should continue to have one of the worse health care systems of first world countries justified by continuing to throw cash at private corporations and their lobbyists is absurd.

I think they've determined that if the entire nation was on Medicare, the savings would be astronomical (negotiated costs) and the taxes, spread across all those healthy people, would be very low.

"People don't like change" - no, they don't. But they are also uneducated as to the issues and taught to be scared and fearful. That's why our country is on the verge of disaster. Look what happened during the health care debate, the sheer volume of lies and nonsensical accusations. We are not debating policy, we are debating crazy lies and weirdness.

Americans better suck it up, and start getting educated about this country of theirs, and who, exactly, they are electing to the government, rather than staying ignorant and lazy - this democracy is already a plutocracy, and if they don't turn it around, there is zero future for most.

I read yesterday that 55% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 are unemployed. Holy eff.

And what has our House passed for us, to help us, since January? Seven anti-abortion, abortion-rights restriction bills.

You get what you vote for. And we're in deep shiat.

“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”

“A Republic, if you can keep it.”

ATTRIBUTION: The response is attributed to BENJAMIN FRANKLIN—at the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, when queried as he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation—in the notes of Dr. James McHenry, one of Maryland’s delegates to the Convention.

Occupy Wall Street, Occupy The Voting Booth ... your first chance is in a couple weeks