tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post1584240652943717255..comments2024-03-18T09:00:31.992-04:00Comments on Doctor Grumpy in the House: Reality CheckGrumpy, M.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09858110332436246760noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-14726932053895824172009-12-03T22:57:21.370-05:002009-12-03T22:57:21.370-05:00only an american can say with a straight face that...only an american can say with a straight face that he is refusing to pay for other peoples health care. It demonstrates your education system in action that more than half your population are unable to use any critical thinking skills.<br />it's a joy to know you have nuclear weapons.<br />Only an American can say they refuse a public option at the same time they are cashing their medicare checks, too stupid to know medicare/medicaid/veterans healthcare are all PUBLIC options run by the government but now suddenly the government is too dumb to run a public option.<br />Every second that goes by americans drop 10 more IQ points. By 2012 you should be ready to elect Dick Cheney as your new President with Palin as Secretary of State.<br />I'd advise that any of you that retain any part of your IQ get the hell out now before the right wing crazed born agains trigger the apocalypse they are so desperately dreaming about.Forget about health care reform, it will never happen in the US even if Obama threatens war on the insurance companies. The right wing doesn't want it and the left are way too scared of them to challenge them.<br />Cheney still pulls the strings that's why the banks got paid and no one got arrested, that's why banks are allowed to steal peoples homes without a whisper from the government, it's why health care will never get more than lip service and maybe, just maybe one law will get passed that will jack up your rates so high you will never be able to pay for them. The law that says insurance companies can't refuse anyone and can't dump high risk.<br />Get out while the rest of us are still allowing immigration...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-22568419552082265462009-11-05T11:37:04.842-05:002009-11-05T11:37:04.842-05:00And, if Mr Poorsap did work, he can't work any...And, if Mr Poorsap did work, he can't work anymore. So, his kids have less of everything, he goes on disability, and we don't get the taxes we would have gotten off him. If his hernia or whatever had been fixed early, or his cancer had bee picked up at a routine physical, he would have likely had years more productivity and contribution to economy. Kind of like the large mass of my patients who have no dental care, get abscesses, then cardiac disease, then spend a boat load of time in the hospital getting new heart valves, or neurosurgery for the abscess that tunneled into their brain, or both, like one nice guy who used to paint houses and take nice care of his family. Now his family takes care of him, except they have no money and ( long description of heartbreaking consequences) yup, we as a society saved a lot of money on that one. Those dental cleanings should not be publicly paid for, nope.Not going to pay for someones medical care....oh, wait.woolywomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14798060848062776281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-8999113887587355112009-10-30T10:28:17.168-04:002009-10-30T10:28:17.168-04:00"I'm talking about an IV drug abuser (une..."I'm talking about an IV drug abuser (unemployed at 28) who frequently shows up at the ER with problems associated with his drug use-anything from injuries due to a "fall" to an infected buttock."<br /><br />So what, you let him die? What's your solution?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-58624827572047319312009-10-30T02:45:54.514-04:002009-10-30T02:45:54.514-04:00Getting back to the "shared costs" thing...Getting back to the "shared costs" thing again: it's worth pointing out that in most countries where a public health system is an option, there's usually a private health insurance system running in parallel. People who can afford to do so will usually get private health insurance (in Australia, where I am, private health insurers cover a lot of preventative medical treatments, like quit smoking classes, health club memberships, relaxation classes, yoga, etc) just as a way of covering those little extras. Private health insurers here cover things like glasses (the frames, which are the expensive bit, not just the lenses, like Medicare), dental work (largely not covered by Medicare), prosthetics and mobility aids (giving a wider range of options to people who require such things), physiotherapy, naturopathy, ambulance cover and similar. The other thing private health insurance is useful for is getting elective surgery (rather than waiting on the Medicare list), choosing which surgeon or hospital you're using, or even just getting a single room rather than being on a multi-bed ward. <br /><br />Over here, the cost sharing provided by the tax-underwritten universal health cover provides the basic level of cover to <i>everyone</i>, then the private system is available to provide more options. Yes, my taxes go to paying for the cost of some person who started smoking as a teenager and hasn't stopped yet (like my still-healthy mother). My taxes also go toward the cost of treating the hole-in-the-heart of a baby whose only "crime" was to be born (like my cousin). They go toward the cost of making medications for childhood conditions affordable (such as the Ventolin another cousin needed for her athsma, and the various penicillin dosages I was given for my string of middle ear infections as a kid) and medications for chronic conditions (like my hypothyroidism and depression, and my partner's type 2 diabetes) available at a reasonable price as well. My taxes go toward the cost of making healthcare in Australia a morally neutral thing - illness and injury happen to the deserving and the undeserving alike, after all.Meg Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17315024973849851898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-31623287138288873422009-10-29T20:26:50.509-04:002009-10-29T20:26:50.509-04:00Yo, annon you need to get out more! Thinking of a ...Yo, annon you need to get out more! Thinking of a meat eaters heart attack? I'll take that one, Think again, I'm talking about an IV drug abuser (unemployed at 28) who frequently shows up at the ER with problems associated with his drug use-anything from injuries due to a "fall" to an infected buttock--yeah, when was the last time you had an infection in your right glute because of using a dirty needle, and then became septic? Never mind that he rips off my neighborhood as well.<br /><br />Want more? A dialysis patient who blows off his regular run on Friday then eats strawberries, guess what? You and I pay for a weekend hospital stay 'cuz he didn't want to go and really, really wanted those strawberries!<br /><br />Guy didn't take his meds (for high blood pressure) 'cuz they made them feel funny (did not check with MD first)...all of a sudden, why can't I use my right side? <br /><br />$$$$-you and me baby!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-31781708021490128822009-10-29T18:22:31.855-04:002009-10-29T18:22:31.855-04:00I don't want to pay for some 50 year old guy&#...I don't want to pay for some 50 year old guy's heart attack when he's been a 2-servings-of-meat-eater for his entire life. I won't subsidize his cholesterol medication either. He's making his choice to destroy his own health when he knows that a diet free of animal products is the healthiest option.<br /><br />I refuse to pay for the healthcare of anyone who drives a motor vehicle and crashes. I don't care if it's their fault or not. You choose to pilot a 2 ton machine around other 2 ton machines, I don't want to pay for your stupidity. What's that? You can't survive in your rural environment without a car? You should have thought about that before! <br /><br />I mean really, where do we draw the line? Smoking, drinking, being overweight....what about non-teeth-brushers or people who refuse to get yearly physicals? Office-dwellers who don't get 60 minutes of vigorous exercise every day? Just like we don't get to choose where our tax money goes, we shouldn't get to pick and choose whose medical care we allow. And I sure as heck and not going to sit by and watch a smoker or an obese person die, no matter WHAT they have chosen to do with their life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-51656311454250816692009-10-29T11:09:20.843-04:002009-10-29T11:09:20.843-04:00To say we all pay for treatment of people who do n...To say we all pay for treatment of people who do not have insurance is only half the story. We are also making up for the shortfall from Medicare and Medicaid. The shortfall (meaning they do not come close to covering the real cost of treatment) from these programs have much more of an impact on cost-shifting than do the uninsured. The reason is sheer volume. Short-term acute care hospitals have government payor volumes of somewhere between 35% to 60% of their total discharges. Medicare pays better than Medicaid and is still paying somewhere around 50% of cost--depending on your region of the country. Medicaid is simply a pathetic payor wherever you go. In some states Medicaid may pay 10% of charges. It is an entitlement that is breaking many state budgets, though. Anyhow...I digress...back to the topic of the uninsured. The percentage of uninsured patients hospitals see varies widely but a good round number is around 15%. Here again, in Detroit it will be more than in Salt Lake City. You do the math. If the government payors even paid for the cost of treatment, cost shifting would be reduced significantly. Now, lets imagine that there are no commercially insured patients to shift the cost of the government payor and uninsured shortfall to---everyone's bill is paid by the government. Everyone's bill is paid at 50% of cost. Not many hospitals would survive and not many good doctors would accept such poor reimbursement.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-60778162678989149052009-10-29T09:03:14.637-04:002009-10-29T09:03:14.637-04:00>>Part of me understands how people would li...>>Part of me understands how people would like to go in for the pay as you go option..cash prices. But, I am afraid that you would end up with MDs/DOs that have similar problems to the veterinary industry. You will have a significant number of people that want care and do not want to pay for it...then you will have no insurance fees to offset that.>><br /><br />Most of my veterinary clients can pay for routine healthcare, as well as the occasional minor illness or injury. They run into trouble with major acute (colic requiring abdominal surgery comes to mind) or chronic illness requiring long-term management.<br /><br />I favor a model of insurance that covers catastrophe, either short- or long-term but does NOT become involved in routine healthcare. This would reduce paperwork, especially for beleaguered primary care docs. I also think it's important to re-introduce Americans to the actual cost of healthcare... not "free" (e.g., covered by insurance) or artificially inflated (what those without insurance are billed, since one can't bargain as an individual).<br /><br />For example: I pay about $4000/year for an individual insurance policy with the lowest deductible I could find ($1000). I'm 40 with no significant health issues. In general, I visit a physician about once a year. I don't agree to screening tests I don't need (cholesterol level in a skinny athlete my age with no family history... not too hard to turn that down) and I certainly don't request extra tests not indicated for my age (colonoscopy, again with no family history). My "real" annual bill, if I were to pay directly, would probably be around $500-600 (exam and indicated tests). Honestly, I'd prefer to pay the physician directly and pay another $3000 (or whatever) to the insurance company for major medical/surgical coverage IF the insurance company actually covered me in the event of catastrophe (which, sadly, has not proved to be the case).<br /><br />Health care costs money. I think Americans are scared of change partly because they don't know how much care really costs. Insurance companies have become wealthy and powerful playing on this fear of the unknown.<br /><br />>>They told my office that they could spend $300. Since the cat was obviously sick (nasty upper respiratory infection) rather than spend that $$ on radiographs, I checked the FIV/FeLV status...it was positive...no sense in spending a very limited budget in trauma care when the cat was obvious suffering from multiple (and non-curable problems). I called the owner and she requested euthanasia...>><br /><br />This is the kind of thinking (minus the euthanasia, of course!) we should have more of in human medicine.<br /><br />Honestly, if I had end-stage COPD, I wouldn't want a mammogram (true story: this was offered to one of my elderly relatives, who had end-stage Alzheimer's in addition to the COPD. We said "no, thanks").<br /><br />>>...but now says that she wants to make payments that she has $2 to her name. She outright LIED and dumped the cat...theft of services. Now, everyone gets to pay for this. Or should I choose not to pay employees this week, or the water bill, or rent?>><br /><br />Yeah, I HATE those clients. They're thieves. And we'll continue to have them in human medicine, regardless of the model of payment. Honestly, I think human physicians would become as adept as we are at minimizing the damage in non-emergent situations. At my dentist's office, I pre-pay; physicians could easily do the same. For emergencies, well, we all took oaths (physicians and veterinarians).<br /><br />I admire physicians. I have compassion for my patients because they're all innocent. I don't know how I'd feel about treating lying, worthless, human wastes of space. At least I can surreptitiously whisper to my patient: "your owner is a PITA, but I'm going to take the best care of you I can."Outridernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-59346308614383212282009-10-29T05:51:52.315-04:002009-10-29T05:51:52.315-04:00Joe: What is the English word I am trying to remem...Joe: What is the English word I am trying to remember... oh yeah - compassion. Ever heard of it?OJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-42713448422751897192009-10-28T22:45:16.906-04:002009-10-28T22:45:16.906-04:00As a former Canadian and now Australian I have bee...As a former Canadian and now Australian I have been very happy with both of these health systems. <br /><br />Frankly, I am quite happy that I have never experienced an American style health system. From all I have read about it it is in desperate need of some type of reform, whether it be what Obama is seeking, or something different altogether.Sarah Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-73003453451335047652009-10-28T22:17:43.076-04:002009-10-28T22:17:43.076-04:00Wanna know what really bites my ass? When we dump ...Wanna know what really bites my ass? When we dump garbage dumpsters full of dollars into oblivion REPEATEDLY for people that won't take care of themselves!pAulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01949919980075526481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-14846952513520061582009-10-28T22:15:23.776-04:002009-10-28T22:15:23.776-04:00I have several friends in other countries where NH...I have several friends in other countries where NHS is the norm and they are very happy. They are also upset that people in the US, who know little to nothing about their government are calling them socialists and communists.<br /><br />I agree about the shop lifting thing...and for those of you that get mad at the analogy, too bad, is an analogy, not a recrimination. <br /><br />Part of me understands how people would like to go in for the pay as you go option..cash prices. But, I am afraid that you would end up with MDs/DOs that have similar problems to the veterinary industry. You will have a significant number of people that want care and do not want to pay for it...then you will have no insurance fees to offset that.<br /><br />This morning, I had someone bring in a cat that was found in the middle of the road last night...they watched it suffer all night, refusing to take it to the emergency clinic for humane euthanasia (FREE). They told my office that they could spend $300. Since the cat was obviously sick (nasty upper respiratory infection) rather than spend that $$ on radiographs, I checked the FIV/FeLV status...it was positive...no sense in spending a very limited budget in trauma care when the cat was obvious suffering from multiple (and non-curable problems). I called the owner and she requested euthanasia...but now says that she wants to make payments that she has $2 to her name. She outright LIED and dumped the cat...theft of services. Now, everyone gets to pay for this. Or should I choose not to pay employees this week, or the water bill, or rent?KateAhttp://charlesallison.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-26195747557089301652009-10-28T21:41:45.540-04:002009-10-28T21:41:45.540-04:00Preach it, brother.Preach it, brother.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-70658685245221169802009-10-28T21:29:24.478-04:002009-10-28T21:29:24.478-04:00You know, i've never seen anyone lay it out be...You know, i've never seen anyone lay it out better than that. Good on you, sir.Tigerhawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10754722822083680922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-2921085660131250502009-10-28T21:00:48.122-04:002009-10-28T21:00:48.122-04:00Grumpy emailed me and said that this wasn't me...Grumpy emailed me and said that this wasn't meant to imply that the government should be paying for everything...hm, seems as if everyone has you pegged for a socialist, Grumpy.Nurse Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06408755992926959084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-33196231467805238042009-10-28T20:24:58.082-04:002009-10-28T20:24:58.082-04:00Anon (October 28, 2009 1:32 PM) writes:
"My ...Anon (October 28, 2009 1:32 PM) writes:<br /><br />"My view is that in areas involving the ill, the disabled, the elderly, those in pain, and needy children, compassion should trump. Every time. If that matches your moral teachings, we're together and if it doesn't then you're blood is cold and your heart is stone."<br /><br />I suppose that the best way to frame my response is to confess that on most days my blood is lukewarm, and my heart, while not quite stone-like, isn't exactly cotton soft. <br /><br />My issue with your generalizing certain groups (for which compassion should always trump) is that you don't take the question far enough. Is the two pack a day smoker (like my father was before the horror and decay of cancer took his life at the age of 51) at all responsible for their behavior and for their actions, and for their lack of compassion as it relates to others footing the bill for their habits/lifestyles? If society is responsible for providing the ill and pain ridden, compassion (it would have been more accurate for you to have said compensation) what responsibility (if any) do they have to the society they are dependent on? <br /><br />If a person is ill, but the illness is the result of a lifetime spent enjoying alcohol, food, or drugs in dangerous excess, the question is not as simple as arguing that those of us who are able should provide compassion, but whether the freedom to make choices (regarding how one lives) should come with a well-funded safety net when those choices result in preventable disease/pain/suffering?<br /><br />Why does your argument feel like an argument that only ONE group of people has any responsibility for those living in pain, or with illness? And so as to be clear, I am not suggesting that every ill person, or person in pain is so due to self-neglect. What I am arguing (and working in health care, I see this every day) is that there are a number of illnesses today that are preventable (or at the very least, manageable) providing one is willing to do what we know to be healthy (e.g., stop smoking, eat better, exercise more etc...)<br /><br />Ill children, those who are disabled, and the elderly should be more than accounted for, and we should, as a society, work to ensure that people who are suffering from conditions beyond their ability to control and manage are taken care of, and taken care of with every bit of the compassion a giving and caring society can provide. <br /><br />Compassion works both ways. The compassion I feel for others is genuine and sincere, but altogether easier to find peace with when people practice a modicum of self-compassion. <br /><br />As Dr. Grumpy rightly points out, a number of people already pay for those who do not pay. To those who truly can't, who are truly suffering situations beyond their means of control, I will gladly extend to them great deal of what I have. But those who drain a system (which would likely be robust enough to handle those who cannot take care of themselves) while living lives built on poor choices, and unhealthy living, should perhaps first address the cause and effect of such lifestyles before going bat-sh*t crazy on those of us who dare to suggest that bad choices often result in regrettable outcomes. <br /><br />In health care, compassion equals money. And while we'd all be better off with more of the former, that must always be measured against the reality that we have pretty much run out of the latter.<br /><br />-DDrewz07https://www.blogger.com/profile/13536849357516150521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-89887115890573332512009-10-28T19:43:00.243-04:002009-10-28T19:43:00.243-04:00If this got double submitted, apologies.
I have ...If this got double submitted, apologies. <br /><br />I have a couple of radical ideas (well, seemingly so). Let's bring manufacturing jobs and such BACK to the US *and* actually pay our citizens a decent living wage. I'm really sick of competing with India for my salary (which is around 20k/year at the moment and that's all our family of 3 lives on because there are NO jobs up here for Husband, and there have been many applications sent in). If we have jobs and have money, perhaps we can actually afford to purchase health care. <br /><br />Second, get rid of insurance altogether. I know, that's radical in itself. My reasoning is this: Insurance wasn't designed for the use it's getting now when it was implemented, nor has it adjusted to fit. I'd rather see Insurance Company hands out of my doctor's office. Then the doctor doesn't have to add in their fee and can instead deal directly with the customer (us). No more playing through Insurance Company Hoops for something that's supposed to be simple. Perhaps if for a while, needed tests and scans and all that took a hit on cost (for now, mind you) that would eventually be made back as people found that they could afford an x-ray or a CT scan or an MRI, or blood tests for monitoring that it's not such a burden to get done. Essentially, drop prices a bit to get us to come in and with more paying customers the money is made back. We're supposed to be a capitalist society, we should make use of it. Let the companies that make said things fight for our business, or the doctor's business instead of Big Insurance business. I'm not sure who picks out the needed things for blood testing and scanning and such, but I think you can get where I'm going with this.<br /><br />Like I said, just my 2 flippin' cents. I'll probably get flamed or slaughtered, but that's how I see it. I'm tired of being the little person, squashed on and all that because of the lousy economy where I am that I barely get paid minimum wage and we have to decide between food and bills because there's no room for anything else. <br /><br />Sorry for the novel.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02247145698760624498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-58839783242472516472009-10-28T19:36:41.697-04:002009-10-28T19:36:41.697-04:00Hey, Joe- you wouldn't happen to be a plumber,...Hey, Joe- you wouldn't happen to be a plumber, would you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-18427474705843298542009-10-28T19:18:35.891-04:002009-10-28T19:18:35.891-04:00Joe - I think you forget that a lot of people who ...Joe - I think you forget that a lot of people who go to the hospital DO pay their bills. However, they can't generally afford to pay the bill off all at once so they make monthly payments. Hospitals don't need the money years or decades from now, they need it now. Insurance rates go up anyway. <br /><br />I was going to comment on your cold comments regarding the uninsured and thieves, but if you don't get it now, it's unlikely you ever will.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-46562703284213253262009-10-28T17:51:53.203-04:002009-10-28T17:51:53.203-04:00Well said, Dr. Grumpy.Well said, Dr. Grumpy.PAStudentKnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-37363967955755465142009-10-28T17:40:52.205-04:002009-10-28T17:40:52.205-04:00I've said it once, I'll say it again; NHS,...I've said it once, I'll say it again; NHS, NHS, NHS, NHS, NHS, NHS!!<br /><br />Sorry to you guys over the pond but our healthcare system rocks in comparison.Thom Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12876354941993951866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-22486944978684619892009-10-28T17:38:13.028-04:002009-10-28T17:38:13.028-04:00Joe said: "Going to a hospital unable to pay ...Joe said: "Going to a hospital unable to pay for their services is shoplifting."<br /><br />So poor people should just curl up and die when they get sick. Who is going to collect the corpses? It'll probably have to be a government agency, funded by your taxes. <br /><br />"It's theft. It doesn't matter how you got to this position. A starving man caught stealing bread is still going to jail for it."<br /><br />Sounds like you've seen Les Miserables. Debtor's prison worked so well, didn't it?<br /><br />The whole concept of social responsibility for others is why we have food pantries (all those freeloaders gotta get grub somewhere) and subsidised care for the poor. Each person has the same theoretical value, and our life or death is not supposed to be determined by our net worth. Compassion is always better than coldness. <br /><br />We just have to figure out a way for healthcare to be a right, not a priviledge, and fund it in such a way that everyone makes some contribution, however large or small. As Dr. G said, the only people really making out in our current situation are the uninsured, and I'll wager their baseline health is far worse than the average insured person and they'd choose to have insurance in a second if it were affordable. <br /><br />The fact is, America is in this unique mess alone, and what we have now is not working. So either we cut off all healthcare for the poorest 20% of the population (after all, they can't afford health insurance, so they are worthless human beings who deserve to die anyway), or we rework the system like all those other countries that seem to have their acts together and a much more economical medical care system and healthier population in general.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-52278744434371405412009-10-28T17:20:29.682-04:002009-10-28T17:20:29.682-04:00I've lost count of the number of
times I'v...I've lost count of the number of<br />times I've heard those sentences <br />- "I won't pay for someone else's <br />health care", etc. - expressed by <br />Medicare and VA recipients. Sheesh. <br /><br />@Anon 8:13 AM: Self-pay patients<br />pay list price at hospitals, unless<br />they live in Illinois and meet<br />certain financial criteria. Then<br />hospitals can charge only cost<br />plus 10% IIRC. Some of the 'discounts'<br />are amazing - the hospital whose<br />administrator wore the wire that<br />brought Blagojevich down has to give<br />a 59% discount. <br /><br />My word is "ratims" - appropriate<br />for a company that sells Rx data...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-81678251320603275242009-10-28T17:09:15.734-04:002009-10-28T17:09:15.734-04:00Oh, hogwash, Dr. G. Obama's trying to turn us...Oh, hogwash, Dr. G. Obama's trying to turn us all into Communists, and that's all there is to it. <br /><br />Don't bother us with reason and logic.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14794712479594188124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-27103342772110571872009-10-28T16:32:54.257-04:002009-10-28T16:32:54.257-04:00"Conservatives" in this debate simultane..."Conservatives" in this debate simultaneously hold the position of free market capitalism (which views the insurance issue in terms of moral hazard)and compassionate concern for the rights of the elderly. Cognitive Dissonance is the discomfort many people feel when considering conflicting beliefs. <br /><br />My view is that in areas involving the ill, the disabled, the elderly, those in pain, and needy children, compassion should trump. Every time. If that matches your moral teachings, we're together and if it doesn't then you're blood is cold and your heart is stone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com