I appreciate the majority of you who were able to keep it polite, and offer well-written comparisons of different systems, with the pros and cons of both. The input from those who have personally experienced both sides was especially helpful.
It's obvious that all feel something needs to be fixed, and I suspect the majority of "real people" out there would collectively find an answer, rather than just yelling about it.
Statistically, the political views of most Americans are purple, to varying degrees. Unfortunately, once elected it's more important to immediately become either fiery-red or bright blue, and those of us in the middle are forgotten. And that, to some extent, is why shit never gets done. It's easier to yell, scream, and argue over pithy things than to work together to fix the big ones. And a few screaming voices on either side are allowed to drown out a reasonable majority.
In closing, let me post a few addresses. Write your own emails. Feel free to send a link to my "Dear Medicare patients" post if you wish.
Maybe I'm just optimistic. But I'd like to think the health care issues we face can be solved in a way that benefits most, if not all of us. And in a civil manner, too.
The President: email contact
Click here to write to your Senator
Click here to write to your Representative.
10 comments:
Great wrap up Dr. Grumpy!
We all need to be reminded every so often to stop yelling to each other and start writing to the people that have the ability to do something with our opinion.
i've written/signed so many letters/petitions about this in the past 6 months that i think i'm now on the blacklist for all government agencies. all i get back are these sappy 'we'll look into it, but meanwhile, look at all the useless sh!t i've done as a politician' replies. so obnoxious.
Thank you for a timely and well thought out post. My husband and I just had to contract for individual health care insurance. If we get it (there are some preexisting conditions) we will be paying $1,600 + per month for health care insurance. I
I have written letters to my congressman, the president and our senators.
My response to their responses? Every single seat in the house is up for grabs in the upcoming election and NOT ONE OF YOU will have a job when the votes are counted (if my vote counts). Good Luck getting a job and getting some health care ins. of your own.
Red, Blue, Purple. The people of this country deserve better.
Many of the non-Americans commenting on Medicare have little or no understanding of the history of health care in the US.
Additionally, they seem to be unable to process that Americans have a very different world view than most people in Europe. The enourmous size of the USA, the regional differences in culture, and the stubborn streak of our ancestors who chose to live here so they did NOT have to listen to the King is hard for Europeans and Canadians to fathom.
So in short, many of us feel that it is our responsibility to feed, clothe, and provide medical care to our families, not the government's. Americans are the most generous people in the world, but when your money is taken at metphorical gunpoint to "help" others, it becomes theft, not charity. We cannot tax the prodective to cover everyone who choses not to be...AND life is never 100% safe, and everyone WILL die!
Pattie, RN
Thanks, Dr. Grumpy, for speaking up for "purple people" like me!
--Barbara P.
I responded to your first post as the person who has experience with both medical systems (anon 7:47).
It is my humble thought that the term "socialized" medicine isn't truly accurate and carries too much baggage. It might be better to conceive of this type of medical care as "cooperative". In Canada, the history of universal medical care shows that it was the farmers of the land who realized that through cooperation they could better farm and care for their families. If you look at all of humankind's endeavors, it is always through cooperation that we achieve great success (American Revolution wasn't won by one person but by people coming together to pursue a great ideal).
My second point is more of a question. I'm surprised that there has not been a greater discussion over the effect that medical insurance has on labor mobility. If people are afraid to leave their jobs because they might not get as good a health insurance with their next job, does that not impede the free flow of labor -- a key ingredient for a successful capitalist system?
These are just my two cents...
Politicians these days are NOT leaders. They are negotiators. They know nothing of actually making real decisions. All they know is compromise (I'll give you this if you give me that). Not even an "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine", they go straight for the "I'll suck yours if you suck mine" strategy. And we wonder why nothing is done "right".
Barbara P:
What out... I am a purple people eater!!!!
j/k
I don't know where you get the idea that this is somehow a result of 'partisan bickering'. If you followed politics at all, you'd know that the democrats have consistently attempted to pass a 250 billion dollar repeal of the SGR, but that the republicans, aided by several 'moderate' democrats, have blocked it.
(Those of us on the left aren't all too surprised by this, fyi. The modern democrat party makes Chamberlain look like Mike Tyson)
Frankly ridiculous. You do realize that the right-wingers are blocking this in order to preserve insurance industry profits (direct subsidies from the gov't via medicare advantage plans) at the expense of physicians, right?
Ahh well, I suppose you're too busy to actually follow the situation and would prefer to think about how much better the world would be if 'purple people' ran it.
Just an FYI--I don't mean to derail but "pithy" means concise, or full of meaning. In my experience of the health care brouhaha, LOTS of people have NOTHING meaningful to say, so IMHO they should shut up and listen to people who know what they're talking about. Thank you. Kara
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