Health care is the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in this country. Over one third of the folks that declare bankruptcy had health insurance.

As someone who works in the health care field, I can tell you that the current system is broken. Any voter who has spent a lot of time on the phone with insurance companies, probably would prefer a bureaucrat to an insurance company that makes extra money based on denial of care.

There are conservative solutions to the health care crises. But if legislators like you don’t start making them and keep defending the status quo, we’re gonna have nationalized healthcare.

Letting you die over budget constraints, in my humble opinion, is much worse than the present system, where everyone gets treated, at the ER if no where else and the taxpayers pick up the bill.

Under Hillarycare, for example, (I have the published plan on my bookshelf right now), if the bureaucrats denied your care, the Dr. can not accept payment out of pocket without becoming a criminal. The current Daschle style plan is similar.

Having a bureaucrat say Aunt Sallie isn’t worth saving (years left/cost of treatment) and has to die is not what I consider improving healthcare…

You may want to investigate what the Obamatrons are proposing. I suspect you are not aware of the horrors of “their” system.

Let’s fix healthcare, but not their way. No way, no how.

Regards

…can’t we set up a separate patient advocacy program, dedicated to addressing any and all short comings of the general government health-care system?

In terms of addressing the shortage of doctors under a socialised health-care system system, couldn’t we train first responders who aren’t doctors, whose job would be to triage patients initially and assign the correct medical facility to each?

I know this sound heretical, but we can no longer allow the growing number of uninsured Americans to go without health-care and hope to someday rein in medical costs and expenses.

Lastly, I would hope we could set up two separate health-care systems, one private and one public so that both could compete against each other thereby empowering the consumer.

…the situation we are facing here with the growing numbers of uninsured health-care recipients in this country. It is no longer a question of creating just another bureaucracy. It is a question of how to insure and cover the health-care costs of a growing number of Americans who can no longer afford to pay for their health care, period. We, as Republicans, can continue to stick our heads in the sand over this issue, as is our right, but that will not stop the number of uninsured health-care recipients from growing, nor lower the costs.

ex animo
davidfarrar

Access to health care is an issue of Supply and Demand, like any other. Medical professionals are leaving their practices at too high a rate, and being replaced at too low a rate. “Free” health care will increase demand without relieving the systemic supply shortage.

The free market solution requires (at least) a two-pronged approach:

1. Tort Reform

Due to the number of outrageous and sometimes completely unjustified medical malpractice awards, physicians are leaving their practices at accelerating rates. Others are ordering unnecessary tests and procedures to protect them from liability. Limits need to be imposed to protect them from frivolous suits and/or excessive awards.

Any Nationalized Health Care Plan will sharply curtail malpractice awards. Canada has the Canadian Medical Protective Association, which aggressively defends against malpractice claims. The cases are heard by a judge, never a jury. According to some sources, it is difficult to find an attorney willing to represent a plaintiff in such a case. Many of the same sources also claim that malpractice is rampant, with no recourse for the victims. I am not in a position to evaluate whether the claim is true.

2. Larger Enrollments in Medical Schools

The American Medical Association controls medical certification in the USA, and strictly limits the number of students who may enroll in medical schools. As a result, many well-qualified applicants are turned away. See 100 Years of Medical Robbery (I hope I did the link right).