California legislature pass Universal Healthcare bill.

[StarGazerVSP]

Originally posted by: bctbct
I would like to see if this could work. Insurance companies are against it so that means it will cost less.

What will they do to fund it though?

A new payroll tax.

I assume they are against it because it will ban them from operating in California.

 

[Trevelyan]

Originally posted by: Genx87
I find it fascinating people put faith in govt after watching its non-stop failure to perform the jobs it currently promises for.

Yes, I think after watching the Katrina debacle, the fumbling of the Iraq war intelligence, failure to stop millions from invading our territory each year, and inability to balance a budget we should give the govt our health to screwup.

Thank you.

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan

Originally posted by: Genx87
I find it fascinating people put faith in govt after watching its non-stop failure to perform the jobs it currently promises for.

Yes, I think after watching the Katrina debacle, the fumbling of the Iraq war intelligence, failure to stop millions from invading our territory each year, and inability to balance a budget we should give the govt our health to screwup.

Thank you.

For what . . . being ignorant?

diabetes better managed in UK than US

"Our evidence shows that universal healthcare when treating a common disease like diabetes, works," said Professor Arch Mainous from the Medical University of South Carolina.

"In both countries, diabetes sufferers are effectively managed as outpatients and our research shows that when patients have access to free healthcare, they have better clinical outcomes.

"Importantly, this finding does not reflect income or social class since better control of the disease amongst people with insurance or free access persists in both countries even among poor patients and minorities.

Hmm who runs the VA?

Most private hospitals can only dream of the futuristic medicine Dr. Divya Shroff practices today.
---
If you're surprised, that's understandable. Until the early 1990s, care at VA hospitals was so substandard that Congress considered shutting down the entire system and giving ex-G.I.s vouchers for treatment at private facilities. Today it's a very different story. The VA runs the largest integrated health-care system in the country, with more than 1,400 hospitals, clinics and nursing homes employing 14,800 doctors and 61,000 nurses. And by a number of measures, this government-managed health-care program--socialized medicine on a small scale--is beating the marketplace. For the sixth year in a row, VA hospitals last year scored higher than private facilities on the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, based on patient surveys on the quality of care received. The VA scored 83 out of 100; private institutions, 71. Males 65 years and older receiving VA care had about a 40% lower risk of death than those enrolled in Medicare Advantage, whose care is provided through private health plans or HMOs, according to a study published in the April edition of Medical Care. Harvard University just gave the VA its Innovations in American Government Award for the agency's work in computerizing patient records.

And all that was achieved at a relatively low cost. In the past 10 years, the number of veterans receiving treatment from the VA has more than doubled, from 2.5 million to 5.3 million, but the agency has cared for them with 10,000 fewer employees. The VA's cost per patient has remained steady during the past 10 years. The cost of private care has jumped about 40% in that same period.

Oh yeah . . . they negotiate discounts for drugs, too.

That's not to say that government-managed healthcare on a national scale would look anything like the VA . . . particularly if you put a bidness man like Rumsfeld or Cheney in charge. But suffice it to say, it's possible to do it effectively and efficiently . . . on the government's plan and dime.

Having said all that I'm not a huge fan of necessarily forbidding private competition. IMO, CA is taking the wrong route if they are saying private companies cannot possibly contribute to CA healthcare. That's just as wrongheaded as the morons that claim the government cannot do anything right.

 

[XZeroII]

Good bye America. Hello socialism! Hey, why not just hand over all of your rights while you're at it too?

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
Good bye America. Hello socialism! Hey, why not just hand over all of your rights while you're at it too?

What is wrong with you? Wouldn't you take your wife to the doctor if she were pregnant?