Why America Needs Universal Healthcare

A nice, easy-to-follow video can be seen here:

If you're lucky, you're healthy enough to work and pay for your healthcare.  If you have insurance, the profit-seeking corporations we have handling our health care needs now will drop you as soon as you are sick and unable to work.   If you have something catastrophic happen, will you be able to afford it?  Um, hell no!  You'll go to the ER and all the rest of us hard workers will pay FOR YOU!

Well, there is a more efficient way of doing this that doesn't involve taking it up the butt by the private insurance industry.  And, yes, despite what the repubes would have you believe, the government can run a health care organization.  Can you say "Medicare"?  I thought you could! My mother had Wls paid for by medicare that my private insurance wouldn't cover.  Point -- government "socialized" (ooh SCARY) medicine!

If this is the greatest country in the world, then we should be able to care for our sick like all the other industrialized nations in the world, don't you think?

Awesome video. I've been trying to explain this to my nervous friends, who think that they'll have horrible coverage if we start a universal health plan. When I went to Europe, the people were all very happy with their coverage and didn't have long waits to see Drs etc. I think those stories are scare tatics put out there by the ins and pharmaceutical companies, who are making a killing in profits. Pure greed.

Wrong.   I can personally put you in touch with 2 Canadians (one now a U.S. citizen, the other still a Canadian citizen) and one former British citizen who will tell you that getting coverage often IS a problem and that the waiting times and restrictions on who can and cannot receive what type of care are VERY real.  They are all three much happier with healthcare in teh U.S.

Lora

 

I'm married to a British citizen, so don't start on me about how horrible the socialized countries' systems are.  That's bull****   Pure Faux News Propaganda.  Pull your head outta Glenn Beck's ass.

 

 

Wow, what a mouth on you.  It seems you forgot to mention the taxes in GB...  Can't you make a statement without BASHING others on the board?  Typical!

Taxes aren't as bad as they are held up to be by anti-health care propogandists. I am a teacher and I posted about this with a US nurse and it turned out we were paying more or less the same. My total tax burden (including payments for state pension and welfare, is about 26% of my income. I don't think that is excessive for education, child allowance, defence, welfare, pension, healthcare, policing, fire service, roads, subsidised transport etc etc.

But our higher earners pay more but only on that income which is above the threshold.

Kate

When they shout about my taxes going up, I just think of all the outrageous insurance premiums I won't be paying, deductibles, co-pays, etc. == IF we were to get a UNIvErsAL plan.  Which we won't because of the fascist asshole protesters.  They love totin the guns and shooting themselves (and ME and the rest of US!)  in the foot.

Here's some links on the "'orrible" British National Healthcare System:

Topic: We love the NHS

This is pretty funny.

Apparently everyone back home in the UK has got so pissed off with American Republicans saying mean things about the NHS (National Health Service / UK single payer socialist pinko commie government-run health care system) that they started some sort of informal twitter campaign and now the busiest "twitter" stream in the world is "WeLoveTheNHS" and "NHS" is 4th.

Britons furious that the Republicans have attacked the health service in their campaign against Mr Obama have launched an internet fightback.

The Twitter site crashed yesterday because of the sheer volume of messages backing the "we love the NHS" campaign.

You can read the tweets coming in live, here.

I wonder if the ridiculous incident where some nutcase said under the NHS Professor Hawking would have died had something to do with it?  At any rate this sort of reaction is not too unusual as the British are very protective of their social security just as in America medicare and social security are a "third rail" in politics.

So my question is, why on earth would anyone have a problem with socialised health care? 

I had the misfortune to be watching TV the other night on MSNBC and it was Chris Matthews' show but fortunately that nitwit was on vacation and someone sensible was hosting.  He was interviewing one of the right wing loons who had invaded a town hall meeting and ranted on about "socialism".

I thought, "Why do they give these people air time?" but it turned out quite educational.  The protester really didn't seem to have any idea what "socialism" meant.  She was asked, "Well what about medicare, would you get rid of that because that's socialism too".  She didn't have any answer but she seemed honest about that, not trying to lie or give some pat answer that said nothing.

It seems to me that Americans are always being told "socialism" is awful to make sure they don't get a liking for it as the rest of the world has, and as Americans seems to in the case of their limited socialised health care (medicare, the VA, etc) and social security.

It's ironic because of course right now is a very vulnerable time for capitalism.  The recession shows the failure of capitalism in general and American capitalism specifically. 

Can anyone who thinks "socialised medicine" is bad please explain why?  Socialised medicine's the best kind.


http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/rantsandraves/4005420/Britian-NHS-a-disaster/#32425432

What do you mean by "coverage"?

The UK doesn't have health insurance at all.  British people don't need coverage by health insurance because they have free health care.

Or did you mean cell phone coverage?
Meh.  That's better too and less than a quarter of the price.

How about I put you in touch with my nephew who has been vomiting every morning for weeks and he can't even afford a doctor's visit. I have been trying to get him to go to the ER just so they can see what's wrong. Of course I had to explain to him that he could go to the ER with absolutely no money and they would bill him... (good luck on them gatting any money from him).  That should cost the tax payers about $800 bucks.   Also, that ER is so full of people using it as a doctors office that it takes sometimes well over 8 hours to be seen. Not that they should complain to wait 8 hours for free *cough* care, but that's what we have come to in this country.

If we had a plan that would cover basic health needs then it would be a quick doctors visit and it would cost roughly $80. (That's assuming that nothing is seriously wrong)


I am sure that the NHS has it's flaws too, but I don't think it's flaws are keeping people from using the NHS to remain healthy. I still havent seen where someone using the NHS service has been cold out DENIED services. Sure maybe it is triaged and some peope have to wait, but it is better than no coverage at all.

Plus, I haven't heard anything from conservatives as to how they would solve the plan.  Why are people that protest the town hall meetings not adamant about reform?  Where is thier plan to cover those who are in need?   I mean, who would Jesus turn down for medical care?