House passes health care bill on 219-212 vote

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Ghostwriter

As with anything the Government runs the quallity and service will diminish and the price will escalate due to the inherent inefficiencies of our out of control bureaucracy.

Unlike the inherent inefficiencies of insurance companies with huge executive salaries? If everything the government runs is inherently inefficient, maybe we should privatize the Army and the Navy.

While I think you raise valid points that are open to reasonable debate, I think overgeneralizations like this detract greatly from that reasonable debate.

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Why do you think they made everyone get insurance?

Why don't we ask Mitt Romney. Wasn't it his idea first?

[Ghostwriter]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Unlike the inherent inefficiencies of insurance companies with huge executive salaries? If everything the government runs is inherently inefficient, maybe we should privatize the Army and the Navy.

I am not so sure our Army and Navy are that well run from an efficiency stand point. Do you not believe there are billions upon billions of dollars in waste and fraud within the services?

To your point on private insurance carriers they are just that, private. If they can justify to their stockholders the Executives pay then so be it. I am not pleased about the disparity between what the person at the top makes versus the person at the bottom but that is for the companies and their stock holders to sort through. You are aware that the administrative cost for private insurance carriers is somewhere in the neighborhood of 12%. This is a pretty good figure and I doubt our government could run a insurance program at that low of a level if all applicable costs were included.

http://www.ahipresearch.org/pdfs/adm...sts_030705.pdf

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Rep...vate-Insurance

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Unlike the inherent inefficiencies of insurance companies with huge executive salaries? If everything the government runs is inherently inefficient, maybe we should privatize the Army and the Navy.

While I think you raise valid points that are open to reasonable debate, I think overgeneralizations like this detract greatly from that reasonable debate.

Why don't we ask Mitt Romney. Wasn't it his idea first?

Exactly, that's where they got the idea, and it's working in Massachusetts. That's why Massachusetts didn't want a new federal mandate, they already have universal care in that state. For anyone who says that including everyone doesn't bring down rates, just look at Massachusetts. The only real issue they are currently having is that they have a shortage of primary care physicians. This is what we really need to worry about!

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

Exactly, that's where they got the idea, and it's working in Massachusetts. That's why Massachusetts didn't want a new federal mandate, they already have universal care in that state. For anyone who says that including everyone doesn't bring down rates, just look at Massachusetts. The only real issue they are currently having is that they have a shortage of primary care physicians. This is what we really need to worry about!

Whether or not it's working in MA overall, I'm not really sure. However, I do know that it didn't work for me (at least as far into it as I was able to get before I moved). The state wanted everyone to have healthcare, and if they didn't, they were penalized. The first year, I had $219 (I believe that was the exact figure) deducted from my tax returns, leaving me with next to nothing. For someone who was making $7.80 an hour at a part-time job, unable to find a decent one, that sucked. The following year, they penalized me $72/month for not having insurance. In October of that year, I moved to PA.

So basically, I lost almost $900 over the course of 6 months, and I still didn't have insurance. But if I got health insurance, I would have paid more than that, and I simply couldn't afford it. I pretty much got screwed and paid a whole bunch of money for nothing.

[xp2k]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Whether or not it's working in MA overall, I'm not really sure. However, I do know that it didn't work for me (at least as far into it as I was able to get before I moved). The state wanted everyone to have healthcare, and if they didn't, they were penalized. The first year, I had $219 (I believe that was the exact figure) deducted from my tax returns, leaving me with next to nothing. For someone who was making $7.80 an hour at a part-time job, unable to find a decent one, that sucked. The following year, they penalized me $72/month for not having insurance. In October of that year, I moved to PA.

So basically, I lost almost $900 over the course of 6 months, and I still didn't have insurance. But if I got health insurance, I would have paid more than that, and I simply couldn't afford it. I pretty much got screwed and paid a whole bunch of money for nothing.

Not trying to pick any fights, but if you made $7.80 an hour, were you not eligible then for the low income plan?

Also, there are partial insurance plans cheaper than $72 a month.

[33girl]

The thing that is driving health care costs sky high is marketing particular meds to the general public. They see the commercials and decide they want to get them whether they need them or not. We should have gotten rid of that before effing around with universal health care.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by 33girl

The thing that is driving health care costs sky high is marketing particular meds to the general public. They see the commercials and decide they want to get them whether they need them or not. We should have gotten rid of that before effing around with universal health care.

Speaking of ads...after this weekend, come mid term elections, the best ads the DNC could do would be to mix Joe Wilson's 'Liar', with Randy Neugebauer's 'Baby Killer', some Tea Party Protesters,(especially the spitting ones) etc. into one montage, then ask 'Is this who you want to give more power to in Washington?'