Comments on: Ladies and gentlemen, “the best health care system on Earth!”

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:05:05 +0000

Here is a good overview of various medical systems (around the world)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/

As an aside if you remove the “for profit” motive, and get rid of waste you’d think the cost would come down. By the way 60 minutes just had a episode, “The Cost of Dying”

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5737138n&tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea.3

which shows we spend BILLIONS for really bad “end of life” decisions. No one wants to talk about it, but .. as an example … if you have cancer, are in horrible pain, near 100, and have failing heart, kidneys, etc. Do you need a liver transplant?

By: Not born here - thankfully

Not born here - thankfully — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:56:32 +0000

Mike: As regards insurance company profits let me cry a river for them. I wonder what happens to theose numbers after we count the mis-spent money they spend on lobbyists, huge staffs of lawyers to deny claims, huge staffs of people to deny claims, huge numbers of people to handle all of the endless streams of paper work needed to justify all of their claim denials and all of the idiocy that surrounds that process. And how much money do they waste on executive salaries for a completely non-innovative industry and their fantastic retirement and health packages. What do you say to Wendell Potter who actually worked for them for twenty years and pretty much views them as parasites? Do you remember him talking about having a company jet at his beck and call and eating off gold rimmed plateware while on the jet? Seems to me it is very good to be at the top of the pile in the insurance industry, but of course none of those excesses cut into their profits. I suspect he knows far more about them than you ever will. And while most companies were losing money over the last year I’m supposed to cry because the insurance companies only made a fake number of 2%. Really? In the UK I could, and have, literally walked into my GP’s office and been seen within the hour. No cost. I got prescriptions of any sort filled for £6. Try getting any prescription in this country filled for anything like that. The insurance companies are an abomination, health care should not be a for profit operation, as indeed it is not in most civilized countries. And as regards not giving the insurance companies carte blanche to pilfer every penny from us leading to a lock of innovations, let me note that the evil nation with the NHS has produced 40% of medical innovations over the last decade. And they did it for less than 8% of GDP while you clowns spent 18% of GDP to get worse medical outcomes. Brilliant. And now i go off to cry for the poor insurance companies who only made a 2% ‘profit’. Hah!

By: dixie

dixie — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:12:46 +0000

sorry guys, but just because the “unverifiable trucker” is not a famous
or well known person doesn’t make him any less a human being, he has a family…children..parents.. a wife and was evidently a hard worker, truckers are not lowly red neck cowboys, they are a important part of
our work force, this is a horrible thing for any family to endure, then be faced with no health care coverage?? this is unthinkable. put yourself in someone elses shoes, this has to be a hard journey. this family doesn’t deserve the sarcasm.

By: Navyfan

Navyfan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:49:51 +0000

Did I just read this correctly? Jay Bookman compared the favored care given to famous physicist, Stephan Hawking, to an unverifiable trucker in the U.S.? Even IF true, based on this flawed comparison, we should get universal health care that covers everyone in the universe, universally? Taxes required for this universal plan is outrageous. The problem with raising taxes, is sooner or later, you run out of money to grab from people who contribute. It’s simple theft. Maybe it’s complex theft. Sorry Jay, I don’t agree with you to the point where I would physically fight you over this issue. My money is the money I work for…not yours or your ideological hero’s. Thing is, my charitable giving, proportionally, beats Obama’s by 70-90%, depending on the year in question. I’m more generous than your hero. This sucks.

By: Shirley Whitey

Shirley Whitey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:00:39 +0000

NO KENNY WHITEY WANT DIE IN THE STREET. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS EVERY HAPPENED AND KENNY HAS ALL THE LOVE WE CAN GIVE HIM. KENNY’S CASE IS NOT TO MAKE THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM LOOK GOOD THIS IS ABOUT KENNY A BELOVED SON THAT WE CHERISH. AS FOR THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM WE ARE AGAINST IT.

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Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:04:15 +0000

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By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:11:51 +0000

My father never walked a step in his life (polio), was deformed & paralyzed, lived until he was 80, could barely read & write, married my mother, had children, drove a car using an old rusty bicycle pump, sold door-to-door, then ran a store, pinched every penny, saved, paid cash for everything, bought investment properties, bought his first wheelchair when he was 40, issued credit, gave work, donated housing & food, performed at charity events (country music), donated to the church, had a stroke, had a bleeding ulcer, had scoliosis, had a hyena hernia, had cancer, was robbed at gunpoint by a murderer, paid college tuition, purchased an equipped van in his ’60’s, drove people to Atlanta to see specialists, had a street named in his honor & an event dedicated in his name—-& never asked for or received a dime of govt assistance. Everyone he met was more deserving than he was & he was an inspiration to everyone who met him. May God bless everyone who does their best.

By: Mad American

Mad American — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:39:39 +0000

Are we stupid or brain damaged. We are lied to by this countries healthcare system. We are not the best. Europe has better healthcare and pays less. It is Insurance companies making money on our pain period. They are killing American’s to raise profits. Watch the movie SICKO.

By: JMoore

JMoore — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:25:32 +0000

If Obozo said cow patties were good for us to eat, Jay and Cynthia would write a blog seconding the motion. Honestly, these people are hopeless. So is the AJC and i rarely read it any more.

By: algonquin J. Calhoun

algonquin J. Calhoun — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:54:46 +0000

Note to AJC editor – This is the type of writing that is keeping people from subscribing to your newspaper.

vinny, you know you never subscribed to the AJC!