Health-care costs soar at an unsustainable pace
Health-care cost trends in this country are unsustainable and are driving a whole range of major challenges, from our growing federal and state budget problems to the competitiveness of U.S. business in international markets to the decline in the economic power of the middle and working classes.
Take a look. The first chart, below, comes from a Kaiser Foundation report just released today. It found that health-insurance premiums had risen 113 percent between 2001 and 2011, and worker contributions to health insurance had risen by 131 percent. Family health-insurance premiums rose by 9 percent alone in 2011.
The second chart, based on the most recent data from the 34-nation Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, documents the disadvantage this country faces internationally. We do not, by most measures, have the world’s greatest health-care system, but we undoubtedly have the most expensive. These trends constitute a major “tax” on our nation’s productivity, competitiveness and quality of life.
Chart by Jay Bookman, AJC
The countries listed above are representative of trends in most of the OECD. They manage to provide health care to their elderly and their poor, and do so at much cheaper cost. What do they know that we don’t? Are we so handcuffed by jingoism and inertia — an inertia compounded by those who profit quite nicely from the current system, and want no change — that we are incapable of responding?
– Jay Bookman
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320 comments Add your comment
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2011
12:52 pm
A lot of those EU folks buy supplemental insurance…can you guess why?
um, for the same reason a lot of folks hire some kind of private tutoring for their kids, particularly if the kid is struggling in some subject? It doesn’t mean you bail on the public school system altogether.
Better question to ask is how many of those EUers would swap their system for ours?
(Even gooder question to ask is how many of those EUers would so much as urinate on our system if it were on fire. Doubt you’d get many takers for that, either.)
moonbat betty
September 28th, 2011
12:52 pm
Everyone boycott healthcare for one year!
Power to the People!!
Testify!!!
Generation$crewed
September 28th, 2011
12:54 pm
Joe Mama
September 28th, 2011
12:23 pm
You obviously did not read what was cited in my post.
Thats fine, but odd you would take so much time to comment back to me but were unable to find the time to read the articles.
Southern Comfort
September 28th, 2011
12:55 pm
(ir)Rational @ 12:11
Just a figure of speech. And on the ER comment… DAYUM!!!!!!!!!
Strawman
September 28th, 2011
12:55 pm
“Even gooder question to ask is how many of those EUers would so much as urinate on our system if it were on fire.”
Wow…that sure convinces me of the rightness of your position. Maybe Zogby could conduct a poll?
Obama-care lands at the supreme court, what your thoughts? - Page 3 - US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum
September 28th, 2011
12:56 pm
[...] [...]
mm
September 28th, 2011
12:59 pm
“But of course the Dems are in the pockets of the trial lawyers so we’re just going to have to put up with the astronomical cost of lawyerin which gets passed on to everyone else.”
Why do righties keep peddling this crap? About 2% of healthcare costs are attributed to lawsuits.
So you are making $100,000 per year. The doctor does something that makes you unable to work for the rest of your life. You sue.
So lets say your damages are capped at $250,000 (I believe that is what the GOP has been pushing).
Anyone want to do the math. Brilliant idea, righties.
Schrodinger's cat
September 28th, 2011
1:00 pm
dB – “Better question to ask is how many of those EUers would swap their system for ours?”
______________________
Most won’t, I’ve talked with the French, Swiss, Swedes, Brits, and Germans to name a few and for the most part they are satisfied with the services they receive…Nailing down what it costs them is a whole other issue
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 28th, 2011
1:01 pm
I am headed to the courthouse soon so will be checking pockets everywhere to see all those Dems. I bet they have TV’s, refrigerators and microwaves in those pockets too. Makes for cramped living conditions unless you have big pockets.
Thulsa Doom
September 28th, 2011
1:01 pm
Adam,
Nice one. Too bad you couldn’t refute my statement with a link that proves otherwise.
St Simons - we're on Island time
September 28th, 2011
1:01 pm
Sometimes the Right thing to do is not the profitable thing to do
Vinny
September 28th, 2011
1:01 pm
Obumbles-care will be repealed when he is voted out of office on his hiney next year.
Common Sense
September 28th, 2011
1:02 pm
“Ever wonder why our benevolent gov’t has a problem with houses catching on fire, but no problem during flooding?? For that, they charge extra………………….”
…because not every house can flood.
Tychus Findlay
September 28th, 2011
1:02 pm
Interesting point, Ragnar. The idea that when insurance providers pay a substantial portion e.g. your example of 90% people tend to go to the doctor more often. Through my job I have a high-deductible, low premium, so it forces me to pick and choose when I go to the doctor, but my out of pocket costs to have insurance are relatively low.
Adam
September 28th, 2011
1:03 pm
Thulsa Doom: Nice one. Too bad you couldn’t refute my statement with a link that proves otherwise.
You made the statement. Why don’t you back it up by providing a link that proves the trial lawyers are in the pocket of Democrats?
Ragnar Danneskjöld
September 28th, 2011
1:04 pm
Dear mm @ 12:59, may U offer the Ragnar solution for malpractice – borrow conceptually from the worker’s comp program. Each state set up a malpractice fund, funded 50% by providers, 50% by taxpayers. Eliminate the contingency lottery wheel for the advocates, replace damages and attorney fees with a fee schedule pre-approved by the court.
Why should taxpayers fund 50% – that is entirely due to licensing. If we are going to take licensing seriously, taxpayers need skin in the game.
Thulsa Doom
September 28th, 2011
1:04 pm
keep up,
When I watch the news this evening I’ll be sure to count all the lawyerin commercials looking to sue various well known drugs that have been on the market for years. I’ll blog back at you when I get to 10. Shouldn’t take long.
Joe the Plutocrat
September 28th, 2011
1:05 pm
moonbat betty, et al; boycotting isn’t such a bad idea. think of it as a reverse Atlas Shrugged. move. to all the Obamacare bashers; does it really matter to you of the burecrat overseeing your care is a civil servant or a corporate drone? buy this logic, you would’ve sent in Blackwater to whack bin Laden before SEAL Team 6. as much as ANY issue, this one screams PLUTOCRACY IN ACTION. the government and the private sector is a two-headed healthcare monster and the only way to keep it at bay is to NOT feed the beast.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 28th, 2011
1:05 pm
mm… why would anyone even think about suing a doctor who, let’s say, takes a lunch break in the middle of brain surgery or who amputates the wrong leg or a hospital staff member who kills your child when they give the wrong dose or meds. Surely that is an abuse by the legal system of well intended doctors.
Thulsa Doom
September 28th, 2011
1:09 pm
Adam,
Why do you make it sooo easy to give you a blog beatdown?
In the ranking by OpenSecrets.org of campaign contributions by the top 100 special interests during the past 20 years, the American Association for Justice (AAJ) – formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America – ranks sixth overall. The AAJ is the trial lawyers’ Washington lobbying group, and 90 percent of its $30.7 million in contributions since 1989 went to Democrats. At the other end of this pay-to-play process in the nation’s capitol, AAJ has spent nearly $14 million lobbying Congress just since Democrats won control of both chambers, including $2.3 million thus far this year.
The Democratic focus of the plaintiffs bar is even more obvious from campaign contributions of National Journal’s top 15 class-action trial attorney firms. As the Examiner’s David Freddoso and Kevin Mooney reported last week, those firms have contributed in 2009 more than $636,000, 99 percent of which went to Democrats. And employees of those firms have given more than $236,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid faces an uphill re-election battle, but the top trial lawyers firms are right there for him, with contributions totaling some $54,000 to date.
Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/editorials/2009/08/why-democrats-wont-cross-trial-lawyers#ixzz1ZGfa7d8o
Ragnar Danneskjöld
September 28th, 2011
1:09 pm
Dear Joe @ 1:05, your affection for unfireable bureaucrats is staggering. Of course any rational soul prefers a free market provider. Has it ever crossed your minds that SEALs are more like Blackwater operatives than they are like foot-soldiers?
Doggone/GA
September 28th, 2011
1:11 pm
“So lets say your damages are capped at $250,000 (I believe that is what the GOP has been pushing).”
Punitive damages, there are no limits on actual damages
Thomas
September 28th, 2011
1:11 pm
From the AJC- Furtado donates Gadhafi money
What a great story. You heard it first that the feds/IRS will investigate her.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 28th, 2011
1:11 pm
Doom, why I am sure you and the others there at Great Beneficial Life and Drug are just fine.
Those ads all say “Did you take aspirin, SUE!” right? Not “did you develop an undisclosed side effect from this drug” or “did a loved one die from an unsafe drug prescribed by a doctor encouraged by a system that rewards the doctor for prescribing this drug a whole bunch even if there are potential risks for which you may be extremely susceptible”….. Every lawsuit is frivilous, right? I am sure Bobby Rae feels that way too..
Aurelius
September 28th, 2011
1:11 pm
Of course the cost of health care is going up in the US. We have a for profit health care system. That means when the cost of an aspirin jumps from $80 each to $82 each, the insurance company pays a small part of the increase and the holders of the insurance policy pay a higher premium.
The only way to get health care cost under control is to have a single payer federal system. But we decided 46 years ago that we would not go down that road.
We made our decision and we are where we are. The cost for health care will continue to skyrocket.
Note on the chart that the costs were going up about $600+ a year. Then in 2002 through 2005 costs jumps up about $1000 a year. Then down to $600 again until 2011 when it jumps to $1300. Why the sudden jump? Obamacare?
Maybe, but that does not explain the $1000 a year jump in the 2002 – 2005 time period.
Again, our system is a for profit system. There is no mandate for health care being a “right”. There is no mandate for “life” being a right. When we get one, we will get the other. Until then, paygo.
mm
September 28th, 2011
1:14 pm
The righties act like only lefties sue doctors. But we all know what hypocrites they are.
Steve - USA
September 28th, 2011
1:15 pm
Nice graph by Jay. It would be interesting to see a graph for Education, Military, Legal Fee’s, Transportation and Food per capita.
Just wondering if our costs are higher for everything.
Peter
September 28th, 2011
1:17 pm
Health care is one of the was Republican’s are making sure the rich get richer and the poor and middle class go broke.
How many family’s in America go broke because the wage earner gets sick ?
Then how does the wage earner get a reasonable rate or even health insurance at all again ?
Thulsa Doom
September 28th, 2011
1:18 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 28th, 2011
1:05 pm
mm… why would anyone even think about suing a doctor who, let’s say, takes a lunch break in the middle of brain surgery or who amputates the wrong leg or a hospital staff member who kills your child when they give the wrong dose or meds
keep up,
You’re right. A doctor who amputates the wrong leg should in fact be sued. I’ve no problem with litigating claims where the patient has absolutely been harmed and should have redress. And of course you should have no problem with a loser pays system like in Britain to cut out the frivolous lawsuits right?
BlahBlahBlah
September 28th, 2011
1:19 pm
Based on that second graph, the USA’s costs appeared to double. Britain appeared to go from about 1,500 to about 3,500. On a percentage basis, that’s a faster rate of growth than the USA. Why would anyone hold that up as a good example?
Thulsa Doom
September 28th, 2011
1:21 pm
keep up @ 1:11,
I’m certain that you being the fine lawyer that you are would have no problem going to a loser pays legal system seeing as how you and the hordes of other lawyers are only pursuing obvious and blatant torts which can absolutely be proven right?
Tychus Findlay
September 28th, 2011
1:22 pm
@Thulsa doom
A loser-pays system would do wonders to end frivolous lawsuits in any industry.
Paul
September 28th, 2011
1:26 pm
Strawman
““Sure, I’d be glad to do so. Which metric would you care to use?”
Objective metrics, please. Did you think I wouldn’t know that the Commonwealth Fund is a liberal organization, led by Karen Davis? ” & etc etc etc
That sure was a long post without refuting any of Jay’s points or putting forth any of your own to challenge his.
Jay
September 28th, 2011
1:26 pm
Thulsa, if that were true then medical costs in Texas, with strict tort reform, should be 25-34 percent lower than in other states, correct? Utilization rates for those with medical insurance should also be a quarter to a third lower in Texas, correct?
And yet that isn’t true or even close to being true.
I’ll also note another study, this one published just yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. It found that 40 percent of physicians believe that OTHER physicians order unnecessary tests and procedures in order to pad their income.
Just 3 percent acknowledge that could have an impact on the way they themselves treat patients. I would argue that given human nature, it’s very tempting to blame others — i.e, those bad lawyers — when in fact the blame falls much closer to home.
getalife
September 28th, 2011
1:27 pm
Tort reform strips away the last accountability for corporate.
Ignorant to even discuss it.
Not going to happen.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
September 28th, 2011
1:27 pm
Doom, remove the other “protections” regarding filing, the confidential “board reviews”, the short notice periods of 1 year or less, liability for excessive delay of payments, change the standards of proof to be equivalent to other areas of law, and add in treble damages that cannot be reduced on appeal and we can start talking “reform” and create a level playing field and you may have something to start discussing.
Of course, you already know that truly frivilous lawsuits can include an award of attorney’s fees, I am sure. And since many of these suits are already taken on contingency, there is already a lot of limitation of purported “frivilous” claims.
Common Sense
September 28th, 2011
1:28 pm
Do you people really think there is no cost to hire more and more administrators to meet all the administrative requirements that are being implemented in health care? There is a very steep cost to compliance.
Add in all the additional testing to protect against lawsuits, the loss of time in pursuit of medical solutions as doctors must follow certain protocols even if they are ineffective and costly and you have your pretty rising graph.
Joe the Plutocrat
September 28th, 2011
1:30 pm
Ragnar, for one who draws his nomme de blog from a adolescent, Utopian romance novel; I expect better of you. there is no public sector/private sector at the healthcare level. and while I agree that in terms of skill, training and ’special operations DNA – field experience; Blackwater shooters are the equal of SEALs, Rangers, Army Special Forces; the fact that Pat Tilman died earning $25,000/year vs. the $150,000 – $250,000 per annum we the People pay Blackwater/DynCorp types kinda stinks in the same way the “privatize Social Security” stinks. seriously, plutocracies and the oligarchs who run them never heard of Taggart Industries or John Galt. again, you want to pine for a world of private enterprise, minimal government and survival of the fittest, have at it. bean counters are bean counters.
Joe Mama
September 28th, 2011
1:31 pm
G$ — “You obviously did not read what was cited in my post.”
You are incorrect. I read them. I just don’t *agree* with what you said about them.
“Thats fine, but odd you would take so much time to comment back to me but were unable to find the time to read the articles.”
I did read them. In one case, I had *already* read one of them.
I already read the This Is London piece, and I directly responded to the case in point, because *my* insurer is refusing to cover a covered procedure on the basis of cost. They don’t want to cover a surgical procedure to restore hearing in one of my ears because I *already* have one ear that works.
So your complaint about the UK system is just as applicable to our for-profit system here in the US.
The Patient Power Now blog you cited seems *extremely* political. And if you’re expecting me to be swayed simply by what some no-name blogger has to say, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Besides, Brian Schwartz (the guy posting that article for Patient Power Now merely rewrote and reposted someone else’s blog post for the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, but that guy didn’t even cite any evidence or present any statistics to support his claims. No facts and a political blogpost? Pardon me if I’m not persuaded, okay?
Finally, your last piece — a Townhall article? I’m sorry, but I don’t find Townhall credible or trustworthy. If you’d like to find something more objective (maybe something primary that cites some of the items Walter Williams referred to), then I’d be happy to engage you substantively.
USMC
September 28th, 2011
1:31 pm
Comrade Obama’s historic & irresponsible SPENDING soars at an unsustainable pace.
Joe the Plutocrat
September 28th, 2011
1:32 pm
Thomas, and did you see the list of other celebs who have taken Gadhaffi’s blood money (Usher, Miriah Carey). capitalism ain’t half bad if you’re a performer favored by a ruthless despot.
Peter
September 28th, 2011
1:33 pm
Unemployment is higher in Georgia now and growing…I guess the Republican’s really know what they are doing !
Of course they want to blame Obama…..because they don’t have a clue….cut taxes will be the answer !
Joe Mama
September 28th, 2011
1:33 pm
Doom — “Why do you make it sooo easy to give you a blog beatdown?”
For all your complaining about how mean *I* supposedly am on here, you could stand to look in the mirror yourself, pal.
Paul
September 28th, 2011
1:35 pm
How come it’s the old guys who served in the Army or Marines who speak as if they were brainwashed in a 1960’s era Chinese reeducation camp?
Jack
September 28th, 2011
1:36 pm
Health care is high because of certain docs padding their Medicaid claims. Health care is high because care is given to those who do not contribute to the system. And we are capable of responding, but Libs want me to pay for unwed mothers’ indiscretions. That ain’t right.
Strawman
September 28th, 2011
1:37 pm
“That sure was a long post without refuting any of Jay’s points or putting forth any of your own to challenge his.”
I’m not paid to write columns and I blog in spots at work. It is nigh impossible to be a polymath in this information age. My impression is that it’s hard to get objective facts about any major topic and you really need to spend some time digging. I haven’t left Jay’s post alone; I just don’t have time to challenge the validity of one or more of his point right now.
theyeshaveit
September 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
Out of, it appears, 45 industrialized nations, only one, yes only ONE country does NOT have national health care. Guess who?
AmVet
September 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
This is just another case where the profiteers in the “free market” (HA!) are incredibly inefficient and wasteful.
All the requisite facts and figures have been put out there – our ranking as 37th in the world on healthcare, 42% higher than in Switzerland.
14.9% of our GDP is spent on health care and the cost is growing rapidly. Japan spends 7.6% of its GDP, Australia 8.5%, Holland 8.6% and Canada 9.5%. By 2013, per capita health care spending in the U.S. is projected to increase to 18.4 percent of GDP.
Nearly a third of every health care dollar goes to paperwork, overhead, CEO salaries, profits, and other non-clinical costs.
We currently have over 1,500 different insurance plans, each with their own marketing, paperwork, enrollment, premiums, rules, and regulations, meaning our insurance system is both extremely complex and fragmented.
The Medicare program operates with just 3% overhead, compared to 15% to 25% overhead at a typical HMO.
Physicians in the U.S. face massive bureaucratic costs. The average office-based American doctor employs 1.5 clerical and managerial staff, spends 44% of gross income on overhead, and devotes 134 hours of his/her own time annually to billing. Canadian physicians employ 0.7 clerical/administrative staff, spend 34% of their gross income for overhead, and trivial amounts of time on billing (there’s a single half page form for all patients, or a simple electronic system).
Typical government estimates put the figure for billing fraud and abuse at 10 percent of annual spending, amounting to over $150 billion annually.
Everybody in, nobody out.
Single Payer Now!
Hank Rearden
September 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
Ragnar – myt i sujest a spel chekir for yoo? that way yer drivl myt sownd a litl betr. tank yoo.
Paul
September 28th, 2011
1:42 pm
Well, Strawman, when you attack the central premise of a column as ‘unsubstantiated’ a few of us are interested in hearing how.
Then when you then say it’s hard to get facts without spending time digging, it tends to put the original post in a rather…. unfactual light.
AmVet
September 28th, 2011
1:44 pm
Make that per capital costs here are 42% higher than in Switzerland.
All in all, an irrefutable travesty that no Republican in 60 years has had the guts to even try and fix…
Strawman
September 28th, 2011
1:44 pm
“I would argue that given human nature, it’s very tempting to blame others — i.e, those bad lawyers — when in fact the blame falls much closer to home.”
It’s not an either-or proposition (which is a logical fallacy). There are a number of factors contributing to the exponential increase in health care costs – defense insurance costs AND doctors profiting from ordering unnecessary procedures INCLUDED. These all need to be identified and weighted objectively as part of solving the problem.
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2011
1:44 pm
Comrade Obama’s historic & irresponsible SPENDING
Hi, USMC! So, have you gathered up specifics on all those out-of-the-mainstream positions taken by Jay, that you were complaining about earlier this morning?
Remember, in order to be considered “out of the mainstream,” I’m just looking for a position he’s taken that doesn’t enjoy at least 33% support in public polling. So what have you got for me?
theyeshaveit
September 28th, 2011
1:45 pm
Paul,
I was in the Air Force during the time. I worked in the same place with the Navy and Army. The Marines just guarded the place. The jar heads were not, apparently, asked to do much thinking back then.
Strawman
September 28th, 2011
1:45 pm
“All in all, an irrefutable travesty that no Republican in 60 years has had the guts to even try and fix…”
How do you “refute” a “travesty”?
Soothsayer
September 28th, 2011
1:46 pm
I just got off the phone with Wily Cheatham over at Cheatham, Cumming, & Goen — my attorneys. He says he talked it over with Coy Cumming and Sly Goen and he can assure me that they have never given any contributions to any Democrats whatsoever. I believe him.
slim whitman
September 28th, 2011
1:47 pm
If all bagger’s and con politicos would opt-out of federal/state/medicare/medicaid coverage, I’d join their club.
Citizen of the World
September 28th, 2011
1:48 pm
(ir)Rational at 11:41 says: If there was the option to opt out of paying for fire service or opting in (like the small town in TN that got in the news a year or two back), I wouldn’t be foolish/naive enough to not pay for it and then expect them to come out and take care of my house anyway.
But (ir)Rational, what if you couldn’t afford to pay for fire service because it is prohibitively expensive due to the fact that so few other people were willing/able to help pay for it? When the cost is spread around, everybody is served by it and it is less per person. That’s why fire protection is handled through taxes.
That’s why medical care should be handled through taxes. The cost would be spread around, everybody would be served and it would cost less per person — hey, just like in the charts Jay provided!
out of the blue
September 28th, 2011
1:50 pm
Well, I’m for bartering for health care. Like in the good old days when a chicken could be bartered
for some decent health care. Oh, wait didn’t that daffy person who ran against Harry Reid already come up with that nifty idea?
AmVet
September 28th, 2011
1:50 pm
Strawman.
Are you clear on what the definition of irrefutable is?
More to the point, that is your only comment on the facts. figures, evidence and data I’ve provided?
Nothing germane?
Nothing of substance?
Hmmm…
wilbur
September 28th, 2011
1:54 pm
Where’s the uproar over the Prez indoctrinating the children?
Libertarian
September 28th, 2011
1:54 pm
Joe Mama
I didn’t say lawsuits shouldn’t be allowed. You jumped to that conclusion my friend. I said “ridiculous” ones shouldn’t. For instance, those that are frivolous and those that seek ungodly amounts of money.
Joe the Plutocrat
Here we go again with this handle crap. Now libertarians aren’t allowed to blame? Interesting.
The Joe’s are always on my case.
theyeshaveit
September 28th, 2011
1:55 pm
Citizen,
There was a report on the tube about a year or two ago which highlighted the fact that several Americans were going to Thailand to have surgery or get treatment for serious ailments. The care in Thai hospitals was excellent, but that is not the reason they traveled to Thailand. Even after adding the cost of airfare, it was less excellent to get the care in Thailand. And I know several Japanese who work in the US, but fly home to get care in their country when necessary. Now, to be fair, I know one Japanese couple that has praised the quality of prenatal and postnatal care they experienced in a US hospital. But it costs much more to get that level of care here in the US.
theyeshaveit
September 28th, 2011
1:56 pm
wilbur? Knock knock…
Kamchak
September 28th, 2011
1:57 pm
Are we so handcuffed by jingoism and inertia — an inertia compounded by those who profit quite nicely from the current system, and want no change — that we are incapable of responding?
I think it’s not so much of being incapable of responding as it is with contending with Republican wordsmith and spinmeister extraordinaire Frank Luntz’ all out linguistic blitz about the language of the health care debate.
But I do like what divinity student Dave Woessner said about Wall Street: “When you idealize financial markets as salvific you embrace the idea that profit is all that matters.”
theyeshaveit
September 28th, 2011
1:57 pm
Citizen,
Oops. Correction. Not “less excellent” but rather “less expensive”.
Bosch
September 28th, 2011
2:02 pm
“That’s why medical care should be handled through taxes. The cost would be spread around, everybody would be served and it would cost less per person — hey, just like in the charts Jay provided!”
Yeap, it ain’t rocket science folks.
Talking Head
September 28th, 2011
2:02 pm
healthcare cost shifting = shell game
Strawman
September 28th, 2011
2:03 pm
“Are you clear on what the definition of irrefutable is?”
Quite clear. In common parlance, certain words are not used together in an expression (except possibly by poets and the like). You won’t find people speaking of refuting travesties in published works, but only here and there in a few posts on blogs.
As for the other questions, I didn’t even see your original post. The expression in your response simply caught my eye.
Zedd
September 28th, 2011
2:06 pm
Yep, and there’s nothing to ensure that the trend won’t continue even with implementation of the liberal hailed Obamacare. They went about it all wrong! If the government wanted to get involved, why didn’t they regulate the cost of insurance plans and cost of medical services? I’m all for allowing people to get insured despite any pre-conditions, but it does nothing to help those same people afford the absurdly high premiums they’ll have to pay. Oh government subsidies right? It’ll only cost you full disclosure of your bank accounts to the Imperial Federal Government and your signature in blood! Then they own your soul for life! LOL
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2011
2:07 pm
Where’s the uproar over the Prez indoctrinating the children?
dunno. where was the uproar over the previous Pres doing similar “indoctrination”?
Bosch
September 28th, 2011
2:08 pm
“Spoken like a true communist…”
Says the guy who uses billboards as resource for real estate market analysis.
jt
September 28th, 2011
2:08 pm
Even the easily fooled who believe that American history started with the “New Deal” ………should listen to the good doctor——————-Before Medicare,people paid with cash—————————–asking government to solve a problem that government created is insane———————-
.
“While many in Congress are happy to criticize HMOs today, the public never hears how the present system was imposed upon the American people by federal law. As usual, government intervention in the private market failed to deliver the promised benefits and caused unintended consequences, but Congress never blames itself for the problems created by bad laws. Instead, we are told more government — in the form of “universal coverage” — is the answer. But government already is involved in roughly two-thirds of all health care spending, through Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs.
For decades, the U.S. healthcare system was the envy of the entire world. Not coincidentally, there was far less government involvement in medicine during this time. America had the finest doctors and hospitals, patients enjoyed high-quality, affordable medical care, and thousands of private charities provided health services for the poor. Doctors focused on treating patients, without the red tape and threat of lawsuits that plague the profession today. Most Americans paid cash for basic services, and had insurance only for major illnesses and accidents. This meant both doctors and patients had an incentive to keep costs down, as the patient was directly responsible for payment, rather than an HMO or government program.
The lesson is clear: when government and other third parties get involved, health care costs spiral. The answer is not a system of outright socialized medicine, but rather a system that encourages everyone — doctors, hospitals, patients, and drug companies — to keep costs down. As long as “somebody else” is paying the bill, the bill will be too high. ”
.
Ron Paul
The RP army is growing…………..let the knee-shaking begin.
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2011
2:08 pm
the liberal hailed Obamacare
oh, yeah. True-blue progressives have thought from the git-go that the ACA was everything they ever hoped for and more!
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2011
2:08 pm
The RP army is growing…
A bit older, smellier and more pathetic every day, yep.
Joe COOL
September 28th, 2011
2:08 pm
“Where’s the uproar over the Prez indoctrinating the children?”
its coming…..
St Simons - we're on Island time
September 28th, 2011
2:09 pm
And here we are to That Question again.
The question ‘Murka has to answer before we can go forward.
Are We All in This Together, or
is it Every Man For Himself?
On de Island, we already know de answer, mon
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2011
2:09 pm
uses billboards as resource for real estate market analysis.
bosch, can you refresh my fuzzy memory, here?
Steve - USA
September 28th, 2011
2:10 pm
Blah@1:22
Good point.
Mighty Righty
September 28th, 2011
2:12 pm
I wonder what our litigious tort system adds to the cost of our health care. I wonder how malpractice insurance compares to other countries. I wonder what having 20 million uninsured illegal immigrants does to our health care cost. I wonder what having 19% of our workforce unemployed adds. I wonder why Canadians who have “better health care and shorter waiting times” would come here and pay US doctors for treatment they can receive in Canada for free. Same with Brits and Germans. Weird. I wonder how many illegal immigrants live in Sweden. So many qustions. Seems to me, without answers to these and I am sure others any discussion of our healthcare cost is a futile exercise virtually without meaning.
Bosch
September 28th, 2011
2:13 pm
Sure stands, a while back RB was making the case that the housing market was not in crisis because of the billboard he saw on the interstate where it had the number of houses for sale, and that number had gone down, so therefore, no crisis. I have the exact quote if you would like to see it.
ODD OWL
September 28th, 2011
2:14 pm
OBAMACARE IS BEGINNING TO LOOK BETTER AND BETTER… The only way President Obama can rein in this exploding health care cost is by adding a public option to Obamacare. The best option is to have a single payer. The best single payer is the Federal Government. National health insurance must be an entitlement program just like social security.
Bosch
September 28th, 2011
2:14 pm
Oh stands, forgot — also in that same post he wrote how the media was just talking us into a recession.
Talking Head
September 28th, 2011
2:15 pm
Alito, Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Kennedy…game over
Joe the Plutocrat
September 28th, 2011
2:17 pm
Libertatian (you are a LINO), EAXCTLY, libertarians are NOT allowed to blame. libertarians live lives of personal choice/responsibility, which is why they oppose foreign wars of imperialism, and why they could care less if soldiders are gay, or if gay people want to get married. to your point, if you are “paying more” for healthcare because you are footing the bill for illegal immigrants and the uninsured, you really need to allow the free market to determine what you pay by negotiating exclusive deals with your insurance company and or healthcare provider. again, if you are foolish enough to pick up the tab for “moochers” and “non-producers” (and gullible to engage in business dealings with companies/individuals who expect you to pay for others; YOU are to blame.
St Simons - we're on Island time
September 28th, 2011
2:17 pm
and Obama’s flouridation of the water, too, don’t forget that.
jm
September 28th, 2011
2:17 pm
I know it’s late. But let’s get this out of the way for liberals: Raise the taxes on the rich and that will fix the problem!
Joe Mama
September 28th, 2011
2:21 pm
Libertarian — “I didn’t say lawsuits shouldn’t be allowed.”
And I didn’t claim that you did.
“You jumped to that conclusion my friend.”
Looks like *you* are the one jumping to a conclusion, my friend.
“I said “ridiculous” ones shouldn’t. For instance, those that are frivolous”
Courts are already able to throw out frivolous lawsuits, and I have confidence that our judges are smart enough to figure out when they’re dealing with one. I also have confidence that jurors are wise enough to figure out if they’re being snowed by a greedy plaintiff or dealing with an honest-to-goodness case off Doctor F**kup Strikes Again.
Plus, if juries are competent to decide death penalty cases, then they ought to be competent to make a decision over a measly couple million dollars in actual and punitive damages, don’t you think?
“and those that seek ungodly amounts of money.”
If an OB-GYN screws up delivering a kid and the kid winds up needing 24-hour care for the rest of her life, how much of a settlement is “ungodly” in a case like that? I agree that *punitive* damages might be something that could be capped (if and only if physicians stood to lose their licenses for repeated instances of malpractice), but not *actual* damages. Actual damages seek to redress the problems *directly* caused by the doctor’s action or inaction.
Good little liberal
September 28th, 2011
2:21 pm
Maybe the other countries don’t have malpractice lawyers making our laws.
stands for decibels
September 28th, 2011
2:24 pm
the housing market was not in crisis because of the billboard he saw on the interstate where it had the number of houses for sale
Hey, at least he had an actual source!
Steve - USA
September 28th, 2011
2:25 pm
No one has touched Blah’s point that Britain’s costs are rising at a faster rate than ours.
Good little liberal
September 28th, 2011
2:26 pm
St Simons – we’re on Island time
“On de Island, we already know de answer, mon”
Still pretending that you are on a real island. LOL!! Any island that you can drive to is not exactly Jamaica.
Mick
September 28th, 2011
2:28 pm
Funny how health care costs really took off after the 2000 election? Another irony is that when I was younger I had great health care coverage but never had to use because of my fantastic health. Now that I’m older, it’s outrageously expensive even if you have coverage. Thank god for my great health…
Mighty Righty
September 28th, 2011
2:28 pm
ODD OWL
September 28th, 2011
2:14 pm
We all know how the federal govearnment is always the most efficient alternative. Ha, ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,. My stomach hurts.
Talking Head
September 28th, 2011
2:30 pm
i want to know how big of a let down obama is to all you who were engulfed by his mysticism in the 2008 campaign, the hysteria and hype around that guy was unbelievable. and now he has none of that star power, just curious…
Paul
September 28th, 2011
2:30 pm
Steve
“No one has touched Blah’s point that Britain’s costs are rising at a faster rate than ours.”
And they’ve got a lonnnnnnnnng way to go before they ever come close to ours, eh?
Mick
September 28th, 2011
2:31 pm
mighty
I had the best health care in the world when I was in the service, dental included, that would be the federal gov’t in charge…
Good little liberal
September 28th, 2011
2:34 pm
Mick
The A.I.D.S. epidemic changed everything. It was the first major contagion where if a person had it, even his own doctor could not know unless the patient said OK. This caused the medical field to need to treat every single case as a potential source of an outbreak, forcing costs to explode.
I’m not saying whether that was good or bad, but it is a fact.
Mick
September 28th, 2011
2:34 pm
talking head
Most of us never bought into that p.r. but he was clearly the better candidate than the other guy. He walked into a massive mess, those who created it are clamoring that he fix it – right now or be stained with it. He is head and shoulders above anyone the repubs have to offer…
Bosch
September 28th, 2011
2:34 pm
stands,
Yeah true, which is not his usual.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
People — two things, first, government spending does not equal socialism, and two, in a single payer system, the government only PAYS, the workers are not government employees.
It is important to remember that.