<p>Not sure how many of you saw this on 60 minutes last night. Hundreds and hundreds of solid hard working folks waiting for hours in line for basic healthcare services. Some traveling hundreds of miles.
This is an amazing organization of volunteers…originally formed to help third world countries. They ended up turning their attention to the US to help the millions of needy un-insured and under-insured. I teared up watching this…</p>
<p>Thanks NYMom…I see now that you posted it too! It’s nice to see that I wasn’t the only one with that reaction. So sad.
I can’t believe the group is run by that handsome guy who used to show up on Wild Kingdom. Yeah, he’s a little strange, but who cares? He’s to be admired. My h told me to look those guys up and donate to the cause. And I will.</p>
<p>We mailed a donation this morning…very impressed by the operation. We sent instructions to keep us off of any mailing lists…we shall see…that is the kiss of death for our interest in any organization.</p>
<p>As I purchased S personal health insurance (graduated and theoretically an independent contractor) I am amazed why there are so many options. I was in the insurance office and an elderally couple came in and wanted to revise their plan to a higher (cheaper plan) deductible (basic), because they could no longer afford the standard program. </p>
<p>The idea for insurance is to share in the monetary risk of a hazard. But if the insurance is insufficient to cover that hazard, the insurance premium is essentially wasted, the insured left destitute, and no longer able to afford any insurance. Welfare now takes over at the cost to the taxpayer.</p>
<p>That’s why the current health care system is considered a 911 emergency by many Americans, and a central campaign issue for the Democrats. Things have gotten so bad that for the first time, people in this country really are ready to consider “socialized medicine” as an alternative to the current disaster.</p>
<p>We already have “socialized” medicine. Medicare. Imagine if our post-65 folks didn’t have coverage. Why not extend this concept to others in need? I don’t hear anyone blasting Medicare.</p>
<p>You mean other than the fact that it is rampant with fraud and abuse and that it is going bankrupt? Oh, and also that doctors are pulling out of it? Sounds like a great model for our entire country to use.</p>
<p>yeah, Medicare does have funding and management problems (who’s been in office for the last 8 years?) But it serves it’s purpose. I can’t imagine what my 90 year old MIL would do without it. That true for Social Security too…
So do some folks think we should just pull it and let everyone fend for themselves? The lines at RAM will be even longer and filled with wheelchairs and walkers…</p>
<p>“yeah, Medicare does have funding and management problems (who’s been in office for the last 8 years?) But it serves it’s purpose. I can’t imagine what my 90 year old MIL would do without it. That true for Social Security too…
So do some folks think we should just pull it and let everyone fend for themselves? The lines at RAM will be even longer and filled with wheelchairs and walkers…”</p>
<p>The problems with Medicare go back for decades and have nothing to do with who sits in the oval office - they are representative of any largescale government bureaucracy. Hence, imagine the potential nightmare if we made it even bigger.</p>
<p>One thing I took away from the 60 Minutes broadcast was the distance the people had to travel to get this care. What happened to Public Health? Why can’t the US offer repayment of med school/nursing school/dental school loans in exchange for public service in the rural areas?</p>
<p>I think the issue of distance was not because of lack of medical care in their own communities but the fact that the Knoxville clinic was free. However, I think your suggestion of loan repayments in exchange for public service would be a good one to consider (although, I wonder how many doctors would pass up a lucrative practice in a metro area to work “on the cheap” in a rural area.)</p>
<p>Happy, the reason why I put socialize medicine in quotations is because, for years the most vocal critics of a national health plan have used the “socialism” scare tactic (Socialism, being one half step away from Communism :eek:) to close down all discussion on the issue. But a growing percentage of the American population now refuses to be scared of the idea of a national health plan, because the current system is obviously irrevocably broken. Desperation drives the current debate.</p>
<p>“One thing I took away from the 60 Minutes broadcast was the distance the people had to travel to get this care. What happened to Public Health? Why can’t the US offer repayment of med school/nursing school/dental school loans in exchange for public service in the rural areas?”</p>
<p>Already exists. </p>
<p>Many of the folks who came to the clinic HAD INSURANCE, but still couldn’t afford the care, or eyes or teeth had high deductibles, or they had pre-existing conditions.</p>
<p>Reagan defunded the delivery of personal care services through public health in the '80s, with the exception of a smallish number of community and migrant health centers. I actually think that, coupled with universal coverage, that would have been a good move - no need to have a two-tier health system. But for many people and communities, it was nothing short of disastrous.</p>
<p>I have not read all posts so someone may have mentioned this. What I found so disheartening was that this organization was originally set up to help people in developing countries and now need to provide services to the so called richest country in the history of the world.</p>
<p>And mini is correct, most folks showing up for the days of this broadcast did not qualify for public health assistance. Most were working poor who had inadequate health insurance or could not afford co-pays. </p>
<p>And this does not even address eye and dental care, areas that even more employers fail to cover. Many people showed up for these medical services, and they are medical services in almost any other country.</p>
<p>Medicare won’t exist, it’ll be bankrupt, in another decade if things go as they are. We need to double the Medicare tax or expect providers to start pulling out of it in big numbers. They also need to speed up payment. No one can afford to wait 3 months for payment. Medicare is already collapsing. There is so much red tape dealing with Medicare. Some of their policies are actually contrary to what FDA has approved medications for.</p>