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‘Left, Right & Center’: Health Care Gets Critical

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Posted on Jul 24, 2009
Left, Right & Center
kcrw.com

So we won’t have a solution to the health care conundrum before summer’s end—and maybe not before the end of 2009, either—but for millions of Americans, this issue is a top priority. Who’s going to pay? Bob Scheer, Matt Miller and Tony Blankley cast their votes on this week’s show.

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By cat, July 29 at 3:56 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

If our Government messes up our healthcare opportune or give us a plan that is not in our best interest. You can best believe come Election Day they will regret their mis loyalty. The Republicans and the Blue dogs are trying to sabotage any social health care plan. They do this because they are in the pocket of the rich. But we the American people can make the suffer for going against us Come Election Day choose a leader that has Americans best interest @ heart. Get rid of these republicans, Vote for the best independent candidate out there LET US BRING THE WHOLE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP DOWN OFF THEIR PLATFORM

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By Bud, July 28 at 2:45 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I only have two questions.Number 1,why are members of congress.and their families entitled to healthcare at taxpayer expense.Number 2,how can we the taxpayer deny them these benefits?Does ANYONE have an answer to these questions?As far as John Kerrys position on healthcare,I am absolutely appalled!!Appalled at his position on this,and appalled that I,and seven other members of my family voted for him for president.What a JERK!!!

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By cat, July 27 at 2:23 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

And I say Barack Obama TEAR DOWN THESE WALLS give Health care to everyone, we are all the children of God and we all inherit the earth.  We work hard yet we are not able to afford this capitalist Health Care System. Please pass a plan that can be inserted into the Health Care system and let the people chose from in amongst the 100s of other health care plans we already have. Let it be as it should a plan where the 40 million or more without health care can now purchase @ an affordable price and be insure. Let it be a non-profit system that does not discriminate against anyone, Let no ones politics come between the people and this system. And do this as an inheritance to our children. That each of them will die w/ dignity knowing that value of being. How? Can you my brethren put a price on life to deny the next generation equality? There will be no more war now is the time to concentrate on the living. I grew up on Army bases and patronizing non-profit facilities that were available to me. A NON-PROFIT Health care system will work and should be inserted as a option to all people, Can you image the burden it will lift from the backs of the small business mans shoulders. Finally a plan that will stop keeping wages stagnant and expenses absorbent. Yes I prefer Government run that way I know there is accountability because if not we the people can elect to remove those in question. That is not so with the capitalist system we have now. 
I am the True Conservative not one of these phony’s that are visible from the platform of our politics today

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By Non-Compassionate Liberal, July 27 at 3:34 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Let me mirror (from my own personal experience) what Bernie Sanders said about the VA: The best example of “socialized medicine” is the VA healthcare system (that, unlike Medicare and Medicaid, actually NEGOTIATE for the lowest drug prices from the Pharma companies). In the overall United States the bottom list price for a liver transplant is a quarter-million dollars. At the VA your price is $00.00—priceless. The VA is a prime example where the government gets it right, i.e., is better at it than the for-profit, big business model.
I’m a Viet Nam era veteran who got a liver transplant at the Pittsburgh VA and continues out-patient treatment at the home VA here in Philadelphia, PA. I’m sure that if I had private health insurance and was told I needed a liver transplant I’d have heard something like “Well, you unfortunate terminal case—a quarter-mil?—it looks like you ain’t gonna make it!” A month’s supply of meds from the VA for non-combat related problems and, by the way, that’s ANY and ALL meds, costs $8.00!
I always thought that if I became a trillionaire and therefore ineligible for the VA program, I’d pay to keep them or build their hospital a new wing—call it “bribery”—to stay in the system; they know me, I know them, and all my records are digitized throughout the system.
The VA facilities I cite are clean, accessible and the medical personnel and staff (who aren’t bound by a “profit motive”) are dedicated, pleasant and professional.
The rest of America’s citizens should be so lucky.

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By cat, July 26 at 12:31 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

This is not about the Republicans or the Democrats this is not about what color you are and how much money you have it is not about whose right and whose wrong.
THIS IS ABOUT YOU AMERICANS “NOT AMERICA” BUT AMERICANS, for we are America, Health care for all is essential for Americans from all faucets of life.
We elected Barack Obama because we knew that he is the man of the people and being as such a man we could trust him to bring about the changes needed to even out the playing field to Health Care, This may be our only chance do not let it slip from our fingers, Stand as one that we may drown out the opposition. call your representatives and demand they pass the health care bill in congress and in the senate so that it may reach the Presidents desk, Already Barack Obama has told us that he will not allow this bill to contain a tax on us making under 500,000.00 it will not be mandatory it will be just an option like another health care plan that will cover the Americans that the capitalistic health care wont cover. You have your options of Aetna, Blue cross and Blue Shield, Providian, and so many others. What Americans want is just to add one more option that is a social option that if you can not afford the high price of insurance you can join if you have a pre-existing condition and the capitalistic system will not insure you this option will, because every American deserves insurance. And it should not matter what your income level. Remember our past presidents George W.Bush , Clinton, Bush, Ronald Regan they were all for big business and the decisions they made helped big business to gain control of every Americans pockets / pocket books. This is the only President who stands for the betterment of the people and he will break the grip that big business has on our pockets. Now we must trust him to do that, we trusted him enough to elect him our President, believe me there will not be another people’s president who will be strong enough to turn control back over to us the American People. So in this case TRULY beware of the NAY Sayers, their agenda is to trick us into giving up on the only opportunity we will have to receive fair treatment for all Americans.

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By Fat Freddy, July 26 at 9:07 am #

And greed and corruption are just what we have now under our private insurance companies system.  There is no way to augment, or modify the current dysfunctional, profit based, system.

I disagree. Yes, I believe that the current system is dysfunctional, but it is in no way a “free market” system. Government regulation and interference has created the employer based system we currently have. The greed an corruption you speak of is caused by a lack true free market competition. Big insurance companies lobby the government, to enact regulations, to squeeze out the smaller, more competitive companies.

Any government plan enacted, will most likely not be a government run plan. It will most likely be a “privatized” plan, that will be administered by a few, select group of health insurance companies, who will receive huge subsidies, for implementing and managing the plan. This will result in even bigger profits for the big insurance companies, and squeeze out more of the smaller, competitive companies. This is Corporatism.

But with an industry as important to the well being of people as health care, this “Corporatization” of health insurance might not necessarily be a bad thing. But when you combine that with the ability that businesses have, in general, to influence the government through lobbying and campaign donations, then there is a potential for disaster (at the very least, in terms of cost).

Personally, I would rather see the government headed in the opposite direction. And that is, towards a true free market system of insurance. They should be promoting competition, not eliminating it. Or, they should eliminate the current campaign finance system currently in place.

The Framers would have served us well, had they constructed a brick wall between government and business, similar to the one that exists between government and religion.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1094/is_n2_v28/ai_13834930/?tag=content;col1

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By bogi666, July 26 at 8:43 am #

The Republicans solution to health care IS EAT POO AND DIE AMERICANS NO HEALTH CARE IS BETTER than any/all public options even if it works, Medicare, to the taxpayers benefit.These detractors enjoy the dreaded “socialized” medicine and by voting aid to Israel, $500 for each Israeli, enables Israeli’s to enjoy socialized medicine which INCLUDES CHOCOLATE MASSAGES, if desired, compliments of the American taxpayers.

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By FreeWill, July 25 at 2:52 pm #

Mr Miller,
Having live under the Canadian system of Single Payer Health I can tell you that you are misinformed with your bias to a “mixed” system.  My experiences were all very good with the Canadian system.  Care was prompt, more than adequate, knowledgeable and of course free to all.  The only problem with the system came as a result of diverting the revenue of the specific tax into “general” revenues.  When this was done it opened the door for corrupt politicians to raid the funding and leave the health care system struggling.  Again it was greed and corruption that were the problem.  And greed and corruption are just what we have now under our private insurance companies system.  There is no way to augment, or modify the current dysfunctional, profit based, system.  The Not for profit solution is the only economically viable option.  Doesn’t the Constitution’s preamble require that adequate health care be a mandate of government?
““We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” ?

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