Health Care Debate - Junction City, KS

We are a country of free enterprize not capitalism.

The REAL way to HELP the citizens with health care is to limit the fees that CAN be charged...(no more $15 Aspirin or $5000 for 10 minutes in the CAT scanner)

Limit the cost of malpractice insurance to drive down medical costs.

Let us have the insurance WE want.

But wait, that's not what this is really about...it's about the Democrats grabbing for more big government control.

I don't want my health care being run with the efficiency of the Post office.

In my opinion, health care is NOT our nation's most pressing problem right now...but it will only add to what is...DEBT!!!

Allow citizens to purchase their insurance across state lines. Encourage free market competition.

Tort reform, make people who say pay fees if they lose their case to reduce frivolous lawsuits.

Regulate the insurance carriers, make laws prohibiting them from taking advantage of thier customers.

Devise a compromise program for the 3 million or so people who want and need insurance but havent been able to get it. There are not 40+million uninsured in America. The government is including illegals and people who simply choose not to carry health insurance in their estimate of uninsured to make it seem like a massive group of sad individuals who want insurance but are denied or too poor to get it.

No government run health care!

There are so many great ideas to make the healthcare system better. We have the best healthcare in the world. It upsets me that our elected officials don't listen or when they do, they listen to the minority instead of the majority. I wish they would wake up and listen to the people that gave them their job. I don't care about party lines anymore. I just want to see a bright, less debit future for our future generations. I don't want the legacy of our country being owned by foreign countries.

How can furthering our debt and increasing government involvement in our lives add up to being a good thing????

I was at the VA hospital in Kansas City seeing a friend, It was so sad to see the condition of that hospital and how unprofessional the staff was. I thought if this is how our government takes care of our veterans who deserve so much more, it made me wonder if this is what we would have to look forward to in government controlled healthcare.

Guy wrote:

The REAL way to HELP the citizens with health care is to limit the fees that CAN be charged...(no more $15 Aspirin or $5000 for 10 minutes in the CAT scanner)
Limit the cost of malpractice insurance to drive down medical costs.
Let us have the insurance WE want.
But wait, that's not what this is really about...it's about the Democrats grabbing for more big government control.
I don't want my health care being run with the efficiency of the Post office.

Wow, I was really agreeing with your post until the last sentence. The Postal Service is NOT subsidized by tax dollars. In lamen terms, YOURS and MY tax dollars DO NOT support the Postal Service. It is a business like any other, depends on its own revenue to survive, and is subjected to the free market. It is Not run by the government. The only aspect that the government controls is the price of a stamp, which, I may add, is the cheapest in the entire world. The Postal Service's economic downturn is due to more people are using the internet rather than using first class mail.
Even the president doen't know this. Blows my mind he doesn't even know what his own government runs and how he knew NOTHING about the ACORN drama.

LSS wrote:

<quoted text>
Wow, I was really agreeing with your post until the last sentence. The Postal Service is NOT subsidized by tax dollars. In lamen terms, YOURS and MY tax dollars DO NOT support the Postal Service. It is a business like any other, depends on its own revenue to survive, and is subjected to the free market. It is Not run by the government. The only aspect that the government controls is the price of a stamp, which, I may add, is the cheapest in the entire world. The Postal Service's economic downturn is due to more people are using the internet rather than using first class mail.
Even the president doen't know this. Blows my mind he doesn't even know what his own government runs and how he knew NOTHING about the ACORN drama.

I know the Post Office gets no tax revenues. I was commenting on their efficiency.

Whenever you go to the post office there is NO sense of urgency, they are minimally staffed, they move along at a snails pace and they consistently raise operating costs while giving less services.

Didn't the Post Master General just try to cut Saturday deliveries because they can't make ends meet?

I don't want my Health Care run by a bunch of Bureaucrats that think similar to the post office.

Guy wrote:

<quoted text>
I know the Post Office gets no tax revenues. I was commenting on their efficiency.
Whenever you go to the post office there is NO sense of urgency, they are minimally staffed, they move along at a snails pace and they consistently raise operating costs while giving less services.
Didn't the Post Master General just try to cut Saturday deliveries because they can't make ends meet?
I don't want my Health Care run by a bunch of Bureaucrats that think similar to the post office.

Then ALL companies that are failing in this economy downtrend should be included in the conversation. The point is that the Postal Service is widely viewed as a government run entity, which it is not, and, that if the government is failing to run the Postal Service, why trust them to run Health Care.

The way I see it, if people can't afford healthcare, they get sick. If people get sick, then they can't work. If they can't work, then the can't make money. Without money, they can't afford healthcare.

If we've got a country full of sick, broke, miserable people walking around then this will cease to be a nation of free enterprise and turn into a nation of no enterprise.

If we don't curb the trend of rising healthcare costs then this country is in big trouble - bigger trouble than it's in already.

LSS wrote:

<quoted text>
Then ALL companies that are failing in this economy downtrend should be included in the conversation. The point is that the Postal Service is widely viewed as a government run entity, which it is not, and, that if the government is failing to run the Postal Service, why trust them to run Health Care.

I think your point is correct, but moot.

I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the personal care and compassion of the Veterans Administration.

I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the efficiency and friendliness of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the clarity and customer relations of the Internal Revenue Service.

I don't want a Health Care System like Great Briton, Canada, Mexico or any of the others that FLOCK to the United States to get Health Care.

I don't want to be FORCED into selecting some "Government Option" because the Government is creating the rules to both GOVERN and COMPETE with private insurers.

I don't trust our government to provide for the WILL OF THE PEOPLE as a NATION.

What in the HELL makes you think that the government will give a damn about MY will as a PATIENT?

Moot Point wrote:

<quoted text>
I think your point is correct, but moot.
I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the personal care and compassion of the Veterans Administration.
I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the efficiency and friendliness of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the clarity and customer relations of the Internal Revenue Service.
I don't want a Health Care System like Great Briton, Canada, Mexico or any of the others that FLOCK to the United States to get Health Care.
I don't want to be FORCED into selecting some "Government Option" because the Government is creating the rules to both GOVERN and COMPETE with private insurers.
I don't trust our government to provide for the WILL OF THE PEOPLE as a NATION.
What in the HELL makes you think that the government will give a damn about MY will as a PATIENT?

The point is that if you are going to debate a subject, have your facts straight.

LSS wrote:

<quoted text>
The point is that if you are going to debate a subject, have your facts straight.

My goodness.

What a nasty little side-stepping, point-missing person you are.

Life must be boring down there in Arkansas.

Go brush your tooth.

Debt, debt, debt, debt, debt, debt,debt, debt, debt, debt, debt,debt, debt, debt, debt, debt,debt, debt, debt, debt, debt...have i said it enough yet? Thats all I hear out of peoples mouth! How if the current administration passes a Heath Care Bill, how much more in debt we will be. Blah, blah, blah. How about we send all of our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan! How about we stop rebuilding Iraq? Do you even realize how much money we could apply to our national debt in one year just by doing that? I cant wait to hear from the far right (extremists) on why we should not pull our troops out and how wrong it would be and how it is making America safer, blah, blah, blah!

We have debt, but no one wants to pay for it. Everyone wants to cut taxes, cut programs, cut jobs and keep spending billions and billions every month on two countries that could give a shit about America. Wow, how I wish I could think like a Republican and be so smart (NOT)!

Please speak for your post office not mine. Where I live the USPS is a model of efficiency. The lines, short or long move relatively quickly. There are 4, 5 or 6 stations open depending on customers. If you don't want to stand in wait for an agent you can use the fully automated stations for letters or packages. The agents are professional, courteous and personable. Why do so many people act as if "The Government" is like some foreign entity descended from outer space, when in reality that government worker is your father, mother, brother, sister, friend, neighbor etc. etc. Could it be there is another motive for constantly disparaging American government workers?

Guy wrote:

<quoted text>
I know the Post Office gets no tax revenues. I was commenting on their efficiency.
Whenever you go to the post office there is NO sense of urgency, they are minimally staffed, they move along at a snails pace and they consistently raise operating costs while giving less services.
Didn't the Post Master General just try to cut Saturday deliveries because they can't make ends meet?
I don't want my Health Care run by a bunch of Bureaucrats that think similar to the post office.

Dan List wrote:

Debt, debt, debt, debt, debt, debt,debt, debt, debt, debt, debt,debt, debt, debt, debt, debt,debt, debt, debt, debt, debt...have i said it enough yet? Thats all I hear out of peoples mouth! How if the current administration passes a Heath Care Bill, how much more in debt we will be. Blah, blah, blah. How about we send all of our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan! How about we stop rebuilding Iraq? Do you even realize how much money we could apply to our national debt in one year just by doing that? I cant wait to hear from the far right (extremists) on why we should not pull our troops out and how wrong it would be and how it is making America safer, blah, blah, blah!
We have debt, but no one wants to pay for it. Everyone wants to cut taxes, cut programs, cut jobs and keep spending billions and billions every month on two countries that could give a shit about America. Wow, how I wish I could think like a Republican and be so smart (NOT)!

Feel better now that you've had your pointless, off-topic rant?

OK I accept your experience as true. However, according to researchers from Universities, and other research entities the VA as a whole is head and shoulders above private for profit hospital systems. Here are some of the features of the VA system as reported by U.S. News and World Report a few years ago. They have lower infection rates, they have higher vaccination rates for some illnesses related to seniors; consequently they are estimated to save 6,000 lives annually; they have dramatically decreased medical errors because medical records are automated, surgeons must follow a 5 point checklist before cutting, and drugs are ordered and prescribed by computers at bedside. You can read the rest by goggling the magazine and VA report. The veteran population expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the VA system. My experience with the VA hospital in FL where my daughter's fatherinlaw and motherinlaw are treated is the exact opposite of yours. They are very satisfied with the facility, the doctors and the staff. Having said this no system or organization and its people are perfect. There are always improvements to be made. Your post implied there is something inherently wrong with the VA system, yet you did not compare it to our private system, or did you? For example, is there a reason you ignored the many reports that show hospitals are the second most dangerous places in America (highways are number 1). The most recent report found 100,000 annual medical errors. Excessive infection rates and quality of care issues that go from terrible to exceptional.

JC Resident wrote:

I was at the VA hospital in Kansas City seeing a friend, It was so sad to see the condition of that hospital and how unprofessional the staff was. I thought if this is how our government takes care of our veterans who deserve so much more, it made me wonder if this is what we would have to look forward to in government controlled healthcare.

Good point moot Point, however, why not ask the questions your answers begged? If you don't trust the government to run anything, then why have a government? If your thesis is correct, let's terminate "the government" tomorrow and turn every function over to whom? Private enterprise? So now you would trust another nameless, faceless bureaucrat to serve your interest simple because they are a private business? Odd conclusions you have indeed.

Moot Point wrote:

<quoted text>
I think your point is correct, but moot.
I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the personal care and compassion of the Veterans Administration.
I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the efficiency and friendliness of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
I don't want a Health Care System that is run with the clarity and customer relations of the Internal Revenue Service.
I don't want a Health Care System like Great Briton, Canada, Mexico or any of the others that FLOCK to the United States to get Health Care.
I don't want to be FORCED into selecting some "Government Option" because the Government is creating the rules to both GOVERN and COMPETE with private insurers.
I don't trust our government to provide for the WILL OF THE PEOPLE as a NATION.
What in the HELL makes you think that the government will give a damn about MY will as a PATIENT?

Gatlingun6 wrote:

Please speak for your post office not mine. Where I live the USPS is a model of efficiency. The lines, short or long move relatively quickly. There are 4, 5 or 6 stations open depending on customers. If you don't want to stand in wait for an agent you can use the fully automated stations for letters or packages. The agents are professional, courteous and personable. Why do so many people act as if "The Government" is like some foreign entity descended from outer space, when in reality that government worker is your father, mother, brother, sister, friend, neighbor etc. etc. Could it be there is another motive for constantly disparaging American government workers?
<quoted text>

Obviously not from JC.

I would HOPE that in all of the United States you could find at least ONE Post Office that works as described in your post.

I have lived in 9 different US states and have traveled throughout the US extensively.

My job requires Post Office interaction regularly.

Poor operation of the Post Offices is, IN MY EXPERIENCE, the NORM.

And For The Record, as the Government expands and takes more and more control, it IS becoming very much like some type of foreign entity.

It is becoming our OVERLORD with a few top level bureaucrats and the rest of the little worker ants (your father, mother, brother, sister, friend, neighbor etc.) being over-paid and getting too many holidays and giving limited services while requiring too much paper work and too little return for our OUTRAGEOUS taxes.