That broken health-care system keeps lengthening lives
posted at 10:12 am on August 20, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
We keep hearing how broken our health care delivery system is in the US, and how we need reform to make us healthy once again — as well as to protect us from Tonsil Vultures and Foot Rustlers. How badly is that system and how unhealthy are Americans? According to the CDC, we keep extending our life expectancy to all-time highs and keep reducing disease in the US:
U.S. life expectancy reached nearly 78 years (77.9), and the age-adjusted death rate dropped to 760.3 deaths per 100,000 population, both records, according to the latest mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. …
The 2007 increase in life expectancy – up from 77.7 in 2006 — represents a continuation of a trend. Over a decade, life expectancy has increased 1.4 years from 76.5 years in 1997 to 77.9 in 2007.
Surely this is some kind of fluke, right? After all, with all of those Tonsil Vultures and Foot Rustlers stealing body parts for fun and profit, how could our lives get extended and more healthy? The CDC data shows it’s no fluke:
– Record high life expectancy was recorded for both males and females (75.3 years and 80.4 years, respectively). While the gap between male and female life expectancy has narrowed since the peak gap of 7.8 years in 1979, the 5.1 year difference in 2007 is the same as in 2006.
– For the first time, life expectancy for black males reached 70 years.
– The U.S. mortality rate fell for the eighth straight year to an all-time low of 760.3 deaths per 100,000 population in 2007 — 2.1 percent lower than the 2006 rate of 776.5. The 2007 mortality rate is half of what it was 60 years ago (1532 per 100,000 in 1947.) …
– Between 2006 and 2007, mortality rates declined significantly for eight of the 15 leading causes of death. Declines were observed for influenza and pneumonia (8.4 percent), homicide (6.5 percent), accidents (5 percent), heart disease (4.7 percent), stroke (4.6 percent), diabetes (3.9 percent), hypertension (2.7 percent), and cancer (1.8 percent).
Diabetes? Isn’t that the disease highlighted by Obama in his Foot Rustlers argument, saying that we hadn’t done enough to treat and prevent diabetes? Looks like the American health-care system has actually made good progress on a wide range of diseases, including diabetes. We can also include HIV/AIDS on that list; mortality rates dropped 10%, the biggest decline since the CDC began tracking the disease.
When people tell us that the health-care system in this country is broken, they’re either ignorant or lying. Every year we increase life expectancy, every year we decrease mortality rates, and every year we improve our record on a wide range of diseases. I’d rather stick with that system than go with the same people who bring us the Indian Health Service and who think that the Post Office makes a great example of government-run programs.
Blowback
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yeah, what a messed up system…. /sarcoff
jbh45 on August 20, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Really weird.
Sort of like our healthcare system is so broken, but if you like yours you can keep it.
tarpon on August 20, 2009 at 10:14 AM
We have a great health system…is it expensive? Yes. Can it be tweaked and made better? Absolutely. But a massive overhaul on the context of shoddy care is patently WRONG.
Of course, this is more about gov’t control than health care quality.
search4truth on August 20, 2009 at 10:15 AM
That may be true but it’s time for a change!!!!
and some hope too…
hope and change!
cruadin on August 20, 2009 at 10:15 AM
This is about the acquisition of power and the making of America into a Socialist Nation. Period.
kingsjester on August 20, 2009 at 10:16 AM
No this is a conspiracy. The doctors are keeping us alive longer so we buy more drugs. We all know that the drug companies are then given kick-backs to the doctors. /sarc
WashJeff on August 20, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Ever so slightly off-topic, but at about this same hour yesterday, while engaging in a flame war with three regular HA posters on the subject of the ObamaJoker health-ruination plan, I crossed a line and now wish to apologize to my opponents and to the readers of Hot Air for my breach.
One of the three accused me of being unbalanced, to which I responded with a lame answer.
Instead of answering the charge of being imbalanced by going “Well, duh.”, I should have answered it this way:
“Being unbalanced is an ideal posture for combating the Left. Historically, a Leftist hurls a slander at a conservative, and the reflexive response of the victim is to first bitterly deny the allegation and then attempt – in vain, I might add – to demonstrate his or her basic decency. But the unbalanced conservative does neither. His unbalanced state of mind permits him to fluidly use intellectual jiu-jitsu that turns the attacker’s own momentum against him so as to flip the attacker over the shoulder and onto the mat.”
That is where MaverickMuse, Blake and right2bright found themselves after a brief round of exchanges with the FlameWarrior – flat on their backs, and not for purposes of having sex.
I did not mean to injure these three fine posters. I hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive me. Henceforth, I shall use my nefarious flame-warfare skills only to defend conservative honor when attacked by trolls from the Left.
FlameWarrior on August 20, 2009 at 10:16 AM
canadians and British people live longer than Americans.
Conservatives are the biggest hypocrites out there. They call themselves Christians but refuse to help give insurance to someone who can’t afford it.
liberal4eva on August 20, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Cause Christianity calls for the governmental coercion of charity.
blatantblue on August 20, 2009 at 10:17 AM
But where are the statistics on how many feet were rustled? I’ll bet there is a stockpile of feet in some doctor’s closet. Where did Obama get his information?
tommuck on August 20, 2009 at 10:18 AM
More articles and stories in the MSM like this highlighting the outright lies would be nice too.
NickelAndDime on August 20, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Troll4eva: if you are concerned about facts — probably a reach, I admit, but what the heck, let’s try it — you would see that the measure of life expectancy is misleading. Those who live to be adults, live longer here than in Canada or the US. You may, if you wish to read the details, refer to a recent column by Mark Steyn.
jwolf on August 20, 2009 at 10:20 AM
liberal4eva on August 20, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Gosh. It’s Money2/nice343/liberal343/liberal4eva. How’s it going, Skippy? You seen to have a lot of trouble accepting reality.
Flamewarrior – Do you wear a size 12 hat?
kingsjester on August 20, 2009 at 10:20 AM
liberal343 is back as liberal4eva today. Will it dodge the banhammer today?
WashJeff on August 20, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Not when you adjust for the difference in obesity.
Conservatives donate to charity at twice the rate of liberals. And the vast majority of the “uninsured” can either afford to be insured or are not US Citizens…. the amount of Americans who genuinely can not afford insurance is below 10 million and can be helped by opening up a national market for insurance (instead of state by state), Tort reform, and tax credits for purchasing insurance… it’s that easy.
BPD on August 20, 2009 at 10:21 AM
I don’t understand where you liberals4eva get off making comparisons between Christianity and being forced to do something by the government.
Do you not know people on the right are more charitable than you cave dwellers on the left?
blatantblue on August 20, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke.
[A sign that used to hang over our motor pool out in Germany years ago.]
Exactly.
But Obamacare has nothing to do with health of Americans…it is economic control, government control that is the goal.
If Obama truly wanted to help…he’d sign executive orders, and push legislation to enable more and more of our young to enter the health care professions, and eliminate the onerous burden of school loans, and malpractice insurance, and an already over-inflated health care bureaucracy in America.
Obama is dying to get Obamacare passed…and Americans will surely be dying in droves if Obamacare is passed.
coldwarrior on August 20, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Until liberals start donating to charitable causes under their own volition, and not at the behest of bureaucracy, they have no place to start lecturing conservatives on the virtues of charity and generosity.
blatantblue on August 20, 2009 at 10:22 AM
The statist outsource their “compassion” to the government. This provides enough cover in their mind so they can do the self-indulgent stuff that makes them feel good.
WashJeff on August 20, 2009 at 10:23 AM
If Liberals are so liberal, why didn’t the “stimulus” just give everybody a new American automobile, an endless supply of gasoline, an X-box, a free lifetime pass to Burger King and no taxes ?
Not so liberal after all.
J_Crater on August 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Bad news: Megyn Kelly is starting to show…
BPD on August 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Everybody dies. It’s how you live that matters. And this initiative represents an erosion of Liberty and Freedom.
NickelAndDime on August 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM
I’m so sick of the repetitive lies:
That 48 million are uninsured.
That our healthcare sucks.
That our healthcare is “broken.”
Blake on August 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM
American health statistics would improve dramaticaly if there was even a minimal level of personal responsibility in life styles. Americans would live longer if they didn’t eat like pigs, drink like fools, fill themselves full of illegal drugs, pork everything they see, followed the law and gave a damn about living a good life.
Star20 on August 20, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Lib, you’ve got us Christian conservatives all wrong. We love to give insurance to people who can’t afford it — as long as we’re doing it face to face with the person who can’t afford it and as long as the person receiving it knows that we’re giving it out of love for Christ Jesus.
What we don’t love is having the government demand our money under threat of fine or imprisonment in order to give it to anonymous individuals. That cheats us of the opportunity to share Christ’s love with those individuals.
Why would you want to cheat us in that way? Are you a cruel person? Are you the type of person who likes to pull the wings off of butterflies? Please enlighten me.
FlameWarrior on August 20, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Bad news: Megyn Kelly is starting to show…
BPD on August 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM
That’s alright. She’s still gorgeous. And now she glows.
kingsjester on August 20, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Or, at the very least, stop forcing African countries to stop using proven methods to stop malaria. DDT is quite effective. Liberalism really is a mental disorder.
SouthernGent on August 20, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Last night I watched a really whacked out show on TLC about people who were obsessed with their pets. One woman had 11 cats and one of those cats had asthma. Every day she used a prescription inhaler on the cat.
It was creepy, of course, but then I realized that the cat will still have great medical care after ObamaCare passes but her owner won’t.
myrenovations on August 20, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Yepp
Allah forbid we use DDT to save a few million kids from dying.
blatantblue on August 20, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Um, I wish I understood how a public option would fix the current problem that Medicare is going broke even though every tax payer pays into it without drawing from it.
ThackerAgency on August 20, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Why is this bad news? Maybe she will replace Geraldo!
SouthernGent on August 20, 2009 at 10:28 AM
I think we have a combination of social ills and health care radicalism.
tomas on August 20, 2009 at 10:28 AM
The “our health care system is broken” was the first lie they told. Equating health insurance with health care was the second lie. 10 million uninsured – 20, 30, 40, and now 50! Woe is us. Insurance companies make 40% profit… more propaganda. Majority of personal bankruptcies are due to health costs… another lie. 82% say they are happy with their health insurance… nobody gets denied healthcare. Some people can’t pay for their care… let’s work on that. But to over-haul the entire system? How clear can the signs be… it’s not about health care. I say NO to any “reform” until after the mid-terms.
itsacookbook on August 20, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Oooops! Nevermind…!!
SouthernGent on August 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM
There is nothing about Christianity that says the government has the right to take money from me to give to someone else just because some elected official wants to.
Chrisitianity is about personal giving, not government confiscation.
ladyingray on August 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Our health care system is breaking
Precisely because government is making things incredibly difficult.
blatantblue on August 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Size 13. Close, but no cigar, KJ.
BTW, in the King of King’s heavenly court, there will be but one court jester and that, my friend, is me. I suggest you start looking for a new handle. Just kidding.
FlameWarrior on August 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Now there’s an inconvenient truth.
HoustonRight on August 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM
He doesn’t even know how to spell “evah” right.
Makes me want to register as liberal4zsazsa next time registration opens up.
misslizzi on August 20, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Insurance and health care are not the same thing.
The current bill is not to provide free health care to those who can’t afford to pay for it. We already do that and always will. It’s about mandatory health insurance. So all those people you worry about not being able to afford health insurance will have to pay for it through premiums to a monopoly system, or through a penalty that will increase their tax liability when they file their federal tax return. That’s on top of the higher taxes we will all pay for the other Democrat programs what have been pushed through Congress in the last few months.
Poor people won’t pay anything, but they don’t pay anything now. Rich people can always pay no matter what the government does.
The people who will be most hurt by a mandatory health insurance requirement, whether it’s a public single payer plan or not, are the people who always get hurt whenever a new entitlement comes along: the middle class.
Those of us who make too much to qualify for any exemptions, deductions, rebates, or whatever bs the politicians throw at the little people. We are the ones who end up paying and speaking only for myself I’m sick and tired of it.
Oh, and I’m not a Christian.
Jaynie59 on August 20, 2009 at 10:31 AM
The amazing thing is we are making progress on these diseases and living longer WHILE BEING RIDICULOUSLY OBESE. If we could alter lifestyles so people would eat healthy and exercise, we’d live longer and spend even less on health care.
ThackerAgency on August 20, 2009 at 10:31 AM
“When
peoplepoliticians tell us that the health-care system in this country is broken, they’reeither ignorant orlying.”davidk on August 20, 2009 at 10:32 AM
That POS who blew up the PanAm flight over Scotland 20 years ago. It’s said that he is dying of prostate cancer, which is why they let him out of the slammer.
At least in this country, that particular cancer is slow-growing and treatable. But in the UK it kills and kills fast. Hardly an argument for anything a million miles near to the British healthcare system.
dhimwit on August 20, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Hey, quit making sense, racist,evil-mongering astroturfer!
NickelAndDime on August 20, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Maybe, just maybe we can get all of the trolls today to promise to send one of Obama’s brothers some money… You in trolls?
Help Obama be his brother’s keeper!!!
Upstater85 on August 20, 2009 at 10:32 AM
But they are promising to fix it for real this time!
ladyingray on August 20, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Have you ever noticed that many of the same people who object to “legistlating morality” instead seek to legislate charity? I submit that that doesn’t work better, but rather much worse.
jwolf on August 20, 2009 at 10:32 AM
The mental contortions that people like liberal4eva engage in are peculiar.
blatantblue on August 20, 2009 at 10:34 AM
FlameWarrior on August 20, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Who do you think I’m named after? I’ve sung for His glory in church choirs and services for 30 years, led services, and taught youth and Sunday School. I owe my life to Him. The same mistake you made with maverick muse and the rest of the veteran posters on here yesterday, you just made with me. Messing with Trolls may be fun, but don’t let your cockiness alienate you for the great Convervatives that I’ve been priviledged to post here with. Epic foot in your mouth, kid.
kingsjester on August 20, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Yes, they are. Let’s help them become compassionate!
Lobby the Kennedy Family to give Aunt Zeituni free healthcare!!!
Have compassion, lefties!
Upstater85 on August 20, 2009 at 10:35 AM
I vote yes.
Who is lying even more.
Charity does not mean government coercion. Charity = voluntary giving, not forced.
“liberal4eva” is an ignorant liar.
rbj on August 20, 2009 at 10:35 AM
There will be power to do that once ObamaCare is passed.
myrenovations on August 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Govenrment can fix anything. Why?
Because their all tools.
HoustonRight on August 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Touche! Nicely played, jwolf, and well stated.
FlameWarrior on August 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Leave me alone!
davidk on August 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Their=they’re
HoustonRight on August 20, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Heh.
ladyingray on August 20, 2009 at 10:37 AM
The really tragic thing about type 2 diabetes(the type most usually associated with foot rustling) is that if it is caught early, as in before any damage is done to the pancreas, it is easily controlled by diet. The problem is that the Doctors and dietitians have been taught that the proper diet for diabetics is a low fat high carb diet which actually makes the disease worse. There are an increasing number of Doctors that have turned away from the low fat diet and have been proscribing a low-carb diet that in many cases completely eliminates the need for pharmaceuticals and insulin in the treatment of there patients. Of course there is not much money in this so it is not promoted by the ADA.
RobD on August 20, 2009 at 10:38 AM
You know how I know that we have the best health care system in the world?
Every year we send 535 people to Washington where they undergo brain removals, and they walk around just fine afterwards.
Abby Adams on August 20, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Guys, there is a formula for the highly intelligent liberal4eva….It goes like this: See new topic, type some stupid, regurgitated nonsense that has been posted again and again, move to new topic, repeat.
search4truth on August 20, 2009 at 10:39 AM
…shhh, it’s supposed to be “broken”.
Lourdes on August 20, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Are you assuming it is singular?
Upstater85 on August 20, 2009 at 10:40 AM
That’s ridiculous. Living longer alone increases health care costs because, unfortunately, we’ve become a nation of whiners. If you’re gonna live into your 80′s then you have to expect to, you know, get old. Getting old means not feeling so great all the time.
Heaven forbid people actually live with the affects of aging. No, go to the doctor and get a counter full of pills. Your knees hurt? Hey! Did you know Medicare will pay for a free power chair for you?
Health care in this country would be just fine if people went back to the notion that you only go to the doctor when you’re, you know, actually sick.
Jaynie59 on August 20, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Upstater85 on August 20, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Are you saying we might have getalife: The Sequel?
kingsjester on August 20, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Im sick of those who boohoo that so many people have no heathcare.
A lot dont choose to have it(freedom of choice), if they do get sick they can walk into an emergency room and be treated. We have people coming here for treatment they cant get in their country. If this passes say good-bye to any new innovations, procedures, treatments, etc.
becki51758 on August 20, 2009 at 10:43 AM
kingsjester on August 20, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Apologies, KJ. The FlameWarrior mistakenly thought you were being snarky in response to his heartfelt and sincere apology to those veteran posters. But I see that you were only being complimentary.
The FlameWarrior also mistakenly thought he was being playful with you as opposed to messing with you. It is a sin for me to have made a brother in Christ stumble.
Again, my apologies.
FlameWarrior on August 20, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Considered it, but getalife’s style was totally different then liberal343, liberal4eva, nice343, &c.
She was one of a kind.
RIP getalife.
Hey, where’s Ann? I feel like liberal4eva isn’t able to keep the stupidity level at the highs Ann could.
Upstater85 on August 20, 2009 at 10:43 AM
the topic of this thread shows that we are living longer. I didn’t make any statement concerning costs. I for one believe that smoking saves the system money because smokers die early.
But I was using that example based on the article we were discussing looking at life expectancy. Regardless of the cost, if people took better care of themselves ate right and exercised (like they do in most countries), we’d have higher life expectancies.
ThackerAgency on August 20, 2009 at 10:44 AM
The Canadian health care system is “imploding” according to the new president of the Canadian Medical Association. The sustainability of their system was the main topic at this week’s convention. Private option is being considered up north.
itsacookbook on August 20, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Why should anyone demand my hard-earned money to pay for someone who can afford to but chooses not to have their own health coverage? Why should anyone demand my hard-earned money to pay for someone who chooses not to work? Why should anyone demand my hard-earned money to pay for someone who chooses to come to the US illegally?
I can go on and on, but I don’t want to bore the real patriots that comment on this blog in ordered to benefit the few troll-pedestrians that infrequently drop by…
jbh45 on August 20, 2009 at 10:44 AM
This may be a little off topic but not really …having said that…
We need and I for one want more men like Col West In Congress…Very good orator…
And …knows what he’s talking about… so far, I’m sufficiently impressed …
But then again I’m easy…cause I’m impressed some of you… ;)
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 10:45 AM
And yes, doctors do overprescribe. Look at the other post ahead of mine showing that diabetes could be diet controlled mostly, but there is no money in that for the pharmaceuticals.
ThackerAgency on August 20, 2009 at 10:45 AM
If you check the list of the biggest causes of death, you will find that most of them are very dependant on life style choices.
How is taxing someone else to give money to the poor, consistent with the teachings of Christ?
MarkTheGreat on August 20, 2009 at 10:45 AM
And while this is going on, we have people saying, “I have the Cadillac Health Care Plan, but I think we need Government Universal Coverage.”
Really? Why does it need to be run by the Government? Since they’re on such great plans, why don’t they send some money to their neighbor in need? Oh, that’s right. They prefer that the Government does this.
Upstater85 on August 20, 2009 at 10:46 AM
AnninCA is busy working on her GED. She being a product of the LAUSD decided to drop out when she got pregnant by her gang-banger bf.
jbh45 on August 20, 2009 at 10:47 AM
I find it interesting that the same liberals who declare that tort reform (an estimated 10% savings) is too small to worry about, will then turn around and declare that eliminating the profits of the insurance industry (about 3%) will save the system.
MarkTheGreat on August 20, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Posted those again just to marvel at them. Demographically that’s absolutely amazing. Sustained performance like that with major killers in the chronic disease area is millions of improved life-years (don’t knock me on the use of that statistic for this purpose!).
DrSteve on August 20, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Eh… gang-banger and AnninCA in one paragraph…
Upstater85 on August 20, 2009 at 10:48 AM
This is twice liberal4eva has disappeared from a thread after being outed as liberal343. Turning into a drive-by commentator to avoid the banhammer.
WashJeff on August 20, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Look Out! Improving Quality of Life Threat
Ed, making such public charges tags the evil mongerer./~
maverick muse on August 20, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Why hasn’t this person been banned? Yesterday it admitted to being part of a trolling network that replaces one commenter when another gets banned. Its clearly either the same person or someone who is working in the same office.
lorien1973 on August 20, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Another big factor in the difference in life expectancy is how you define live birth.
In the US, a 2 month pre-mature baby, is a live birth. In other countries the baby doesn’t count as a live birth until it passes it’s predetermined “due date”.
In some countries, unless the baby lives for several days after delivery, it is considered a still birth, and doesn’t count in the statistics. In the US, if a baby draws a single breath after delivery, it’s a live birth.
Anyone who wants to compare statistics without examining how the statistics are generated is a fool.
MarkTheGreat on August 20, 2009 at 10:50 AM
undocumented workers have a right to healthcare also. and whores need to have abortions funded by hardworking taxpayers! i don’t care about lengthening lives.
VIVA LA BAMA!!!!!
Ghoul aid on August 20, 2009 at 10:50 AM
And that is the problem, people are living longer and using up more health care…we have to stop that. And Obama plan will stop us from living longer, thus saving money.
You guys don’t see that?
He is saving lives by shortening them…
right2bright on August 20, 2009 at 10:51 AM
The government cant run anything right. dealers are still waiting for their cash for clunker money.
becki51758 on August 20, 2009 at 10:51 AM
I here that there are ships off shore with feet, waiting for the price of feet to go up…
right2bright on August 20, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Why, is Geraldo starting to show?
MarkTheGreat on August 20, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Cute. I was thinking the same thing, but you beat me to it. My hat tip to you!
jbh45 on August 20, 2009 at 10:54 AM
I believe it was Mark Levin who said last week that our statistics include military killed in the line of duty. It also includes fetal demises (socialists don’t consider children viable until they’ve passed their 2nd birthday). In other words, we accurately report ALL statistics. Not comparing equal factors.
red131 on August 20, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Advisor: Mr. President, we need jobs.
Obama: Let’s go for a universal government health care system!
Advisor: Did you hear me, I said we need jobs. For Americans?
Obama: And then Cap and Trade! Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Advisor: Hello? Jobs?
Obama: Our souls are broken.
profitsbeard on August 20, 2009 at 10:55 AM
The fact is the system works for a vast, vast majority of people. I really do feel sorry for the couple million that really can’t get health insurance from private or public sources but they should not screw over the 98.4% of the country that has access and the means to get health insurance to placate the 1.6% that can’t afford a policy and don’t qualify for medicaid.
cadams on August 20, 2009 at 10:57 AM
oops….Go to the menu in the player then look for Wests’ Town Hall meeting…sorry
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Doctor’s over-prescribe because they haven’t a CLUE about drugs. They take pharmacology in med school and then try to keep up with advances by listening to drug company reps with a vested interest. Patients came into our clinic carrying tote bags of prescriptions, different meds to treat the same thing, meds that countered each other, meds that shouldn’t ever be combined. Often with the same doctor’s name as prescriber. Doctors should diagnose… pharmacists should prescribe. Govt should stay the hell out of it.
itsacookbook on August 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM
That they’ve framed the need for reform this way highlights just how poorly this bunch leads these days. The imperative for reform is the fact that American families go bankrupt paying medical bills. I dont care how they do it…single payer, co-ops, mandates, some portability scheme, i dont care. lets just end once and for all this notion that its ok for a family to lose everything over something like cancer.
But while we’re on the subject, life expectancy has risen, but we remain low…and infant mortality in this country remains atrocious…primarily due to the fact that prenatal care is not guaranteed. If we’re ok with laws that are written in the interest of the child (think child protective services), why should we be ok with american babies born without modern pre/post natal care as a guarantee…regardless of ones ability to pay for it?
ernesto on August 20, 2009 at 11:04 AM
But “I Won” knows what is best for you, peons.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on August 20, 2009 at 11:07 AM
I find it interesting that the same liberals who declare that tort reform (an estimated 10% savings) is too small to worry about, will then turn around and declare that eliminating the profits of the insurance industry (about 3%) will save the system.
MarkTheGreat on August 20, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Well, to the liberal mind, a lawsuit victory in a malpractice case wins money from the “evil insurance companies” and if we can nationalize their profits as well, then we really have a win-win scenario. Money is just a toy and everything is turned into a morality play.
jwolf on August 20, 2009 at 11:08 AM
Maybe you great minds can help me with a counterargument to present to my Blue Dog friend.
She does not support this bill or the notion that the entire system needs to be overhauled, but she does argue that everyone should be required to maintain some kind of health insurance whether they pay for their own, have employer-provided coverage, are enrolled in an existing public program, etc. The basis of her argument is, of course, that if we require everyone to have car insurance in order to drive then we should require everyone to have health insurance as well. I countered that some people are fully capable of paying out of their own pocket but she says we can’t exempt even people like that b/c if we do, then there would be people who CAN’T afford to pay but would still forego purchasing their own cheap, catastophic plan, or would opt not to bother enrolling in Medicaid, etc. She also adds that illegals should not be exempt either, that if they intend to take advantage of the health care we can provide them with here, they better have a means for paying for it, just that they can’t enroll in Medicaid. Of course, we both acknowledge this isn’t really practical and that the way to combat this discrete problem is to nip it in the bud by way of a ten-foot wall with barbed wire and armed guards erected along the southern border. But that’s another post.
Anyway, I say all of that to say, the notion of mandating that anyone purchase anything offends my libertarian sensibilities, while on the other hand, it would seem more libertarian to require people to take personal responsibility for their own health care than to leave it up to them to do so voluntarily and then have them rack up a mountain of debt that the rest of us end up paying for in higher premiums of our own.
What say you all? Does a component requiring everyone to purchase their own insurance if they have the means to do so make sense?
NoLeftTurn on August 20, 2009 at 11:09 AM
There’s still time! Gods patience is your blessing and Jesus Christ is your way to salvation!
DougDavis on August 20, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Who here said it is ok for a family to lose everything over a medical concern? Why are you twisting my argument? And more importantly, why are you trying to argue that it is the country’s problem is someone doesn’t have money to pay for health care. Because that is what you are saying. You are saying that someone who has an illness has the right for someone else to pay for it. Hospitals work out payment plans for people with limited means. People host benefits to help others. There are many other solutions to money problems other than “let someone else pay my bill for me.”
search4truth on August 20, 2009 at 11:11 AM
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