Lerxt: "Medical insurance is a for-profit industry that makes money by dropping people who are sick and denying procedures that save lives."


Actually Lerxt, you just described socialized medicine!!! They aren't for profit but A CENTRAL characteristic of EVERY SOCIALIZED SYSTEM ON EARTH is rationing. EVERY SINGLE TIME SOCIALISM HAS BEEN TRIED (in economics, gov't and health care) it has led to RATIONING! Do you remember the old Soviet Union? Do you remember the lines for BREAD for god's sake?

We need MORE competition in health care not less. (a single payer system ELIMINATES ALL competition). We need consumers who are tied to the COST of their medical care because that will encourage them to shop around, take better care of themselves etc. When Big Daddy Gov't PAYS for everything the consumer doesn't feel it and therefore doesn't CARE and thus costs go even HIGHER. A good example is paycheck withholding in income taxes. If every taxpayer had to sit down an write a check to Uncle Sam they'd be stunned (and then angry) at just HOW MUCH they pay in taxes. Instead it gets withheld and most people HAVE NO IDEA what they personally pay in taxes.

Take cars for example. For most of us they are a NEED like health care except we NEED them EVERY DAY.

If the US gov't said, "we will pay for ANY work that has to be done on your car" would you be more or less likely to take your car to the mechanic?

For the record, I drive a battered two color 1997 Nissan 200SX. If the gov't would pay for EVERYTHING, that car would have a two-tone fade black to silver metal flake paint job with maybe some stars painted into the black. It would have 4 20-inch $3000/rim. It would have the best after market carberator that money could buy. It would have a super nice car audio SYSTEM that would be so loud I'd have to have a remote control to turn it up because you wouldn't be able to sit in the car at full volume. It would have the latest Tom Tom GPS although I'd get some porn starlet to do the voiceovers so I could "cop a nut" on my way. It would have fully tinted windows, leather or fur-lined seats. I mean that fucking car would look like something off of "Pimp my Ride" or "Overhauling". It would be sweet!!!

Now do I really NEED all of that?

Well WHEN I HAVE TO PAY FOR IT the answer is no.

But hell if you are going to pick up the tab then maybe I do.

We have the same problem in health care. I'm sure some of the doctors on this site can tell stories about all of the UNNECESSARY treatment requested by patients or about all of the hypochondriacs that visit the doctor every time they get a hangnail. And this is in a system that still requires some to actually pay for their care. What do you think will happen when people get the notion that health care is free????

I'm telling you man, socialized medicine is not the way to go. You don't fix someone with sore tonsils by shooting him in the head!!!!!