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JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Single-payer health care plan dies in Senate

World Dec. 17, 2009 - 11:31AM JST ( 12 )

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12 Comments

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adaydreamDec. 17, 2009 - 12:22PM JST

This wasn't any surprise except, why'd it take the GOP so long to throw out these delaying tactics? But everybody's been waiting to see when the GOP were going to start their stalling tactics. < :-)
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YelnatsDec. 17, 2009 - 01:54PM JST

Insurance lobby is very very strong.
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skipthesongDec. 17, 2009 - 02:04PM JST

I told you guys that they needed to work from the other direction first. Anyway, they just handed the insurance companies a lot of biz on a silver plater. Now, the big question, are they going to change the state regulations on how insurance is sold, such as if you buy insurance in one state where its cheaper, can you use that same insurance in another?

Basically, this is starting to look like a waste of time, but it could be good if you are going to do business with hospitals, insurance carriers and even making smaller insurance companies.
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skipthesongDec. 17, 2009 - 02:05PM JST

For the old guys.... is it normal not to read a bill before its voted on?
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thepaceisglaciaDec. 17, 2009 - 02:19PM JST

No GOP vote was needed for this to be passed. Most Americans don't want this. Sanders is a socialist.
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WayneRooney10Dec. 17, 2009 - 02:20PM JST

Mr Obama looks a real loser!
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skipthesongDec. 17, 2009 - 03:46PM JST

Mr Obama looks a real loser! Get rid of Pelosi and Ried, and you'll see him win a lot more
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BadseyDec. 17, 2009 - 08:11PM JST

"we will go bankrupt" ---> we are already technically bankrupt, so Obama's threat doesn't really work.

Why is our medical system in trouble: Free healthcare (emergency) for everyone that cannot afford it for starters. ---> don't get caught in the emergency room after the clinics close.

Sue happy legal culture. ---> same people as above sue about their free health care disproportionally.

This is typical Lib stuff and instead of taking responsibility they plan another attack on the system and say the system is broken and must be changed (from their policies).

***Innovation lowers costs over time. Many diseases can be cheaply treated now and many drugs are generic $4-5. I believe in high deductible insurance plans tied in with a health IRA account = if you are healthy the account will grow and deductible gets higher and payments cheaper.
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WeaselDec. 17, 2009 - 10:52PM JST

Innovation lowers costs over time

Hate to pop your bubble, but if anything the opposite of that idea is true in the US. CT scans, MRI's, lab work, and PET scans all are innovative ideas and technologies - but they are super expensive methodologies and devices in which the costs of obtaining those items by the hospitals are past directly on to the consumers in the form of higher medical bills.

The problem with all of these whacked-out insurance ideas is that none of them in any meaningful way actually reduce the cost of medical care. You can change the insurance plans or save your pennies in a HSA till the cows come home, but if the original cost of the care is still thousands of dollars (after your insurance paid its portion) where was any progress in controlling costs made?

Costs need to made much more transparent. Heck, unless its not an emergency you won't have an option to call around to do any price comparison. Most of the time, the receptionist you speak with doesn't have a clue what the cost is - they'll tell you to call your insurance company to figure it out. It's not like you can get on Google shopping, and check the prices in advance. I know most of the people where I live in (here in Arizona) they have to make the drive across the border to Nogales Mexico for medical service and medicine, because its easily 70% less than on the US side of border. That's totally messed up, whenever I hear people tout about how great our medical system is - they just forget about the money portion of it. Enough of that rant.
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skipthesongDec. 18, 2009 - 09:16AM JST

they just forget about the money portion of it." That's true, but what a lot of other people forget the price for malpractice costs. The US is a sue happy country. I asked one of my superiors, who was an Army Dentist one time as to why he didn't just get out of the army and make those big bucks, his answer was flat... he didn't want to pay the malpractice insurance. This whole thing needed to have started in a backwards motion. You are aware how hard it is to sue a Japanese doctor aren't you?
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skipthesongDec. 18, 2009 - 09:16AM JST

What I really can't believe is that they are still pushing this and to come on the lowest of blows, they keep the medicine prices high..
This has become meaningless.
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griffDec. 18, 2009 - 09:19AM JST

america really loves a system where, when you're up, you're up, when you're down you're DEAD, with absolutely no middle ground whatsoever

pretty sad.