tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22019770.post9084150665004189202..comments2023-10-30T06:41:32.566-05:00Comments on Meaty Chunks: Organized insanityBosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06223368339440617941noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22019770.post-69139851477407712252010-08-02T12:09:55.669-05:002010-08-02T12:09:55.669-05:00(continued from above...)
On a personal level, I ...(continued from above...)<br /><br />On a personal level, I have no ideological objection to universal health care--not even to a single payer system. If the government can "run" healthcare, and provide it to all, even somewhat efficiently and fairly without any significant negative impact on the quality of care available, I'm all for it. But I do worry that we haven't had a real discussion about whether that's possible. And when you strip all the ideological arguments away, this is the real strong argument that the anti-health care reform group has (pardon some more hyperbole here): Do you really want your doctor's office and hospitals to become like the DMV?<br /><br />Lurking in the asymmetry of that somewhat laughable question is a significant and legitimate concern. Can government do this better? Because we can definitely make things worse . . . . Of course, the primary response of the reformers to the "DMV" argument has to be: Look at the other countries that have gone down this route. They got a decently good system, one that's actually quite popular, and by building on their experience, we can make ours even better.<br /><br />I hope this statement is correct, but worry about whether what we have begun to create is really sustainable given changing demographics and individual expectations. I sometimes fear that the result of all our ideological combat over health care has been to set us irrevocably onto a one way road that will prove unsustainable and problematic at its end. But, I guess we'll see.<br /><br />Regardless, I guess, the times they are a changin' :)curtstesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951722043014043603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22019770.post-52341306490743772762010-08-02T12:09:31.836-05:002010-08-02T12:09:31.836-05:00Shane:
Curt Bentley here. Don't know if you ...Shane:<br /><br />Curt Bentley here. Don't know if you remember me or not, but my wife and I were in your ward for a couple years out in Iowa City. I came upon your blog this morning and got engrossed in your thoughtful post about an issue that has become only *somewhat* less hot-button in the months since you posted :)<br /><br />Like you, my own views on the issue are constantly evolving. And I'm not sure where I fit politically right now. Out here in Utah we have such a hard time getting past the ideological issues regarding health care reform that we generally never get to a discussion of the merits of specific proposals. On one side you have the "freedom" types (exemplified by the woman referenced in your post who argues that the risk of premature death is a cost of liberty). On the other side, you have the "compassion" types, who just can't believe that people are OK with a system that leaves so many to face the extraordinarily difficult and painful decisions that result from being uninsured. For these individuals, the *only* concern is whether every person can obtain health care for their family . . . the practicalities fade into the background. This group is, most ironically, exemplified, or at least championed, by Ted Kennedy. <br /><br />Maybe outside of Utah people are actually getting past all this into the merits of health care reform, but I fear what we really have with this healthcare bill is a referendum on the moral issue of universal coverage, without real scrutiny of the practicalities of proposals.<br /><br />(continued below...)curtstesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02951722043014043603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22019770.post-67254325414344261532010-07-12T10:27:50.149-05:002010-07-12T10:27:50.149-05:00My sister had medical problems and lives in Nevada...My sister had medical problems and lives in Nevada. She needed tests to see if it was cancer, but because she had no insurance she was turned away. Luckily, she is a dual citizen of Canada. She came up here, had the tests and then the treatment and was cured. I guess she would have died if she just stayed in the States.<br /><br />Our medical insurance is very inexpensive, around $110 a month for my husband and myself. We never pay to see a doctor, go to emergency or have an operation or treatment of any kind. I thank God the Canadian Government passed the government medical progran.<br /><br />Having a baby is completely free and a nurse comes to see the baby in your home for the first two months. Our country has this care and yet we are a prosperous nation with a high standard of living. If we can do, it you can too.Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14175778756449339363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22019770.post-40007952790952670522010-04-26T09:28:58.057-05:002010-04-26T09:28:58.057-05:00Hey, Laundry Man, nice to have you comment. Can y...Hey, Laundry Man, nice to have you comment. Can you elaborate on some of your comments? What are "supply and demand decisions" and how are they constantly being made? I'm not clear on how employment insurance benefits impact the value of mandated insurance (assuming you mean mandated insurance when you say universal health-care policy). How does this bill instigate health care run by the government? The public option for insurance is not part of the bill. Do you think the government is inefficient in its handling of money in every case, or do you feel there may be examples of effective government?<br /><br />I agree with your assertion that individuals helping individuals is a spiritual issue that is very important. This new law doesn't replace our individual responsibility to care for each other, that's for sure. However, do you feel that there is no value in addressing social problems on an institutional level because of this? I disagree, if that's the case.<br /><br />The law that was passed fits on about 500 pages when you use standard margins and font size (as opposed to congressional document formatting) according to my friend who read the bill in about 6 hours one day. Pork in the bill was decreased substantially during reconciliation, thankfully, and I ascribe the problems of pork to the political system, not this individual bill. <br /><br />As for the tax on planting trees, home sellers meeting green standards, etc., I haven't heard much about those issues. Can you provide a reference for me to read up?<br /><br />Thanks again for jumping in to discuss. It's always a fun topic. At least for me. ;-)Coachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16363620753397166453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22019770.post-42580306952533045642010-04-25T17:03:04.567-05:002010-04-25T17:03:04.567-05:00Coach, I'd like to say that supply and demand ...Coach, I'd like to say that supply and demand decisions were constantly being made on the costs of health-care, and though few individuals self-insured, Insurance policy is part of what makes a person choose one job offer over another, so a universal health-care policy doesn't help at all there. <br />Second, This health care bill instigates health care run by the government. The government is very very good at what it does (spend money, waste money, initiate taxes)and therefore is not a good handler of personal money. <br />Third, it is spiritually better for someone if in a time of economic trial as a result of health care, they get help from other people. Not help from a disinterested bureaucracy, if only because the spirit will bless the giver as well as the recipient. <br />Fourth, The Health Care Law is a 1700 page long monstrosity with so many pages of pork and baggage, that much of the 900 billion dollars we're spending doesn't even go toward health care.<br />Fifth, (this is my personal pet peeve) they instigated several new hidden taxes and regulations in this law, including: a tax on planting trees, a regulation that allows the government to require home sellers to pay to replace every single appliance and light bulb in their home, if it's not "green enough," and there is a ban on using wood stoves or wood to heat anything. Now, maybe city dwellers don't know about it but what else are you supposed to do if you have to take out a tree that's threatening power lines. Now, this is just my opinion, but I believe that there is going to be a negative impact from the health care bill<br />-Laundry Man-Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com