publiusvarus wrote:
Locked,
Quote:
Going with the "Obama common-sense approach," I would guess it means that affordable health care coverage that is universal means the current private providers will need to start lowering their prices or offering vastly superior service.
Keep guessing, I mean you have to with Obama running the show.
And you're a f*cking tool if you think govn intruding into private health insurance is going to lower costs or offer a superior service. All it will do is force insurance companies to get out of the health insurance business. Then you'll have to deal with the federal govn on their terms or go without. You can't be that stupid.
You asked how it would level the playing field. I responded. Stay on topic, young Padawan.
Quote:
Obama acknowledged he supports what is called the national option, saying it would increase competition for private plans. At the same time, the president insisted a national plan would be one of many choices as part of reforms intended to strengthen the U.S. system.
"If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor," he said to applause. "If you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan."
...
We have to ask why places like the Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania, Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City, or communities like Green Bay can offer high-quality care at costs well below average, but other places in America can't," Obama said. He tried to sell the crowd on his "common-sense" approach to health care reform, saying that the quality of care won't diminish for any Americans.
Going from his own quotes, "leveling the playing field" (please offer a source so I can see the context in which it was said) either means:
1. It forces current health insurance providers to lower costs, allowing poorer folks to buy in.
2. It will offer more standardized care.
As for your new comment, no, I think it will lead to lower costs, but I agree that quality of care might go down
for those can afford it. Right now a lot of people cannot afford ANY health care. If there is a government program their care will only go up. A lot of people who are using private health care usually have premiums they need to meet to get that care. Or they have limited providers. The problem is that millions of people ARE going without right now... because they have no other choice.
When you having nothing, anything is usually better. I'm not one of those people, but I am interested in seeing what the new options would be. I worry for my parents, especially my father, who pays over a thousand dollars for himself ALONE each month. That's ridiculous. Luckily he's still working, but if something ever happened to his job he'd have to get off insurance and pray that he never gets sick or hurt. Many Americans are at that point, or just can't afford it.
If this hurts anyone it's young people, as our costs are lower right now. For baby boomers, this program will be a necessity. I mean, or you could argue that it's cool to let them all go without any medical help and let the first bad thing to happen to them be the last one. I just have a personal stake in it (parents, grandparents), and would like to see the options.
