Lets create laws that require health care providers (doctors, clinics etc) to publish the dollars/rate they will charge on their products and services -- just like the rest of the free capital markets work. Every consumer can then compare the quality and price and pay according to what they can afford. There is no transparency in the pricing of health care services, today. Everything is hidden behind insurance bills ...more »
That's right. Get out! The government's meddling in business directly lead to the housing bust and the credit crisis, thereby directly causing 2 of the big 3 automakers to go bust and be taken over by the government, which will now DICTATE how these "private" businesses operate. Get out! and you want to take over the healthcare industry, which is about 17% of our economy. Get OUT! We know this is about ...more »
In the past, people paid health care providers directly. Then some companies got in the middle between the patients and the providers and "handled the money". I don't call this a healthcare system. I see no reason for there to be any middlemen (or middle companies) involved in healthcare. This is not like auto or home insurance where some people will never use it. Health care is something that every person will ...more »
The President is hiding the true costs of his programs. He mostly touts the phantom "savings" his proposals will supposedly reap as a benefit. Please communicate the true costs of increased energy taxes, taxes to pay for healthcare, and the like. Should also include the estimated jobs and lives lost as a result of the poor being unable to heat their homes and the rationing of healthcare, etc;...in addition ...more »
One of the major, but little mentioned problems with our healthcare system is the widespread practice of having 12 hour shifts for Nurses. Doctors can put in much longer hours. Does this make any sense to anyone? Is it any surprise that health-endangering... or life-ending mistakes are made by tired, overworked Doctors and Nurses? The 12 hour shift in hospitals is a major public health hazard. Doctors and Nurses ...more »
Most hospitals could use a good comfortability expert (or if you prefer, a usability expert). Let's see, it was about 9 o'clock at night when the nurse came into a semi-private hospital room where I was sitting with a patient I knew. The other patient, an elderly woman who was hard of hearing, was woken up so she could sign a consent form that would make it quicker for her doctor to review her records. That, by itself, ...more »
Oregon has developed a unique approach to Social Services and Health Care for Seniors, Disabled, and those in poverty. It is a fundamental belief that communities are in a much better position to determine and provide these services - Portland social service needs are not the same as Molalla social service needs. The Community-Based approach includes the recent Community Congress held in Clackamas County to advise the ...more »
The Socialized health care system will not work, as other government run social programs have proven. Instead let us model it after family oriented and charity based system that has thrived for centuries across the globe. A health and well being savings account managed by a non-profit agency, with the sole purpose of creating an interest bearing account for every citizen that any individual or organization may donate ...more »
Let's create a national healthcare system, that is single payer, but has cost reduction incentives for being healthy. For example, let's say the healthcare premium is $100/month. If you purchase more fresh fruits, veggies and meats (Rather than fast food) and commute to work on your bike, or exercise regularly, your monthly premium can be reduced to $80/month. Or perhaps there are credits you can earn based on healthy ...more »
I know a two person family practice in MI that has completely integrated Electronic Medical Records in the practice and is in the process of qualifying for the "Patient Centered Medical Home" and NCQA Level three certifications ... check with your health care folks ... this is a BIG deal. They have done it all on their own and would be a great case study of how EMR can work in Primary Care ... even without massive ...more »
[Purview - subject cannot be edited... add spellcheck!] Employers being responsible for providing health insurance dates back to WW2. At that time, insurance was relatively inexpensive and quickly became a common benefit/perk. With annual average increases in the double digits, the health care costs are crippling and bankrupting many of our companies. The premium quoted by insurance companies licensed in your state ...more »
Date: 6/18/2009 Ron Paul: I’d like to talk a little bit about the medical care crisis that we’re facing. Sometimes I’d like to think that it may be a government crisis rather than a medical care crisis, but we do have a mess in medicine and there is a lot of talk about what’s going on, not only throughout the country but here in Washington. But first I’d like to describe how I see the problem developing and what ...more »