Not necessarily true. Social Security has worked for decades with few problems. The FDA has a solid reputation for being thorough and organized. The NTSB is world renowned for their expertise in accidents. The government has some bad programs and agencies, but also has some stellar ones.

As for the government vs private sector comparisions, I think we've passed that stage in society. The private sector was primarily responsible for the economic collapse we've seen and our private sector health care system is a laughingstock across the world. Government may not do a great job with it, but they can't do much worse than what we have now.

It is odd though to see so many people complaining about spending that were silent when we dumped trillions into the Iraq War fiasco.

We went through ehealthinsurance.com. Actually extremely impressed by them. Didn't do it online but over the phone. The lady compared all the major companies and all their plans for us to choose from. Was really helpful and even told us to take a cheaper plan because the more expensive one didn't really offer anything more. She also works as our rep when we have issues with the company. Kind of a middle man as working directly through the insurance company is an absolute fucking disaster.

I do and I pay wayyyyy too much

I had, nowadays I carry an elixir that never makes me sick... :)

Yes, I have health insurance.

Thanks. She sent me a breakdown of several from grouphealthbid.com but I hate reading all the fine print. I do it, but I dread it and just makes it take longer to decide. Can't just go by cost.

Social Security is basically just money in vs money out. And its been on track to go bankrupt for quite some time. A good example of government at work.

We are not talking about creating an "Agency" like the FTA or FDA or anything else... we are talking about a massive transformation of the health care system from what it is, to something it isn't and never has been and at a time when we can't afford the shit we are doing, much less taking on massive financial unknowns.

They want 1k+ for me. Perfectly healthy 26 y/o

I'll just default on the bill if I have to go.. They can't put that shit on your credit.. lol

Social Security isn't going bankrupt. It can stay at its current pace for 40 years without any changes. With some minor reforms it can go for decades longer. The issues we'd run into with funding are based more on the fact people are living much longer and are expected to continue that trend for decades.

In any case, it's a fairly efficient system. Keeps track of everything you've paid in, pays out efficiently to people. Adjusts when spouses die and so on. The other examples weren't meant to mirror what a health care system would be, just pointing out our government can put together succesful programs.

The health care system isn't impossible to run. Most industrialized countries have one in place. Many of these countries much more corrupt than our own. I don't think it'll be peaches and cream, but it can't be any worse than the current system we have now.

How can that be? If you have nothing wrong with you, you should be able to get a decent plan for under $200/month. When I quit my last job years ago and went into this full time, I had to buy my own and it was like $130/month. I was in my mid-20's too.

What really pisses me off is the the AMA opposed WalMart from opening clinics in their stores to provide people cheap access to basic care...open every day with no appointments necessary....mostly to treat things like ear and sinus infections, strep throat, lacerations and other minor things.

We have a clinic nearby which is open from 5- 10 pm and will treat you for $90. Otehr charges apply if tests-medication needed. It is run by doctors & nurses after normal hours to help those who don't have insurance or those who don't want to use the emergency room or wait for an appt. at their own dr.

No tax money is used....these doctors saw a niche & filled it. They make money & people get help.

And you should too... Why pay that huge premium to cover the small stuff. Do the math and stick a few k away. You can cover the medicine and deductible and they can cover the big stuff.

This is exactly what i have....its insane....is there a different plan than Kaiser?

So far it looks like 1 out of 3 GFYers who have responded to this poll are uninsured.

nope. we've got great insurance

I have insurance and my co-pays are $25 a visit. Prescriptions are pretty cheap. I am paying well for it. Like someone said all it takes is one ER visit with no insurance and then you are paying a shitload to the hospital.

I have to say I don't understand this position. A broken foot is one thing, but what if you get diagnosed with cancer? What if you simply come down with a real bad case of food poisoning and need to spend a few days in a hospital? Right there you're talking 6 figure hospital bill. I understand being able to pay for the minor stuff, but any serious health issue literally can bankrupt you overnight.

you aren't going to get 6 figure bill for a few days in a hospital for a food poisoning... maybe 10k tops... which is certainly rough, but it's not going to bankrupt you....:2 cents:

1K a month?! Damn! I'm fully covered for $90/mo! Move to europe ;)

I'm lucky. My wife works in the medical profession, and they always have good health care. I'm covered.

I do. My company paying for it.

my issue is simple.. similar to what you said. "universal healthcare" might be great. i'm not really against the idea in principle.

what i'm against is the idea that we can all agree the system that currently exists is fucked.. but we don't do anything to fix it. trial attorneys still run the show. i was talking to my neighbor (medical physicist) about liability in medicine. he was explaining how you can't be a radiologist without getting constantly sued.... because trial attorneys and the legal system can't accept any degree of error - yet, we are asking imperfect people who make errors to help us get better and often to save our lives or that of someone we care about.

"universal health care" isn't "fixing" anything. its scrapping one way that we couldn't manage for a massive unknown, a massive/costly learning curve and one that will be paid for by tax dollars. it just sounds good... its an appeasing concept that appeals to the lowest common denominator of society. those who produce the least, benefit the most. those who contribute the least, get the most benefit from this. those who do produce, get punished. those who work hard, act responsibly, live responsibly and so on are the ones who have to pay for this.

its completely retarded that people can bitch about the cost of health care and then think that someone government is revamp the entire system, create something we've never done, reduce those cost for you and provide any decent level of care without an unreasonable tax burden.

That's not necessarily true. I had high deductible insurance that left me responsible for the first $4,000 in medical bills per year. My son broke his arm and had to go to the hospital to have it reset, and when I got the bill from the hospital it was almost $2,000. My insurance wouldn't cover any of it, but they did apply their forced pricing- which is the max the insurance company will allow the hospital to bill someone under their coverage- and the bill dropped down to just under $800.

Even with the insurance company paying NO money to the hospital, I saved $1,300 by having insurance. That really pissed me off that the hospital would charge so much to people they assume will be paying on their own. They probably would have offered me 20% off the $2,000 to pay cash, whereas the insurance company forced them to discount the original amount by 60%.

Of course, many of them, take some time and do some research www.ehealthinsurance.com I find that most of the time people are overpaying because they're too lazy to look at alternatives.

Dang cutie! I think you should shop around if you can get out of your existing plan. A lot of the insurance companies have lowered their rates or created new programs with lower rates and better coverage. I went from $386/mo to $236/mo including dental.

Well thats about the same as mine which is for a family of 4 ;-) but i think i am going to look into incresing the deductible, doctor visit fee and presciption fees higher....currently i have no deductibles and zero fees.....

Changes everything.

i have health insurance but i don`t use it :) tips and cash are the power in my country :)