Reply #20: Let Me Clarify...

[KharmaTrain]

Currently millions have zero coverage...totally frozen out of the system. Millions more have substandard care...I'm addressing the need to just set a minimum standard of care for people that is similar to other countries. The question to be debated is how we get there...and unfortunately, we get the lesser of the evils...does the government administer it or mandate the insurance companies to do so? Or is there a third way???

Right now the poor get almost no care. This is especially the case with preventative care. The system is now based on dealing with emergencies that drive up costs. In many foreign countries the longer lives and lower health costs are a direct reflection of accessibility of people to get regular check-ups and more direct personal care. Our current system has all but removed the family physician...who has been forced into working with HMOs, PPO and other insurance company regimes.

The problem, as Moore has pointed out, is that education and the debate on this topic was shut down cold in '94 and we need to take a complete far different view on our healthcare situation. I profess no answers, just my own experiences...and that we need to remove the insurance companies from being the gatekeepers to our healthcare system...but is the government the real agent of change?