US doctors demand health care for 40m without private insurance

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/international.cfm?id=902922003

THOUSANDS of doctors in America are calling for the introduction of a national health system to provide treatment for the 40 million people without private insurance.

They want to see the creation of a service covering prescription drugs and "catastrophic" care, as well as money to pay doctors a fair wage for their services.

The prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), saying that "the health care mess is too real for anyone to ignore", last week published a proposal a single, national health insurance company that would pay for healthcare.

The system, which would cost no more than the present system, was endorsed by more than 8,000 doctors, including two former surgeons-general.

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[short bus president]

1. this uninsured American concurs. n/t

[mhr]

2. Hear, Hear!

No health care here for three years.

Damn this tooth hurts!

[yakmoe]

3. I actually

heard Rush say recently, that everyone in this country already has access to healthcare. He was railing againts universal coverage. He was arguing with a Dr., no less. Rush was using the fact that emergency rooms must take care of you. Shit, they only have to stabilize you. IDIOTS! This country should be the leader in universal coverage.

[duid12]

8. rush is an idiot

>>that everyone in this country already has access to healthcare

Funny, how the idiots will argue that everybody already has access to all the free health care they need...BUT will also argue that we can't give free health care to everyone because it will be too expensive...can't have it both ways.

[whathappened]

4. got me hanging from a limb

went to doc the other day and thought i was getting blood pulled to check my blood for sugar and colesteral and was told no , medicare will only pay to have it done once a year , i said hell i could be dead by then , well just keep taking your medicine which i can't afford to buy and had to quit taking it , dam this sucks , we are the riches nation in the world i'm told and we are letting our people die because someone out there don't want to spend any money on health care for all the people of this country

[diamond14]

10. 200,000 Americans will DIE from diabetes this year...more than

AIDS and breast cancer combined....

and it's a horrible way to die...so many people are dying from diabetes because the shrub cut off all funding for diabetes education and for insulin...no one will speak for the sick...and every year... 200,000 more will DIE while bush* delays prescription drugs...it's truly a death sentence, which bush* gloats over...bush* even cut off any chance of a cure for diabetes when he banned research on stem-cells...let them DIE is the bush* madness.....

[aquart]

5. Bloody about time.

How many died while we waited for them to get off their asses?

[grilled onions]

6. The underinsured and the loopholes

A disturbing trend is those on Medicare often can't find a doctor/clinic anymore. Medicare is so slow in re-inbursing and pay so little many places are barring future patients if Medicare is all they have. Many may have insurance but that famous phrase "pre-existing" allows insurance companies to cover very little of medical expenses. We need medical coverage for all citizens. I hope it becomes reality some day.

[SickOfSpin]

17. Drug Assistance Resources

There are some resources out there specifically for Medicare recipients and some other programs available for uninsured folks with limited income to help with drug costs. A couple of places to check out and pass around to those who might need the information are:

[newyawker99]

18. Hi SickOfSpin!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[SickOfSpin]

19. Thanks for the welcome!

I've actally been coming here daily for quite some time. I don't "feel" new, but since I never post, I guess I AM new!

[qanda]

7. No one will even consider insuring my husband

Because of the drugs he takes for asthma. It would sure be nice to have the health insurance system fixed. I'm not asking for anything free, just something that is available and affordable.

[duid12]

9. damn right

>>It would sure be nice to have the health insurance system fixed. I'm not asking for anything free, just something that is available and affordable.


Couldn't agree more...I already pay darn near $10,000 per year ($850 per month), from a $36K income for a policy for my family. As I am self-employed I need to pay the whole thing...and we are relatively healthy...not sure how much longer I can keep it up.

[yakmoe]

12. Play the Cobra Game

Get any job that offers health care, once you are covered for one full day, you can quit and go on COBRA for 18 months, then repeat before the 18 months is up. Your coverage will be better and most likely cheaper if it is an HMO.

[shanti]

14. i commend you

you really know how to work the system, i.e., make the system work for YOU! i will pass that tip on!~

[yakmoe]

11. Insurance

was desinged to spread the burden. Everyone pays, and cost controlls are put in place. There needs to be enough left over to make R&D worthwhile. I don't have all the answers, except that there are enough smart minds out there that this issue could be solved within a year or two.

[diamond14]

13. get rid of drug advertising....and get rid of profiteering middlemen

also known as the insurance companies, like AETNA, Kaiser-Permanente, Blue Cross/Blue Shield....NOBODY should be allowed to make a profit off of people's misfortunes and illnesses...it's really an obscene concept...yet the majority of money in healthcare actually goes to obscene buildings/offices/staff/investors who make money off sick people...those sick and dying people least able to defend themselves...

somehow, it was too horrible for the pentagoon to put out a terrorist profit game....but nobody screams about the obscenity having profitteers make money off the sick and dying...and selling very profitable stocks on the backs of the dying Americans...where's the outrage...it wasn't always like this...these huge profits began in about the mid-80's, which is when the profiteers started blocking those with 'prior illness' and throwing out all those that were sick...raising premiums, and shifting the costs directly to those least able to bear it: those with chronic and incurable diseases...

[PartyPooper]

15. All of the $billions of dollars spent for "war" and destruction

of human lives in Iraq...instead, coulda made life a lot more bearable (and, affordable) for lots of Americans! Plus, we wouldn't have killed anybody in the process! Does anybody here 'get it'?

And, I blame all of those who voted for Bush and the Republican congress, too! They all have blood on their hands!

Shame on all of them!

:-(

[alarimer]

16. My Republican father

He told me today that he thinks we need a system like Canada's- some kind of socialized medicine. I almost passed out from the shock! He is the worst sort of laissez-faire Republican there is. Capitalism rules and all that so imagine my shock we actually agreed on something.

[R Hickey]

20. The health insurance industry sure scammed me.

I bought a health insurance policy once that had premiums which increased every six months. After five years of perfect health, my premiums were exactly five hundred percent of what they had started out at.