Okay! Time for bipartisanship - let's get rid of the mandate & keep the rest of the bill.

[grahamhgreen]

Then we are left with great insurance reform without giving trillions to big insurance to lobby (for decades) against the reform in the bill.

the Rebubs will love it, so will the people, the only losers are big insurance who will be forced to really compete!

[coti]

1. HUZZAH!! YOU'VE SAVED US!!

Wait...why do I get the feeling there are people who WON'T want to do this?

[havocmom]

2. Works for me. Works for you. Works for America!

[Sebastian Doyle]

3. Countdown to insurance industry apologist making ridiculous comparisons to Social Security/Medicare.

5....4...3..2...1....

[daleanime]

4. Combine it with...

a Medicare buy-in(Grayson's bill!) and you've covered all the problems.

[napi21]

5. Something has to replace the mandate. One of the reasons

for high HC costs is because the uninsured use the ER as their primary care facility, and the ER is the most expensive care of all. People go to the ER for the flu, a cold, an earache, etc. I don't know what that alternative would be, but it must change to accomplish reducing unnecessary costs in HC.

[glowing]

6. What study says that sick people won't go to the ER? People who now have

insurance will be more apt to use the ER because they have ins., where as before, they would put it off completely. I would say the ER rooms will be just as full as before. Maybe not for an earache.. but if its 2am and your 6mo old has a fever and earache, you would be in the ER because its the only place open. Some times flu, cold etc are ER types of issues...

[napi21]

8. Your story about the 2AM case is correct, but THAT is what the ER's are for!

Stop by sometime in your spare time and just observe what you see during the day, and early evenings. My best friend is an officer at the largest hospital system in Pgh. Pa. She's worked there for 26 years. People who can't afford to go to a Dr. office because they don't have the $170 for an office visit go to the ER for many minor ailments because the ER is required to treat them. When I say minor ailments, I mean things that are NOT EMERGENCIES!

Anything after Dr. office hours & on weekends qualify for an ER because you have little to no alternative.

Locally, we have several Urgen care facilities that are open not only during regular hours but later in the evenings & on weekends, which is wonderful, but without ins. the cost is still in the $160 range if you have no ins.

[sabrina 1]

7. How do they do it in all those other countries, far less wealthy

than this one, yet they can take care of both the healthcare needs of their citizens and their medications.

No one is mandated (it's anti-democratic to force people to buy something they can't afford, especially when that something is NOT a commodidy but a right) in those countries to buy insurance. Any politician who even suggested such a rightwing idea would be risking their careers and maybe even their lives. Did you see what happened in France last week when their president announced he was going to start cutting costs? The guy has been too close to this government for his own good. One million people instantly went on strike, teachers, nurses, truck drivers etc. They don't put up with the stupid excuses given to them by politicians when they know they are lying to them.

This country spends more money on the Military and prisons than all other countries in the world combined. We have the money to provide the best health care to every single citizen in the country. It's not the money that is a problem it's the priorities. We'd rather kill foreigners, than keep our own people healthy.

[napi21]

10. Very simple answer. Higher taxes. The Pubs in the US

have beern very successful at convincing not only their own party members but most others that taxes are HORRIBLE!

As an example, any years ago european countries realized they were becoming increasingly dependant on oil rich countries and they decided to stop a disaster before it happened. They increased taxes on gasoline dramatically. Consumer demand made car mfg;s produce diesel powered vehicles and smaller vehicles too, to reduce fuel usage.

A study was done to determine what country had the happiest citizens. The result was Denmark. Yes the Danes complain about their taxes too, but they love the services they get for those taxes and arent willing to give up any of them. I saw the film, and even their complaints were made with a smile. We don't like the high taxes but we love the life we have so we don't complain much.

[Molchmeister]

12. Healthcare a Right?

Yes and no. You have the Right to take care or yourself and your loved ones to the best of your ability, but if you need the skills of a doctor then that is a commodity/service. Just like you have the Right to own land, but you just can't take it from someone else.

[grahamhgreen]

13. If everyone has Medicare, all the other costs for liability inurance go down! In the end there are

savings that are rarely discussed here.

Car insurance is a fraction of the price - people medical bills are already covered, as is liability for your house, business, etc.

Of course, when you have this bill that does not really give universal coverage like we have now, you do not get these savings.

That's why we need to get rid of the mandate to buy private insurance - we need to bring big insurance to their knees.

[grahamhgreen]

9. The profits of big insurance will just be curtailed, that's all.

[Molchmeister]

11. Not only the uninsured but many medicaid programs....

Require no copay so E.R.'s become the primary care provider of convenience. Running up the cost of state medicaid programs.