FixHealthCarePolicy

Dennis might also have mentioned that a government health insurance plan will not be cheaper for the country. Although individuals may face lower rates taxpayers will wind up paying for the rest. Once medicare like insurance drives private insurance out of the market the payment rates to providers will go up since cross subsidies from privatly insured patients will be gone. The eventual rationing is not really cheaper from a social welfare point of view

Two things: Dennis Smith says, and I'm paraphrasing, "we don't even know what the president will support". That SHOULD be irrelevant. This is about US, we the people, not what Obama wants. Secondly, as to those who can afford insurance, but don't want to pay for it, DON'T cover them, don't force them. Have them sign a release, stating that they are voluntarily not buying insurance. Then, when they need health care, they have to pay out of pocket. Period.
This whole health care thing is just another power grab by the progressive pretend-democrats, anyway. We're all screwed.

As a senior citizen, I feel sure that we will be rationed for our care since we we are the ones who utilize so much of the health care in our last years. I am very opposed to a national health care program.

It doesn't compute that anyone can fight the government in pricing health insurance to the consumer. What company is going to pay $10K when the government offers $6K for the product. Of course the government can also dictate the price without negotiating. In a very small microcosm, what is being doing with TriCare for our military is an indicator of what NHC might be like. If a military family happens to not be on a base with internal health care they find it difficult if not impossible to find physicians who will care for them. Referrals from primary care are even more difficult. Regulations and restrictions on care make no sense and further remove the military family from access. It is such a disaster that most practitioners opt out rather than deal with the hassle of this program. Our pediatric practice sees TriCare patients only because of a sense of respect to our military. Not only is the reimbursement lower than Medicare, the regulations and restrictions are worse. If this was our whole practice we would not survive. If NHC goes into effect the first response will be for thriving practices to not accept NHC, care will be sparse and poor, all forcing government mandates to accept NHC regardless of reimbursement or suffer consequences that only the government can impose. This is free market totally disrespected and will force those considering medicine as a profession to look elsewhere. Foreign graduates will likely become the primary caregivers in our country as the market forces those that spends $200K plus on medical education to consider less risky professions. I pray this does not happen.

I have no doubt that a public system would kill the current system. The deck is automatically stacked againt private industry when you have unlimited and unrestrained ability to create unlimited funds by taxing the masses. There is very obviously waste in the insurance processing of claims, but there are also the mandates and this privacy nonsense and requirements placed on providers that run up costs. Government is plenty of what is wrong right now. I don't want a beauracrat who care not one iota about the masses making decisions regarding what is covered and what is not. Look at medicare. There is very little common sense used in what is and is not covered. We need reform but not at this pace like the stimulus package. It is just Obama's way of taking over another industry in this society. Congress does not care about the individual.