What you're failing to realize is that the cost of medical care is high because of what WE have done to it:
Medications: We must test, retest and test again. And then pull the medication and pay out class action lawsuits if .000001% have a bad reaction to it. I also think the patent office needs to get on grip on the pharma patents and not issue a different patent for the same drug with a minuscule change just because the patent is running out. Another thing is how America takes care of itself: There was a recent TIME magazine article about the high cost of prescriptions. The most expensive and widely used were those for depression and high cholesteral. We are a nation that wants to live irresponsibly and then when the illnesses come, we want the government to pay to make us all better.
Hospital bills: Why do you think they are so high? At LEAST half of all hospital bills don't get paid. Ever. Where do you think the money is going to come from? By raising the rates for those who DO pay, which is usually the insurance company.
Insurance: When the hospitals raise the rates to the insurance companies, who do you think they pass those raises to? The person buying the health insurance.
Doctors: Many doctors have stopped accepting ANY Medicaid or Medicare patients. Why? Because they are both such totally hosed up systems. Guess who is going to running the program if we get national health care? You guessed it - the same people currently running Medicaid and Medicare.
Personally, I think health insurance should be required for EVERYONE on a sliding scale. Home insurance is required if you have a loan. Auto liability insurance is required in every state I know of. I have MANY posters on this board say they don't have health insurance, yet they go to all the shows and/or drive a nice car and/or live in a nice home and/or go out partying constantly. I'll see if I can find it again, but I read where the majority of the people in the US who don't have health insurance earn over $50K a year. And you're telling me they are forgoing health insurance in order to pay for food? BS. They are forgoing health insurance to pay for keeping up with the Jones.
I would mind a national health plan on ONE condition: Not only do I get to keep my personal plan, but I also don't have to pay a dime into the system.
