ObamaCare and me By Zane F Pollard, MD

[Nova_C]

I'm sure that's part of the equation. Do you think that health care (and it actually should be called "disease treatment") is one sixth of our GDP because of diet and STDs, however?

Is it that we have too many tests ordered for us, there are huge inefficiencies in both treatment and administration, and there are costs (marketing, lobbying, etc.) and expenses that need to be recovered?

If you want to wager your Cheetos and syphilis against my lack of a universal format for medical records and lobbyist consulting fees, I'll take that bet.

Dale

It's also more expensive to treat emergency conditions in an ER instead of providing preventative care and limiting the number of people who end up going to the hospital.

 

[Drizzt80]

It's downright childish.

Grow up...or kill yourself. Either way, the world would be a better place...

I'm sure my opinion won't mean squat to you, but telling someone, anyone, to go kill themself has no moral justification, in any argument, as far as I'm concerned. Your opinion means squat to me from here on out. Have a nice day.

D80

 

[danielle]

Man did I miss a lot, lol. Dale I started my career with a Bachelors in psychology and did community counseling mostly drug and alcohol abuse related, then I got a degree doing radiology scanning, and now my Masters in applied science and health care administration. I intern at NIH and in December will graduate and take a position with the NIA allocating research funds and overseeing studies for diseases like alzheimer's, cancers, and heart disease. So to answer your question I have been on both ends of the health care spectrum and yes still have not come across 1 person who thinks a universal system will be successful here from a clinical or administrative stand point. The reason is both quality and range of accessible care will be decreased, and providers will be reimbursed less-neither side wins. You say our government will do an overhaul and make care more efficient so it costs less cutting budgets- name 1 government program that spends its money efficiently. You admit they will run fewer tests claiming in our country they run too many, but many argue the definition of medical necessity is too strict now as it is including many supporters of the program so how is this not going to negatively impact the quality of care or increase accessibility? Then you say taxes will be increased too in order to fund our national program which I already stated,lol So all the people whining about their take home are really gonn be pissed when they take home even less to receive budgeted care. Any HS student could tell you this is no way to reform a system Dale And yes I want you to look at this bill, read whats being proposed, think about how providers are reimbursed now as it is, and tell me providers won't ration care to avoid bankruptcy. I also think it is not the patient that is the direct profit center, but the services and procedures just like in any business. The customer buys services or products and these monies from the sale of services and products generate revenues. Profit is total revenues-total expenses but you already know that so why bring it up? Controling cost is important for both the consumer and entity so again DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The product must be consumed to generate revenue and the entity must be able to afford providing the product or service I know your smarter than this. Health care is an industry....as in a business and providers must be able to afford to give care just as much as consumers have to be to able to afford to consume the care for either to be successful. I believe in health care reform and so do most people, but most people once they figure out how our government plans to reform health care are not going to be happy paying higher taxes, waiting for care, and then receiving less in return. I am done with this futile arguement in which NO ONE can highlight why this is a good way to run our system, and instead insults each other to cover they have nothing intelligent to say

 

[Pruddock]

Danielle, you work in healthcare from an administrative standpoint. Can you answer me this question? Medicare recently changed the way it allocates funds to seniors to reimburse for drugs "for the better". How does that system work again? God I love the government lol

 

[danielle]

Heres a link not that its that helpful coming from our government,lol
Each plan for prescriptions vary so none work the same in enough ways to be described as one comprehenive plan:http://www.medicare.gov/pdphome.asp.
The long and short is go to Walmart to have them filled......seriously

 

[tyflier]

I'm sure my opinion won't mean squat to you, but telling someone, anyone, to go kill themself has no moral justification, in any argument, as far as I'm concerned. Your opinion means squat to me from here on out. Have a nice day.

D80

Well...I'll try not to kil myself over it... oke:

Payton--
I've been done with this topic for some time. Right around the time it dawned on me that every time the conservative position is proven to be falted, erroneous or just plain made up...it becomes something else, equally invalid. Yuo and the "others" can sit here and bad mouth people, hurl about insults, use complete lies and myths, and basically make things up, but God forbid I tell someone to "ghrow up...or kill yourself". Of course...had KJUN, or Drizzt, or yourself said that to me, it would have gotten a big laugh, some rep points, and a pat on the back.

Me, a sheep? Nah. Hate conservatives? Yea. I ahte anyone that demands the right to live the way they want to, but refuses that same right to anyone else. Can't stand the hypocrisy beyond the entire ideal. Drives me crazy, to be honest. And so does 90% of the people that believe in it.

I don't expect you care, or respond, or even like. Couldn;t possibly care less one way or the other. For all of your blather...you're no better than anyone else in any of these topics, so be careful when you step down off your high horse to not slip and fall. Drizzt, you too. I know I was...

 

[danielle]

Chris, I have not hurled one insult or called anyone a name you included. I also understand the context of go kill yourself not meaning go kill yourself, lol As someone who is not conservative I still want the right to live the way I want as long as I provide for myself and not by asking someone to give it to me. No one has the right to be rich or poor; we do have the power to make ourselves rich or poor though. Thats why our country is the land of dreams. We can be what we want as long as we work for it- its not hypocritical at all.

 

[ForkedTung]

I am still curious, I have not seen an answer anywhere on this forum, but why do the "underprivileged" deserve to have health care (or anything for that matter) given to them, free of charge?

"There but for the grace of god go I"

 

[KJUN]

I would expect nothing less than unfoudned personal attacks from you, KJUN. It does seem to be your motis operandi, in almost every "debate" you've ever participated in.

Really. Do you have an inability to comprehend the written word? WHO did I attack in that post? Name a name. Point where I meant a single person who is a member here and attacked THAT individual. Do it.

Your classic response...if you don't think and feel like I do than you are lazy, socialist, liberal, tree-hugging hippy.

If someone wants more without earning it, then they are lazy or a thief. That's all I say. Quote me from now on. Save it. Don't twist my words because I'm not sure you can comprehend a statement and re-state it accurately. If you do not believe someone getting MORE for not doing than someone who is doing, why not just explain why you think that someone DESERVES more than they EARN?

You posts are so blatantly laced with anti-liberal sentiment

You got something right finally. Of course, I doubt it was on purpose. I AM anti-liberal, but it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. I DO believe that a person deserves to keep what they EARN...and nobody deserves ANYTHING that the do not earn themselves. I'm not saying it shouldn't be available - I'm saying they don't deserve it just because they are still circulate blood. Nobody has ever said why that is a BAD ideal.

Quite frankly...you can go F yourself.
...
Grow up...or kill yourself.
...
It's downright childish.

I'm sorry, who's childish? I might be a little confused here. At least I can make my statements without resorting to mock profanity to "prove" my point.

 

[KJUN]

Something in the neighborhood of 57% in favor of medical reform.

I missed that post (and too busy trying to get to work) to go back and look. From YOUR wording, however, I'd like to point out that being in favor of reform doesn't at all mean they favor the apparent package Obama (or Oblahblah as some have started calling him after his 7th repetitive speech saying the same thing again) is trying to force down on us. Again, you can be FOR reform while being AGAINST the type of reform we fear is on the horizon.

Problem is...that may not help most people because these things are specifically written to be barely understandbale by "layman", and I am as lay as they come...

Actually, reading laws is an acquired skill just like anything else from walking to engine repair. It just takes practice and comprehension. If you aren't used to reading the language as such, then it really can be daunting at first. In a manner similar to learning to read English as a child, you just need guidance and practice in learning how to read legislative "bills." Thankfully, since we already know how to read English and locate reference material, we have all the tools we need already available to us to become, if not proficient, at least adequate in our ability to comprehend the language of our legal documents.

It's not, though. That's like saying welfare is universal. Having to jump through hoops and meet all sorts of qualifications is pretty much the antithesis to 'universal'.

What happens when the hoops become so large that it isn't a challenge to jump through them? Heck, do they even give lip service anymore (in most offices) to requiring you to look for a job to help get yourself off of welfare anymore? (Unemployment isn't welfare in many ways, and this is a system I like: you pay into it, you have requirements to get/keep it, and it is a "forever" thing.)

I'm merely asking him to do the world a favor...one way or the other...Remember that "kill yourself" was not my only suggestion...

I'm the childish one.....lol.

Conversely, why does the USA have the shortest life expectancy of all the nations in the G5?

Numerous studies have shown that the best DIET ("only" in some reviews) to extend life expectancy in the US is to have a reduce calorie diet. WE ARE FAT! We eat too much - especially processed carbohydrates and plain old fat. (I have no clue about how to compare smoking among countries - or drinking, etc. - to see how those effect the life expectancy among regions. we may be better, equal, or worse on those - but we are definitely some of the most glutinous eaters!)

We shouldn't concentrate on the short lives, but we should look to see how LONG we do live as such a fat population. If we didn't have such great medical care, we would all be dead at 40......lol. (I wonder if all the immigration helps reduce our life expectancy, too? I have NO CLUE, but what other country has the quantity of total immigrants that we do?)

 

[mike17l]

Yuo and the "others" can sit here and bad mouth people, hurl about insults, use complete lies and myths, and basically make things up, but God forbid I tell someone to "ghrow up...or kill yourself". Of course...had KJUN, or Drizzt, or yourself said that to me, it would have gotten a big laugh, some rep points, and a pat on the back.

But herein lies the problem "Yuo and the 'others'" have not told you or anyone else to go "F yourself" or to "kill yourself". You did that, not one of the "others". You made a very personal attack, not one of the "others". So pat yourself on the back and learn to use reason, not personal attacks.

"There but for the grace of god go I"

Is that supposed to mean something, because it sure didn't answer the question.

 

[Nova_C]

That's right. Lazy people who don't get MORE than someone that actually works and improves themselves (i.e., can get those higher paying jobs or work harder and make more money) ARE willing to try anything....especially communism, socialism, and anythign else that takes from the rich and gives to the poor. I guess they've read Robin Hood a few too many times....

This is KJUN's post. He claims 'lazy people' want 'communism, socialism...'

I read it the same way Tyflier did - that supporters of socialism are all lazy.

Note: None of you seem to have read my post answering Mike's question. If you guys won't acknowledge someone's response, don't bother asking.

 

[mike17l]

This is KJUN's post. He claims 'lazy people' want 'communism, socialism...'

I read it the same way Tyflier did - that supporters of socialism are all lazy.

He said lazy people want socialism, he did not say that all socialist are lazy. You know what happens when you assume?

Note: None of you seem to have read my post answering Mike's question. If you guys won't acknowledge someone's response, don't bother asking.

This is what you said:

I don't think that they do.

So you agreed with us that they do not deserve the money that I earned.

 

[mike17l]

So the next question would be, what gives anyone the right to tell me that I have to help the "less fortunate", whom many times are actually lazy (not always, just many times)?

 

[Nova_C]

So you agreed with us that they do not deserve the money that I earned.

That's correct.

Of course, what does 'earning' something mean, or what does 'deserving' something mean? If someone does the same work you do and makes more than you, are they not earning that money? Do they not deserve it? Who are you and KJUN to dictate what people do not deserve? Who are you to claim that the money you 'earn' you really deserve?

Do home-makers earn nothing? Deserve nothing? What about the illegal immigrants working for less than minimum wage working longer hours than you? Do they deserve nothing? What about the people pulling down $500,000 a year? Are they working harder than you, deserve more than you?

Using someone's wage or salary as a determination for what they 'deserve' is barbaric. My job does not define my worth as a human being. Losing my job does not mean I'm worthless. Needing help does not make me a thief. Expecting a government to ensure a standard quality of life for all citizens of a nation does not make me lazy. Nor does it define those qualities of anyone else.

 

[Pruddock]

Expecting a government to ensure a standard quality of life for all citizens of a nation does not make me lazy. Nor does it define those qualities of anyone else.

Here's another question then. What DOES the government have to do to ENSURE a quality of life? It already provides public transportation, roads, EDUCATION, security, as well as many more services. I think what KJ, Mike, Brent, myself, and many others are trying to point out when referring to the terms "deserve" and "lazy" are that the government ALREADY provides a standard of living. This country was based on the principle that it is up to YOU to make a life. It shouldn't be up to everybody else to pull you up with them. I for one see the services the government provides to be more than enough to create a quality standard of living. The term "lazy" in my eyes refers to the fact that when people do not think ahead and take advantage of what the government has already provided them, i.e. an education, they automatically expect the government to continue to help them out because NOW they're going to get it right. I think that you're given plenty of opportunity to create a quality life for yourself. Education is free through high school and MOST community college's will accept anybody with a high school diploma or GED and even help you pay for it. Starting out with that kind of education is enough to put a determined person in a spot to make money and be a productive member of society. That is the point at which, I think, you're on your own. It's time to grow up and do something.

I don't think anybody will say that the government should give out NOTHING except for in extreme circumstances. I believe that what conservatives today are saying is that the government provides a pretty darn good amount of services and opportunities. Sooner or later it's gotta pull the plug and let you fail because you failed to take advantage of everything you've been provided up to that point.

 

[mike17l]

Personal Responsibility.

 

[Nova_C]

Here's another question then. What DOES the government have to do to ENSURE a quality of life? It already provides public transportation, roads, EDUCATION, security, as well as many more services. I think what KJ, Mike, Brent, myself, and many others are trying to point out when referring to the terms "deserve" and "lazy" are that the government ALREADY provides a standard of living. This country was based on the principle that it is up to YOU to make a life. It shouldn't be up to everybody else to pull you up with them. I for one see the services the government provides to be more than enough to create a quality standard of living. The term "lazy" in my eyes refers to the fact that when people do not think ahead and take advantage of what the government has already provided them, i.e. an education, they automatically expect the government to continue to help them out because NOW they're going to get it right. I think that you're given plenty of opportunity to create a quality life for yourself. Education is free through high school and MOST community college's will accept anybody with a high school diploma or GED and even help you pay for it. Starting out with that kind of education is enough to put a determined person in a spot to make money and be a productive member of society. That is the point at which, I think, you're on your own. It's time to grow up and do something.

I don't think anybody will say that the government should give out NOTHING except for in extreme circumstances. I believe that what conservatives today are saying is that the government provides a pretty darn good amount of services and opportunities. Sooner or later it's gotta pull the plug and let you fail because you failed to take advantage of everything you've been provided up to that point.

Okay, then why can't basic health care also be one of those services? If the government already provides so many things, why is there so much ideological resistance to 'socialist' health care when the government is already doing a bunch of socialist things? Why is the very health of your nation a less significant issue than a highway, or an aircraft carrier?

Mike, what do you mean by "Personal Responsibility"?

 

[KJUN]

This is KJUN's post. He claims 'lazy people' want 'communism, socialism...'

I read it the same way Tyflier did - that supporters of socialism are all lazy.

Note: None of you seem to have read my post answering Mike's question. If you guys won't acknowledge someone's response, don't bother asking.

"Lazy people who don't get MORE than someone "

English. I know it might be your second language since you are Canadian (is French in fact your main language - or even something else? I never thought about this before, but it would explain some of the confusion), but learn to read it before assuming it says something you don't. That statement is talking about LAZY people that want something. If you AREN'T lazy, then it does NOT apply to you. It never says EVERYONE that wants it is LAZY. It just says that the ones that DO want it AND are lazy.....yadda yadda yadda.

 

[KJUN]

Personal Responsibility.

I'm going to report you for profanity!