Richie: My point is that we ALREADY ration health care. Any parent trying to make an appointment for their kid knows this. In the 1980s, you could not find ONE SINGLE OB/GYN accepting new patients on Cape Cod because of what the insurance companies and other policies had done.

"Obamacare", at least to these eyes, looks like a sellout to the exact same insurance companies that had the public clamoring for health care reform in the first place.

New law says you can't drop someone for reasons related to a new cancer diagnosis? Fine. Then they just drop the patient with no explanation. That's how you get around THAT regulation (in California, apparently).

You can argue all you want about the various systems in the various countries and whether or not they're better or worse, but there's one thing you just can't get around in this country that has to be a MAJOR factor in causing the problem: cost.

I've said it before, but to sumarize, my ER visit in Montreal was handled right away (so much for waiting for treating something 'life threatening' - mine wasn't, just very painful) and very well. The total cost - and I've kept this bill, was ONE FIFTH what it would have cost here (About $500 vs at least $2500 here)

Can you imagine what the 'health care reform debate' would be if our costs were ONE FIFTH of what they are? ...how much less "medical bankruptcy" there'd be? ...how much more reasonable insurance premiums would be? ...how many more cases would be treated early, when it's easy instead of in crisis mode because people can't afford regular care?

To our doctors, we are patients. To the insurance companies, we are PROFIT CENTERS AND NOTHING MORE.