[villagegolfer]

Originally Posted by Hal :-)

Medicare is a problem, but I think the solution is to fix the system. Our third-party payer system doesn't work. The rest of the developed world all have single payer. The insurance industry has basically hijacked our system. Our system is twice as costly, per capita, as any other country.

The Government already covers 50% of the health care cost - Medicare, medicaid, gov't employees, military, etc. The taxpayer covers the most expensive - the elderly, major illnesses resulting in loss of jobs and health coverage, etc. while the profit-oriented insurance companies get the gravy - healthy young and middle-aged adults and children that pay huge premiums and use little health services.

Since we pay twice as much per capita and the Gov't is paying 50%, our taxes are already paying the same per capita as every other country. Therefore, the private insurance expense is just wasteful excess to support private industry.

Unfortunately, when the subject of universal health care comes up, the typical reaction is that the government doesn't do anything right. I don't know why we can't when everyone else does. What we have now is certainly not working and only continues to worsen. It would seem to me that adding those healthy young folks to the medicare system would be quite simple and relatively inexpensive. Rather than wait till 65 and then take them from the private insurers, as the largest medical cost are about to begin.

The deck is stacked against us. Big corporate interest has bought and paid for the politicians and they make the rules. It makes me sick (pun intended) every time I see a commercial telling me to ask my doctor about the little purple pill. Only one other country (New Zealand) allows advertising of prescription drugs. We're paying the cost of that advertising and all it's doing is promoting excessive use and unnecessary cost.

Social security worked when 78 million Baby Boomers worked. That will not be the case very long. We borrow 42 cents of every dollar we spend. Social security is tied into the Federal Budget. The polls taken recently that 30-40 year olds do not expect any retirement money. Painting a rosy picture will not solve the problem.