We've been friends since childhood. We're in our 6th decade on the planet. She is still working a job that pays less than minimum wage after her commute, because it provides her and her college-age daughters with health insurance.

who still have not gone away.


http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Four-Freedoms-Greatest-Generation/dp/1451691432/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413734253&sr=1-1&keywords=four+freedoms+kaye


http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=fight+for+the+four+freedoms+c+span&FORM=VIRE3#view=detail&mid=21156AC9AC8BC108A38321156AC9AC8BC108A383

- Detection of emerging health issues such as epidemics
- Monitor efficacy and adverse reactions with drugs and medications
- long-term evaluation of treatment options
- Comparisons of hospitals for infection rates, readmissions and cost of care

A single-payer system could enforce health care data standardization across all providers, allowing consistent and available sources of data for the entire population for entire lives. Right now this is only a pipe dream for researchers because HMOs treat data about delivery of care as if it belongs to them. Gaining access from multiple sources is extremely expensive and time-consuming.

Look at it this way. Right now, hospitals are treated like separate companies. Good hospitals, bad hospitals and so on. The same hospitals are at the top, year after year, the same ones are at the bottom and the hospitals at the top love this. It's branding … marketing … advertising. Many of these rankings are based on opinion rather than hard data. The unit of analysis is 'episode of care' not patients. The best cardiac care … the best oncology … not the healthiest persons.

The goal should be to make all hospitals perform to the same high standard, sharing advances in care delivery. Only a single-payer can work toward those ends with any hope of success.

Keeping us sick is in the private, for-profit interest.

On the front page in May, by September it was on page 31 that most of the story was overblown, if not lies.

The VA system is largely the MODEL for how efficient, coordinated and science-based the US system ought to be.

Per NPR last week, there are over 1000 people on administrative leave pending actions as a result of investigations.

When adequately staffed and within a reasonable distance, I agree with you somewhat, otherwise, not so much. Either way single payer would make it redundant and the facilities could be opened to the public.

Duh. Misdirection FAIL

We're talking about single-payer with an additional restriction making it illegal to provide a covered service for a covered person outside of the single payer system. That's a much, much bigger lift politically and you know that.

Probably an hour or two on the phone trying to figure out who got paid what, and why I am out $800 when I have insurance. It's great!!!!