Reply #15: Welcome to DU. Now, about our website... [View All]

We're a diverse group here. We run the gamut from liberal to progressive. :)

Seriously, the founders - great guys - and moderators - great people - can point you to the website FAQ. But basically, we support the Democratic Party and its core principles.

I'll speak for myself.

1. Profit is an economic tool and can be used for good or ill. Unregulated markets lead to corporatism, not capitalism - (The Shock Doctrine).
2. First rule of health care - preventive medicine; each of us is our own first primary caregiver. Second rule of health care - it's a partnership between patient and doctor; work together. Third rule of health care - if you want a good partner, choose wisely and recognize he or she needs to be paid well; it's not easy becoming or being a physician. Fourth rule of health care - first line of support for physicians are hospitals and pharmaceuticals; they're there to help the doctor do his or her job. If they make a profit, that's lagniappe. Corollary: service first, profit second. Fifth rule of health care - insurance exists to share the risk. See the corollary to the fourth rule. A for-profit insurance company has a built-in, endemic conflict of interest, unless the owners are the insured. (Hmm, sounds like, uh, wait - oh, yeah - government run!). An executive/board cannot maximize profits for investors and maximize health care for participants simultaneously.

3. In short, health care reform must a) reduce patient cost; b) extend coverage to all; c) emphasize preventive and lifestyle choices that reduce illness (social cost); d) guarantee high quality training for physicians, doctor independence and proper compensation; e) re-orient or regulate the market so that if there's a profit, there's a proportional service that goes with it.

Welcome to DU. You're exactly the kind of individual I, and I'm sure others around here, admire. And you're living proof of what Obama - and those of us on DU - are fighting for!!!