Show of hands, who here opposes single-payer universal health care in the US?

I'm very curious about this. I frequently see support for it here but have never seen any opposition. Some supporters feel the need to keep telling us to support it as if we didn't already. My gut tells me we are damn near 100% support around here.

The library of congress links rarely work for me, but it's House Resolution 676 if you want to look it up on http://thomas.loc.gov It's John Conyers' bill and he has around 80 cosponsors. It's also known as Expanded Medicare for all.

Here's more info on single payer:
http://www.pnhp.org/facts/what_is_single_payer.php
http://www.hr676.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-payer_health_care
http://www.house.gov/conyers/news_hr676.htm

If you oppose the plan, please reply here and tell us why. Don't be afraid, we won't gang up on you for taking the minority position. Methinks DUers are not the ones who need to be persuaded.

Peace, love, and health.

driving down prices, which will benefit ...

BWAHAHAHA!!! Sorry, sorry. Couldn't keep that up. :rofl:

No, I'm for single-payer, and I think you're a heartless greedhead if you believe the current system works.

we can sit back and watch the invisible hand cure all our problems. That's worked so well in the past.

:puke: BWAHAHA :rofl: That made me sick just to type it!

If the other industrialized nations have single payer then it must be working for them...otherwise they wouldn't keep it. Duh. Ours is working of course...it's working to keep profits high rather than provide health care.

You had me for a moment.

There's nothing like feeling your blood pressure rise and your temples throb, and then slowly realizing that you are reading satire. Boom! All that pressure gone in an instant.:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

but I am sure Washington will find a way to make it into an even larger profit taking orgy for the healthcare industry.

:rofl:

:rofl:

:rofl:

Scotch up my nose. :D

eom

I'll oppose it until you add "not-for-profit" to the description. ;)

hit pretty hard by the loss of revenue. To that i say, Tough Shit!

Since the Feds have picked up enormous tabs to keep them from being hit, 9-11, Katrina, wildfires and the like, who needs them anymore anyway? All they are doing is sucking in cash and disbursing very little.

No one w/insurance wants to lose it, per se, but they have the most ludicrous arguments for private health care I've ever seen:

It saves that taxpayer money.

Yeah right. Let those w/private health care pick up the entire cost of their insurance and see how fast they jump on UHC.

You'd be forced to see only physicians the Govt wants you to see.

BS, you'd see the same MD you see now, if you have insurance.

The British and Canadian plans are flawed.

Who says we can't eradicate those flaws in a plan we come up with? After all this is America!

I like my insurance.

So, keep it. But you're going to have to pay for it.

Medical care would go down in quality.

It already stinks unless you are connected to huge hospitals that give MD's incredible perks.

Medications would cost too much.

I guess most people who say that haven't been to a pharmacy lately. Shop around, the pricing is amazingly different at pahrmacies, and go generic!

And my favorite:

People would get care who don't deserve it.

All I can say to that is, :wtf: is the matter w/you!

with your plan now, you can only see who your insurance wants you to see, and get the treatments your insurance lets you get, otherwise you pay the full cost.

with single-payer, you can go to pretty much any doctor you want since there's only one payer. With the profit motive out, there's no reason to deny treatment.

so ridiculous. They have no concept in how the system works, they are already being manipulated and don't even know it.

God forbid you need a lifesaving procedure, and the insurance company denies it as "unnecessary" of "experimental". You die, and the Life Insurance people come back to your family and say..."why didn't he seek treatment, procedures are available?" So the L.I. is delayed as well...:eyes:

choose your own doctor.

My Norwegian cousin told me that when she moved to a new town, she went to city hall, where they gave her a list of local doctors and told her to take her pick.

it can't be done...go figure...

:hi:

of losing the coverage they now have and think it's great (whether it's actually great or not, who knows.....)

IMO, there hasn't been a strong effort from the HR676 folks yet to counter those fears.

who haven't needed it yet.

In fact, I was about to disagree and cite my own (which I do enjoy to the fullest extent possible...ne glasses every year, regular dental check-ups and nice fillings, etc ad nauseum)

And then I thought about that little girl last week who died because her parents insurance wouldn't cover the transplant. I'll just bet they thought their insurance was great, or at least they were ecstatic to have it.

I am a cancer survivor, and I paid a grand total of $200 for being diagnosed by my family physician, surgery to remove the tumor, and a 6 week course of radiation. I think my health insurance is pretty "great".

I have several chronic ailments including insulin-dependent diabetes. I pay about 3-4k out of pocket every year--and yet my family has "good" coverage.

You are by far the exception, my friend. I'm glad to hear it--and I envy you.

But, my insurance provider is a non-profit. As long as there's a profit motive involved, people will suffer.

I want single payer, so I'm not going to raise my hand in this thread, but I honestly believe we could fix most of the woes by legislating how much profit insurance companies could make off health care. And keep the profit percentage LOW.

I prefer single payer, though.

I've still shelled out a great deal out of pocket but I'm here and I wouldn't be without my crappy HMO coverage.

It's a cockeyed blessing--but God knows we can do so very much better.

and it works. PERIOD

I'm sorry, you'll have to speak up over the roar of the crickets...

Now that I have a chronically ill wife and a 2 year old who sees three occupational therapists a week, I don't have that concern.