ObamaCare Observation

a reply to: diggindirt

You do know what else started at the same time as Medicare right??

The use of insurance companies for the entire healthcare industry..

I think your blaming Medicare for the insurance companys constant need for a bigger profit margin..

reply to: JoshuaCox

Again, you're attempting to make a partisan issue of something that both parties are in agreement on in reality. That could not be more clear. I place the blame on the members of government (from both parties) who have been bought off by special interests. Take a look at the rate of inflation in any field that government decides to poke into.

With the enactment of Medicare the cost of health care began its upward spiral. The insurance companies saw a great opportunity and took advantage. If you don't understand that, I can't help you. When government realized what a bonanza they could reap in power over the populace, they surely weren't going to let that opportunity go wanting. When they realized how rich and generous the insurance companies were....whoppppeee for insurance.

If you want to put your health care decisions in the hands of bureaucrats who don't know you from Adam's cat, that's perfectly fine with me. My problem comes when the government makes me pay a fine for refusing to turn over my health care to a third party. It is between me and my doc. If you don't understand that basic bit of freedom...well, you must be an authoritarian at heart.

a reply to: diggindirt

Every other modern country has put our healthcare in the hands of politicians..

What do you think the people who decide what the insurance companies will and will not cover????


I don't see how you ca be sure it's Medicare when insurance companies took over the medical industry at the same time....

a reply to: JoshuaCox

As my Mama used to say, "If everybody is jumping off bridges..."

I'm saying that I, me, myself do not want a bureaucrat deciding my health care, be they an insurance employee or a government employee. I thought I made that clear---no middlemen between me and my doc. And yet the government is fining me for not paying an insurance company thousands of dollars a year to meddle in my health care. That is in no way freedom. That is fascism, the blending of the corporate world and government. Both parties are okay with that, thus my curse on them.

If you actually look at the history, you'll see that the institution of Medicare was first, the skyrocketing costs were what drove people to actually buy insurance and the insurance companies took that as a gravy train and began buying off legislators.

a reply to: diggindirt

You do not consider the insurance companies board of directors "bureaucrats"?!?!!

Personally I'm not seeing any difference between them and a politician.. except the board is only concerned with what is more profitable for the insurance company, where the politicians at least have to hope they can still be reelected afterward..

It seems to me that buearicrats have always decided people's healthcare... at least since they took over the industry in the 50's ..

Which was the exact same time as Medicare started and Medicare was a far smaller chuck of medical spending than insurance companies were covering...

In fact it is the exact same dynamic.. except insurance companies were controlling a far bigger piece of the pie..

So please explain to me the difference between Medicare where there is no immediate consequences for over testing and spending???

And insurance companies, where there is noimmediate consequences for over testing and spending??

They are the precise same dynamic, we just pay taxes instead of premiums..

The difference with Medicare is it only needs to break even where insurance companies need to make at least a 30% profit off of every dollar they handle.

a reply to: JoshuaCox
You really need to read my posts again and try for reading comprehension. My health care decisions are made by me and my docs. No insurance or government bureaucrats have anything to say about it since they aren't involved in any way beyond licensing my docs to practice medicine. My docs are perfectly happy with that arrangement since it involves far, far less paperwork and they don't have to wait 60-90 days for their payment because I pay when services are rendered. That is the free market system at work. That is what the government bureaucrats are attempting to halt.

You also need to do a bit of research on the history of Medicare. It did not begin in the '50s as you assert. It isn't hard to use Google my friend. There are lots of us geezers out here who actually remember the implementation. Sorry to be so blunt but you've obviously not been reading for comprehension. You are apparently too focused on partisan issues to get at any actual facts. BOTH PARTIES ARE BOUGHT OUT!!! Once you understand that simple fact, the blinders will fall from your eyes. They don't give a whip about your health or mine. They care about the campaign contributions and perks they get from the corporate world. Anything that would impede that flow of money is anathema to them.

A bit of education on the free market system would assist you in your critical thinking processes as well. I understand that probably in your lifetime our health care system has not been a free market system but that is no excuse for the inane questions you pose. Masters and PhD theses have been written on the subject of the impact of government taking over medical care for the elderly and the associated rise of the insurance industry due to the increased costs of medical care.