Parts of Appalachia have always looked a little third world.

I consider myself a conservative leaning moderate, but healthcare is one of the issues where I have zero respect for the conservative position. Let me throw a little personal story in here. My daughter was born 2 months pre-mature in '06 I had insurance that was somewhat better than the average person in the area I live. Wanna guess how much my family paid for 6 weeks neo-natology care, a surgery, and all the tests etc? I ended up paying (and have it down to less than $1500 total now) over $20,000 after insurance. At the time our daughter was born we were making around $60k a year.

Our health system though very good in quality,if you can afford it is one of the greediest, most obtuse, and sickening things about this country in my opinion. There are huge problems in it. I personally think that every part of it should be scrapped and start over with something else, anything else would be better than what we have. It will not be reformed without some type of consensus though. We need: tort reform (liabillity does add a huge cost to it), removal of at least 3 or four layers of billing chaos, serious criminal penalties for fraud against govt or insurance companies, and probably 10 or fifteen other systemic changes that would get some of the greed and confusion out of it.

I personally believe that doctors deserve to be rewarded for the many years they spent studying to attain the title, and they should be in the highest tier of earnings. However the couple of hundreds of pages of billing statements that i've personally gone over lead me to believe there is a huge amount of fraud, graft, incompetence, and malfeasense within the entire system as it currently stands.

I would kill to go see a dentist. I have coverage for medical, but no dental. Because my SO and I are not married I can't get insurance through his work place, but my son can. I already owe $700 dollars to a dentist and if I go in(which it is becoming a need to...) it will be a whole heck of a lot more $$$$ I can't afford. I take care of my teeth, but years of mountain dew kinda killed em...

only in the USA

if you can`t afford $1000 a month in health cover , well f**k you - you can go rot and die in a gutter.


at least in the UK if your ill you can see someone , get a prognossis and recieve medicene


hot damn its a communist country!

no its a national health service

and whilst it has its failings , it does not require you to earn $3000 a month to pay for it

Originally posted by Harlequin
only in the USA

if you can`t afford $1000 a month in health cover , well f**k you - you can go rot and die in a gutter.

My family and me haven't had health insurance for 7 years. Once you stop going to the doctor and worrying about the unforseeable it doesn't bother you anymore.

What bothers me these days is that we are forced to pay for the healthcare of government stooges, military, illegal immigrants, the un-employable, the un-insurable and retired people. I think the whole system should be crashed and burned.

Fuc* 'em all.

[edit on 6-8-2008 by In nothing we trust]

Originally posted by In nothing we trust

What a bunch of lazy, over weight, and unhealthy looking group of free loaders. People will do anything for FREE goods and services.

Bet you none of them can hold a damn job. Bunch of unemployable dead beats crying about how thier unskilled factory job has been shipped to China where 4 chinese peasants now slave away making less than mediocre junk for Americans to consume.

Easy to say when you're covered by mommy's insurance plan... Way to generalize you bigot. Wait 'till you have a catastrophic health problem not covered by your perfect insurance. Wait 'till a doctor botches a surgery and escalates the cost by a thousand percent over what your perfect insurance will pay... at a government subsidized (civil suit immune) hospital.

I've never been so enraged by a single post here at ATS. Your ignorance truly knows no bounds. It's a shame we can't all live in your perfect little world.

Listen, I bust my hump 80+ hours a week. I'm very employable and possess specialized skills. Yet had to file bankruptcy because it cost just a tad over $120,000.00 to keep my daughter alive.

You're the guy who picked the prettiest box... without considering what's inside, aren't you.

Originally posted by Unit541
Easy to say when you're covered by mommy's insurance plan

Read the post above.

Originally posted by Harlequin
damn right - i don`t take my kids to to the doctors unless they been really ill for at least 3 days .

Or coughing up blood.

We always pay cash.

Originally posted by In nothing we trust
Read the post above.

Well good then. For the first time in 20 years, I'll gamble my karma and say I hope you endure what I, and so many others have. Your words have earned you the right to get screwed. You, nor your family are invincible. You're not immune to injury or illness, and certainly not plain ol' bad luck. You'd feel much different if you had ever been on the convenient "4 equal monthly payment plan" for your six figure medical bill.

Originally posted by Unit541
You, nor your family are invincible.

You're not immune to injury or illness, and certainly not plain ol' bad luck.

You'd feel much different if you had ever been on the convenient "4 equal monthly payment plan" for your six figure medical bill.

You're right my family and I are not invincible.

But, we can crash the federal reserve fractional banking system.

Big bills go away permanently then.

[edit on 6-8-2008 by In nothing we trust]

Originally posted by In nothing we trust
You're right we are not invincible.

But, we can crash the federal reserve fractional banking system.

Big bills go away permanently then.

[edit on 6-8-2008 by In nothing we trust]

Damn, why didn't I think of that? It would have been so much easier!

What are you... 14? You're not Tyler Durden, and this ain't Fight Club.

Something needs to be done and soon. With the unemployment rate rising, utilities and food being more expensive etc. things will only get worse before they get any better.

I put the blame squarely on the corrupt politicians that accept lobbyist favors to help keep these monsters in business. Lobbying should be illegal. This crisis exists so that very few can become super wealthy. Like most problems in this world...it all comes down to greed.

Stay healthy America. You can't afford to get sick.

I visited the US a few times over the last couple years and I was simply amazed at how much processed food is consumed. Fast food chains on every corner. Cancer is a lifestyle disease which is directly related to diet and exercise. Any other illness can be linked to bad diet as well. The portions served at restaurants were fit for two people, and most of the time my gf and I would split a single plate at a restaurant and it would feed us both.

All the American restaurant chains here in Canada are repulsive. So fattening. Sometimes a single entree would have up to 2000 calories. Places like Applebee's, TGI fridays, etc. Such crap. And yet people still eat it. Then they all complain when they get cancer and are forced into bankruptcy from health care bills. What a way to live. Thank god I live free up here in Canada.

My friend has a dad with several PhDs. Her mother is a teacher who, like all of the teachers in our county (some having to live in the basements of others because they can't afford their own place), is underpaid. They're struggling to make ends meet. Her, me, and her dad were in a car crash earlier this year. Luckily, we all escaped unscathed, but if something bad happened to any one of us, then the economical impact would have struck them down, so whenever I see people complaining about how those who want socialised health care service because they're unskilled and lazy, I'm always torn between laughing and punching them in the face through the internet. (It's not possible YET, but one day... )

Not everybody with work skills and credentials can afford health care these days. Hell, not all of them can afford a home. Please think before you post.

EDIT: ALSO, as someone from England, what on Earth is up with America? The nearest store with food is a mile away, because everyone relies on cars! What happened to a corner shop? And not to mention that the only stores and cafes anywhere near where I live all belong to big corporations. Starbucks (but they do have alright coffee), Target, Arbies, McDonald's, &c. The nearest farmer's market is a city away. Why do we do this to ourselves? Back in England, if we decided on a whim to make a cake but did not have the ingredients, then we could just pop down to the co-op and get what we needed. Here in the US, no, it's a two hour long walk to the nearest Target. It's disgusting. And the Home Owner's Association? It won't let us use our front yards for anything like a garden and such. Our back yard, over here, isn't really big enough. Ugh. WHY did mother choose this house, again? There was a cheaper house out in a forest, where we could plant the crops we wanted. This is horrible, America. Stop thinking in driving distance and start thinking in walking distance when it comes to where to build things!

I miss those corner shops and weekly markets...

[edit on 6-8-2008 by LiquidTheBrit0]