On Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:13:23 +0000 (UTC), Brent
<tetraethylleadREMOVETHIS@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On 2009-08-27, Dave <noway1@nohow2.not> wrote:
>
>> You make some good points. The problem I have with a government run health
>> care system is...if it comes to that, there will be no individual choice
>> left. Right now, the private insurance companies are terrible. But they
>> are held (slightly) in check by the fact that there are more than one of
>> them. That is, they have to "compete", at least to a certain degree. Once
>> the government takes over, there is no need to "compete", and those in
>> charge of the new government run cluster-**** can be as evil as they want
>> to, as they don't answer to anybody anymore. While it's hard to imagine
>> that healthcare could be "worse" in the United States, it is GUARANTEED to
>> get worse (and a LOT worse) if the government gets involved at all. -Dave
>>
>The present problems are government created. They are in the tax code,
>regulation, medicare,insurance laws, etc and so on. The solution is
>less government interference, not more. If we get more, we might get a
>government system where by government gets a large degree of control
>over our lives. After all, since the government 'pays' for the
>healthcare it will then use that excuse to micromanage every decision we
>make, every risk we take. The more likely result will be that certain
>companies will make great profits while the rest get shut out. The
>government will act to lock in high prices for those who have influence.
>In essence form legalized cartels. From there government will then find
>a way to get the power to micromanage everyone somehow to get the best
>of both.


I think the present problem has little to do with gvt. It has
everything to do with our health care system being third party pays.
There is ZERO incentive for anyone with health coverage to try and
keep costs down. They stub their toe and they want a full body CAT
scan and the doctors don't want to say not due to malpractice
concerns. And since the insurance company is the one paying the
injured doesn't care what it cost and the doctor doesn't care what it
costs. The reason you can afford to pay CASH for vet care for your
pets is because YOU pay the bill directly. If most pets were covered
by the kind of health insurance people are, the cost of vet care would
most likely quadruple within 5 years.