Comments on: Germany Trying to Escape Obama’s Great Idea of German-Style Healthcare

By: SenatorMark4

SenatorMark4 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:57:16 +0000

Demand cannot be addressed without addressing supply. Where are the cries for internet medical school training programs? Is there any reason that an education that supposedly costs boo-jillion can’t be on the internet? Perhaps a person that passed the National Boards by studying on the internet get a government guaranteed slot at any school that accepts Federal money? I can see the day where a person trained on the net passes the Board and then tests out of classes freeing up more space for new doctors. Remember, they call it “practicing medicine” and most of that is not learned in school!

By: Universal Health-Care System Doesn’t Work | American Anti-Communist

Universal Health-Care System Doesn’t Work | American Anti-Communist — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:19:59 +0000

[...] (Debbie Schlussel) The geniuses in the Obama Administration pushing ObamaCare keep telling us that we need to be like Europe. And, in that vein, they’ve modeled the national healthcare plan they’re pushing on the German one. They keep telling us ours won’t be like Canada’s or Great Britain’s. Read More… [...]

By: NormanF

NormanF — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:01:00 +0000

Those who give up their freedom for temporary security deserve neither in the end.

By: I_AM_ME

I_AM_ME — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:49:23 +0000

I don’t think there are any solutions here, unless one is willing to accept a multi-tiered health care system based on the Market and one’s personal wealth.

It is an indisputable fact that we currently have the best health care system in the world, and no one is close enough to us for there to even be a “second place”.

However, the “backbone” our our health care system is that corporations pay for their employees health care. Over the years many corporations have dropped (or even discontinued) providing health care for their employees. One reason this trend is going to continue until few if any employers offer health care is that we are in a global economy where American Corporations are at a cost disadvantage because foreign corporations do not pick up the tab for health care (Germany is an exception, but I bet this is to some extent also responsible for their problems).

As for “controlling costs”, HMOs have already tried that. Do I need to say more?

In terms of waste, maybe we can cut, maybe we can’t. However it will not make much of a difference because people want to make their own health care decisions (with their physicians) and still have the insurance companies pay up. The same goes for tort reform.

Any economist will tell you it is a recipe for disaster when one party decides how resources will be spent (doctors/patients in this case) and another party is the one footing the bill (The insurance companies in this case).

I am not too optimistic. I believe there has to be a public option since businesses cannot continue to pay for this benefit. Hopefully it will not take the form of what is being discussed now. Perhaps the government will give everyone vouchers (or a tax credit) to pay for it themselves. However this would be another government “wealth transfer” program plus whenever government money gets thrown in that creates an incentive for rising prices and waste (just look at college tuition with all of the financial aid that is available).

Can someone please make an optimist out of me? Am I wrong in how I have described the situation?

By: Ramjordan

Ramjordan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:36:24 +0000

After stopping Obamacare, we next have to stop all undeclared, unjustified wars because we – the United States – cannot afford them either.

By: NormanF

NormanF — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:40:50 +0000

We’re facing the same problems as Germany and want to destroy a mostly good health care system in the name of “saving” it. The Germans can’t afford nationalized health care anymore.

We can’t afford Obamacare and no – it still wouldn’t be a good thing to have even if it really cost us nothing.