How Would You Do Health Care?

[Tecumsehsbones]

Give every citizen who wishes to participate a full care coverage policy just like the Congress and the Administration enjoy. At an affordable cost AND allow those who choose not to participate the right to do so BUT to join later if they wish. Why not one policy for all?

What about those who can't afford it? And who is to pay the employer contribution, which is about 85%?

 

[Corduroy]

Maybe....

 

[JLM]

What about those who can't afford it? And who is to pay the employer contribution, which is about 85%?

I don't care which way it happens EVERYONE should have basic medical coverage. One way that might help pay for it is to impose a tax on cosmetic procedures and tattoos.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I don't care which way it happens EVERYONE should have basic medical coverage. One way that might help pay for it is to impose a tax on cosmetic procedures and tattoos.

I know you don't care. That's because you don't think about policy and ways and means and the hard stuff, just what you want.

 

[Corduroy]

I agree with JLM. Healthcare should be paid for by a tax on tattoos.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I agree with JLM. Healthcare should be paid for by a tax on tattoos.

Well, there we go. Problem solved. Somebody get the WHO on the phone.

 

[Corduroy]

It's basically the way insurance works. Young healthy people don't use healthcare as much and so pay, in part, for older people. Young people, at least of this generation, have more tattoos. I don't think we fully appreciate the genius of paying for healthcare with a tattoo tax. Yes, it's utterly stupid, but... yeah never mind.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

It's basically the way insurance works. Young healthy people don't use healthcare as much and so pay, in part, for older people. Young people, at least of this generation, have more tattoos. I don't think we fully appreciate the genius of paying for healthcare with a tattoo tax. Yes, it's utterly stupid, but... yeah never mind.

But it's ENDEARINGLY stupid!

 

[Corduroy]

But it's ENDEARINGLY stupid!

Maybe just use the tattoo tax to pay for research into dementia.

 

[JLM]

It's basically the way insurance works. Young healthy people don't use healthcare as much and so pay, in part, for older people. Young people, at least of this generation, have more tattoos. I don't think we fully appreciate the genius of paying for healthcare with a tattoo tax. Yes, it's utterly stupid, but... yeah never mind.

So what is your alternative?

I know you don't care. That's because you don't think about policy and ways and means and the hard stuff, just what you want.

So what demographic would you suggest contributing to the costs? (Just answer the f**king question)

 

[Vbeacher]

Find out what the Europeans are doing and do that. They do better health care than anyone, and for 30% or more savings over the U.S. system. Their health care mixture of public/private insurance not only covers everyone but covers far more than even Canada's system does.

 

[White_Unifier]

I'm on record in lots of threads saying that, in the U.S., health care should be done by the states. So what would I want my state to do?

1. Employer/individual mandate - I'd require everybody to have insurance, and every employer to provide it.

2. Public option - I'd have a public option insurance provided by the government at cost. Australia shows that the public option leaves about 30% of the people covered by private companies, so there is room for private insurance even in public-option systems.

3. Negotiated schedule of charges - Like Japan, I would have representatives of the government, the medical industry, and the insurance industry meet every two or three years to hammer out a list of standard charges for services.

4. No double-billing - I'd require doctors to look at the patient's record. If a doctor ordered a test that had already been done recently, the test would not be paid for.

5. Medicaid for the indigent - those who could not afford the public option would be provided the public option on an income-based sliding scale.

That's my idea of the best health-care system. How bout y'all? Canadians too. Let's say the government announced it was shutting down national health care, and each province was to set up its own system. What would you want?

In brief, I'd look at those that are ranked among the best systems in the world, such as France's, Sweden's, Singapore's, etc.

Inasmuch as they all differ in the details, they all share one thing in common: they are all moderate and pragmatic two-tiered systems rather than the ideologically and dogmatically driven mostly private system in the US and mostly public system in Canada.

 

[Corduroy]

So what is your alternative?

What's my alternative to the tattoo tax?

 

[JLM]

What's my alternative to the tattoo tax?

Yep, that's the tax you and Bones chose to make fun of me on. Bones is like a typical defense lawyer, good at finding fault but really doesn't have an inkling about much. (He won't say what's wrong with a tattoo tax)

 

[Corduroy]

Part of the joke is that you don't get it.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Yep, that's the tax you and Bones chose to make fun of me on. Bones is like a typical defense lawyer, good at finding fault but really doesn't have an inkling about much. (He won't say what's wrong with a tattoo tax)

What's wrong with it? Well, let's see. . .

Health care in America costs about three trillion a year. If we had a sane system, it'd be about half that. So let's call it a trillion and a half.

Maybe ten percent of the U.S. population get tattoos (it's probably more like 3-4 percent, but I'm being generous to you). There's 330 million people, so let's call it 33 million people, averaging three tattoos apiece. Round up out of generosity, let's call it 100 million tattoos.

Now, a little simple (for me, probably not for you) arithmetic:

1,500,000,000,000/
100,000,000
15,000

So, you're proposing a fifteen thousand dollar tax on each tattoo.

Sure, works for me. I'll call up my Congressman. He's so bloody stupid, he'll probably think it's a good idea.

Thanks for taking a serious discussion and turning into bad farce. Now go whine about how MEAN WE ALL ARE TO YOU, you bad-tempered brat.

Find out what the Europeans are doing and do that. They do better health care than anyone, and for 30% or more savings over the U.S. system. Their health care mixture of public/private insurance not only covers everyone but covers far more than even Canada's system does.

That's pretty much what I did. Borrowed what I consider the best features from Germany, France, Australia, and Japan. The "no double billing" part was mine, responding to the specific problem that doctors here would rather re-run a test that was done yesterday than wait ten minutes for the results to be e-mailed to her. Why not? She gets a cut of the test price.

 

[JLM]

What's wrong with it? Well, let's see. . .

Health care in America costs about three trillion a year. If we had a sane system, it'd be about half that. So let's call it a trillion and a half.

Maybe ten percent of the U.S. population get tattoos (it's probably more like 3-4 percent, but I'm being generous to you). There's 330 million people, so let's call it 33 million people, averaging three tattoos apiece. Round up out of generosity, let's call it 100 million tattoos.

Now, a little simple (for me, probably not for you) arithmetic:

1,500,000,000,000/
100,000,000
15,000

So, you're proposing a fifteen thousand dollar tax on each tattoo.

Sure, works for me. I'll call up my Congressman. He's so bloody stupid, he'll probably think it's a good idea.

Thanks for taking a serious discussion and turning into bad farce. Now go whine about how MEAN WE ALL ARE TO YOU, you bad-tempered brat.


That's pretty much what I did. Borrowed what I consider the best features from Germany, France, Australia, and Japan. The "no double billing" part was mine, responding to the specific problem that doctors here would rather re-run a test that was done yesterday than wait ten minutes for the results to be e-mailed to her. Why not? She gets a cut of the test price.

You really are a f**king idiot aren't you? First of all it was never meant to pay for the entire medical system. Just to help subsidize the percentage of the population who don't have health care. And it was just suggested as one means to raise money, not the sole means. I believe I also advocated taxing cosmetic procedures (like tummy tucks and nose jobs) You're hilarious, albeit a moron. Do you have any clients who aren't in prison?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

You really are a f**king idiot aren't you? First of all it was never meant to pay for the entire medical system. Just to help subsidize the percentage of the population who don't have health care. And it was just suggested as one means to raise money, not the sole means. I believe I also advocated taxing cosmetic procedures (like tummy tucks and nose jobs) You're hilarious, albeit a moron. Do you have any clients who aren't in prison?

For somebody who hasn't the faintest clue of what I do, you're pretty confident.

Then again, you think Donald Trump is the Second Coming, so I suppose it's to be expected.

 

[JLM]

For somebody who hasn't the faintest clue of what I do, you're pretty confident.

Probably not- I was just going by what you explained to me two or three years ago.

 

[TenPenny]

Find out what the Europeans are doing and do that. They do better health care than anyone, and for 30% or more savings over the U.S. system. Their health care mixture of public/private insurance not only covers everyone but covers far more than even Canada's system does.

Well, no, they don't 'do better health care than anyone', because there are various different systems in Europe.