I am officially distubed by the truth of U.S healthcare.

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The incorrect assumption you make is that the U.S. is a free market, I am well aware the costs are less in other countries. We have something worse than socialism in this country, its a system which favors corperate interests. Also cost per citizen isn't the only measure to determine how good a medical system is. I would instead look at how much progress is made in new procedures and medicines that are pattented, it's a subjective metric to a large extent, but one we can all sort of approach an agreement to.

Many countries steal the work of the United States. for instance many patented gene therepy medications with great medical benefit are manufactured and dispersed without the consent of the developer because some governments have found them to be unjustly expensive. What's not realized in many cases are the billions upon billions of dollars necessary to develop the medication. So these companies respond by setting up lobbying organizations all over the world. These lobbys cost the pharmaceutical company billions of dollars worldwide as well, and their main purpose is to maintain enforcement of international patent laws. The costs of these lobbys further raise the cost of medications.

If you disperse the medications without profit, there is no money to pursue further research. I agree not all progress comes from profit, but most of it does.

How much do you suppose the cost per person would be without medicare? Take a look at figures before 1950
The gap narrows going back 1995, that was about 30 years after the introduction of medicare.

www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=8948&type=1
On the page titled "Historical Growth in Health Care Spending", 1965 to 2005

You'll see that since modern Medicare the inflation adjusted costs for medicare more than tripled. Before medicare, the costs were no higher than other developing countries.

Oh noes not the wrath, besides I will have to put up with a lot of it outside of here as well. But yes that is a good point, I am not a christain but sometimes I feel like I am more of a christain than most christians just because I really do belive in all that stuff about treating others how you want to be treated and helping people out when they need it I just don't have religious philosophy attatched to it.

Don't tell me who I am compassionate for and who I am not compassionate for, I am compassionate for everyone and I think the healthcare system we have is all about profit just like everything else in this goddamn country.

Thank you so much for assuming I am basing my entire opinion on one documentary......yeah not propaganda film but documentary were they guy actually investigated and found some really intresting things. I have also had pleanty of personal experiances that suggest our healthcare system sucks and I have disliked the idea of health insurance companies as soon as I discovered they are kind of all about profit and not really helping people...this isen't someting I just decided on based on one film. And there were interviews with the 'other' side as well and many of them have no problem discussing these matters as if its simple buisness and nothing more....people are expendable.

But yeah I base my opinions on much information so take you're obnoxious assumptions somewhere else.

How about get big buisness out of the damn healthcare system, who do you think pays people like Obama? and Obamacare does not=Universal Healthcare. Also what about people that have a condition before they apply for insurance.......oh yeah denied, they would not want to lose money over actually having to help someone pay for their treatment that would be a financial tragedy. But yeah what are people with a pre-existing condition who don't get approved for SSI fro instance supposed to do?

Fine attack the film I watched.....I don't agree with all that guys biases, but I have a hard time beliving everything in that documentary was falisified especially when I have seen some of the things discussed.

My dad had a knee injury when I was maybe 8 years old, and he still has the knee injury was unable to afford ever getting it properly taken care of because he did not have insurance or anything. luckily it was just a knee and not his back or something that would have completely put him out of work.

Maybe you should look into how universal healthcare works in other countries.......a lot of stuff you hear about how it's underfunded, everyone has to wait months and months for any care, it's inadequete ect is BS. I mean why is U.S healthcare ranked so low in the world, why are their poorer countries with citizens who enjoy longer lifespans? think about it. Also there should be more to life than profit.......people matter more then money I should think, but not according to our healthcare system. Its disgusting that people think its Ok that it works that way.

Lol if things are so wonderful in the U.S why are we ranked at 50 as far as lifespan goes?...that is right people in 49 countries even contries poorer then the U.S have a longer life expectancy than we do. Don't believe me?

https://www.cia.gov/library/publication ... 2rank.html

see for yourself.

Healthcare in this nation is atrocious. We have the technology available to treat many conditions yet people have no access to them. Obviously, when it comes to healthcare, the free market system does not work. There is obviously a demand for affordable medical care. You would think the free market would cause care costs to lower as a result and competition to take place. But it doesn't.

I noticed that hospitals are rarely built in low income communities. Hospitals prefer to built themselves where people have higher income. There is one town with about 50,000 people living there. It is a very poor area. They have one hospital that is over 50 years old. In the more affluent town up the highway, with only 38,000 people they have over three hospitals and another brand new one being built.

This is why I seriously doubt Capitalism will work when it comes to medicine. Medicine, like education, is too loosely defined to directly obey the laws of supply and demand like consumer goods would. The demand for medicine can fluctuate or disappear after treatment (which gives the medical industry a reason to keep people on medicines they don't necessarily need).

Healthcare stats are especially bad in this country because we have a large population of former slaves that we like to forget about whenever possible. Apparently they fell from the sky and just by chance happen to be poor. It's a real mystery.

I do not think there are many former slaves still living, so I am not sure how that exactly would tie in.

Poverty affects all races and backgrounds. But you are right in stating that people who have dark pigmented skin are affected disproportionally to other races.

If poor people cannot afford expensive medicine and if many "black people" are poor then many "black people" cannot afford medicine.

I'm sure you would have difficulty figuring it out. But that's not my problem now is it?

Other nations are better than the US just with respect to cost. They beat us in quality, access, and life expectancy too. The pharmaceutical clusterf*uck is a separate issue. But do I think U.S. pharma companies are innocent players in all this - no way, but again, separate issue.

The problem with health insurance via private corporations, even though not purely free market, is that their sole function is profit. There is a blatant conflict of interest between the interests of the insurance company and the interests of the patient. The basic business model is sales up + costs down = success, or with health insurance, premiums up + claims down = success. This does not serve patients well. Healthcare should not be a commodity. Other countries have figured this out. The free market is simply not a solution when it comes to peoples health and lives. It works great for clothing and furniture, but not for human beings.

Hrrmm... Huh?

First you say that the reason healtcare costs are high is because of a move to "socialist" healthcare (ie - medicaid).

Then you say it's not socialsit... it's worse... It's a system that favours corporate interests... and which allows drug costs to increase unchecked... in other words: free market capitalism.

I can see how that would be confused with socialism. lol.

Many other nations have a lower retirement age and a smaller work week... The stats given are quite frankly bogus because they are assuming that everyone has the same contributing factors, when they don't.

We don't have a free market healthcare system, it is a Government/Corporate mess, and it will only get worse with Obamacare.

You people want to start yelling about corporations and taxes, how about they start by getting General Electric to pay its taxes, oh but that's apparently okay because they give to Democrats.