Posted by bleauberry on February 3, 2010, at 16:00:17
In reply to No More Medicaire What Will happen????, posted by Phillipa on February 2, 2010, at 21:37:03
Medicare never lived up to its promise. Government entitlements hardly ever do. And as is customary, it ended up costing multitudes more than anyone ever admitted.
Few doctors accept Medicare patients anymore. Those that do are swamped and unable to give the proper care and attention. They wait months for their payments from Medicare and it is not unusual that they receive 10% of what was billed or nothing at all...after waiting months through piles of paperwork.
And these people (government) are the same ones that want to take over medicine for the entire country. Oh boy. No doubt we need improvements and overhauls, but government takeover never has had and never will have a rewarding outcome.
So on one hand, if Medicare were to die away, it wouldn't bother me...except for the thousands of dollars I've had taken out of my paychecks for it. That's not cool.
I understand that at this point in time, Medicare is the only "perceived" option that many people, such as Phillipa, have. It isn't, but it is thought to be. Another problem with programs like this is that they are not only poorly managed, deliver poor performance, and have costs far in excess of what the quality would justify, they get people dependent on them. That's not cool.
I'm not sure what to say. On one hand I feel aweful for everyone who might get even less from Medicare than they do now. On the other hand, I say kill the beast and learn lessons from the whole fiasco.
Free markets always win. Example. A hospital in Pennsylvania was started by a rich widow, and is today maintained by charity donations only. Anyone can go there regardless of ability to pay. They have the best doctors in the country who are paid set salaries instead of per-service-fees. It is a nationally acclaimed hospital and is still growing in leaps and bounds. All started by some widow. The standards, care, and technology of this hospital are well above the average hospital.
So let Medicare fade away, and let free people make better things happen.
But don't forget to give me all my money back! Geez I can't believe what huge chunks they take out of my paycheck, and I will likely never see any benefit from it. Geez.
poster:bleauberry
thread:935806
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100122/msgs/935869.html