Insightful and touching article into how our current healthcare system works....

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

It's hard to find consensus when the focus is on the area's of disagreement. With any debate, it seems to me that the opposing factions become so entrenched in the emotion of their perceived righteousness, that to allow ground to the "other side" would be the equivalent of defeat. Finding solutions is not about prevailing in the melee, but understanding the validity and contributions of the disparate beliefs. Unfortunately, that can be a very difficult thing to do.

 

As one wraps oneself in external identification, in this case political ideologies, there is incentive to defend and argue for the perceived correctness of that guise; if the integrity of the given facade deigned invalid, then one's identity itself is called into question.

 

Frankly, I don't feel that the fundamental values have been articulated all that well in this concern. I hear the discussion focusing around "big government" vs. "free-market", but that, in my opinion, complicates the discussions and wraps it in identity politics. Unfortunately, until this, or any discussion can be disentangled from political self-identification, there is very little ground that can be made toward civil discourse. IMHO. :ack2:

 

Unfortunately, that would require a level of abstract thought that is not often within the grasp of the majority of individuals.

[FaithManor]

MeanestMomintheWest is very insightful.

 

The true issues at play rarely come to light in politics.

 

Though our country was founded by individuals who were capable of reasoning on this level, I don't see our current elected officials as that well trained. Many may have illustrious, Ivy League educations; they have little ability to problem solve much less form a logical argument.

 

The last 30 years of presidential and vice-presidential debates along with the "town hall" meetings, indicate that the elected are not that well educated. Either that, or so completely corrupt and crafty, that their motivations prevent them from engaging in the great debate of ideas.

 

I suspect that a little of both is true.

 

Sigh, there are many things that could be done to provide high quality healthcare to most and lower costs, but we can be pretty certain that anything that is driven by politics, will be a disaster.

 

Faith

[Rosy]

Up until this point, the emphasis has been on who pays for health care and putting constraints on insurance companies.

 

I wonder why we don't focus our attention on figuring out why costs are so high and working to lower them. And rewarding efficiency, rather than punishing profitability. Because either way we're going to be paying for it, through taxes, insurance premiums or paying care providers directly. Things like this:

Looking at that stack of documents, it is easy to see why 31% of the money spent on health care went to paperwork and administration, according to research published in 2003 in The New England Journal of Medicine. That number has stayed the same or grown since then, says Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a co-author of the study. Often Terence's bills, with their blizzard of codes, took days to decipher. What did "opd patins t" or "bal xfr ded" mean? Was the dose charged the same as the dose prescribed?

should be able to be addressed and streamlined to make quality care less expensive. I'm sure there are many more inefficiencies and areas of waste that can be dealt with in a way that doesn't require socializing the entire industry and compromising future advances in medicine and technology.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

MeanestMomintheWest is very insightful.

 

The true issues at play rarely come to light in politics.

 

Though our country was founded by individuals who were capable of reasoning on this level, I don't see our current elected officials as that well trained. Many may have illustrious, Ivy League educations; they have little ability to problem solve much less form a logical argument.

 

The last 30 years of presidential and vice-presidential debates along with the "town hall" meetings, indicate that the elected are not that well educated. Either that, or so completely corrupt and crafty, that their motivations prevent them from engaging in the great debate of ideas.

 

I suspect that a little of both is true.

 

Sigh, there are many things that could be done to provide high quality healthcare to most and lower costs, but we can be pretty certain that anything that is driven by politics, will be a disaster.

 

Faith

at the Town Hall meetings I've seen the display of ignorance was not limited to politicians.