MasterP said:
Ok NuRayz, I got you thinking, now think about this.
From the start Obama has said there would be no rationing of care. Now we see that if there is rationing of care, the weakest in society will be the least likely to get care and the CBO predicts the costs will far exceed what Obama has said all along. If there’s not enough money for this program because it’s exceeded predicted cost, as every government program ever proposed by either party has done, then there will be rationing based on this rationale.
The biggest problem I have with the new system is the forceful reduction in pharmaceutical costs. Now before you say it, yes I know they’re more expensive than they should be. A good chunk of the money paid for pills goes towards future drug research, which I don’t mind paying for. It makes sense that the more you depend on the current generation of drugs, the more you should be giving to help pay for the next generation of drugs. Now if the drug companies are forced to significantly lower their prices, that’s going to also significantly reduce or eliminate their research efforts. Besides laying off thousands of chemists and engineers, it puts the collective global society at a medical disadvantage when you shut down the world’s largest medical contributor.
Sure our current system is as expensive as hell and sure it’s way cheaper in other countries. What makes me ok with our system is that if I need a proceedure I can go someplace in my own country, have their doctors diagnose it one day and be treated the next. There’s no rationing.
I think the biggest contributor to the healthcare cost is that so few hospitals and treatment centers are actually run like businesses. It’s no longer about what is most efficient or cost effective, it’s about raw numbers. For example, the Cleveland Clinic is one of the most efficiently run hospitals in the world and also has extremely quick diagnosis to treatment turnarounds. It’s pricey, but you get the treatment that best suits you, not what makes the hospital the most.
But there is no model which gives complete equality all around (in regards to rationing). Especially when there isn’t enough money. Which is what the doctor brings up in his objections. His “nazi” reform, while it is discriminatory to the elderly, promotes more equality, in terms of rich vs. poor, than any other form of allocation, theoretically at least. But it’s not just that old people are going to be discriminated against, agism is only a component of like 7 more points in his allocation system, including the worse-off, prognosis, social value (treating a teacher vs. a drug addict), and some others. Principle based systems like the Lottery, first come first server, DALY and QALY, UNOS, and others are far from equal, and are actually prone to corruption; even though they are designed to be fair. We have to cut waste and corruption, first and for most, regardless of what type of plan we go with.
I do hear you though. Paying for all this is, is ultimately the main reason why people are getting so upset. Yet I do think it’s doable. At the expense of quality? Probably, but with time it should balance out. It does seem like we are ‘watering down’ our health care system. But by watering it down, more people will be able to get care. I can’t see eye to eye with you on this one, because I guess I’m a bit of a socialist. I want to see more people cared for even if it calls for some sacrifices. Hell, I’ll go as far as saying we should care for the undocumented workers. Call me crazy. Even though they are illegal, they still work their asses off, and do a lot of things for people at a much cheaper price. Granted, there are bad ones, but the majority are just trying to work, and will do it for cheap. Does it hurt our country that they are here? Maybe, well I’m not so sure, but I know for a fact that both republicans and democrats use them, even abuse them.
It’s the same old argument, like security at the expense of personal freedoms, prolife vs. prochoice, and in this case quantity vs. quality. We need to find a balance, something that is hard as hell to do, especially with such strong emotions on each side. If one is going to bash it, then this health care plan is more socialist than fascist, but just because a plan is more socialist, doesn’t automatically make it a socialist plan; it’s just ‘more’ socialist than the last. A lot of the fears people are getting, are fears which come from information taken out of context. People will see one or two things stick out at them, and yell wolf, without fully understanding the whole thing.