AllHealthcare

If we start socializing healthcare do we get to decide how people behave? Or do we have to pay for people who choose to do things that bring on diseases that have costly treatments?

I agree. Part of being a kid is getting sick. It is how we build our immune system. But many of the diseases if not treated are deadly to children. I don't know how we could pay for it though unless there were major systemic changes in the health care system.

distantwizard, Ultimately I think if we do socialized medicine, there will have to be certain rules you have to follow. Of course there will have to be exceptions or case reviews. But it only makes sense to put some rules in place if you would like to participate in socialized medicine. Maybe for those who do not want that can purchase private insurances.

I saw an interesting article in the UK's Telegraph this weekend about how doctors are unhappy that they have to spend money to treat the very old or those who live unhealthy lives because of the lack of funds to go around.

Is it possible that our current system may not be as bad as we think? Does anyone else notice what Walmart did with prescription costs? Walmart released their four dollar genric program. Shortly after, Krogers developed a similar plan. CVS and Walgreens are offering reduced cost on prescriptions (not just generics) if you enroll in their annual, reasonably priced programs. Walgreens discounts over the counters with their program .(Yes, I am a participant.) What will happen to healthcare if walmart opens clinics as thy are rumored to? Doctors may have to say good bye to charging ninety dollars a visit and settle for thirty-five! Capitalism reducd healthcare cost not government funding.
Also, I needed a lab test done for a family member. I noticed the lab published the prices of all their offered tests. I was suprised that almost all of the test were under one hundred dollars. I noticed my preceptions had been biases by what I heard and not what I knew. Maybe, healthcare is not so extrmely costly. Yes, I have been without health insurance and I am saying this. No, I do not make above poverty level. Yes, I had a 40,000 dollar healthcare bill. I feel that I have reasonable exprience to say we should stop complaining and start helping people find the many resources our system has to offer impoverishd and uninsured patients. I am quite intrested in HSA (health savings accounts) and believe getting more Amricans educated and invested will drastically change healthcare.
A huge concern with socialized medicine is that our care will decrease. As a former military wife I will admit that I was unhappy with my care handled by government managment. Our base did not plan enough resources and doctors for the population. This resulted in long waits (6 months for a 6 weeks postpartum) and poor care ( moldy hospital rooms). If military healthcare is any example of how government run healthcare will be, I am not on board and never will be. Plus, I like the freedom of choice and do not desire to take this away from children. The grass may not be greener on the othr side. Turn off main stream media and seek some truth.

dldma1976: In answer to your query, with no alternative, yes, plans like those put forth at Walmart, and CVS etc. can help to ease burdens on some families. However, part of the reason that doctors charge so much for prescriptions and visits and the rest of things we see them for is that despite trying to reduce costs within the current system of competative health care, what we are actually being charged for is the massive excess of people that it takes to run all these different health insurance companies. Under a socialized system, we would only pay one person to make sure that you got your bloodwork, doctor's visit, and prescription medications taken care of rather than having five different people who spend countless hours on the phone arguing about who is going to pay for what portion of your treatment while you continue to dutifully pay premiums to all of them. Yeah, sure, Wallmart may only charge you $500 a year or some other low number, but under a socialized healthcare system the billions we would save would more than equate to you paying $0 extra for exactly the same service. Rather than not being as bad as we think, the fact that market forces are dictating that Walmart and CVS offer such programs or risk people saying "aw f--- it to having healthcare at all," as many people I know have had to do, demonstrates just how badly we need a structure to replace it all. Healthcare cost can be defined by market forces too. Here is a simple breakdown of a very simple medicle device, a crutch: Crutch; total cost to manufacture $3.00, medical supply company purchases for $5.00, sold to hospital for $10.00 (cause you know those med-suppliers are just greedy capitalists), hospital would sell to patient at $11.00 but insurance companies will only pay on average %10 of a claim therefore X(sale price needed to get $11.00 out of insurance co.) = ($11.00 * 100)/10 or $110.00 for a pair of $3.00 crutches. If the insurance companies were socialized they would not get to be so stingy, and costs would eventually normalize. Then once again those crutches would be a mere 5-10 dollars rather than the cost of food for a month. Capitalism has no proper place in health care.

slick88, would that also include mandatory steralization of all people who believe that God told them not to use contraceptives, and therefore that they should wind up with 12-23 unplanned children whose parents cannot afford to support them, therefore adding additional tax burdens on the local public schools, and other public services?

I can only hope that you aren't serious in your assertion, and that you are in fact a well educated and healthy adult human being making a rather twisted joke.

And to slick88:  I am the 8th of 11 children and I wouldn't want to lose any one of my siblings!  None of us are a burden to society, we pay our taxes, and are all intelligent, positive contributing members to society. 

I chose to only have 2 children, both are very handsome, talented musicians, and have much to add to the gene pool! Some of my siblings have 1, 2 or no children, and two of my sisters have adopted children.  I feel blessed that my parents did not get "sterilized" after two!  Who gets to decide who should be sterilized, or at what number of children?  Frankly, I think education and having access to birth control options are the best way to give people more control over their own lives.