Howard Dean's Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform

[carolaa]

And interesting and enlightening interview with Howard Dean regarding the topic of his new book:

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/17/gov_howard_dean_on_his_prescription

[Woody]

I prefer to not listen to a shouting Howard Dean. It makes me deaf or deafer. Can you really take this guy seriously?

[phkrause]

Never cared for him, he likes to critisize but has no solutions.

pk

[Woody]

Yeah. Someone who has to YELL to get their point across .... must not have much worth listening to.

[phkrause]

He kind of reminds me of some of the republicans that are a thorn in the side of there party. I'm pretty sure that Dean is that to his party.

pk

[bonnie]

Yeah. Someone who has to YELL to get their point across .... must not have much worth listening to.

If insurance was used a little more wisely it would not be as costly for most.

We opted to go without medical insurance for a number of years.

At the time we would have been paying 575.00 for a family of six.

6800.00 a year paid for many checkups and immunizations.

Our sons needed surgery twice without insurance. For the length of time we went without we were money ahead.

The payments to Dr and hospital did not come close to the monthly payment for insurance.

When we did opt for insurance we took it with a large deductible of 5,000.00

People expect low cost insurance that pays for a normal Dr visit.

Most people can manage the routine care for their families.

Pay the routine. That is easier than a whopping premium every month.

You don't expect your car insurance to pay fr an oil change or your homeowners to pay for new windows

[bonnie]

A crisis is to good to waste,even if it is man made.

People will spend thousand's on care for their animals but whine and complain about Dr's.

Worked with a lady that had spent that amount on her two dogs.

The hip replacement surgery for her one dog was 2,000.00 and misc cost. Never a complaint. Her pets were worth every penny.

A Dr charged her husband 1350.00 for hip replacement surgery and then of course there was hospital costs.

Moaned and groaned about the evil insurance that charged for coverage and the greedy Dr's. BTW, she is all for government health care. Anyone wonder why?

Hip replacement surgery here is between 1300-1500.00

My husband charged at least double that and sometimes more to paint a house. He didn't spend years in school andpay a ridiculous amount for mal-practise insurance

[carolaa]

LOL. I can't hear the yelling when I just read the transcripts.

[carolaa]

Somehow I didn't realize he's a doctor.

[carolaa]

he likes to critisize but has no solutions.

That can't be true or else he'd be a Republican. You know, the party of NO -- NO to Obama's ideas but NO ideas of their own.

Anyway, I thought the whole idea of his writing the book was to offer his solution.

[phkrause]

Obviously that's not the case, he is a democrat. The republican party doesn't have a lock on people that talk but really have nothing to say that is constructive. The democratic party has never like nor cared for Dean. At least not from what I've observed.

pk

[CyberGuy]

Something has to be done to the health care system but what and how much.

My brother recently went to the hospital with chest pains. He was hospitalized for three days as they did a bunch of tests. He was billed for $23,000. His insurance would only pay $2000 but the hospital said that if he paid $3000 they would drop the rest of the bill. My other brother came up with that money but still the collections from the hospital harrassed by brother for two weeks with phone calls trying to collect the rest of the money until he got the ones who made the agreement to get to the collections department and stop the harrassing phone calls.

My point is everyone needs health care and not everyone has it. My brother was fired by his company and they they re hired him dropping his health care coverage. This was their way of cutting costs. Firing those with health care and re hiring them without health care. My brother had to pay for his own health care at great cost but it is minimal coverage as shown by they paying only 10 percent of the hospital bill.

[CyberGuy]

We need some sort of health care coverage and this is going to costs us something. But as we all know a government run health care will be inefficient and costly with lots of red tape. Many companies will just stop their health care coverage to let the government take over the health care coverage making the cost all the more burdensome to the tax payer Yet something needs to be done. This is a no win situation for everyone.