Is the health care system in need of reform or is it just politicians posturing for the 2008 Presidential race

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Suddenly, the hot potato of health care reform is being grabbed with bare hands by lawmakers of every political stripe and by coalitions of employers, unions, insurers, and medical and consumer groups that have rarely seen eye to eye on the issue.





Now, after half a century of failed attempts, the momentum toward universal health coverage—within states or nationwide, through public or private systems or a combination of both—has surged onto the national stage, having recently percolated up from the states.





In particular, the bold actions taken by Massachusetts, Vermont and California—states with Democratic-controlled legislatures and Republican governors—are leading a groundswell for change. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed extending coverage to the 20 percent of residents who now lack insurance. The plan requires residents to get health insurance and employers to provide coverage for workers or else contribute to the cost of covering the uninsured. It caps administrative spending by insurers, raises payments to hospitals and doctors and imposes a new tax on them. Massachusetts is grappling with the realities of a similar, though less ambitious, law enacted last year under then-Gov. Mitt Romney.





The new mood for reform is coming from employers and state governments struggling under rising health care costs; from policymakers wanting to replace the fragmented system with a unified one that covers everybody; and from the uninsured, a group that now approaches 47 million.





But there is another group that eventually may exert a more powerful impact on the debate: people who have coverage but sense that it's dangling by a fraying thread.





"The core motivation [for reform] is that for the last few years health insurance premiums have been going up faster than earnings," says Paul Ginsburg, president of the Washington-based Center for Studying Health System Change. "That means there are a lot of people who have insurance but feel vulnerable to losing it."

Is the health care system in need of reform or is it just politicians posturing for the 2008 Presidential race
Yes - the American citizens are being duped again and again, it simply doesn't or will not end. The lack of concern or compassion from our lawmakers and State leaders is visually overwhelming. Sadly, a vast majority of elderly and disabled are being subjected to pay the high cost of health-care coverage and for their medication to help them go about normally. They will often end up in food pantry's, bin diving, or other charitable source to get help for food and other household items. These items cannot be brought with the monthly payment they get from Social Security and/or retirement, due to healthcare monthly payments and medication.





Isn't it sad when they have worked their whole life to experience such a hardship, that can and has be shown to destroy ones life financially, mentally, and physically because of the pressures and hardship. Not to forget to mention that a lot of people has been disqualified by going over five or ten dollars in their monthly income. Now how pathetic can a government agency get.
Reply:There are millions of Americans still uninsured, so yes Healthcare is a big problem in this country.
Reply:Health care reforms and Immigration reforms are coming up, but first Bush needs to be Impeached and get out of the white house.
Reply:The Healthcare System is in dire need of reform. Below are some of the key issues:








#1: the cost of develping drugs pushes the cost before insurance to ridiculous heights; and the cost of various large lawsuits, which eventually gets pushed to the consumer, driving the cost of most prescription drugs up even further;





#2: most insurance is paid for by employers, who, even though they can't absorb the entire premium, the part they do pay for hurts their profit margin and thus their viability to do business - besides for salary, benefits (including insurance) are the number one cost of doing business - in fact, at the low end of the salary scale, insurance may actually cost more than the salary itself;





#3: the cost of graduating from medical school forces most doctors to prescribe expensive, non-generic drugs in a form of kickback from Big Pharma in the doctors' attempt to pay off their tuition debts and student loans, which drives the cost of medication up in general and the cost of insurance up specifically;





#4: the cost of Government-regulated paperwork (which eats up productivity by forcing doctors to spend more time processing it that actually practising medicine);





#5: the high incident of Counterfeit medicine which raises the operating costs of drug distributors, who then must raise their wholesale costs to the Pharmacies in order to make up the shortfall, which is then passed on to the consumer (translate - to the Boss paying most of the benefits);





#6: the lack of a unified approach in the Government to solve this problem caused by political fighting, which is made all the worse by the undocumented illegal aliens who never seem to have a problem getting whatever they want while you and I must take a back seat in this whole process and watch as the whole system gets bankrupted by the illegals while we wait for people of courage to step up to the plate and fix it once and for all;





#7: the huge cost of new diagnostic equipment that causes the Lab companies to charge so much that many conditions are excluded because the Insurance companies themselves would go out of business if they had to cover all procedures based on need;





#8: most new jobs are created by small business, half of which fail in the first two years of their life, making it difficult for them to be able to earn enough profit to actually cover insurance without causing a more swift demise, and, eventually, a possible Depression in this country.
Reply:it would be nice for insurance for everyone
Reply:Since most politicians are lawyers who compose in language that is befudding to the public, and themselves,


they get confused in the mumble jumble of it all. It would be straightened out easily and in no time, if they were treated like the average citizen who had to pay for insurance. But since they got the best insurance possible, free, they don't put much effort into straightening it out.





When senior citizens and middle class are charged outrageous for ins. premiums and drugs, while politicians, immigrants, illegals, etc. get their medical for nothing. You don't have to be a genius to figure out that something is wrong.





There are more pharmaceutical lobbyist in Washington than there are congressmen who use ???? to persuade them to pass laws for their benefits and not the public. The politicians also have allowed almost 1/3 of the FDA to be salary funded by the drug companies....and you know who that favors. Its all about the dollar.





The politicians don't have the ability, common sense, know how on how to fix the problem and dont have much interest in doing so until they have the same medical problemss, coverage, expense, etc. as the public. And since they make the laws, they are not about to change it.





Ha! Ha! The best thing for the average American to do is go to Mexico and sneak back in as an illegal, then they can get all their medical, benefits, etc. for nothing. This is a joke, but there is a lot of truth to it.
Reply:Health care is a big problem in the U.S.. I just went though this with my mother. It was a battle to get things done for her. The government for year along with employers said that things would be taken care of in their elder years. As the years passed the government under employers campaign funds change the laws so that it became harder to get the health care because the employer did not want to pay for it, and neither did the government.


We need to see that there is a problem and we as nation need to solve it. Not just putting it on the back burner.
Reply:The healthcare system needs reform, But we need to have a revolution first to get the government straight
Reply:we have to get the insurance companies and drug companies to quit buying whitehouse votes. your right on both counts, the elections are coming and it does need "reform".
Reply:Tort reform. The buck needs to stop somewhere or else big business will take your pocketbook, it's just simple business.
Reply:Was that a question? I could not find a single question mark.





My solution to the health care problem? Just have Congress legislate and a president sign a law that everyone will have the exact same health plan as members of Congress.
Reply:Short answer --- What health care system?





You must be employed and/or self employed, have good health coverage thru your employer and don't have to be concerned about choosing between food and medicine .... Lucky!





Millions of working parents in the USA have no insurance or insurance only for for their kids (maybe) -- premiums too expensive.





And yes the 2008 presidential candidates are simply posturing for position. They talk now and will do nothing or will continue to cut health care/social service (people services) budgets once they are in office. Business as usual.





Thought provoking question.