ikol

Didn't North Korea specifically ask for Clinton? It's all about making Kim Jong Il feel special and important.

Good article. I'm all about hospice. Part of my geriatrics rotation included hospice, and I saw a patient who actually got better on hospice!

I find it more comforting to believe I am right than to operate on the opposite assumption. But I guess most people think they're wrong. I don't understand why you always resort to that sort thing when we have these discussions. All I do is state my opinion. I'm not insulting you or anyone else that disagrees with me. If anything, you are the one that comes off as the know-it-all. Scroll up the page to your long-winded, numbered reply in which you dismiss all my opinions as either "utter bullshit" or favoring anarchy if you don't think so. And my point was that whatever current current regul

Or it could be $5000 per person, making it $20,000 in your case. And does your family actually spend $33,000 per year on healthcare? I highly doubt it. Those numbers are skewed by the enormous amounts spent on end of life care.

OK, but say for example that you have two routine clinic visits per year and they cost $100 each. If your insurance covers those visits, do you think they only increase your premiums by $200 per year? I would bet not. Why not cover them with your own money and the insurance companies can charge you lower premiums on the condition that you make regular appointments?

I'm not suggesting that they should be used to cover health insurance, but they could be used to cover the amount that high-deductible plans do not. The average amount spent on healthcare is $6-7000 per American. A $5000 tax-free HSA that rolls over sounds pretty good to me. And I am not advocating ending corporate deductions for health insurance; in fact I would be in favor of adding individual deductions for those that buy their own. If what you say is true, then "health insurance" is a misnomer. The whole idea of insurance is that you pay a small amount to a company so that they

They go up, as they should. Just like your car insurance premiums go up if you get multiple speeding tickets. If your behavior increases your risk, it's going to cause more to insure against an adverse event. Except it would be using some people's tax dollars more so than others. Like half of our populations pays no federal income taxes. Are we going to add a tax so that they too would be paying for their healthcare? But the government certainly contributed a great deal to that fuck up by coercing banks into making risky loans. True, the private sector bears a lot of the responsibil

That falls under the mantle of personal responsibility. The government does not exist to change our diapers (at least in my opinion; others may differ on this point). Also, did I mention that my proposed plan comes with a tax-free health savings account which can be used for routine stuff?

Yes. Yes.

Maybe, so. I'm not sure whether insurance companies cover that stuff for purely economic reasons or if it's just because most people demand coverage for routine stuff. Either way, premiums are much higher as a result. Insurance isn't really meant to cover routine stuff. You're paying premiums so that in the unlikely event that you require really expensive treatment, you'll be covered. Why pay premiums to someone to pay for a routine visit? All adding the middle man does is takes price out of the equation for the patient, so doctors don't have to compete with low prices. I'm not advocating agai

The table comparing the incidence and mortality of various forms of cancer showed the U.S. and Canada to be pretty similar, and it doesn't give any indication that the uninsured were excluded from the numbers. So either the outcomes in both countries are about the same or the care in the U.S. is so much better that it cures enough people to make up for the uninsured that would have otherwise made outcomes worse in comparison to Canada. I say it depends on who the individual on the scale is. If it's someone I know and love, they're going to count more than some anonymous individual. But

So basically despite the fact that Canada has universal healthcare there's no dramatic difference in outcomes from the U.S.

Not having any experience with the Canadian healthcare system, I won't accept your premise that it hasn't. However, I do know that there are many problems with Canada's system, including wait times and doctor/nurse shortages. In fact, many Canadian patients go the US for treatment, and many physicians trained in Canada end up practicing in the US. And it's not just the amount of money being spent that's the problems but the restrictions that come with government payments. Doctors in Canada cannot set their own prices; instead, they have to accept the previously negotiated fees (much in the sam

If the US as a nation could benefit from a little humility, why would this also not apply to individuals?

It's one thing to be smarter than everyone else and another to go around proclaiming it.

You'll get no argument from me that insurance companies are in it for profit and not to provide healthcare. But part of the problem is that health insurance is expected to cover routine costs which is the antithesis of what insurance is about. People should be paying for that stuff out of pocket and using insurance for catastrophic costs. Another problem is government mandates on what insurance has to cover, including stuff like in vitro fertilization and viagra. And if putting control of healthcare reduces costs, it will do so by reducing compensation to providers rather than by reducing unne

A quiz taken by firefighters for promotion?

So racism is correct?

Why? Does it portray those in government as selfless and benevolent?

I think they should have Black and Tans.

I think the bigger scandal brewing (pun intended) is Obama's choice of beer when he meets with the Harvard cop guy to appoint him as the new racism czar. I read an early report saying that it would be Bud, which would be disappointing. I also read that the cop guy chose Blue Moon. Of course he would choose a white wheat beer!

You know that if you asked for such proof that it could easily be fabricated by Dan Rather on a typewriter?

No, Bush was a 'merican citizen. Big difference.

Don't forget that we also elected Obama. Does that make us more or less stupid?

I'm not stupid.