Re: The N95 shortage America can't seem to fix

Using Trump to justify a bad program is lazy. Trump may very well be gone in January and ACA will still suck. Will you blame Biden then?

Maybe because I have a wife who is virtually uninsured and has serious health problems. ACA certainly is not doing anything for us.

$18,500 before they pay a dime is not insurance. ($12,000 in premiums and 6,500 deductible for ther most "affordable" policy).

The ACA is the best the US has had, and American voters agree, as they showed clearly in 2018. Yes, it can be improved. You don't do that by destroying it, and then someday in the unknown future maybe propose an alternative plan. The Repubs have had decades to improve our health care, and have done nothing, even in all the years they had full control of the government. trump certainly NEVER offered any plan, despite promising one "in 2 weeks" dozens of times since he announced he would run. Obama has nothing to apologize for. And Biden will likely improve what we have.

Biden may well improve that. If he does, I am sure you will acknowledge that here.

Obamacare is funded by taxpayers yet most taxpayers don't qualify for Obamacare.

Lazy welfare do-nothing democrats invariably get Obamacare free of charge.

Lazy welfare democrats think that's fair.

Nobody has had an acceptable plan. ACA is not it and that is all they have come up with since FDR started talking about it. Medicare is good for the recipients but financially it has not been viable for over a decade. It is simply another borrow and spend program. Welfare for the old at the expense of the young. Until Americans are willing to pay European level taxes, a government health plan is not happening. If kids would actually vote their interest, SS and Medicare would be in trouble. Most understand, it won't be here for them.

Government has no legitimate role in health care. Health care is a service like any other. What we need is for a conservative Supreme Court to reverse Helvering v. Davis and put an end to the federal welfare state.

What you mean is, until Americans are willing to put up with a European level of armed theft by a criminal gang ("government") running a protection racket.

All I want from government is for it to attend its few defined enumerated functions and otherwise leave me the hell alone. I don't want their "help." My health is not a federal issue.

That's funny, since European nations manage to have better health care results while spending 1/2 or less of what we do per person.

There are lots of reasons for that. Lawyers and insurance companies are a big part of it but you also have fewer millionaire doctors in Europe. It could also be pointed out, people of means come here for their medical care. To a certain extent you do get what you pay for.

And many more Americans go to other countries for major medical care.

That is not the socialized medicine countries tho. You are talking about "Fee For Service" countries with lower fees.

Those are not the countries you like to talk about.

Proving that Americas health care "system" is not working for many Americans.

Obama and his democraps designed a health plan where the taxpayers who pay for obamacare don't qualify for obamacare.

You keep forgetting that welfare democrats don't pay taxes. Since they don't contribute, they have no right to bitch.

No it just means people are willing to take a chance on a marginally certified Costa Rican doctor and hospital because it is cheaper than the Mayo Clinic. It is like buying chinese tools at Harbor Fright instead of buying a name brand.

If you get what you want and the ACA is tossed out in its entirety, do you think you'll be able to find cheaper/better insurance on the open market, given those preexisting conditions? I very much doubt it.

I'm squarely in the camp that says the ACA is deeply flawed, but I don't see how killing it helps anyone at all. Why can't we just fix it and make it better? As flawed as it is, it's light years better than what we had before, which was nothing.

What I'd like to see is the eligibility age for Medicare gradually lowered, perhaps 5 years for every year, or whatever the bean counters say makes sense. As more people become eligible, they could sign up or they could decide to go find their own insurance. At the same time, remove the stupid prohibitions that make it illegal for the Feds to negotiate service and medicine rates. My goal would be to strangle the private insurance market. If the Feds can't undercut the private insurance market, then something is badly wrong.

Top Republicans are quick to say that the ACA is a disaster, but they never say why. Disaster to whom? The insurance lobby? It's certainly not a disaster to the American people. Anyway, if it's a disaster they should be able to explain why and they should be able to explain what they would do differently and better. But like you said, years have gone by and they haven't offered a single alternative. It's not just Trump who has fallen down and can't get up, it's the entire Republican party. They voted to repeal the ACA dozens of times, all without preparing an alternative plan. It's sad and shameful that they aren't able to do what's best for the country.

There's also a steady stream of Americans going to Mexico, Costa Rico, and certain Asian countries to get their health care. Similar outcomes at a fraction of the cost.

Careful, your ignorance is showing again.

We'll have the Trump plan. The one with low premiums, coverage for pre-existing conditions and no mandate. Sadly the Trumpets are so stupid they can't fathom how those three things are mutually impossible. Trump had his awakening, as much as that is possible. Remember when he said "who would have thought that healthcare could be so complicated"? Yes, who indeed.