To Drby Dad

[krw]

In this case, three lefts do *not* make a right. They make a "mostly peaceful riot".

[krw]

People aren't saints, no matter what the lefts thinks _they_ are. That's the premise of the right. A person can be completely wrong but as a whole they'll do the right thing (it's called "freedom" for you lefties).

Nonsense. If you note what a fuckup the government's made of every other part of our lives, we don't need any more of their help with healthcare. After all, they've done such a good job with the VA.

No thanks!

[krw]

Socialism always eliminates "discrimination". The politburo members all have their dachas with beach frontage on the Black Sea.

If you think Congress is going to get the same care as you, you're not only blind but stupid.

[krw]

I keep hearing about "Medicare for All" as a lefty rallying point. After investigating Medicare (going on it a couple of months), all I can say is that they couldn't afford it any more than they want to work hard enough to get a job that has health insurance.

And gaining more every day - the Capitol Police (not subject _any_ civilian overview) having a presence around the country - or the spying, without court order, on US citizens inside the US.

Utter nonsense. Each one of us does it every day. Without a common "morality" we have nothing. Thou shalt not murder IS morality. From there right down to the covid lockdowns, down to cigarettes. All morality plays.

That's precisely the point. Venezuela "can't happen here". "Real communism/socialism has never been tried." Famous last words.

[krw]

True. You're here.

[krw]

By stating the above, you're CLEARLY not in the center. The Capitol insanity was a minor blip compared to what happened the whole year, all over the country, in the "mostly peaceful demonstrations". Billions of dollars in damage and thousands (mostly minority) businesses were burned to the ground and many killed. In the capitol riot, only one was killed, one of the "rioters", shot in the back.

[Leon]

We need people that understand how to handle money rather than give it away.

FWIW the more you have the government do for you the more dependent you will become on the government. That is the Democrat leadership plan.

That and give every one the right to vote, citizens and non citizens.

[Markem618]

You have to look at what the ACA has done.

More people with health care insurance, that is good.

The reduction in providers of health care insurance, is the bad.

ACA was written by the lawyers and lobbyist of the insurance providers.

[krw]

More people with unaffordable health care, that is bad. More people spending far more with less coverage, that is bad.

Loss of health care (doctors AND hospitals) in rural areas is real bad. Corporate (hospital) takeover of private practice is real bad. Doctors going out of business or retiring and going into other businesses is bad.

That's how the government works and that's how leftists want your health care to work.

[Leon]

Good if you can get in to actually see a doctor. I have heard that many doctors simply do not accept insurance.

Yes

[Bill]

Yes, not enough team spirit. I guess what you wrote is another of way of expressing my thought that "neither party consists entirely of saints!" Many of the genuinely rich don't pay their fair share of taxes and surely there are people drawing more unemployment benefits than they should. To be fair, not everyone starts from the same place in life, or attends schools of the same quality. There were 3 high schools in my hometown, and they reflected 3 socio-economic levels and 3 levels of property taxes. Even in the 2nd one, which I attended, there were kids boasting about family membership in the "yacht club". I was content to come to school wearing clothes which I mostly paid for with my part time job! : ) And I bet I learned to weld better and take care of my car better than any of those "yacht club" kids, to say nothing of developing some interest and knowledge about woodworking! : )

[Clare Snyder]

The Canadian system, is far from "perfect" but it sure beats anything that has been implemented or proposed in the USA.

I can be guaranteed basic health care will not bankrupt me and I will get emergency care reguardless of my ability to pay. I can buy private insurance to enhance my basic coverage to include prescription drugs and dental. Drugs required for in hospital treatment are covered as are many drugs for seniors.

[Michael Trew]

OK, more of a back story... I always leaned conservative, and I voted for Trump. I have ZERO tolerance for the insane left push back after the George Floyd thing was blown WAY out of proportion. I would have taken care of those rioters very quickly after they started looting and burning cities down... pop, pop, pop...

Now then, after how Trump has reacted since losing the election, the whole of the Republican party with him, I rethinking my political beliefs. I never had a tolerance for Democrats. Then, after seeing how Republicans can just "oust" Liz Cheney, amongst other things... I've realized that neither side is any better than the other, they are all crooks and thieves. Political parts are a cancer to our country, and should be abolished.

[Michael Trew]

My high school was in a very small town - only one school. We were all poor :)

Yes, I'd agree with you about "saints". I'll take it a step further though -- I think that political parties are a menace, and should be done away with. Vote people in based on their beliefs... they shouldn't have to sell their soul and morals to one of the big two parties... least they be silenced by their party after stepping out of line.

[Bill]

Do away with lobbyists and "payola" and get rid of the marketplace upon which politicians can sell their souls, and maybe that will help. I merely described a strategy to help to solve the problem that some of us have observed.

There has been a lot of effort to give corporations the same rights of people, except corporations don't go to jail. For instance, if a corporation pollutes a river, they may pay a fine, but they basically may get away with it. If an individual (as recklessly) caused the same "damage", they would be in jail. One can think of numerous examples like this, with some involving the mistreatment of people as well.

[Scott Lurndal]

I haven't heard that, nor have I ever experienced it.

[Leon]

My doctor considered not taking me as a patient unless I paid cash. My father was already a patient so he made an exception.

There are several groups of doctors that refuse insurance and offer you a more realistic cost but only accept cash/credit card. They team up with specific pharmacies and labs and some hospitals that work together. That has been going on since the mid 90's that I know of.

Insurance introduces a middle man that is making a large sum of the money. Doctors, pay a lot for personnel to process insurance claims so that they actually get paid.

So basically medical costs are expensive BECAUSE they have to make up for the discounts that they have to give to the insurance company. Typically the insurance company gets a discount from the cost that a medical provider charges. Because most people have insurance the medical provider has to increase what they charge to the uninsured to be able get what they need, to stay in business, from the insurance company.

My insurance provider gives me a break down of all medical costs and drug costs. They show what they were billed and they show what they actually paid. Most often the medical provider gets about 30~40% of what they billed the insurance company for.

The groups of doctors I mentioned above don't accept insurance because they charge their cash/credit card customers the amount that they would have been paid by the insurance company. And in turn they don't need staff to process insurance claims.

Many years ago most people could afford medical costs because insurance companies were not involved. And eventually the company you worked for provided free medical insurance and that all went out the door.

[krw]

My PCP would not take on any new Medicare or Medicaid patients unless they'd been patients before going on government programs. When Obamacare came along, he closed is doors and went into a concierge practice. He couldn't afford to keep his office open. Independent doctors only got paid half what hospitals got paid for the same thing. That's why so many practices have been gobbled up by hospitals. It's not an accident.

Yes, concierge medicine isn't anything new. The normal mode is that an annual fee is charged (in the case above, $2400/person) and that covered everything a PCP would get into. Of course it didn't cover surgery (PCPs don't do surgery).

The government adds a *lot* more. The whole "coding" nightmare caused more doctors to sell out.

I have some numbers for that. It's >50%. Government also imposes rules that make insurance (as opposed to medicine) far more expensive, like insurance across state lines.

That's about right.

Again, the government had its fingers in that too.

There's Medicare/Medicaid with their rules about things like kick-backs. With my employer-sponsored insurance one of my drugs' street price is about $450/month (a *very* common drug). My cost, through my employer is something like $40 (I can't remember exactly). The drug company kicks back, to me, everything the insurance company doesn't pay, except $10. The bottom line is that when I go to the drug store, I pay $10. When I go on Medicare, that kickback is illegal. There is a whole basket of similar rules that just cost up money.

[krw]

OK, but that's where we were and that's where we *ARE*. If you accept that, and you are, you are left.

Reacted? Mean twitter posts?

Exactly what's wrong with "ousting" Liz?

There is no middle in this one.

[krw]

So you're against free speech and assembly, too. OK, you're going further and further left.