Someone's got to pay for it. Why not soak the rich? They haven't complained yet.

More proof that universal health care will never happen in this country as long as health insurance companies are involved. There's entirely too much money being made at the expense of our health.

Just old cynical me wondering why medical insurance premiums keep going up every year. Could it be the stack of legalese forms one has to sign to get most medical procedures done these days have anything to do with lawyers?

Hey now! Lay off the lawyers. We are just as likely to sue doctors as we are to defend them. Either way, there's money in it for us.

How about staying with health care reform. Doctors and insurance companies fear the public (medicare like) option. It just doesn't pay top dollar. That is precisely why we need it. To me this is a watershed issue for the Obama Admin. What can you do?Weigh in with Senator Wyden's office for one. His plan lacks the option. This is not the time for apathy. Without the public option, there will be no reform, just greed spread over a much larger population. The private health care industry salivates over universal coverage, but the public option checks that glee with pavlovian certainty.

The AMA and the insurance industry would have you believe that it is the lawyers that are causing the high price of medicine. Unfortunately they are only taking advantage of a system that is not only costly, it is mistake prone.

Consider this: It is estimated that the medical field kills or injures 50,000 people a year with mistakes. Approximatelly the same number of people fly as go to the hospital every year. How long would the airline industry would be in business with that kind of track record.

It is infinitely safer to fly around the world every day for the rest of your life than walk into a hospital for elective surgery.

Anyone who thinks that the American medical care is the best in the world either hasn't been to a doctor lately, much less the hospital or is a complete idiot.

I'm both amused and irritated by the idea that "health insurance reform" might equate to requiring everyone to buy health insurance in the private market. That's the current system. You mean 60 million people have that ability now and are simply choosing to gamble on huge medical bills that would bankrupt them?

The auto industry is important to our national economic health. Why not require everyone to buy a new car? People can't afford that, either.

Of course there has to be some kind of "public option."

Best thing to do is fix the things that make health care so expensive instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. It can be done without the gov't paying for a dime of health care that has to be taken from everyone.

"Someone's got to pay for it. Why not soak the rich?"

Because the rich have done such useful productive things with their money.

I have my own business, therefore I pay for my own health insurance. I pay $3000 a year for a policy with a $5000/yr deductible.

I would much prefer spending that money on preventative care, but all I can't afford actual doctor visits on top of my insurance premiums! Insurance companies just seem to be in the way.

If I get really sick my finances are screwed anyway. Small businesses (that ALL politicians just love) take it in the shorts.

Note: Medicare Coverage is about $90.00 per month. It covers most expenses but to have full coverage requires a supplemental policy from a private insurer. The typical premium for the supplement runs in the neighborhood of $200.00 per month plus. The supplemental premium escalates yearly. So, don't feel too sympathetic toward the poor private sector, they're still gettin theirs, just not quite as obscenely. Oh yeah, and the coverage they provide for double the premium of medicare, about 20% of what Medicare covers.

Preventive.

I think the AMA had a "oh, did I say that out loud?" moment:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/11/obama-reasserts-support-f_n_214392.html

The typical premium for the supplement runs in the neighborhood of $200.00 per month plus.

Do some research. That's more than would be typical.

From Medicare website, age range 75-79, annual cost for supp. "B" coverage = $3,800.00. http://www.medicare.gov/MPPF/Include/DataSection/MedigapDetails/MGAPPolicyChooser.asp

Do the math, average cost of supplement per month $316.66.
The research shows my $200.00 estimate to be low.