GoBlueRidge.net - Foxx Cosponsors Measure to Bring Legislation Negotiations to Public - Constantly Updated High Country NC News Source

beechbum

Registered | 10/28/2009 2:07PM

Why don't we go back to the old system of NO insurance for anyone. You get sick, call the doctor, and trade him a pig or a chicken for his services.

paulman1

Registered | 10/28/2009 2:10PM

We would run out of farm animals the
way people get a "sniffle" anymore and feel they have to go to the doctor's office or emergency room.. Good grief...

rodad

Registered | 10/28/2009 2:25PM

What this means is that the idiots in Washington can't have "Closed Door Meeting" and must be out in the open like Obama promised in the first place. Another of his many lies.
God I can't wait for the next Presidential Election. We need to remove the "Marcsist" from office.

Spelling Police

Registered | 10/28/2009 3:46PM

That's "Marxist."

Greed Is good

Registered | 10/29/2009 9:50AM

This is terrible news. It should only be that the party propaganda chairman/czar will determine what knowledge is needed to be disseminated to the populous.

rodad

Registered | 10/28/2009 2:30PM

Heil Hitler!

Spelling Police

Registered | 10/28/2009 3:47PM

This is way over the top and disrespectful.

Just call me Bill

Registered | 10/31/2009 11:43AM

It is not necessarily required that you be respectful in your expression of political opinions. It is better if you are, but that pesky first amendment does exist. Neither of those posts were vulgar or obscene.

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/28/2009 2:41PM

She would do better to spend her time finding out why healthcare spending is, as she says, one sixth of our economy, when it is less than a tenth in most other industrialized nations.

Although I don't disagree with efforts to pause before passing a bill, this is also a typical distraction manoever instead of getting to the heart of the problem. I can always trust Ms. Foxx to spend her time avoiding the real issues.

Just call me Bill

Registered | 10/31/2009 11:39AM

You have already admitted to experiencing a mild form of the rationing of health care. You said the bus routes were changed so your child has to walk some distance to and from the bus stop. Your child still has public transportation, but this transportation is not as good as other children are provided. If nationalized health care and the one payer system is passed, the same thing will happen to health care. The elderly will suffer from the decisions of the death panels. Ms. Foxx's effort would at least provide a means for us to know what out public masters have in mind for us.

save01

Registered | 10/28/2009 2:42PM

Go, Virginia, go!!!! Let the American people see what a crop of, um, "brilliant idiots" they elected this time! Bring it all out!

Also, we are not all equal and neither should our healthcare options. I work in healthcare and can tell you that NOBODY--and I mean NOBODY in this country goes without help unless they want to. The emergency room is often packed with people who have no intention of ever paying a bill. If those of you who belive the government should supply all your needs, I still think Communist countries will allow you in. Whatever happened to self-sufficency and a work ethic in this country!?! What ever happened to Americans taking care of each other because a Higher Power told us it's the right thing to do--not our government!

Overall

Registered | 10/28/2009 6:55PM

Hey, save01, does washing out bed pans really qualify as "working in healthcare?"

Also...just wondering....does your employer provide insurance coverage for you? It would just seem a bit odd given your firm belief in self-sufficency (sic).

Just call me Bill

Registered | 10/31/2009 11:49AM

Do you find washing out bedpans to be somehow demeaning? It seems that this is a necessary service you would be glad to have if you were in a hospital in need of it. I certainly was grateful for this kind of care as well as the more "respected" form.

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/28/2009 2:52PM

Save01. Of course, I'm paying for those people who "don't pay a bill" with my highly inflated premiums, as well as for all the people who are on Medicare and Medicaid.

I'm paying massive bills for those people who have delayed going to the doctor until the problem is so bad that it can't be fixed, but it WILL cost a bunch more to delay death than it would have to just treat it early and fix it.

I sincerely hope that you have never treated me, because I do look for a little intelligence in my doctors.

Overall

Registered | 10/28/2009 6:37PM

The fact is that there are multiple bills that need to be melded into a single one. It happens ALL THE TIME when identical issues are addressed by several committees.

But Ginny and her whiny, obstructionist kin would prefer to make the healthcare bill process appear to be somehow different from and more sinister than the one applied to each and every piece of legislation EVER mulled over by either party.

Why can't Foxx and her buddies find a new play to run aside from "let's rely on the ignorance of our base to yell and scream about non-issues they'll never understand in an attempt to delay the inevitable?" I guess this is all she and her limp, powerless, out-manned peers believe they can contribute to topical discussions of important issues.

Retro

Registered | 10/28/2009 8:11PM

I've heard that Obama is going to relax the travel ban to Cuba. That's a great idea. Then, all those Americans who think our health care is inferior to other countries can hop over there and take advantage of Castro's free Socialist medical care.

Skip Vaccines

Registered | 10/31/2009 4:47PM

Just like when Michael Moore took all the sick 9/11 emergency personel to Cuba and they were treated for free?

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/28/2009 9:59PM

They are already taking advantage of excellent (and sometimes superior) health care at infinitely lower cost in other countries. But you're right, Cuba does have a decent system although not the best.

Retro

Registered | 10/29/2009 8:08PM

Then I wonder why so many foreigners come to the U.S. for medical care. In Canada, for example, it is very difficult to get an MRI. The city of Houston has more MRI units than in all of Canada.

Last year I developed extreme leg pain that put me on a walker for a while. It took three MRIs to identify the problem In each case, I had to wait no more than 24 hours. No objections were raised, no health bureaucrat had to pre-approve. This just can't happen in Canada and probably most other countries with government run health care.

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/29/2009 10:12PM

Apparently you don't have BCBSNC, Retro. I have had to fight them tooth and nail and ended up paying a fortune for reasonable procedures, despite years of paying stratospheric premiums. My family's out of pocket this year tops $30,000, and none of it was even anything that major, although it had to be done.

Sure, we have good healthcare here IF you can afford it. If you can't, you could die. Or if you can't and you get it anyway, know that I'm subsidizing it heavily as well as subsidizing Medicare and Medicaid. I don't object to that, in that I think it is unconscionable for a country not to provide healthcare, but I do object to people saying that a major overhaul of our system isn't essential.

They have equal or better health care in other countries, and it costs a fraction of what it costs here. There was an interesting letter about the cost of a knee op in Germany for a tourist in the papers recently.

Skip Vaccines

Registered | 10/31/2009 4:53PM

I have no insurance and have only spent around $1,000 these past 2 years on needed health care. That figure includes vitamins, herbs, and acupuncture as well as a few perscriptions and a couple of MD visits. I can't imagine spending $30,000 on top of premiums!!

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 10:53AM

Lucky you. Apparently you and your child have never suffered from congenital heart problems.

If everyone was born equally healthy and the only ills we ever suffered were avoidable through good diet and regular exercise, then I would be all for people taking care of their own health care needs. However, I am very well aware that, despite working hard, many people are not lucky enough to be able to afford insurance as I am, and have much worse genetic issues to contend with.

A Bit Concerned

Registered | 10/28/2009 11:02PM

Retro and 01, I couldn't agree more. Am I the only one sickened by the sight of healthy individuals sitting around not working and expecting the government to take care of them? The Bible talks about those that don't work not eating.....

Mtn Sun

Registered | 10/29/2009 6:13PM

Bit - I guess you are ok with jobless people starving. Of course you'll never be down on your luck.

Retro

Registered | 10/29/2009 8:11PM

Show me a jobless person that is starving in the U.S. and I'll show them the way to the nearest food bank.

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/29/2009 10:14PM

And will you also show them the way to the free heart valve replacement clinic?

Retro

Registered | 10/30/2009 7:45PM

Free? There's no free lunch and there's no free medical care. Somebody pays for it. As one pundit said, if you think health is expensive now, just wait till its "free."

keylimey

Registered | 10/29/2009 10:55PM

If the entire country had equal access to a blanket health care system, surely taht would be fairest?! It is pretty much the system that all other Western countries have. Blaming these mystical and supposedly lazy people or fearing that someone's going to get away with something, including their own 'hard earned' $$, is an obssesion that I think is peculiarly American.

Retro

Registered | 10/30/2009 8:41PM

Yes, you're right. That probably is peculiarly American. According to recent polls, 80 to 85% of Americans are satisfied with their current health care. A major "overhaul" might benefit 15 percent of the population, but many believe it will degrade health care for the other 85%.

And if you believe that everyone should have equal access to the best health care, why not apply the same logic to other necessities of life such as housing, gourmet food, clothing, transportation, etc. That may be the prevailing attitude in socialist Europe, but so far we've resisted socialism here in the states.

That may be why the U.S. economy is still the strongest in the world and why we have the best health care. Yes, it expensive, but quality and access cost more. Government run health care will degrade quality and reduce access for most.

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/30/2009 9:44PM

The US economy isn't the strongest in the world and it doesn't have the best healthcare--it ranks way down there. I think it was 37th in 2000?

I'm perfectly satisfied with my health care. I'm just not satisfied with having what my doctor advises blocked by the insurance company and I'm sure as heck not satisfied with what I pay for it. I'm not satisfied with paying disproportionately for other people's health care either, including your THREE MRIs (who the heck was taking and reading them, a chimp? Do you have any idea what those things cost?).

Just call me Bill

Registered | 10/31/2009 11:57AM

Are you an expert in reading MRI's? Is it possible that in a complicated medical procedure, it is better for the patient and the doctor if the doctor is sure of the procedure he needs to preform?

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/31/2009 1:49PM

It's better if they can figure out what the heck they're doing without a couple of Jack Daniels first, yeah.

('hey y'all! look! this dude has a brain!' 'haha! you're such a clown! nah...let's try it again, that can't be right...' 'well bud, at least we paid the danged payment for this machine - what's it called again? for this month...'

Just call me Bill

Registered | 10/31/2009 4:38PM

That is certainly an interesting point of view. If you really feel this way do you ever go to the doctor or take your kids? If so, why? If you do visit the doctor, are you being a hypocrite with yourself because with this point of view, it would seem that you would believe you could do as well by having someone shake a feather and a bone at you while chanting.

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 10:38AM

Where do you get that believing the THREE MRIs (at a couple of thousand apiece at least) should NOT be necessary to diagnose one knee problem means that I go for witch doctors? If I needed 3 MRIs for one problem, I would have to seriously question the competence of the facility.

Retro

Registered | 11/01/2009 6:57AM

Those U.N. or WHO health rankings are a farce. If you had unlimited resources, would you go to another country for medical care? I wouldn't. And there are few examples of Americans seeking foreign care. But there are many instances where foreigners come to the U.S. for medical care. And why do so many foreign physicians come to the U.S. to practice if our health care system ranks so low?

I'll admit that the Obama Administration is doing its best to weaken the U.S. economy, but the dollar is still the standard for the international monetary system and U.S. bonds are still considered the safest debt obligation.

And when there is an international crisis such as the fight against terrorism or natural disasters, which nation do you think contributes by far the most financial support or emergency aid? The answer is obvious. But you contend that the U.S. economy is not the worlds strongest? You must have been living on another planet.

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 10:46AM

We are apparently talking at cross purposes. The US trains some very good doctors and does some good research and development. Unfortunately it also suffers from dramatic over-prescribing, and too many procedures (many that have been shown to be worthless) for those who can afford it. It has a comparatively high rate of infection in hospitals. And if you don't have insurance but earn just a little too much for Medicaid, you are flat-out sc***ed.

keylimey

Registered | 10/29/2009 11:09PM

Also Retro, the statistics show that in the USA only 16% of people will be able to see their GP the same day that they call whereas,let's random;y take a European country, oooh, say The UK, shows a 48% success rate.

Okay let's hear it.."Then why don't you go back there?". The word 'social'I belive comes from Latin 'socious' meaning sharing. Society, sociable are both derived from the same. There's plenty of Americans who end up in London's Harley St for specialist attention too.

Retro

Registered | 10/30/2009 7:51PM

There are plenty of walk-in clinics in the U.S. where you can see a physician on the same day. I've used them myself when I've had an urgent medical problem.

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/30/2009 9:47PM

I know, it's always fun to go through your entire medical history for yet another doctor. And if you go to the one here, you can get some very entertaining results--not correct results, of course, but entertaining.

Just call me Bill

Registered | 10/31/2009 11:54AM

This is a serious charge. Would you care to inform us of the facts supporting it?

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 10:59AM

No. That would be up to the people I know who went there. I don't divulge other people's medical info.

Just call me Bill

Registered | 10/31/2009 4:43PM

I would assume you do not go back to the U.K. for the same reason you came here. There is something about this country you find superior to the U.K. In my opinion, that would include pretty much everything, but your reasons are your own.

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 10:58AM

I would assume, perhaps wrongly, that KeyLimey is married to an American. In my case, I just went to school over there for a while so it's not an option. Have you spent much time in the UK to have come up with your poor opinion of it?

Just call me Bill

Registered | 11/01/2009 11:49AM

Then I must assume that Keylimey's spouse would not stay in that country.

You are certainly correct in that I have never been to the U.K. and have no desire to go there. This is because I personally know people that were born in the U.K. and escaped that socialist country. Their horror stories would prevent anyone from having the desire to travel there. Of course the fact they lived most of their lives in the U.K. cannot be of more significance than the while you spent there while in school. Out of curiosity, how long was this while?

Overall

Registered | 11/01/2009 12:33PM

Quite the intelligent argument, Bill.

"My country good. Your country stinks. Yay, us."

Political Science major?

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 12:37PM

OMG - I can't even answer that one, I'm too busy rolling on the floor laughing.

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 12:54PM

I still can't vanquish those visions of all the luxury developments, Harrods and Bond Street as viewed by Bill's feverish immagination - a stark landscape peppered with Stalinesque ruffians forcing people to have their knees treated without three MRIs...oh, the horror of it!

Just call me Bill

Registered | 11/01/2009 2:51PM

I notice you avoided the question. I am curious to see if your "a while" experience equals the 90+/- years experience of my friends. It was very intuitive of you to realize that health care was one of the concerns that influenced their immigration to this country.

Overall, as a matter of fact, I did take some political science classes. It was not my major. If you will check, no mention as made of specifics as to why my friends left the U.K. only that there had to be some reason that Keylimey left and chose this country. It is only logical that reason was that he or his spouse feels something is superior here. If not, why would they leave?

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 3:22PM

Well, bu***r me, if the old goat's over 90, I doubt he remembers much.

Just call me Bill

Registered | 11/01/2009 8:45PM

ChrissG, the word friends is plural, not singular. I thought it would be evident I was speaking of cumulative experience. I think it was for most. My apologies to anyone else. You still have not told me how long a while is.

ChrissyG

Registered | 11/01/2009 11:24PM

I was there 6 years, and I go back every year for a visit, although I don't think that's at all relevant. Britain is what it is - an extremely vibrant place. Maybe you had 2 friends who were there 45 years apiece and inexplicably moved in mid-life, or maybe 10 friends who all moved at 9 - who cares? It doesn't make the UK a Stalinist fantasy. And everyone I know there, who lives there CURRENTLY, is in horror over the American healthcare system.

You have a bizarrely parochial view. I don't want to live in Andorra but that doesn't mean it isn't a fantastic country. The same goes for Australia, New Zealand, India, Germany, etc. I've travelled a lot, and the US will always be my home because I grew up here and my family is here, not because I think it is "superior".

And certainly not because I think the healthcare system here is superior. In fact I think it is unconscionable for the American people to sanction such a brutal system. Everyone bleats on about America being so Christian, but there is NOTHING Christian about a system that allows a hardworking mom to panic about having to take her kid to the doctor with a high fever.

Overall

Registered | 11/02/2009 10:26AM

Wow. It's been 11 hours since the above post and not a single jingoistic flat-earther has suggested that ChrissyG may be happier leaving our country.

I'll be the glass-is-half-full guy and accept that as a sign of progress instead of laziness.

ChrissyG

Registered | 10/30/2009 6:33AM

And in the UK your doctor will actually make a house call if necessary. Here they tell you to go to the ER (how much is that again?) unless you pay a flat $5,000 annual "boutique" fee as well.