Palin has foreign policy experience??? - Page 3

"Accessible and affordable" free market healthcare? Who's talking here? Without a doubt, U.S. health care is not an open option to everyone. I think most of us Dreamies must agree.

Wow, a health care discussion! For those interested, here's a look at different health care systems around the world:

PBS Frontline Sick Around the World. (click on the video to watch!)

The PBS documentary takes a look at the UK, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland's health care systems. All are capitalist countries and all have enacted universal health care. They grouped health care systems into four basic models and believe it or not, the US has elements of all four.

Beveridge Model -

UK, Scandinavia, and Hong Kong's systems are all government run. All the hospitals are government owned and all health care employees are government employees. Think of it like the public library where the services are free but like the library, there are sometimes waiting times. They do an excellent job with emergency and preventative care but elective care can sometimes be lacking.

Bismarck Model -

Germany, France, and Japan's Health insurance are run by private organizations. However, these organizations are not for profit by virtue of tight regulation like prohibiting these private organizations from denying people based on pre-existing conditions.

Pre-existing conditions are when you are or have previously been sick (like cancer) and are charged higher (EDIT: higher premiums not higher interest rates) on your health insurance because you are more likely to get sick in the future. Think of car insurance where you are charged more because you have a history of car accidents. Sometimes, as many people have found, health insurance companies won't even cover you because you are too risky (i.e. too likely to get sick) to cover.

National Health Insurance Model

Canada and Taiwan's model has private organizations providing health insurance but every citizen pays into a government insurance program through a paycheck deduction and thus a member of that government program. Ever wonder why prescription drug prices are so much lower in Canada than in the US? Its because the government can negotiate lower prices with their huge pool of Canadian citizens like a big giant group discount.

Out of Pocket Model

Pay for health insurance out of your own pocket. If you can afford it, you get health insurance and you don't get health insurance if you don't. Third world countries mostly have this system where the only people who can get health care are those who can afford it.

All the countries mentioned have a mandate where everyone has to have health insurance. The government insurance system and the government run systems are easy to mandate since everyone pays into it like the Social Security system here in the US. The Bismarck Model countries like Germany and Japan mandate that everyone go get health insurance. Those who can't afford the cost are subsidized by the government. Germany lets the top 10% of income earners opt out of having health insurance (those who do go to private health insurance companies) and as a consequence have higher insurance premiums than those in Japan.

Like I said earlier (actually the documentary mentioned it), the US has elements of all four models. The VA system for American veterans is like the UK system; Medicare/Medicaid - by extension SCHIP is like the Canadian model; the German model is like the employer based health care in the US where employees of that company are pooled together for cost savings; and those 46 million people in the US without health insurance is in the Out of Pocket Model. They are not denied health care like in poor countries because of the Hippocratic Oath. But costs for everyone rise because the costs of care are not recouped and the lack of preventative care would have caught health problems early lowering the cost of care. The uninsured get care when its an emergency.

A person in the documentary did ask an intriguing question; the US gives everyone the right to a counsel (a lawyer) and a right to an education but how come the US doesn't give everyone the right to health care? Should it?

Go watch the documentary and read up on health care policy! Its really interesting.

Obama and Hillary had a vigorous health care debate back in the primary mostly over the issue of mandates although they do have other differences in their respective plans. McCain also has a health care plan but its mostly like Bush's plan. I can talk about that some other time since I'm probably boring people now.

BIG NEWS, "In her first interview with the media since being picked as Republican John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin said that Georgia should join NATO and war might be necessary if Russia invaded the country again."

Are you seriously kidding me, we are already stuck in a war with Iraq, and you want to launch a war against russia, a country with 5000 nukes?

She really fucked up in that Interview.
Wtf is she thinking threatening a war with Russia?

This is a funny thread.

Moonpie you should think before you type.

1. If Obama really doesn't care about troops why did he support the GI bill while McCain did not? There are many examples that I could find, but that was the most recent.

2. Why bash universal healthcare? I hope you never get cancer because I think you will change your position fast.

Palin? The people arguing she is qualified now were probably ragging on Obama before. I think she could be a good president if she had been on the campaign trail from the start. 60 days? I wouldn't support obama if he was in the same situation. Through 19+ months of campaigning, Obama has shown he has what it takes to be president. I haven't seen that from Palin yet.