Heard a new one from a Conservative friend tonight...

[DLine]

Was trying to explain why a single payer system would be good for America. One of his main arguments is health insurance companies pay for medical treatment and the people they pay create medicine. So if you follow the money, a single payer system would put the government in charge of creating medicine itself. He also said "Our doctors pretty much teach doctors everywhere else how to do their jobs". So since health insurance companies pay doctors, they are responsible for good doctors too.

His last message to me when I asked how many senior citizens he thought would like to give up their medicare in exhange for buying it on the open market.

"Of course they won't buy it on the open market, when they can vote for a Democrat who will just bankrupt the country to create an entitlement program to give them an artificial discount! The slack has got to be picked up somewhere, and if we're having trouble as a nation paying for health care for seniors, who make up a small minority, then how in the blue hell are we ever going to afford to pay for it for all 300+ million of us?"

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. The stuff about "creating medicine" makes no sense; pointless to argue with him.

[bluestate10]

22. I got into an argument with a conservative once.

The insane shit the person said had me doing so many logic double takes that I decided then and there that having a debate with a conservative was a fucking waste of precious time.

[LAGC]

2. The thing is...

Most people are healthy and don't need medical attention, so it really wouldn't be that much of a greater burden to cover everyone with a single-payer system. Sure, more people would probably take advantage of it to seek out preventative care, but that would only save the system more money in the long-run from more serious problems that would otherwise have to be treated later.

[snagglepuss]

3. It's hard to believe someone can be so profoundly ignorant and arrogent.

Canada to mention just one nation is at the forefront health and medical research.

snip

Canada has produced a disproportionately large number of major biomedical breakthroughs, and a new report released today exhaustively catalogues the best of the best.

The Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations new report, called "Moving at the Speed of Discovery" (PDF), includes a (very long) list of the top medical discoveries made in Canadian academic hospitals.

You probably knew about Dr Frederick Banting's discovery of insulin, but you're sure to be surprised at some of the high-profile research mentioned in the report, like robot surgeons, music therapy for the physically disabled, induced hypothermia for heart surgery patients and "cobalt bombs," to name a few of the most interesting items.

Click link to see the lengthy list.

http://www.canadianmedicinenews.com/2007/11/canadas-greatest-medical-research.html


Most healthcare dollars in the US go to admin costs, universal healthcare is more efficient with healthcare dollars.

[demigoddess]

4. not to mention military medicine, which is a single payer system

the government, and it has always been at the leading edge. And the military has teaching hospitals, etc. And it sends a lot of medical personnel through various colleges to train them.

[Norrin Radd]

5. To his "how in the blue hell":

we afford it by taxing the unholy hell out of those very few who are hoarding all of our money; you know, those who become unimaginably wealthy off of exploiting our labor and resources and opportunities yet don't feel patriotic enough to pay back what they owe, but instead amass and hide it it via endless loopholes or offshore it by various methods.

[vanlassie]

11. +++++

[DCKit]

6. A list of all the top Ins. co. officers and their salaries might give him pause.

After all, Jesus didn't take 30% off the top.

[JuniperLea]

18. And there was that scripture wherein Jesus tells Lazarus...

Sorry, Dude... death is a pre-existing condition! Next!

[rucky]

7. What does he think he's doing now with private insurance?

The only difference is the profit margin.

[seabeyond]

8. eye drops for son i bought last night. 7 days, 7 drops. $60. $8 plus a drop..... that is stickin

it to us. and i have health insurance. it is just a piece of shit insurance with blue cross

[demigoddess]

13. my daughter has a chronic condition requiring pills daily

we used to pay for it out of pocket to make sure we had a supply. Not very expensive twenty two or so a month. Then the insurance decided to pay for this certain medicine. The cost, to me paying out of pocket, suddenly went to 90 some dollars per month.

[seabeyond]

23. it is amazing. for first time, i am now hesitating using doctor, getting medicines they prescribe

asking, do we really need it.

[sendero]

9. assholes like this..

... are not going to get it until they or a close family gets sick and loses EVERYTHING THEY HAVE WORKED FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIFE to the corrupt, we-name-our-price-and-if-you-don't-like-it-DIE health care system.

[gratuitous]

10. Get new friends

Or, ask this one just what value insurance companies bring to the table. They're certainly plundering the system for a lot of money for their executives and endless paperwork, but besides innovations like "pre-existing conditions," what do the insurance companies actually do that justifies the money they take out of the health care delivery system?

[DLine]

12. The odd thing is...

This guy really is a friend. I feel like he would probably give me the shirt off his back if I asked. Their rhetoric just doesn't seem to match who they appear to really be when not discussing politics and policy. With guys like him, it seems more like an all around hatred of Democrats and anything they say or do. Like most other righties, Bush who was anything but a fiscal conservative got a free pass.

[Cleita]

14. He shoulda talked to the patient I talked to today.

She had to go to the ER. It cost $4,000. Since her deductible was $3,000, the insurance only paid 80% of $1,000. Her premium now has gone up an extra $200 a month. She's a couple of years off from being able to get Medicare and is keeping her fingers crossed that she won't get sick again before then.

[walldude]

15. His names not Glen Beck is it?

Because normally when I hear something that stupid it comes out of Becks mouth...

[DLine]

19. no, but I know he is a fan. LOL nt

[Johonny]

16. but the government is in charge of creating new medicine now

http://www.nih.gov/about/budget.html

We spend what ~22 % of GNP on our government now. Projections are like we will spend like ~24 % in 20 years. The myth that the government is about to run out of money is total fantasy.

[Pharaoh]

17. What a Moron!

:shrug:

[K8-EEE]

20. Do people not understand the concept of insurance??

The more paying into the pool the cheaper the coverage is for everyone. If only elderly people are paying in, and they are the ones who use the most services, it is not as fiscally responsible as when everybody pays in a little.

If you pay reasonable health insurance premiums and live your whole life not needing any serious medical treatment you know what? YOU WIN!! But you know that if you or your family did need it you would be covered.

[pnorman]

21. I like ths image!