Final Fantasy Hacktics

indeed not.   That statement doesn't even make any manner of sense.  The PBJ thing is more in response to a company giving someone who doesn't understand what 12% APR means a credit line.  

In fact, I haven't even stated that the costs are truly a problem.  They're just a result of the free market system, complete with an expensive base between medical materials (sterile AND disposal) and an expensive 8-year long doctor program coupled with an overall low average health of the american citizen.  

The best way to beat this system imo is to have government step in to subsidize medical education (or change it, 8 years is a loooong time to be a GP) to increase the number of doctors, specialized or otherwise, which will cause a 1-2 punch as it's a decrease in doctors' expenses due to less debt and increased competition which'll simply drive the prices down.  Because it certainly won't change on the consumer end, due to the literally life or death nature of the industry, nor will asking people to not be greedy.  A million-dollar executive's paycheck will raise the insuree's rates by $1 a year, assuming the company insures more than a million people.  Fixing that... won't do anything.

I wasn't assuming that was your stance, but asking for what you're position was. Thanks for the clarification.

I'd say that in addition to subsidizing medical education as a means of driving down costs, I'd also say there should be increased emphasis on preventative care and education among the public about good health habits to keep people from developing the sort of chronic conditions that end up being a drain on the system.

There's a lot of other ideas that have been swimming around in my head lately, but I guess that's to be expected when I'm in a writing intensive class whose main focus is the healthcare system.

Quote from: "Dominic NY18"So you're saying insurance is expensive just because "people expect doctors to take care of them?" What exactly are you saying when you say that?

I'm saying people don't take care of themselves anymore because they expect modern medicine to. I'm not talking about people who get diagnosed with cancer, but people who go to the hospital time after time after time with weight related problems (for no reason other than lack of excercise and unhealthy diet) but don't turn their life around. Or people who get a spot of skin cancer, but since those can be removed when caught early, they figure they still don't have to put on sunscreen. If you guys think that kind of shit is to blame on someone other than that person you have to be a retard. That's what I'm saying. I'm not blaming 12 year old kids with leukemia or something.

EDIT: I may as well cut out the first part of my post, and instead just say that you're assuming that the kinds of people in your example all have the means to even abuse the system in the way that you fear they can/do.

You seem to be looking at the problem as mostly a lack of responsibility on the part of the public being to blame, when the issue and its causes is far too complex to be caused primarily by people who are chronically ill and have poor health habits sucking up healthcare resources.

Not to mention, Dominic, the billions of dollars that are sucked out of the system by insurance profits instead of going to the actual care of the sick and dying.

Let me make my stance clear. As proven by all the other health care systems in the world that are socialized AND are ranked better than the US in both cost and quality of care, there is no advantage to a health care system that is run through a broken and practically unregulated capitalistic system. There's a reason why certain things are socialized. Can you imagine what it would be like if the judicial system, police and fire fighters were privatized? There are certain things that should not be run for profit. It is plainly wrong for anyone to be profiting off the pain and sufferingh of a human being. It is immoral and it should be stopped.

BTW, just because you can charge whatever you want doesn't make it right. Something like 80%+ of pharmaceuticals are are between 2 to 100x more expensive here in the US than in other countries for no good reason other than they can. On top of that they've lobbied legislation that prohibits us from buying medicines from other countries directly and Pharmacies that can get medicines at a cheaper rate by buying in bulk are not allowed to sell meds at a cheaper price! That's the kind of bullshit that is forcing costs up. That is what I am against. That kind of bullshit is what is killing Americans that would be treated better and for a reasonable cost in other countries.

No matter where you are in the US, the nearest McDonalds is less than 150 miles away by car.

...Holy Shit

Let me guess, those couple of spots that are dark are the most inhospitable places in the US that also don't have a non-secret military installation.

If you consider nevada inhospitable, sure.