Comments on: Healthcare Exceptionalism

By: Byron

Byron — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:56:01 +0000

Howard Dean for HHS!

By: Ward

Ward — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:28:33 +0000

Well, there’s one major step toward healthcare exceptionalism — astounding tax cheat Tom Daschle has run away like the Knights in “Holy Grail”, withdrawing as HHS Secretary nominee, followed closely by similar tax cheat Nancy Killefer, briefly nominated as “chief performance officer” in the new administration.

Not that being a tax cheat disqualifes you for service in the federal government these days, it would seem.

By: Ben McD

Ben McD — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:11:21 +0000

“Umm, I rent instead of own…. does that mean I’m not free?”

It’s not the act of owning property that makes you free. It’s having the right to own private property, and do with it as you wish that makes you free.

By: mike

mike — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:02:57 +0000

Common hank who goes to the doctor for a cold? Oh i forgot marines strong back, weak minds, i dont blame the doctor for throwing them out.

By: dave-in-rocha

dave-in-rocha — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:34:59 +0000

“Property and freedom–too big a topic but just ask the Palestinians if you can be free if you don’t own the property you stand on.”

Umm, I rent instead of own…. does that mean I’m not free?

And I like how Hank describes health care in the MILITARY as if it’s exactly what happens to civilians with socialized medicine. Next he’ll try to tell me that under a socialized system the government tells you what time to get out of bed in the morning!

All I know is that I never see TV commercials from my local fire department telling me that I should call them next time my house is on fire, because they’ll do a better job of putting it out than some competing fire department. Yet I’m constantly seeing ads from different hospitals telling me to choose them the next time I get cancer. It’s disgusting. It’s human life, not some frivolous expenditure that can be upgraded if I choose to pay for it.

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:51:01 +0000

al labruna: “Thats great, as long as you own enough so that you are able to do something with it. Anyway why is freedom so tied to property?”

Al, let’s take away all your property including whatever liberties you still have to run your own life as you see fit and we’ll see how much freedom you have. What do you think?

Janis: “Freedom? Just another word for “nothing left to loose.”

This is hate speech against freedom and liberty.

Ben McD: “Who in our society does not have access to health care?”

Nobody and we have $50 Trillion in long term unfunded liabilities to prove it.
You don’t amass that kind of debt without living in a fiction that the government can take care of everybody without impending ruin. Like Bastiat said, “Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.”

By: Byron

Byron — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:29:38 +0000

As usual the Freeners are reduced to writing paeans to themselves, because no one else will.

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:29:36 +0000

BP, I know something about the Switzerland system. Technically not a socialized system because the government doesn’t run the healthcare insurance system.
Everybody is required to buy their own health insurance by law or face god knows what punishment . Everybody pays the same premium on the same package regardless of age or any preconditions.There are no employer based health insurance plans. From what I understand, If you are poor or the cost of you health insurance comes out to more than 10% of your earning, then the government subsidizes it. with other peoples money.. Almost 1/3 of the people are subsidized.
The government negotiates with the insurance companies yearly to fix insurance prices, insurance companies are not allowed to make a profit above what is agreed upon but the insurance companies are allowed to offer competing packages with various deductibles and incentives which at least gives the coerced customer some choices on cost. That in fact allows the insurance companies to make a profit regardless. At least that is a somewhat good thing because if they truly didn’t make a profit they would not be able stay in business in the long term.
The Swiss system is second only to the U.S. in in wait times for care even though they have more doctors and advanced medical equipment per 1000 people. The Swiss also are second only to the U.S. in how much they pay per person for health care.
The problem that the Swiss have as well as every country that has government intervention in health care including the U.S. is constantly rising costs. Special interest creep adds greatly to the problem. Because the government is involved, there always lobbyists looking for a piece of the action.

By: Jim Ostrowski

Jim Ostrowski — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:00:23 +0000

“Learn to use GOOGLE.”

The irony is it’s the “ideologue” libertarians who do the actual research; the liberals rely on their heavenly good intentions, hopes and dreams.

By: Ben McD

Ben McD — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:29:48 +0000

Who in our society does not have access to health care?