The scariest two words in the entire bill was unavoidable - "Government run". That's all people needed to hear. Just to be clear, I think the system we have is completely screwed up - because government has long been favouring the insurance industry over consumers. So, I don't disagree with you that the current system is neither free market nor working.
Completely screwed up is debatable. Now don't get me wrong there is many problems with health care today in the US. I think generally speaking people are happy with their insurance. Link is a few years old. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-10-15-health-poll1.htm
medicare is a great program for the elderly consumer. it works well. so well that it is over utilized. controling costs is its only problem because every one thinks their granny should get every treatment possible in the last year of life.
The problem is as time moves forward the more and more DRs will not accept medicare. So a further and greater two level medical system is inevitable
Medicaid started paying out more than it takes in last year, before the economic crisis... These idealogue Democrats are just nuts, as in not in touch with realities of any kind that I can see other than expansion of their power and getting reelected... The Republicans did nothing about much of anything and they were in power largely from 1994 to 2008.. that might be the biggest political disappointment of my life really.. reading the Contract for America and then seeing that nothing was done really... that's sad folks.. so now we are still stuck with unreal lawsuits where the guy with the most money can slap around everybody and all this shit that makes the culture in the US like the wild west..... Jindal calls the Democrats out on things nicely. Like, yes, their goal is to destroy the private medical sector... Federal unfunded mandates that any illegal /looney in the country has to be treated at any emergency room have put nearly 90 hospitals out of business in California... that is exactly what it was intended to do most likely. This stuff is just not on the news is it...
No skilled DR would ever participate in the kind of system. The would simply ignore it and demand cash before any treatment.
My DR essentially does....he treats people with mostly natural medications with only prescriptions that work mixed in. He is loved by his thousands of patients and seems to be making a fortune....even though he does not take insurance.. If he cures his patients...they come back, even though they have to pay the entire bill. Why hasnt it occurred to most DRs that if they made an honest effort to cure their patients, they would make more money?