With obesity being the major health issue of our day effecting the high cost of healthcare, and with numbers getting more obese each year (visit cdc.org and surgeongeneral.gov), we should get control of ourselves—not pointing fingers at the government.

A few slogans:

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can LOOSE for your country!”

“Only You Can Prevent Obesity.”

“Health Begins at Home.”

Good habits practiced over time will yield great results!

Optimistic,

Cheers,

Here’s a fact for you to mull on: according to the reliable, non-partisan Kaiser Foundation, the number of Americans who die every year directly due to a lack of health insurance: 18,000. Yes, you read that correctly: 18,000. More than my entire hometown of Waterville, Maine. Or, to put in language you might better understand, SIX September 11ths. Every single year. You claim that because YOU, as a very healthy person in his 20s, didn’t need health care, none of the FORTY-SEVEN MILLION people who don’t have health care could want it, is downright bizarre.

As for so-called government inefficiency–I’ve used post-offices in three different states over the past six years far more than the average person (my job involves mailing large manuscripts on a regular basis); I find the employees at all locations to be prompt, courteous, speedy, and helpful. I realize this doesn’t conform to your stereotype. What a pity.

And, finally, it might do you some good to investigate what kind of health care our congresspeople and Senators have; something makes me strongly suspect it’s government-funded and government-run. Just a hunch.

The Free Market Model of health care has very little to do with the reasons people become doctors, or the reasons foreign doctors come here. If they were driven by money, they would get business degrees.

If you want to understand the rising cost of health care, just look at the biggest changes over the last four decades: Most hospitals used to be community-supported non-profits, owned and operated for the benefit of the local population. Now most are owned by profit-hungry corporations. Most doctors used to own their own practice. Now most work for corporations with stock holders, dividend payments, etc. Most health insurance companies were mutuals (customer-owned) and covered their administrative costs by investing the float. Now most are for-profit corporations that have lost on their investments and try to make up the loss by cherry-picking new customers, denying legitimate claims, and gleefully terminating anyone sick for some tiny technical excuse like forgetting to list the reason for a doctor visit 20 years before filling in the application.

Anybody who really thinks the existing for-profit private system works better than Medicare is badly deluded. Please, just look up the average overhead expenses and the truth will set you free!

It has also been shown that government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid have contributed to the rising costs of health care. Government run health care in other countries has had horrible results and many citizens of these countries are highly critical of government run health care but noone listens. It will lead to rationing, people will have to wait longer for needed treatment, some people will be denied treatment, and the costs will skyrocket even further because the once it is available, the demand will increase and there is only a set number of doctors now. With the increase of demand, prices will jump, if price controls are implemented, then shortages will occur. A lot of people won’t be concerned with the costs because government is picking up the tab but the taxpayer will likely spend more for healthcare through taxes than they did for insurance.

Since when has a government run program ever been an efficient means of production? The same people who bring you the post office, the department of motor vehicles and public education will now be running health care, great. Way to think this through.

I’m not a member of the GOP but I applaud any politician who realizes they can’t solve my problems or your problems. They make them worse.