Comments on: Obamacare is a fail. More data.

By: Anonymous Reader

Sat, 30 May 2015 03:51:39 +0000

Pukeko, your polity is small enough that there are clear limits to what panjundrums can get away with. There are surely limits in ‘Murica as well, we just have not yet seen them. The ACA / Obamacare debacle may be a straw that breaks something, or it may be patched up enough to limp along for years, I can’t say. The sheer audacity of some of the corruption is amazing.

A continental sized economy is no place for “one size WILL fit all” health care but that hasn’t stopped the nannies from trying, ever since the 1950’s. Sen. Edward Kennedy created the HMO system in about 1969, and within 15 years he was denouncing his own creation in favor of more advanced government control. It’s always been about control for some people, with all the cant about “helping people” as just window dressing.

People still get helped in the US. It’s just often via the Emergency Room, which is a rotten place for a lot of care to be sure, but it’s Federally mandated. “One size fits all”.

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By: Looking Glass

Fri, 29 May 2015 10:10:24 +0000

In functional practice, the system has become something of a semi-cartel for the Insurance Companies. Though I don’t even think they planned for that. For some of the supporting camp, it is a stalking horse for Single Payer, but the system will collapse before they can pull off that trick. Vermont even attempted to go Single Payer and just backed out.

One of the hilarious side effects of the way the Democrats operate (they’re the party of the Poor + Rich, with the Middle made of a Republicans) is that the Rich aren’t going to put up with terrible service like the British NHS. So any move simply can’t cut services without all of the politicians losing their backing.

The only party that can call Obamacare unabashedly good is the Pharmaceutical industry. They finally got “someone” to pay nearly full price for their goods. I guess it makes up for the European & Indians always stealing their patents. (One of the dirtiest secrets about how they keep their health-costs “lower”) Granted, it’s coming even further out of American pocket books.

Oh, but at least it “helped” the economy. Increased (read: required) increased health care spending was the big cause of Q1 USA GDP being up over 4%. That’s not a joke.

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By: pukeko

Fri, 29 May 2015 04:55:29 +0000

I agree that the politics of this stink. However, I get paid to see people and help them. And we don’t have enough people or hands to go around. Given the needs we have, this kind of baroque system is obscene.

We do have part payment. For GPs, by the way. We moved to state funded hospitals and private primary care in the 1930s

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By: Anonymous Reader

Fri, 29 May 2015 04:46:28 +0000

Are you assuming the ACA was intended to work, to actually function?

ACA was clearly intended as a stalking horse for some sort of single payer system (with a nice carve out for the rich to go private), with plenty of special doggy treats for certain groups.

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