Hey, Americans!

[andygates]

Is Obama really trying to make a nationalised healthcare system?  Really?

Comments

[ladyjulian.livejournal.com]

Srsly?

Wasn't that one of Billary's major projects? In which case, go Obama for adopting it. What a massively huuuge project that would be.

[estaratshirai.livejournal.com]

Of a sort. Expect slow going, as there will be much shrieking and posturing of the "oh noes socialism!!" variety.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Is it a real healthcare-for-all-paid-from-general-taxation deal, or just beefed-up Medicare?

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Huge in a corporate sense - the healthcare infrastructure exists. Mandatory buy-outs (which happened 60 years ago when the NHS came into being) would be unacceptable so presumable .gov would contract for healthcare the same way the insurance companies do.

[estaratshirai.livejournal.com]

What one tends to hear right now is that it's a sort of in-between nebulous beast that one will "opt into" if one doesn't already have something better.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

A national health service of the gaps? If it catches the teens who can't afford their psych meds and the cancer cases who otherwise have to sell their homes, it has to be good.

[maythen-apple.livejournal.com]

Unfortunatly it's healthcare reform being led mostly by the Uber-rich, who are getting all their "expert opinions" from lobbyists, mostly from the pharmaceutical companies.

American health care is based almost exclusively upon the idea of preserving life for as long as possible at all costs (quantity over quality), take a pill for Everything, surrender control to the God-Doctor, and Demand your entitelment.

We almost completely ignore preventative medicine and patient education, which seem to be an essential componenet of any sociallized medical system that works.

It's not that our country couldn't afford health care for everyone. It's that implementing without a Major overhaul in how we do it, and how we *think* about it is probably going to be pretty disasterous.

From what I understand, the legislation lumbering around right now looks pretty grim. At least from the perspective of nurses in the trenches. Perhaps if I worked for a pharamcutical company, or hospital administration I'd be rubbing my hands in glee and throwing a party.

[calum]

People in health care are indeed rubbing their hands in glee. There is a huge pot of money, and everyone is trying to figure out how to get some of it..

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't the pot remain the same though? Hm. It bends my head.

[calum]

No, Obama is allocating a huge additional "stimulus" pot of money for modernisation of health records, etc..

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Records you say? I have an IT department with a shonky records app we're looking to sell to some sucker...

[calum]

I think Google and Microsoft plan to split the pot on that one.

[teahisme.livejournal.com]

Yes really. Sadly large chunks of the populace is screamng socialism. They think we are going to be denied pizza if we are over weight in the near future. Forced to do exercises daily and such.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

It's a classic pattern of "fear of compulsion" there, isn't it? It's like the car owners who, when you mention bikes, think that you want to take away *their* car and start nervously justifying things. Dear electorate: there is a difference between *provision* and *compulsion*.

[simoneck.livejournal.com]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/26/us-healthcare-obama-barack-change