What do you think about universal healthcare?

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Again, every other industrialised democracy has to deal with this. The USA is not the only country with multiple parties.[/quote]


Then surely the solution is to stop putting as much money into defence and prisons and use it where it is needed?

I have never said congress is going to do any better with national HC at any point (because they likely won't). I apologize if I worded things in a way that misled you. My post was specifically about the VA healthcare system, the problems it faces, and the problems it will continue to face. And "falsification of data" is exactly what they did, which most definitely is a criminal offense. By the way, every department that does not meet the standards gets punished, not just the top dogs. And the standards were revised upwards without a corresponding increase in funding or resources.

And just for the record, every single department in every single facility provides their department specific data. This data is then reviewed, verified, and approved at each higher level throughout the whole overly complex administrative system (which is so absurdly bloated thanks to people with attitudes like yours). This data and the observed and measured patient outcomes are what determine a Center of Excellence. You seem to assume that every single person in the VHA is a lying fraudulent monster.



I'm not talking about the wars, I'm talking about the absolute failure to take care of those sent over to fight them.
And at the moment, the Dems seem to be the only ones that give a sh*t about improving the VHA.



Of course staff shortage is not the only problem. My post specifically called out many problems, not just that one. And how exactly are the docs incentivised to not diagnose people (something other than unsubstantiated rumor and baseless conjecture would be appreciated)?



Not to mention the fact that people are delusional: They posses the power to completely alter their own minds to the point where they cant see reality any more, but instead some fake reality that is more unpleasant for them.
And how exactly was my post making things even the slightest bit more pleasant?



$1 million does nothing when you consider the fact that the VA healthcare system is by far the largest health system in the world. They spend more than that on electricity (you should look up how much juice it takes to run an MRI or a linear accelerator).



It most definitely is not all the Republicans fault; they are just the biggest problem at the moment. And I'm fairly certain that my entire post focused on the fact that the system is broken. Blaming the whole thing on the higher-ups is a pointless and completely narrow-minded endeavor. It's as worthless as saying that only the CEOs of major banks were responsible for the housing meltdown. And how exactly do you propose to fix the system without any extra money? Is your Hogwarts wand available for government use?



At what point have I said that the system isn't crippled? At what point was I trying to make the world a less scary place? And assuming that fraud and broken methods are limited to the VA or to the federal government is absurd.

And I'm not making excuses; I'm pointing out the reasons behind the problems which need to be addressed (of which there are many), and trying to point out that the problems being focused on are not the ones that will make a difference.

But we'll just go ahead and spend all our time and money giving people spankings instead of addressing the issues that might make an actual difference. So let's go ahead and assemble another 6 committees, four more task forces, organize another three months of congressional hearings, and have every d*mn politician in DC spend hours a day grandstanding all for the sole purpose of assigning blame while ignoring the veterans they are supposedly trying to help.

>> What do you think about universal healthcare?

I'm opposed to covering all of those ETs. It's simply not affordable. Besides, the limited speed of light will make it impossible to coordinate.

That's rubbish because education is free too. At least primary and secondary school is.

UK has had privatized water supply for 20 years. The US has not achieved this. In fact the only other country to do this fully is Argentina.
The UK has just privatized it national mail service, the US has not done this yet.
US still operates many municipal services in their cities which are not privatized, which equivalents are in the UK.

The US defense spending is huge. There is argument for defense spending, however there is wide acknowledgement of mass wastage in defence.

NHS is something that has had broad support in both conservative and labour governments for its 70 year history. It popular still to his day. For most is pragmatism not idealism that is behind its support. Even Margret Thatcher benefited from the system. Heath is important for the the economy.

My sister in an insurance broker and account exec in the city. She will tell you that there not such thing as compressive cover, and certain items are just not commercially viable, or would ever be attractive to cover.

There is an argument that Asperger's wouldn't have been discovered in a public health system, not realizing that the Austrians had one of the earliest public health systems.

It is completely up US system it chooses, however I think Obama Care is a fudge, and sticking plaster on already dysfunctional system. it probably won't work, becuase the approach is backwards. The reality you can't judge a health care system on it best hospitals alone, you have to look at the worst hospitals too. Some of your inner city hospital in some states, especially some of the so called 'charity' hospitals beggers belief. I have seen better in developing countries. Such hospital would not be allowed in the UK, they are completely illegal, whether they were private, charity or public. Cramped operating theaters, poor layout, staff clambering over each other and shouting, poor training and coordination.

My opinion is neither insurance based system or national heath systems work for everything, you have to have both.

However I just think what people are paying in insurance premiums in the US, is astonishing. Even with the most expensive optional supplementary private cover, plus the tax you pay for health care, you would never paying that much. There actually no evidence that average the health care US citizens receive is any better.

Btw the national heath service was introduced on recommendation of a classical liberal (not socialist or social democrat as the word is often associated with).

There's another factor driving up prices in the US. Some other countries (like Canada) have price caps on drugs. We don't.

That's rubbish because education is free too. At least primary and secondary school is.[/quote]

Fees are charged at every level, and even at primary and secondary level, they amount to quite a lot of money.
And they are compulsory. Kids get excluded from activities etc if the parents don't pay. You are looking at hundreds of dollars a year, even at primary level.

I know quite a number of families all of whom would have no trouble paying but who refuse to pay on principle and insist their children have access to everything other kids do. If push comes to shove, compulsory fees are not legal (they are voluntary donations) and the ministry will back you on that. I do pay our 'fees' though because otherwise I'd feel guilty, so I'm probably part of the problem there!