Just wondering....

[Mike Furley]

Some kind of health care reform is going to pass in the next two years. I'm thinking it won't be a total takeover of the health care industry because I'd like to think the politicians know that would be too much change for America right now and they'd be afraid of a backlash in 2010.

I'm thinking what we'll likely see is some kind of health care plan "designed and intended" for the people who don't currently have coverage and are between the ages of 30 & 64.

Here's my question: When that passes, who thinks their employer will announce they will no longer offer health care benefits to employess?

I'm guessing damn near every employer will do that - and a system designed and intended for the estimated 40 million who don't have coverage will be forced to absorb another 120 million people.

[Blue In Ohio]

My wife works for the federal government so we get good benefits thank god. If not for that I would say I have about 2 years before I no longer get benefits at the job. The cost of benefits is just skyrocketing. We really need some good solutions from the knuckleheads in washington or this country will have a third world future. So many are going to school now to get skills in the healthcare field but the question is what kind of economy will we have if hospitals employ the majority of the country? I don't see how the economy could stay solvent. What will our worldwide specialty here be healthcare? Figure we now make nothing and engineer very little and what tech industry will be left in the near future. What will we all do? Honestly I'm glad at this point I dropped out of school when I did. What a waste of dollars that engineering degree would have been. We will now use India to design everything. Why even teach the kids math and science? They can learn about healthcare in grade school instead because it will lead to an outsourcing proof career. If I had to do it again I would be in a career that the government values. It surely doesn't value the engineering and manufacturing skills. Sad thing is that I love this work. If you love math and science you love this work.

[Medic]

tort reform would cut the costs of health care in half imo

[RealwomenwearMaizeNBlue]

I work in the healthcare industry. The number of uninsured patient's has been steadily climbing. The bad thing is - people cannot afford their prescriptions - so they have to choose between eating or meds - they don't take their medications wind up back in the hospital...it's a vicious costly cycle.

[gator]

tort reform would cut the costs of health care in half imo

It's been several years since I've heard that term "tort reform." What was that again? Luckily, my wife and I currently have insurance, and after we both collect our graduate degrees we should be able to afford healthcare. However, you're absolutely right; the cost is skyrocketing. My wife is currently a state employee (FL) and there is talk of a 5% pay decrease this year and an increase in healthcare benefits for the 3rd straight year. The healthcare increase is never what I would call "incremental." I agree that something has to be done, but I'm terrified of the government being in charge of the healthcare system. They're so efficient at everything else they do; it's hard to understand why I have such a problem with them doing this too.:D

[Medic]

tort reform in this particular instance would limit the amount patients could be awarded in lawsuits against doctors, hospitals, HMOs, etc.

Obviously provisions would have to be made for cases of gross negligence but the reason that medical insurance costs an absolute fortune is for malpractice insurance, which thanks to thousands of ambulance chasers is now a sweeping term that can be used to apply to problems/issues that have nothing to do with malpractice at all.

I can't find the source but I read recently (I think in the Union Tribune) that medical insurance amounts to more than 60% of all medical expenses to the doctors/HMOs.

soapbox: The bullshit of it all is that no one can ever make a mistake without some lawyer waiting in the wings ready to crucify you or whatever business made the oops. I understand that businesses and people are knowingly liable in some cases however the way things are out in California, even saying the wrong thing to someone can get you sued for millions of dollars. Twenty years ago lawsuits that judges would have laughed out of court are now status quo.

[Uncle Rico]

IMO, a BIG part of the high costs of healthcare are the people who make lifestye choices that put their health at risk. When you read about gang-bangers shooting each other in the news, does anyone think that they pay the huge hospital bill that they run up? Then, if they are saved from their wounds, they go to rehab on our tab! How about the homeless that call for a medic 4 and 5 times a day so that they will get a nice, warm hospital bed for the night? What about the 'druggies', the drunks, the fights, etc.Why do we reward people that have 6 or 7 kids with no father around with more welfare money from us taxpayers? Want an increase on your gov. check? Just sleep around and have more babies! Why don't welfare recipients have to pass drug tests to get their money? I do! It's all about the 'f'innin liberals!

[gator]

Medic,
I've always been for capping lawsuit settlements in the medical field, I just didn't realize that it was called tort reform. I agree that trail lawyers are the bastards of the universe. Hell, I was afraid to ask people over to my house for almost a year b/c I had a hole in my deck where I cut down a tree and didn't have time to repair it right away. If someone fell through that thing, they would probably have ended up with my house.

Uncle Rico,
I also agree on your comments. At first I thought you were going to take the liberal slant on lifestyle choices and tell me we need to regulate how much and what types of foods everyone eats in this country (i.e. the liberal support for documentaries like "Super Size Me"). I'm glad to see we're on the same page here. I don't want to sound like I have a heart of steel here, but you're right about the non-constuctive portions of society (homeless, gang memebers, promiscuous) putting excessive strain on the system. I know some liberal will probably crucify me for looking down on these types, but it's hard for me to even have sympathy for the homeless. I mean most of them could get a damn job if they really wanted; they just don't want the responsibility. San Francisco ruined me on those type of people; you can't go 10 F'ing feet without someone asking you for money. Nobody there looks anyone else in the eyes because they're afraid you'll ask for money. If you ask for directions, people try to walk around you before you get out the first word. Anyway back to heathcare, instead of discouraging these lifestyles, we just keep spreading the wealth and pampering their a$$. Moreover, we continue to pay for the medical care of every illegal alien that shows up in the ER. Heck, now there is even talk that we may start forking the bill for their education because lunatics like Pelosi don't want to offend the Mexican population or even want illegals to have the right to vote. If we removed the jobs, healthcare, and education benefits for illegals, the immigration problem would practically take care of it's damn self. Bottom line, I think we're all hitting on a common theme here: get the f'king government (especially the judicial system) out of our healthcare system and instill some freakin' common sense.