Text 3253, 67 rader
Skriven 2006-07-04 12:46:00 av Robert E Starr JR (3726.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: Atheists: America's m
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* * * This message was from Josh Hill to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.m * * *
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On Mon, 3 Jul 2006 12:20:08 -0500, "Dennis \(Icarus\)"
<ala_dir_diver@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Well, in the case of unrealized gains, you'd be correct, in the sense its
>not been realized yet, and hence not taxable.
>
>IIRC, Back in WWII, there were salary caps, so employers started other
>incentives such as...health care.
>http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/28629
>Heck, working at Burger King & Wendy's gets you health insurance.
>
>There is about 16% uninsured.
>http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/05/uninsured-cps/index.htm
>
>The big problem I have with, say, a government run health care system is
>that....well...the government would be running the health care system. ;-)
>
>I'm open to ideas though.

Actually, though, it turns out that Medicare is much more efficient
than private insurance in that it returns a lot more of the money
that's paid into it to doctors, and it sets the rates private insurers
pay anyway since they follow Medicare's table. And it would save a
fortune on the doctor end too, since right now they have to hire
entire staffs of people to deal with several hundred insurers and
waste time trying to convince meddling bureaucrats in rationed care
plans that one or another treatment is necessary.

Which is to say that the best proposal I've seen is just to extend
Medicare to everyone.

I didn't used to believe that, but if you think about it, this isn't
socialized medicine, just national insurance that continues to pay for
individual care. And there's no money issue, since it would cost less
than what we're paying now while providing medicine to everyone and
eliminating inefficiencies such as poor people using expensive
emergency rooms for minor complaints because they can't afford private
care or people reneging on their hospital bills or declaring
bankruptcy because they suffer a serious illness while uninsured. It
would also help redress an inequity in the current law, viz., that
wealthy elderly people have their medical care subsidized by
frequently poorer working people.

If people wanted really fancy boutique care, they could purchase
Medigap insurance, just as elderly people currently do.

-- 
Josh

"I love it when I'm around the country club, and I hear people talking about
the debilitating
effects of a welfare society. At the same time, they leave their kids a
lifetime and beyond
of food stamps. Instead of having a welfare officer, they have a trust officer.
And instead
of food stamps, they have stocks and bonds."

- Warren Buffett
                                                                              
--- SBBSecho 2.11-Win32
 * Origin: Time Warp of the Future BBS - Home of League 10 (1:14/400)