How to Make Health Care More Efficient

[Oddball]

 

[actsnoblemartin]

youre the reason, people dont like political message boards

 

[Oddball]

Myob

 

[Navy1960]

The media and political community have made a big deal out of the fact that the U.S. ranks 37 out of 191 countries on the World Health Organization’s Health Care Ranking System. Is this tool a credible way to compare quality health care delivered in the U.S. vs the rest of the world?



According to Dr. Richard G. Fessler, a Chicago neurosurgeon who travels the world to perform state of the art surgery for patients who do not have access to what Americans currently enjoy, "When it comes to quality healthcare, the United States Health Care is second to none!" Ask the tens of thousands of patients who travel internationally to the US every year for their health care. As an example of the quality of health care delivered in the US, Americans have a higher survival rate than any other country on earth for 13 out of 16 of the most common cancers. Perhaps that is why Belinda Stronach, former liberal member of the Canadian Parliament and Cabinet member (one of the health care systems touted as “superior” to the US) abandoned the Canadian Health Care system to undergo her cancer treatment in California.1



But to understand how WHO derives this misleading statistic, which has been ballyhooed widely by both the media and politicians alike, you need to understand how it is created. WHO’s health care rankings are constructed from five factors each weighted according to a formula derived by WHO. These are:



1. Health Level: 25 percent

2. Health Distribution:25 percent

3. Responsiveness: 12.5 percent

4. Responsiveness Distribution: 12.5 percent

5. Financial Fairness: 25 percent
http://www.healthandsharing.com/21/articledetail

Here's some thoughts on the main topic, perhaps by promoting more competetion and providing incentives for businesses wishing to enter into the health insurance business ,those Americans wishing to find affordable health coverage can do so. Still other things that can be done are allowing individuals , small businesses, and rural farms to form private insurance co-ops so that they can purchase inexpensive group converage. Still other things that can be done are addressing the Illegal Immigration issue to bring down health care costs. There are many many things the Govt. can do and has the power to do to make insurance and health care more affordable for everyone, but yet they choose to use this as a campaign hammer in order to retain power. Here's a good example, I posted in another thread. Had the same people in congress who are now shouting to the rafters for a national insurance option had any noble intentions of healthcare for the masses then they would not have spent 750 billion dollars on a Stimulus package that had in it such things as studying pig gas emissions and tattoo removal. The facts are Congress can address the issues of healthcare cost very easily if they wished to do so, but as it does not suit the agenda, I don't see this happening anytime soon.

 

[Derek_Plumber]

youre the reason, people dont like political message boards

Concise and to the point! He says he lives in a Bowling Alley, but I think it is Alabama.

 

[DiamondDave]

Some idiot took the WHO "rating" seriously in terms of trying to relate it to quality of care in the US...??


BWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[Derek_Plumber]

The SOCIALIST - believes that industries should be owned by the people of the nation, not by individuals, and that services like education and health care should be free for everyone. Under socialism, all means of production should be publicly owned. Unlike communists, socialists believe that such things can be achieved through pressure and reform.​

 

[jeffrockit]

No you can't afford health care for everyone. You need to save your money to buy bombs to drop on people you don't even know or give a shit about. Pretty sad really.

Or pass a stimulus bill that is full of pork and has thus far done nothing to stimulate the economy. Or bail out Fannie and Freddie and still allow them to give bonuses while banging the gavel that AIG executives should give their bonuses back.
ALL politicians are power mad with questionable ethics and do NOT have our best interests in mind.

 

[jeffrockit]

In China, the fellow that headed the company that put the contaminated baby food on the market was summerily shot. We should have done the same for the CEO of the peanunt butter company whose contaminated product killed several people here in the US.

I take it by that comment, you are ok with waterboarding?

 

[Derek_Plumber]

And the point is, Healthcare for all. Get the corporate greed out of it.​

 

[oreo]

And the point is, Healthcare for all. Get the corporate greed out of it.​

I like that one--it's a good one, & I am certain it happens alot. But--what if the patient actually needs that test & is denied?

Over the last 70 years I cannot think of one single federal government run program that has been managed well. It's hard for me to imagine them taking over health care. There has got to be a better solution to our health care problems. I believe it's in the private sector, & government needs to get out of the way--allow interstate competition--& do the hard part--by mandating that all citizens obtain coverage--or pay a fine or higher taxes.

 

[editec]

Single payer universal health insurance will work ONLY IF we also limit the amount of money we pay to the HC providers.

If we allow market forces to fix costs then guess what?

Single Payer Universal health insurance will drive up the price of HC until we find ourselves once again unable to afford to give people adaquate HC coverage.

More demand X the same amount of supply = higher prices

duh!

 

[Derek_Plumber]

oreo, Over the last 70 years I cannot think of one single federal government run program that has been managed well.​

How about these guys?

A letter delivered in a few days, anywhere in the country for a few cents. GM and Chrysler would still be viable if they could pull off a miracle like that!​

 

[Old Rocks]

And the point is, Healthcare for all. Get the corporate greed out of it.​

I like that one--it's a good one, & I am certain it happens alot. But--what if the patient actually needs that test & is denied?

Over the last 70 years I cannot think of one single federal government run program that has been managed well. It's hard for me to imagine them taking over health care. There has got to be a better solution to our health care problems. I believe it's in the private sector, & government needs to get out of the way--allow interstate competition--& do the hard part--by mandating that all citizens obtain coverage--or pay a fine or higher taxes.

Then you have not done much investigating.

 

[Derek_Plumber]

Then you have not done much investigating.

Then you have never received a letter!

 

[Navy1960]

Then you have not done much investigating.

Then you have never received a letter!

Washington, D.C.—Reflecting the continuing shrinkage of direct mail marketing and the changing communication habits of the American public, the U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $677 million for May, bringing to $3.4 billion its total losses in the current fiscal year.

In addition, the USPS reported it processed 2.8 billion fewer pieces of mail in May, compared with the same month in 2008.



The USPS is on track to lose about $6 billion in its fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Postal Service loses $677 million in May as volume declines :: BtoB Magazine

No thanks I'll send mine through e-mail and if it has to get there well...

FEDX or UPS

The difference between them is pretty obvious... the Post Office will tell you they don't use taxpayer funds and are completely on their own. However, that doesn't stop them from going to congress and asking money though....

Washington (AP) - Postmaster General John Potter said Wednesday the financially strapped U.S. Postal Service will run out of money this year without help from Congress.

The only lingering question, Potter told a House subcommittee, is which bills will get paid and which will not. He did say ensuring the payment of workers' salaries comes first. But Potter also said other bills may have to wait.
CNSNews.com - Postal Service Asks Congress for Bailout

 

[auditor0007]

And the point is, Healthcare for all. Get the corporate greed out of it.​

I like that one--it's a good one, & I am certain it happens alot. But--what if the patient actually needs that test & is denied?

Over the last 70 years I cannot think of one single federal government run program that has been managed well. It's hard for me to imagine them taking over health care. There has got to be a better solution to our health care problems. I believe it's in the private sector, & government needs to get out of the way--allow interstate competition--& do the hard part--by mandating that all citizens obtain coverage--or pay a fine or higher taxes.

And therein lies the problem. If you want real competition, then health insurance must be mandated. It is the only way to make certain those who need and want it can actually get it. You can't and won't have any real competition if it is not mandated on everyone. On top of this, when everyone isn't paying into the system, regardless of who is running that system, the ones who are in it subsidize those who aren't. But then, it also creates a situation where the system actually tries to remove those who actually need it.

The biggest problem with those who want to leave it in the private sector and get government out of healthcare is that they also don't want it mandated on anyone. The argument is that if you can't get coverage, too bad; it's your problem, so long as it doesn't effect them. And that is how we get back to the need for more goverenment involvement.

So pick your poison; more goverenment involvement or mandate health insurance on all and quit basing rates on the health of individuals.

 

[auditor0007]

Then you have not done much investigating.

Then you have never received a letter!

Washington, D.C.—Reflecting the continuing shrinkage of direct mail marketing and the changing communication habits of the American public, the U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $677 million for May, bringing to $3.4 billion its total losses in the current fiscal year.

In addition, the USPS reported it processed 2.8 billion fewer pieces of mail in May, compared with the same month in 2008.



The USPS is on track to lose about $6 billion in its fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Postal Service loses $677 million in May as volume declines :: BtoB Magazine

No thanks I'll send mine through e-mail and if it has to get there well...

FEDX or UPS

The difference between them is pretty obvious... the Post Office will tell you they don't use taxpayer funds and are completely on their own. However, that doesn't stop them from going to congress and asking money though....

Washington (AP) - Postmaster General John Potter said Wednesday the financially strapped U.S. Postal Service will run out of money this year without help from Congress.

The only lingering question, Potter told a House subcommittee, is which bills will get paid and which will not. He did say ensuring the payment of workers' salaries comes first. But Potter also said other bills may have to wait.
CNSNews.com - Postal Service Asks Congress for Bailout

The post office is a terrible example. There is a simple answer for the post office; raise rates on first class mail. Tell me something; what is the minimum charge that UPS and FED EX charge for a single letter to be go through their systems? Is it anywhere close to $.42? Didn't think so...... In fact, I checked the rates. The Fed Ex rate was $7.52 for three days.

People don't understand costs in the real world. Because people are using the mail so much less, it has driven up the cost, so the USPS needs to raise rates. They are still more than offset by the money saved using E-mail for the majority of what we used to mail.

 

[Derek_Plumber]

People don't understand costs in the real world.QUOTE]

Absolutely True, and you are one of them. The USPS has been making profits and cutting costs. Here is the link,

Postal Service Turns a Profit in Q1

Now, do I have to research how SSA gets all those checks out on the third of each month, or do you think you are a big boy, and can Google it yourself? Typical private-sector, always to look on top of things while trying to steal a buck.

 

[Toro]

The idea that government can't do anything is simply nonsense. Most Canadians are happy with their government-run health care.

Now that doesn't necessarily make it better, but bumper sticker slogans doesn't help us increase our understanding.