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388,000 Utahns lack health insurance

It's a good thing that Utahns are so healthy. Folling the Word of Wisdom allows Utahns to avoid many of the diseases of the gentiles and live productive and healthy lives.

Big problems.
How do other countries handle it?
How do other countries pay less per capita for health insurance and yet cover everyone, and do a good job of it?
It's time for us to see what they're doing and follow their lead.

Better hurry up and vote for another republican. The ones who take care of the elite.

Our nation can afford decent health care for all, but we need to spend our money right, if we are going to do it, we can't continue to pay CEO's and the like 50 million per year.

CEO's in other countries are able to do a better job for less pay (Toyota vs our auto companies) and we should follow their lead.

I am from the Netherlands. The price of medical care and medication is determined by the government. Insurance premiums are lower than here, but income taxes are considerably higher. Presently co-payments are on the rise, there are limitations on the kind of medications one can be prescribed, and there are waiting lists for procedures. One big reason that the system still works is the limit in litigation. If a doctor makes a mistakes, he can lose his license and might have to compensate the patient for a couple of thousand Euros, but the ridiculous litigation that is happening here, is not possible over there. This keeps medical care lower.
My family has had its share of medical problems (kidney transplants, cancer). With good financial planning we were able to pay for it all. The US care is better, but I'd trade it all for the Dutch system, just so that everybody is covered. I have a friend who has stopped using her blood pressure, diabetes and anti-depressant medications, because she lost her health insurance when she was laid off. She can get it, but with her problems, it's $2400/month - impossible when you're unemployed.

Other countries where universal coverage works took the bold step to study it and put their great minds to the task of finding a system that works.

I am disgusted by both candidates, obviously controlled by the Insurance Lobby Mafia with the big guns. Neither wealthy out-of-touch-with-Americans candidate has the guts to come up with a working plan.

Obama makes it punitive, though his goals are good. Democrats by their very nature want too much government control. If you've ever dealt with medicaid or other such programs you know you don't want the government running it. But, other countries achieve this without the government messing it up.

I am conservative, usually Republican favoring less government but his "plan" is a joke and won't solve anything that causes the mess we are in. Face it - no plan at all. Another "rebate"???

Our only hope now is for Utah to take on the project and show the rest of the U.S. that it could be done. Let's hire Mitt Romney to come here and make it happen. IHC is already posed and could handle it - they already have like 75% of the market share of insured. They know how.

So? I don't want health insurance. Health insurance is one of the biggest scams on the planet, they suck a thousand dollars or so from your pay check every month, then try to get everyone to run to the doctor for every little scratch and ache. It is way, way cheaper to just pay for what you really need.

The only reason health insurance is so dreadfully expensive is because the healthy are paying for those with bad lifestyles, drug abuse, STD, obesity, etc.

No thanks...and don't even think about forcing me to get health insurance.

The article seems to make the assumption that there are 388'000 people in Utah that desperatly want insurance. Not true. Many are simply excersising their freedom of choice.

Some will come on here and cry "health care is not a right!!!" but I say that health care IS a right, if we as a country decide it is.
Universal health care will make it better for everyone, even those who dont want it. We have the advantage of looking at what works from the rest of the world and using the best parts.

"The US care is better, but I'd trade it all for the Dutch system, just so that everybody is covered."

That says it all.

Socialized medicine sounds great until you realize that it "works" by lowering the general quality of care in order to provide coverage to everyone.

Kinda like jobs in the old Soviet Union: Everybody was guaranteed employment, but no one earned anything.

There is no free lunch, people. You get what you pay for and if you want cheap health care then that's what you'll get.

I just wonder where all the world's elites will go for heart transplants once the US adopts the health-care standards of their native countries.

Why does anyone need health insurance anymore? I pay $600 out of pocket (to match my employers $600.00) each month. Who am I really insuring? The masses that refuse to take responsibility for themselves and instead run to the emergency room for anything that goes wrong. When they get there--they claim the inability to pay which just jacks my premiums and copays up each year. To all of those of you that are stealing from my pocket - it's time to contribute. I'm tired of paying for your selfishness.

Paulson and Bush are buying up banks today. Who needs socialist heath care. when we can buy mortgage companies, insurance companies and banks.

You should know how UK,France or Canada works with healthcare...I know you dont like to talk about it or also you say "that's socialism" when you already have free library benefits, mail service from the goverment, and many other services that we already can call "socialism"
BUT healthcare cannot be socialized because doesnt work for HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES, they make a lot of money with us!!! and thats why they give some "gifts" to politicians to keep the profile low about getting more money from the people.
People in US are dying, getting worsed and THEY dont care!!! and WE dont do anything, because we like to pay and get the worsed 8 hrs service ever!!!

I hope one day we can get universal healthcare.

Most countries who have mandated health coverage do not have large standing armies, except China, so they don't have the expense that we do of self protection.

So you have a choice. Get rid of the military and be able to pay for universal health coverage or have some security. The choice is yours. As it is, all of the European countries are pretty much under the control of Russia because of their energy needs.

The only way to have both, the military and universal health is to cut back on all budget items until we have the deficit gone, and then use pay as you go. That won't work though because we have no restraint in this country.

and they will say that they can afford it. Why can't they afford it, because of the toys in their garage, credit card dept. Wake up people, take some accountability on yourselves.

Both of you have good points. I agree the quality of care would decrease, if we just went with socialized medicine. However, the litigation is absolutely ridiculous. We don't have to move to socializm to solve the problem, but we do need to tackle the issues that are causing the problem. Our judicial system is this country is as broken as our legislative and executive branches. We have a Do Nothing Congress,partly because the courts have to make the final decision on everything anyway. Our court system needs changing, and I don't hear anyone calling for that Change.

Roads are socialism.
Traffic Lights are socialism.
Sewer systems are socialism.
Water treatment plants are socialism.
Electric grids are socialism.
The bank bailout is socialism (for the rich).

Since the introduction of "managed care" in the 1980s health care costs as a percentage of GDP has skyrocketed. Doctors are making less money than they did twenty years ago. We need health insurance reform. The same excesses that you see with Wall Street executives occur with insurance executives and hospital administrators. Doctors are not starving, they still do fine. We need to restore the old doctor - patient relationship and cut out the insurance middle man. A friend had a recent ruptured appendectomy with a total bill of $70,000, of that money a total of $3,000 dollars went to the doctors (surgeon, anesthesiologist,radiologist, pathologist,ER) the rest to the hospital. In the case of an entity like IHC with insurance and hospital ownership the overwhelming majority of the bill goes back to their own pockets.

Our family has been without health coverage for 3 1/2 years. When your premiums are more than your mortgage there is a problem. We are a healthy family and are proactive when it comes to our health. My husband and I are over 50 and we still have 3 children under 18 living at home.
I have several health issues that I see a doctor for but it is cheaper for me to pay the cost of a visit than the monthly premium that we had reached. I would never advocate having a government run health care system but in the late 70's and 80's you could afford to go to the doctor or have a baby for that matter. The problem I see is that the self-insured seem to be subsidizing those who are on insurance. We are charged more for the services that we receive than the ones with insurance. Even with the 10% the doctors are willing to discount for up front payment.

The rebate offered by McCain will assist those who are not covered by employers insurance. This includes thousands of students who only work part time and are required to purchase their own. However, it does not address the problem. If you have a preexisting injury, no matter how much that rebate is, you cannot get coverage. The system is broken, and McCain's plan is an embarrassment to all Republicans. The rich can pay and it is not an issue, and throw a number at the uneducated poor that sounds good but will not actually help them. Very Christian of him.