There are multiple insurance companies but only ONE government. You can change your provider the next day….unlike the government.

For most things competition effectively controls costs. However, one of the problems with competing insurance pools is that the entire point of insurance is that the more people you have in the pool, the better costs are smoothed out between them. Thus, dividing the insured up into many competing groups makes them all mathematically more inefficient. It would be cheaper to have everybody insured in the same pool for a number of reasons – 1) more people insured means it’s cheaper per-person; 2) more access to preventive care by more people prevents the need for more expensive care later; 3) we’re already paying to take care of the uninsured through emergency rooms, etc, which is the most unneccessarily expensive way possible.

The fact is, health insurance costs far more in America and we get far less for it than anywhere where public health is instituted. Sure, for a few extremely difficult procedures we’ve got the best stuff, which is great if you’re a billionaire with a rare heart condition. However both the average and median health care outcome is utterly abysmal, and there’s no excuse for it.

Normal competitive economic models don’t apply here because at some point we do have to take care of people if their condition gets bad enough whether they can afford to pay for it or not. Unless you’re actually going to advocate refusing simple treatments to dying people – unless you’re literally going to come out and say “let the poor die in the streets” – then regular market economics don’t apply.

Sorry, but you are 100% completely wrong.

The problem is not a lack of competition, and the problem is not government. Universal healthcare is exactly what it sounds like – you go to the doctor when you are sick, and it is paid for by someone other than you, period full stop.

As for switching providers – no, you can’t. First of all, they are all the same, and second of all, the vast majority of people with insurance get it through an employer, and you can’t just up and change providers like that any time you want.

The problem is that healthcare has been turned into a for-profit industry. That is THE problem with the system, and booting out for-profit businesses is the only way to fix it. The only law that will screw the people on this one is the one that enables the insurance industry to keep their power over the system. That has to be stopped at all costs.

It’s time to point out that the “Reagan legacy” is a myth repeated by the party loyalists omitting all the flaws with his presidency.

Please let me know how that works out for you. When a party is based on lies, fear and intimidation (i.e., the Republic-Fascists, f/ka Republicans), that’s just how they roll. Myths replace facts.

So, I take it Newt only buys American?

(I don’t find his daughter attractive. I think she’s creepy, quite honestly)

Newt forgets that down to the smallest cell in our bodies, we are all made of the same stuff. Like it or not, we are citizens of the universe.

I guess that makes the Newtster an outlier.

I guess the coast is clear for traitor Fleischer to show his face again.

How is a ‘world citizen’ or a ‘we’re all in the same boat’ concept dangerous?

It always sounds so strange for a GO Per to mention intelligence or what is intellectually sound, since they have such a profound lacking in that area.

There he goes again, thinking. When will Newt (and company) realize they are supposed to be following orders. This thinking stuff is just too painful for them.

“I speak today as both a citizen of the United States and of the world.”

OMG, President Ronnie, a CITIZEN OF THE WORLD!

I dunno, toasterhead, Binky’s definitely smarter than Newt. And Pratchett’s “Death” is definitely more human! :D

Terry Pratchett! So sad to learn about his condition, though. Probably no more Discworld novels to look forward to.

Wow, Ari Fleischer gets to pick the nominee. Well, that’ll save a bunch of money on bothering to have primaries…

Yep, and ‘that guy’ is my congressman, John Hall–Wayne and I met him a coupla times during the 2006 campaign when I did some volunteer work for him.

Too bad Bill Bradley wasn’t as good at politics as he was at basketball.

I dunno, toasterhead, Binky’s definitely smarter than Newt. And Pratchett’s “Death” is definitely more human! :D

pags2 Says:

Newt is trying to recycle the Reagan legacy on his website, video and his speeches. He expects the voters to develop amnesia about the last 8 years. I am certain he will be out hawking Reagan nostalgia for the next 4 years so that he can stay in the public. We should get used to his sideline sniping until the next election. If we ignore him long enough, maybe he will disappear into obscurity.

It’s time to point out that the “Reagan legacy” is a myth repeated by the party loyalists omitting all the flaws with his presidency. Reagan claimed that government was the problem and every Republican since has been trying to prove him correct.