What do you guys think about the whole Healthcare debate?

[Torie]

Unfortunately, Obamacare was shoved through without much thought in the end, when the Dems lost their 60 votes in the Senate, because they knew the window for just doing it was closing. We will live with the negative consequences for some time I suspect.

But to answer the question, yes team Pelosi "herded" with considerable talent.

[Torie]

No, the present system is a disaster Franzl, but the "good news" is that it will collapse of its own weight, and sooner rather than later. Putting aside the need for rationing and triage, among other things it is hideously inefficient, with docs over-treating and over-prescribing, because they have an economic incentive to do so (the fear of lawsuits is just the excuse).  The system is not computerized, and medical files are still filled out and maintained manually (which docs in my experience really don't read anyway, and ask you instead to just orally tell your story), and you can't for simple stuff talk to your doc over the phone, but have to go down to his or her office and wait for an hour to be "examined," because the medicare and insurance system does not let docs be paid for telephone consults, or the docs just won't do it, or both. Hopefully, the "equilibriating" of it all, will not be via the US going the way of Greece.

The fix is to mandate, and subsidize on a means tested basis, medicare insurance, which covers a certain range of treatments. The amount of the subsidy should be based on HMO pricing, and Medicare should be taken over by HMO's. The problem with a government program, is that is you don't like your service, you can't fire your doc. It is a government monopoly. The doc won't give a damn what you think, and rationing is done by the most inappropriate system of wait times in large part. So late diagnosis is a problem, and letting a patient be miserable for six months while waiting, is a problem.