Yes, lots of good entries to read trhough over on the Blog page.  Over all my view is this, our system is broken and in dire need of repair. 

It is sort of like my old '84 Fiero....2-3 quarts of oil every week or two depending on the weather and it never once caught on fire, even when after sitting in a traffic jam on 23N on the downhill towards Delaware (for those familiar you know exactly where I was) for about 30 minutes there was a loud, and I mean loud BANG, and it still ran great.  Broken, yes. Needed repair, Yes.  Never fixed, Nope.  Gave it to the Kidney Foundation in hopes they could salvage the remaining parts and get a few dollars (no tax write off taken as it was even in worse repair when they came to get it). 

My next thought is the fact that there are many people out there that are over medicated which I largley blame on the Pharmacutical Companies and Privatized Health Care marketing habits and the general hypocondriact of which I personnaly know or have known a total of 3 at any one time.  Does anyone watch commercials these days???  Wow, there is a pill for everything....can't sleep, can't eat, can't lose weight, depressed, can't getter done....take a pill. 

It is a non published standard here that it is better to treat the patient and make them comfortable than to find the actual cure.  I got in a very heated debate with a Pharm. Rep once.  It was quite commical to see him get so red and upset at my comments.  I suppose he had good reason when I said that no one is interested in the cure anymore that it is more profitable to treat. 

Scott has said in the posts on the blog side that health care companies are in it to make a profit and that government interferrence isn't the answer.   I understand that to a point, but lets not forget what these people consider a profit.  It sickens me that we allow profit to rule over us in the way we do.  Profit with what expense.  That of human life.  Sickening if you ask me. 

I don't have the answer, I was confident on Friday I could find it in two days but I wasn't fully aware of monumental task.  Upon speaking with my husband about it we agreed that we as American's need to take a stand.  We need to quit accepting the status quo and realize we must make change happen. 

We need to find the root of the problems!!!  Things like (1) malpractice suits which are general caused by the doctors and nurses over sight or what I like to call OE - operator error (no pun inteded).  While, I believe mistakes are made and that should be compensated, the awards I have seen have been very large, limits are needed there.  Then there is the whole  (2)overmedicated issue.  Yes, I said we (general populous) are over medicated and a bunch of hypocondriacts.  If I sneeze, I don't need a doctor, if I stub my toe or fall down the stairs, provided I don't break anything, I most likely won't need a doctor but yet the doctor offices are overwhelmed with patience - double and triple booked in some offices.   

Pricing seems to be the biggest problem which is directly affected by the above mentioned reasons and a few others like greed.  Again, I ask how much should the insurance companies be able to profit off the backs of our lives.  There were a few personal cases of medical problem and I feel for all of us that are going thru any heath problems as the added stress of the bills is more than enough to finish us off.  Scott mentioned his wife had a sicness or something and they took her right in.  By law they have too....they can not deny treatment.  What they can do, have done, is stabalize the patient for transfer to another "more suitable" hospital or clinic.  They can also plop you down in the waiting room and claim that you are not as sick/hurt as the others and so in time we will get to you.  Sort of like the "oh, I remember her" bit when one calls to verify employment.  The ex-employer really can't say anything bad about you by law but boy can they imply it through there voice and choice of words.  So, it is similar.....I don't really want to treat you cuz I won't get paid but if I plop you down in the waiting room maybe you'll go away. 

Is Nationalized/Socialized/Universal Health Care the answer?  Maybe, Maybe not.  Seems to work for other countries with a few ups and downs.  The best part of looking at it now is that we can see the down falls of both and work to make one plan that will work.  Take the best of both.  Make competion - right now the health care companies have an oligopoly and that is the root of the problem.  Nobody cares what the Health Care companies do because they are one of the biggest (#2 to Real Estate - how ironic) lobbist in the US.  They in turn blame the high rates on items mentioned above as well as the cost of administration, paying doctors/nurses, etc.  The list is quite long I am sure.

Something must be done, China beat us to it even.  Of course, I know nothing of their plan so who knows what it is really like there but the point is even they have a national health care program.