I have done the 2nd chapter! You can find it HERE. There are hundreds of ideas just in the newspapers,
you only have to imagine "the rest of the story". I will try to keep politics out of it, the comedians are having a field day now anyway. Cancer has a big role in this story so it will be impossible not to talk about some kind of National Health Care. Cancer is expensive, normal is close to $200,000 and it can easily top a million bucks! If you have one of those 80% plans it can still leave you with a lot of debt!
It is clearly a complicated issue but I do not understand why it is an emotional issue? We are the only Industrial Country in the world without it. Here is the funny thing: if you take all Americans, all groups, all ages, all of us, we are ranked close to 23rd in the world for our health system. Lots of people live longer, healthier lives than we do. Yet we pay the most! On the average, $8,000 per year per person.
In this country if you can make it to 65 years old we already have National Health Insurance. Medicare.
and IF you only count people over 65 years old then USA has the BEST health care in the world! That is all graphable and chartable and provable. Just the facts mam, not opinion. We already have National Health care for Veterans, retired government workers, teachers and a lot of other professions.
Think of it as discount buying like Sam's Club or Costco. The more people the cheaper it becomes.
It is not cancer that is draining our medical system. Cancer and heart disease and long difficult illness is less than 10% of our total medical costs. The real expense is the cost of dieing. The last year
(whatever that might be) in a person's life is where most of the money is spent. It is over 50% of the medicare budget. Medicare is willing to pay over $100,000 to extend your life a miserable four months! Maybe that is what we need to talk about? I still don't think it is emotions; I think it is math.
Hospitals stay open and are available to us all because a lot of their money comes from medicare, government programs and insurance. Without this money they would close and not be available to anyone. My personal philosophy is to open the doors, to let each and every one of us have the same benefits. Congress and lawmakers too. The same as a welder or bricklayer.
There is something appealing about Ron Paul and the return of the Eighteenth Century kind of mentality where there is no government interference and we all fight for survival and let the markets prevail and the best man win. Darwin's fight for survival. It is appealing to me now where I am strong again and could win in a fair fight but I don't know about last year? I needed help then...
I find it interesting how we hate government until we need help. Hate National Medicine until we get sick, hate government support until we need foodstamps, a road biult or school staffed.
There is no Western Movement any longer, no "forty acreas and an mule", no setting out on your own and carving out an existence in the wilderness. Yet we maintain that attitude. It has been a good attitude and served us well and I would like to keep the best of it, but maybe modify it for the times?
The truth is most people crossed the Western Slopes in a wagon train, a group effort with shared responsibilities and benifits, a shared protection, goals and ambitions. Those who ventured out on their own died young.
We don't teach any kind of History any more and that is too bad. We are here and we don't know where here is, how we got here or where we are going. Maybe like my book?
you only have to imagine "the rest of the story". I will try to keep politics out of it, the comedians are having a field day now anyway. Cancer has a big role in this story so it will be impossible not to talk about some kind of National Health Care. Cancer is expensive, normal is close to $200,000 and it can easily top a million bucks! If you have one of those 80% plans it can still leave you with a lot of debt!
It is clearly a complicated issue but I do not understand why it is an emotional issue? We are the only Industrial Country in the world without it. Here is the funny thing: if you take all Americans, all groups, all ages, all of us, we are ranked close to 23rd in the world for our health system. Lots of people live longer, healthier lives than we do. Yet we pay the most! On the average, $8,000 per year per person.
In this country if you can make it to 65 years old we already have National Health Insurance. Medicare.
and IF you only count people over 65 years old then USA has the BEST health care in the world! That is all graphable and chartable and provable. Just the facts mam, not opinion. We already have National Health care for Veterans, retired government workers, teachers and a lot of other professions.
Think of it as discount buying like Sam's Club or Costco. The more people the cheaper it becomes.
It is not cancer that is draining our medical system. Cancer and heart disease and long difficult illness is less than 10% of our total medical costs. The real expense is the cost of dieing. The last year
(whatever that might be) in a person's life is where most of the money is spent. It is over 50% of the medicare budget. Medicare is willing to pay over $100,000 to extend your life a miserable four months! Maybe that is what we need to talk about? I still don't think it is emotions; I think it is math.
Hospitals stay open and are available to us all because a lot of their money comes from medicare, government programs and insurance. Without this money they would close and not be available to anyone. My personal philosophy is to open the doors, to let each and every one of us have the same benefits. Congress and lawmakers too. The same as a welder or bricklayer.
There is something appealing about Ron Paul and the return of the Eighteenth Century kind of mentality where there is no government interference and we all fight for survival and let the markets prevail and the best man win. Darwin's fight for survival. It is appealing to me now where I am strong again and could win in a fair fight but I don't know about last year? I needed help then...
I find it interesting how we hate government until we need help. Hate National Medicine until we get sick, hate government support until we need foodstamps, a road biult or school staffed.
There is no Western Movement any longer, no "forty acreas and an mule", no setting out on your own and carving out an existence in the wilderness. Yet we maintain that attitude. It has been a good attitude and served us well and I would like to keep the best of it, but maybe modify it for the times?
The truth is most people crossed the Western Slopes in a wagon train, a group effort with shared responsibilities and benifits, a shared protection, goals and ambitions. Those who ventured out on their own died young.
We don't teach any kind of History any more and that is too bad. We are here and we don't know where here is, how we got here or where we are going. Maybe like my book?
2 comments:
Now that was a segue, Jerry. It is my understanding that Medicare doesn't cover everything. My mom, living on SSI has to buy one or two additional policies to supplement what Medicare doesn't cover. Of course, I don't know much about it, but my mom isn't the only one. Off to read chapter two - you left me with a cliffhanger on chapter one!
" if you take all Americans, all groups, all ages, all of us, we are ranked close to 23rd in the world for our health system. Lots of people live longer, healthier lives than we do. Yet we pay the most!"
I love reading your rants, probably because I agree with most of them. The statement above really caught my eye, it's absolutly true. And I think the reason why is because what we consider 'alternative medicine' is as much a part of their medicine as traditional is here. Did you know it is illegal for doctors in the U.S. to treat cancer with anything other than chemo and radiation. Even though some alternatives have proven to work better at curing all kinds of cancer. I was shocked when I found this out. So much for our freedoms.
Looking forward to checking out your first two chapters. ;)
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