What do you think should happen next with health care?

Eric Ringham January 18, 2011, 5:00 AM Jan 18, 2011

Republicans in Congress have made clear that if they can’t repeal health care reform, they’ll at least try to defund it. Today’s Question: What do you think should happen next with health care?

About the blogger

Eric Ringham

eringham@mpr.org

Rob

What will happen is what always happens. The corporations supporting the candidates on the left will go against the corporations supporting the candidates on the rights agendas. (In some cases, the same corps support both sides, they just like creating chaos) The bobble heads we call senators and representatives will end up doing nothing and argue endlessly in non productive furvor. Whilst us the “public” most of who never reads the bills and laws that these people are arguing about, will agree with what ever baboon yells the loudest in the theater. Meanwhile our countries infrastructure decays and our debt and deficit grows like a stage 4 cancer.

Hiram

I think the two parties should work together to find ways to improve it. If Republicans object to a universal mandate, they should offer an alternative which adequately finances the outcomes which they support.

Gary F

Seeing that there was no real discussion of what was in it while it was being written in late night, closed door meetings, (transparency, NOT) and the Speaker Pelosi told us we had to “pass the bill so we can see what’s in it”, I say we take the bill issue by issue and vote to repeal and de-fund it in it’s parts.

We hold hearings and make the people who voted for it defend it publicly. We discuss it’s constitutionality, and how the numbers were cooked to get it to pass(extra Medicare funding bill after the fact). We’ll discuss how all the new taxes make it so great for private business.

We’ll see what the American public’s response to the details are and in 2 years, it might be overturned.

If the bill was go great, the people who voted for it will have no problem defending it.

All I know is that the small company I work for has been filling out a whole bunch of 1099’s and have spent days filling out and collecting these forms when they could be doing more productive work.

Gary F

Oh, I still want to know why McDonald’s and other big corporations and big labor unions like the New York State Teachers Union get exceptions from Obamacare and my firm of under twenty people are stuck with the bill.

Why are 225 companies/union exempt?

Jane

I think their first step should be to defund their own, former members of Congress’s and their families’ “cadillac” coverage and require that they all use their own resources to buy coverage on the open market. Then we will know that they are SERIOUS about their efforts to be sure everyone has to take responsibility for their own needs.
Steve the Cynic

If the Guild Of Patricians want to dismantle “Obamacare,” let ’em. The sooner we come to crisis point in health care, the sooner voters will demand real reform– i.e., a system not based on extracting obscene profits from sick people (or people who can be persuaded they need expensive meds to treat their conditions [e.g., erectile dysfunction, which apparently causes unspeakable suffering]).

Study what things other countries do that work better than our so-called system. Drop our stubborn American arrogance and admit that good ideas can come from places like Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, etc.
Rose

This topic has raised brought many diverse issues to the forfront: 5 are below.

1) We should not waste time with more debate. It’s the law. To both parties.. Get on with the business of running the country. There is lot’s to do.

2) Once elected a representative represents ALL of their constituents, not just the ones who voted for them. Once elected, they are not democrate or republican, they are representatives.

3) In my opinion: The level of “health care” and support for their health care choices should be left to the individual. I endorse a public option, allowing a limit to the pre-condition-clause. I don’t endorse mandatory insurance.

4) Insurance companies will figure out a way to “make profit” and offer a plan to meet the needs.

5) There must be a movement toward “Insurance reform” not only with health care. Get rid of the lobby effect of insurance companies. The insurance companies should get back to basics and provide an insurance competency and not self serving political influence.
patty brindley

Please Please, We need the healthcare bill. It should not be repealed.
Jon

We should move forward with the Obama plan and then some. This is a great non-partisan video explanation of the changes with the current plan… http://healthreform.kff.org/The-Animation.aspx
Carl Ireland

Improving or replacing the current plan with a better one is the first thing that must be done.

The result of simply repealing or defunding the current plan without that is to ration health care based on ability to pay. That amounts to voting for some to die to enable others to increase their financial wealth.
Rich

What should happen next is universal healthcare coverage for everybody. What will happen next is nothing like that.
Steve D

The health care plan should be strengthen not repealed. The plan should continue to move toward universal heath care, It has already taken away the pre-existing condition to provide coverage again for my sister-in-law’s breast cancer. She will once again be able to get the treatment she needs during this first 5 years since the surgery after she lost her old job. Bring all Americans into the plan or plans and force the health care providers, insurance companies, doctors and lawyers to reduce the cost NOW!!!!!
Joe Schaedler

We should let Obamacare go forward as planed by its designers, while the government uses it new term to focus on school, budget & environmental policy reform – these are the real issues needing addressing by the state right now.
Curt C.

Keep demanding universal healthcare and calling out all politicians who oppose it on their massive campaign contributrions (bribes) from the health insurance industry.
Lawrence

The health care industry has been unable to stop employer provided and worker contributing costs from rising for two decades. If we are to stay competitive with the rest of the industrialized world, specifically China, then the U.S. needs to move more closely towards universal health care instead of repealing or defunding current reform mandates. Creating a public option would go along way towards doing just that.
Jessa

Repeal it! Until we can come up with a solid solution!
Laura Ross

Rationing is done now to line the pockets of the CEO’s running the companies. As someone said on air this morning, healt care should be like police or fire protection – it should be there for everyone equally. Noone should be profiting from excluding others from getting basic needs met. “Obamacare” is just the first step; we need to work towards Single Payer health care,and keep the Republicans from cutting care for those who are least able to get it on their own. It is also very ignorant to believe that withholding care now will save money later – people use the ER instead of a physician visit, or lose work time and ultimately need more, more expensive care when not able to be attended to immediately.
Joe

This health care bill is an ugly sausage, but how could it be otherwise, and just like many sausages it actually tastes good.

There are many positive things in this bill and people are starting to see the benefits from it.

The republicans have no alternatives that have any serious merit (buying across state lines did not make BMW’s cheaper).

But dont be fooled though by single payer; having seen the English system you need to realize that there is a booming private insurance market there as people are often fed up with the NHS (National Health Service).

But since many people do not have a choice customer service can be attrocious and there is no incentive to improve it. You get paid the same if you are nice or mean and the patients cant go elsewhere. Any program to improve care has to come from government not private ideas that are often much better.

If you want to know what single payer would look like, take every discussion/ grumble/ complaint about Education – and replace it with the words Health Care.

The Democrats are as guilty of playing politics as the Republicans, Ben Nelson in particular was/is disgusting in his manipulation of the system.

Overall there are more good things than bad in this sausage.

I am a doctor and strongly support this bill. You should also realize that the standard of medicine in Minnesota is way above the quality of care provided in other states. It is a pleasure to practice here.
Barb H

Let’s see SPECIFIC criticisms and alternatives to SPECIFIC sections of the bill as written. I took a quick look at the bill and it seems fairly benign–certainly not the horror story that opponents are claiming.

Take a few minutes and look for yourselves. The bill is clearly organized and the text is easily reviewed from the table of contents by using the embedded links. Don’t let others claim to speak for your interests.
Constance

When my husband turned 65, although we had adequate health coverage, for which we paid plenty- he was forced to join Medicare by our insurance company since he qualified by age. They no longer covered certain costs like hospitalization. Now everyone is paying for his benefits.

Those who are responsible and pay for their own coverage are again forced to join a pool to pay for those who choose to use their money in other ways.

The rich will always get excellent care, the poor qualify to be treated free and those of us in the middle who support ourselves will suffer mediocre care because of the healthcare bill. This is a wrong-headed approach.
Mary

The health care bill should be altered to include a public option and it should be permanatly funded. When my husband was laid off we were offered COBRA coverage. It would have cost us $1450 a month. How is someone without a job supposed to afford that?
Sean Ree

Let’s make this a state issue, since there is no federal consensus. The money for the program should go to the states. Gov. Dayton should propose a plan to keep Minnesota’s current level of coverage the same.
Sean

Let’s make this a state issue, since there is no federal consensus. The money for the program should go to the states. Gov. Dayton should propose a plan to keep Minnesota’s current level of coverage the same.
Bob

I believe that we all need to give the new law a fair trial, allowing it to run unhindered until at least all of its features have kicked in, probably three years or so. Once we have the time to evaluate its pros and cons only then will we be able to make an intelligent decision as how to build upon it.
Kevin

No, a repeal would bring us back to the nothing, lets makes changes if it needs to change. The arguement to repeal is not compelling, the arguement to change is also strong.
James

Why does blood fly out of my eyes when this issue is kicked around?

I wish we could step back and kick in some heads of the corrupt and greedy health system personnel.

Has anyone ever looked at controlling the cost of the product we receive…. AAAh—NO!

We do have the best health care in the world,,, but does that justify the fleecing we must endure to receive it?

Control the cost and keep out the government.

Can you image the service we will get when the Driver’s license clerks take over health care?

∑

DTOM
ann

first of all, isn’t ‘obama-care’ a derogatory term?

i would like to see a public option. i think this is the only way to control costs and give more control to the consumer.

i lived in england with two small children for 4 years and i loved the health care system. it was accessible and very good. i would love to have a similar system here.
Erin

I would like to see full implementation and funding of the law that was passed, with the assumption that this is a first step toward a more humane approach to health care in the U.S. Yes, the rich will always be able to buy better plans, but in the current system, millions of people, including children, are shut out of the system entirely. That is not a thing of pride for a wealthy nation.

I would like to see malpractice reform as a next step. Most doctors favor universal access to coverage, but many doctors are not able to get behind health care reform unless it also addresses the massive waste caused by practicing medicine defensively.

I hope we are able to be patient, creative, and constructive as we figure out the next steps.
Shane

The majority of the public didn’t want it in the first place so it should be repealed. And by the way you are no longer a child at 26 years old…
Ann

People who are fortunate enough to get healthcare through their employers should pay taxes on that hidden income. It isn’t fair for the other taxpayers to subsidize them. Maybe this would encourage health insurance companies to offer competitive plans for all people. Employers shouldn’t have to choose employees according to how much that employee will cost them in medical insurance. People want citizens to get jobs and take care of their children, but what is the cost to those childeren when their parents can’t get medical care? Politicians aren’t talking very much about the many costs to people and society when people can’t get medical insurance.
Gabe

As a part time nurse, and a full time college student I know how vital medical care can be, and I know how crippling health care premiums can be. I do not support a full repeal of legislation that will save lives. I can not support someone who will repeal legislation that allows people access to health care. I will not be voting for those who vote yes to repeal the health care bill.
Sue de Nim

My Canadian friends all laugh when I suggest (tongue in cheek, of course) that they trade their health care system for ours. Without exception, though they’d like to see some improvements, they are all basically satisfied with their system.
Steve the Cynic

“The majority of the public didn’t want it in the first place so it should be repealed.”

However, if you consider those who thought the reforms didn’t go far enough, there was (and is) a solid majority in favor of not keeping (or going back to) what we had before.
Sue de Nim

Here’s an idea I’ve never seen debated: require that health insurance policies inlcude a substantial death benefit (say $500K), so the company that provides it has an incentive to keep you healthy. Currently the incentive is to simply deny care.
Kevin VC

It seems I have talked with a few of my conservative friends and they seem to be of some odd opinion about evolution.

That those that are successful should live and those not successful should …. not.

I reject their ideas, especially since i reject how money is rewarded to people. There are geniuses who are starving and put down, and morons who are in charge of many things…..

How much you make should not be a sign of evolution in such a flawed idea.

This euthanasia idea or eugenics idea should have died with the failed Nazi’s…. But apparently some still got the kooky notion in their head and quietly hope that health care stops helping the weak…. or poor.

This in human attitude really is evil in my mind.

What made us more then the animals was our compassion.

In arguing this they make up reasons that have no bearing on reality: Job loss, increasing costs, communism, the evil of helping the poor, and other fire and brim stone crap….

And some try and say its the reason health care has increased in costs… Hello! It is just starting, little by little. Health care costs have been skyrocketing for decades now! It so far has nothing to do with the new law! In fact since we switch to a ‘capitalistic’ instead of a humanistic health care…

Sorry.

Health care is JUST beginning, it is in the correct direction. Let it be.

The conservative cry babies are worried that their wallets will not be as full… too bad. How about a few more deserving people living to contribute?
EAL

To manage costs and expand coverage, repeal and replace with an emphasis first on personal accountability, tort reform and competitiveness. By competitiveness, provide very basic guidelines and allow the several states to be innovative in providing solutions. Washington D.C. cannot and should not be all things to all people. We are not a federalist country.
Pauline Cahalan

I am an RN who has worked in some part of the illness care system we currently have. We do not currently have a health care system. So many folks have no coverage. Many entities are making obscene amounts of money on sick people in the U.S. Obviously we need major changes. The Health Reform is far from perfect but it is a start. Let’s move some of the implementation timelines to 2012 instead of 2014 and get moving!
Jordan P

We have social services for all sorts of basic needs. Police, Fire Dept, etc. It would seem preposterous in today’s society to let corporations make a profit on such safety measures, yet we have no problem on insurance agencies making billions on the sick.

Public Option for our public needs.
PMA

Providing basic health care to all of our citizens, seems moral and just. Attempts have been made to do this for a long time. Although the current law can certainly be improved, it has moved us beyond just talking about it and starting to do something concrete.

It would be helpful, if those in congress would give the law a chance to unfold, and then make adjustments as it becomes clear what needs to be added, subtracted or modified. As some have already pointed out , we can learn much from the positive experiences of other countries that have provided health care to all of their people.
Doug

I believe that the Obama Care bill needs to be fully funded and expanded. We already pay for those who are uninsured with our property taxes when they visit Emergency Rooms. This is crazy to provide them with the most expensive care possible. In addition my family is benefiting from the ability to keep a child on my insurance until they are 26. When an adult child cannot attend college and cannot work, this feature is keeping my son off medical assistance, again saving our state and county monies.
Susan

What SHOULD happen next–but won’t–is strengthening and improving the Health Care Act and adding the public option while moving toward Medicare for all. Have conservatives ever asked themselves why Medicare is WILDLY popular with seniors?