[Kerplunk105]

Originally Posted by wrx_snobordr

HA HA at $5 a week. The costs would increase, not decrease if we went to universal care. Reasons are as follows.

1. We have more doctors per capita than any nation and they make the most.
a. More doctors would be needed.
b. We could not decrease their salaries, their union is to strong.
c. Just these costs alone guarantee us we could not run on par with any other socialized system in the world.

2. one of the largest argument is it would decrease the use of emergency rooms, this is a false assumption.
a. There is no gaurntee a person will seek preventative care, so even though they can, doesn't mean they will, so they still may suffer that massive heart attack necessitating the emergency room.
b. We can not predeict broken legs or car accidents, these will still necessitate emergency room visits.
c. many injuries where people now avoid going to the emergency room for because of lack of insurance would then go. Also, people who don't actually need care but figure, hey its free, will show up.
d. We still will be supporting the illegal immigrants, all 12 million of them.

3. As Americans we expect a high level of care. We are not willing to wait 3 weeks for an MRI. Since we are sue happy, doctors will still be forced to order multiple tests to ensure they are making the correct call. Having all 45 million uninsured now covered is great, but the expenditures to buy all the necessary equipment to keep the same level of care is astronomical.

4. The government would need to buy out the insurance companies. Many of the stock holders in these companies are powerful individuals who will not go down without a fight. We will pay out billions in buy outs just for the ability to implement the plan.

5. Who would supplement the loss in investment capital for new drugs and treatments? the government? The cost for this has been put by some estimates to near war level spending. Think we can afford that in conjunction with all the other social programs we currently run?

I don't know abut you but I don't like the sounds of a 50% tax rate.

Good, valid points. I never said anything about universal care. My point was the current health care programs(s) need to be rewritten so they work more effectively.