US Election 2008

[Kristatos]

I want too see Oh-bama's face the day after the November political massacre coming.

He'll still be President. And it's unwise to regard the November election as a foregone conclusion at this early stage. A lot could happen between now and then.

[bjmdds]

True. I do not trust the electorate here. They have short memories until their wallets are hit but this time the anger should be lasting. Did you send yourself a reprimand?

[Kristatos]

True. I do not trust the electorate here. They have short memories until their wallets are hit but this time the anger should be lasting. Did you send yourself a reprimand?

I gave myself a slap on the wrists. I think if there are goodies that come into effect before November, the electorate will be placated, especially since the universal mandate itself doesn't come into effect until 2014 - if you're right about 2012, that means a Republican President will end up getting the blame!

Also, I think you overestimate the power of the Tea Party movement. According to a recent poll, only 13% of Americans consider themselves a part of this movement. 28% have a favorable opinion of the movement, 23% unfavorable and 49% don't know. It's hard to say whether the movement will be a blessing or a curse for the GOP. The press release talks about the damage it would do if it fielded its own candidates, but I don't think that's going to happen. It might do more damage by driving moderate and independent voters away from the Republican party.

[bjmdds]

Massachussetts going Republican is still a major barometer in the USA....that was an impossibility in thought prior to Kennedy's death. Oh-bama went against the will of the people, the tax paying people, not those who get polled and do not work, and for that, he will probably pay. My friend lives in the mid-west. They are outraged by this expansion of spending. The states that went Democratic in 2008 will probably revert to Republicans in 2010......then we choose which candidate to oppose Oh-bama, but he might very well get a challenge from his own party in a rare primary vote in 2012.

[Kristatos]

Massachussetts going Republican is still a major barometer in the USA....that was an impossibility in thought prior to Kennedy's death.

One swallow doesn't make a summer. MA already has Romneycare, they have nothing to lose by opposing a universal healthcare bill. Plus, Democrat Martha Coakley ran an embarrasingly inept campaign.

[bjmdds]

You live in the UK now and still follow USA politics that closely?

[Kristatos]

You live in the UK now and still follow USA politics that closely?

I still read news sites on the Internet, and watch "America's most trusted news source", The Daily Show, which ran a segment spoofing Coakley's campaign ("When asked her favorite type of pie, she replied banana cream" - it took me ages to get that joke, but think about it. What answer would you expect someone campaining in Boston to give?). I especially follow the healthcare debate. Even though I now live in a country which has universal healthcare free at the point of delivery, and Blue Cross Blue Shield can't hurt me any more, I recognise that millions of Americans aren't so lucky, so I still want to see the health insurance vampires defeated.

[bjmdds]

Free in the UK? No free lunches in life. Where does the funding come from and how long do people wait for a MRI or surgery, if required?

[Kristatos]

Free in the UK? No free lunches in life. Where does the funding come from and how long do people wait for a MRI or surgery, if required?

Note I said "free at the point of delivery". I'm fully aware that services have to be paid for via taxation. Not sure about the waiting times, I know they are a lot shorter now than they were a few years ago.

(Edit: I just checked the Department of Health website and there is now a statutory maximum wait time of 18 weeks for treatment, including diagnostic tests like MRIs).

[bjmdds]

18 weeks for a MRI? Here, it is less than 1 week.

[Kristatos]

18 weeks for a MRI? Here, it is less than 1 week.

18 weeks is a maximum. It can be a lot less than that, depending on the urgency of the case. And it certainly isn't less than a week in the States, at least not in South Carolina. I speak from personal experience here.

[bjmdds]

In NYC, if they have an opening, you can get a MRI in one day. I never waited more than 1 week. That is a serious flaw to socialized medicine and you now have proven that Kris. You should testify to Congress here about the wait time.

[Kristatos]

In NYC, if they have an opening, you can get a MRI in one day. I never waited more than 1 week. That is a serious flaw to socialized medicine and you now have proven that Kris. You should testify to Congress here about the wait time.

Do you understand what the word "maximum" means? Or the difference between single-payer and socialized medicine? And not every part of the country is as well-equipped as NYC.

[bjmdds]

18 weeks to see a doctor or get a test will not be tolerated here. People who do work pay for health care and will not sacrifice expediency for delay when it comes to their loved ones. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN HERE Kris.

[Kristatos]

18 weeks to see a doctor or get a test will not be tolerated here. People who do work pay for health care and will not sacrifice expediency for delay when it comes to their loved ones. AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN HERE Kris.

OK, let me explain one more time since you seem to have problems understanding. 18 weeks is the MOST that anyone can legally be made to wait for ANY procedure. That does not mean that it always takes 18 weeks to get seen, even in life-threatening emergencies. It's like when you send off for something by mail order and it says "please allow 28 days for delivery". It doesn't necessarily mean that you will have to wait that long, you might get it in the next post, it just means that you shouldn't call to chase them up before that period of time has elapsed. You can normally see a doctor the same day here. I don't know about MRIs, as I've never had one here, but I know that it is not more than 18 weeks, because a hospital would be breaking the law if it made you wait longer than that. Kapeesh?

Anyway, I don't know why we are talking about British healthcare, since nobody is proposing simply transplanting the NHS to America. Under single payer, health services there would be provided the same way as they are now, it's just that it would be funded by a national agency instead of through insurance. Many doctors in America say they would rather deal with Medicare, even now, than try to get money from private insurers, which is like trying to get blood out of a stone. See here if you don't know what I mean by single-payer.

And Obamacare, which is really just Romneycare with a (D) after its name, falls way short of single payer. The only thing it does is force people to buy insurance, which is why I'm opposed to it, even though it has some subsidies to help the very poorest. It has failed spectacularly in Massachussetts. I suppose it's better than nothing, due to those subsidies, but even then I'm not sure. I suspect it will be a major squeeze on those who are not poor enough to qualify for the subsidies, but who can ill-afford mandated insurance. And I bet you anything that the insurance companies will whack up their premiums since they don't have to worry about pricing themselves out of the market now that people have to buy their product.

[bjmdds]

I hate insurance companies. I want their increases no higher than the current cost of living increase, not a random huge amount to compensate for their bad stock or real estate investments. I agree about that. The USA has no experience with this concept to expand medicaire for all. We have 300 million people here so the doctor manpower is stretched too thin as it is. Non-profit co-ops should be set up to keep costs down. For profit health care is the problem.

[Kristatos]

Incidentally, I've been doing a bit of digging, and I haven't bneen able to find MRI wait times in Britain, but I have found them for Canada on Wikipedia. It says that it usually takes less than 2 weeks to get an MRI there. Canada is probably a better comparison than Britain anyway, as the Canadian system is closer to what is being proposed by single-payer advocates than the British. Even so, it should be noted that Canada spends far less on healthcare than the USA does. As I said earlier, Americans are already paying for Medicare for all, they're just not getting it. And saying that the USA has no experience is not an argument. Surely the nation that sent a man to the moon can figure out how to do something that the rest of the developed world is already doing.

[bjmdds]

Lobbyists dominate common sense and the Swiss banks do nicely by us I bet.

[Kristatos]

Incidentally, I've been doing a bit of digging, and I haven't bneen able to find MRI wait times in Britain, but I have found them for Canada on Wikipedia. It says that it usually takes less than 2 weeks to get an MRI there.

Actually, no it doesn't, 2 weeks is the median wait time, which is not quite the same thing. You know what a stickler I am for facts - sometimes that means fact-checking myself when I get it wrong

[bjmdds]

As I predicted, on Meet The Press today, that socialistic pro-Oh-bama think tank, Hillary Clinton said she thinks she will serve out her 4 year term as Secretary of State but ask her in a month or so. She said she is not interested in being one of the Supremes which I do believe, but she is interested in a 2012 run against Oh-No-bama when Congress reverts to the Republicans this November. She is so predictable and obvious. I detest her and her low-life partner Billy. The Oh-bama has some tabloid troubles now about a possible cheat on Michelle No-belle in 2004 with a staffer. It took him 11 days to get to the gulf coast to check out the oil mess there. He had plenty of time though for the comedic dinner function last night at the White House. A total joke, as were the Bushs and Clinton.