rbpls
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Everything posted by rbpls
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I recently spoke to a veteran who'd had heart surgery through the VA from one of or the best heart specialist team at Emory University. He told me once you get past the "cattle-call" (his term for the initial processing at the VA) that his care was absolutely first rate. At about that time, his attending cardiac specialist walked in, overheard our conversation and asked the guy who did his surgery. The veteran told him and the doctor said "hell yes. I studied under that guy and he is very good." The doctor in that hospital (Kennestone) had studied under the surgeon (can't remember his name) an
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Don't obfuscate. You (and others) have implied they would have a role in determining treatment options. That is just false. Yes, the IRS will determine whether one qualifies for a subsidy, will penalize those who don't acquire insurance, and enforce tax/income related provisions as relating to insurance but only for a minority of people who are responsible for getting their own insurance and for companies that have over 50 employees that choose the penalty over providing employee insurance. Most employers with over 50 employees already cover full-time employees. But make treatment de
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I never said there would be no waste in a single-payer system. I do say that in all and/or ANY single-payer system (basically all advanced countries on earth except the US) none of them are as wasteful as the system we use in the US. That is painfully, obviously, and undeniably true. It has been true for generations in many countries. Hell, Churchill helped implement it in the UK in 1948. Our system is wasteful, causes industries to locate somewhere else year after year, and causes Americans to die.
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I don't drive, post on PCom, or play pool if I've consumed any alcohol. Just wouldn't be prudent. But thanks for your kind words.
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Nope, the BEST reason to oppose Obamacare is to push for something actually better - and that would be single-payer. Wanting to keep what we have or substituting a fake alternative is worse than Obamacare. The IRS will have a much smaller role than you and others have implied they will. They will look at your proof of coverage. Can't prove you have coverage? You owe a penalty. It is x because your income level is Y. They will in no way be dealing with treatments, what drugs you get... that is just made up BS. Where in heck did y'all come up with the IRS tracking your drugs/treatments,
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The private parts of Medicare are (guess what) the source of the biggest cost increases. What is wrong with using that wasted money to provide healthcare instead of funding waste? If the non-profit part is more efficient (and it obviously is) make the rest of it non-profit. VA is underfunded. If you made it more private, it would be even more underfunded. Sometimes public functions are run by private companies to the detriment of this country. A lobbyist greases palms, we get sold out (the all Republican 2003 Medicare Drug Bill is one good example.) MRI in Japan: $88 In Franc
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Yeah, like the people in the armies of people getting healthcare dollars but provide zero zilch healthcare except the useless part of administration made necessary by our stupid "love of money" way of paying for healthcare? But logically and truthfully, there is no good reason not to go to single-payer. I know we won't any time soon, but it would save trillions of dollars and over a few years time, hundreds of thousands of American lives. But don't forget the economic boost including DRASTICALLY lowering the numbers of Americans being forced into bankruptcy to get healthcare.
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Got a much better idea. Treat healthcare like fire protection. Save money, lives, etc. Everyone able to pay should pay of course. But, we should do it in one of the ways that CERTAINLY saves lives and money in all the advanced nations on earth except the US. We should do it the way Winston Churchill loved because he loved his country. And because he was a REAL conservative. Why do the VA, Tricare, and Medicare have such drastically lower admin costs than private insurers?
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Please give me an actual informed reason for us not to go to single-payer. It saves money, saves lives, would spur industrial growth, would drastically lower bankruptcies in the US, would get rid of the fingers in the pie that supply no healthcare, etc etc. Emergency rooms could start being used as emergency rooms again too.
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The less one knows about Obamacare, the more likely that person is to oppose it. The more one knows about Obamacare, the more likely that person is to like it. Funny how that works. Anyway, lots of folks that hate it now will like it later. It is flawed and we need to move to single-payer. I know of a gout sufferer who periodically needs a certain previously very inexpensive medication. Some recent change caused the medication to go up to $10 per pill. An acquaintance was able to get him about $3000 worth (in the US) of the medicine for $25 in Ecuador. Only in America.
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It sounds as if the law will benefit you and your family. I bought (paid 75%) insurance for my employees for years but had to stop because it started at $140/month/employee and the last quote was $540! So, I dropped coverage in 2008. I understand why companies started cutting plans way before Obamacare. Anyway, the law will benefit many people and the country as a whole. But, it is in no way as good as the several varieties of single-payer that all the advanced countries on earth (except the US) have used for decades.
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Waffle House makes insurance available for employees working 14 or more hours a week. Now and after Obamacare. But many employers lie about WHY they are reducing benefits... even though they were reducing benefits more than 10 years ago. I told my employees the truth. I had to get them to pay a higher share but eventually had to drop coverage AND employees... while Bush was in office. Increases in costs was the norm since the first plan came out at $5 per month. I guess if it weren't for Obama, insurance would still be $5 a month. Oh wait, it was actually going up before Obama was i
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Yeah, some of those a**holes are so sorry they get sick or have an accident. Freeloader bastards. The impending train wreck was coming at us long before Bush too. Obamacare is imperfect. It is basically Romneycare. It is way too friendly to non-providers in the system. It is still horrendously way way more wasteful than any number of different types of single-payer used in civilized countries all over this earth. But, guess which state is number one in healthcare (for now anyway) in the US? (Hint: the state that has had Obamacare aka Romneycare for a few years) When you really
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I paid 3/4 of the cost of health care insurance for my employees for 7 years. During that time, the cost per person for the policy started at $140 per month per person. The year I had to drop it the last increase was to make the cost nearly $550 per person. This was before Barack Obama ran for the presidency. During that same period, I heard stores managers talking (at Walmart and SamsClub though nearly every employer was ALREADY doing the same damned exact thing!!!) saying don't let them get to 30 or 32 hours a week cause then they get bennies including insurance. Health care cost i
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If you can wait a few days (not many) check Amazon.com and/or ebay. The last time I needed a cell phone battery I got 2 for $2.95 each with free shipping. You won't match that with on any smartphones but it will be much less than any store around here. But if you need one quickly from a local retailer, Interstate Battery is the best. They re-build all sorts of battery packs (old drills, etc. almost anything) and are good and quick. I've had several high end battery packs re-celled by them and there is no one better.
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MSNBC is slanted but truthful. FOX is slanted and intentionally habitually lies. I like BBC World News. AL-Jazeera? I've seen it a few times and will probably continue to watch it along with several other outlets. It won't make you foolish and misinformed like FOX intentionally does if you buy into their propaganda and lies.
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Well, since she often out debated 3 or 4 "conservatives" at a time with one rhetorical hand tied behind her back, I'm not offended. But I'm not a she and I don't have any idea who she is. You could tell when she really started getting the best of them. They invariably started being crude, mean-spirited and insulting...you know, since they were getting their asses kicked and couldn't beat her with facts and reasoned argument. I suppose that is why she doesn't come around anymore.
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Well, that is really mature. The "study" you quoted is propaganda bs meant to fool the less discerning. When I was 10, I had all the answers too. Even the people in the Reagan administration who implemented the voo-doo supply-side idiotic something-for-nothing fiscal "policy" admit now it was just bad policy and hurt us economically. It was George H. W. Bush that named it voo-doo economics.
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In the good old days "Father Knows Best' era in the US, our taxes were similar. On a small PORTION of the highest levels of income. Of course, we were actually more conservative then.
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"They can't afford bread? Well, let them eat cake!" Marie Antoinette (actually didn't say it...I just couldn't resist) It's the old "If everyone were as virtuous as me" argument.
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Sorry, Surepip knows way more about Brazil than you do. We have Americans that don't care much for our country too. The Koch brothers, Trump, "conservatives" and their dupes.
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He and she committed perjury and fraud during fund raising for his trial expenses. She pretty took the fall and full blame and plead guilty to a lower charge. She likely ain't too happy with his BS. He dodged several bullets before including one felony assault charge against a police officer that was reduced. Smoke and fire? Still wonder why the security company he worked for fired him because he was too "zealous." If he is really a bad egg, maybe he'll end up like OJ.
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Do people really work at Fast Food places to fully support their families?
rbpls replied to gog8tors's topic in RECENT TOPICS
People that work in this country receive a lower share of the total GDP pie right now than anytime since before we were born. Yes, there is class warfare... but it ain't from redistribution from top to bottom. -
Do people really work at Fast Food places to fully support their families?
rbpls replied to gog8tors's topic in RECENT TOPICS
It's because the Plutocrats want us to be a little more willing to work for nothing. It is the class warfare Buffet refers to. It is being waged on the middle-class and poor by the wealthy and the rich are winning. Oh hell. What does Buffet know about about money, taxes or wages? According to fake conservatives, not much. -
Do people really work at Fast Food places to fully support their families?
rbpls replied to gog8tors's topic in RECENT TOPICS
Here here. Did you see the recent study proving that 1 in 3 of the highest paid executives in the US received a substantial part of their pay from taxpayers? That is totally separate from companies providing goods to the Federal Gov't. Some of these guys are billionaires. But the real problem is poor people living high on the hog from welfare!????