Quote from mschey:
Do you want the lifesaving drugs that these companies develop? Of course you do....you just don't want to pay for it!
Do you really expect a change in one area to affect a companies bottom line enough to allow for those cuts to come into play? The change would need to be a systemic change to have any effect!
Quote from mschey:
One last point...socialism....socialized medicine just doesn't work....we all know that capitalism gets things done.
Quote from ssternlight:
Third, big pharma,medical device companies, major hospital chains, etc... have been making bank in a big way for years. Take a look at their profits. Strip out the overpriced acquisition binges and it is even worse. It is absurd to blame individuals for their pricing practices or the practices of their suppliers. This is a problem of regulation and not consumer fraud.
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What's screwed up is our political class and the fact that scumbag lobbyists have gained so much control. If you want to point a finger that would be where I would start.
Quote from dandxg:
Bush is going to go down in history as the most fiscally irresponsible President in history.
Quote from Hydroblunt:
...How does capitalism get things done ...
I'd love to see you shopping for the best qualified and reasonably priced cardiologist when you're having a heart attack. I would also love to see you postponing your appendix removal operation because your pay check is due one week from now. Only simpletons can compare medical and plumbing services, broken bones with leaking toilets. You BTW call 911 and ask for a government employee (cop) when you're getting robbed and somehow it's fine with you. You're not shopping for the best available private security agency.Quote from Haroki:
Just think, if you had some home repair work done, would you want to call in the city employees, or hire a private contractor.
Only distribution and delivery of health services will be government controlled, drug development, hospitals, doctors etc will remain private. Single payer system will replace thousands of redundant and useless insurance companies with one government agency. That's the only organizational thing that needs to be done.Quote from Haroki:
Also, who's gonna foot the bill for all the new drug development? You need large companies that have the capital to invest in developing new drugs, medical procedures, equipment, etc.
Quote from dougcs:
What;s that got to do with your premise that tort limits would lower medical costs?
Also, if the drug companies stopped spending billions pushing drugs via TV ads or repacking pills in a different color to extend the patent rather than developing better drugs, I might buy your argument.
DS
)Quote from Hydroblunt:
That is complete nonsense, socialized medicine does work because the people that go into the profession end going into it for the passion and selfless reasons instead of the money. Have you ever lived in a country with socialized healthcare? I have and so has my whole family. How does capitalism get things done when there is a big & increasing healthcare issue in this country, along with the high % of Bankruptcies due to medical bills? It only gets things done for the rich, while everyone else feels the burden.
These scumbag hospitals cry and b*tch about how their bills do not get paid, yet they do not bother to take a reasonable look at the huge burden their humongous bills create on the average person. They do not even try to make reasonable arrangements for repayment. Do you know that all hospital bills are purposely overpriced by 20-30% because they expect insurance to pay 20-30% lower?
In the US, you get top treament and best doctors only if you are willing to pay the absurd amounts of money, otherwise you get complete crap. In my case, I was charged toward the higher end of the scale and I am still absolutely disgusted with what I received.
Excellent post and right on the money. Just look at the money trails, the stock prices dont lie.