Hello John,   
      
   On Sun 2012-Oct-14 21:31, John Massey (1:123/789) wrote to Richard Webb:   
      
    RW> I'll tell you what, we can go back to 19th century levels of health   
    RW> care, and the technology and knowledge base that was   
    RW> available then.  See if you can barter a chicken for a ct   
    RW> scan, or a cow to manage your diabetes, etc.   
      
      
   JM> I prefer 21st levels where I can find a lot of answers and help for   
   JM> free. Where I can take that information and decide for myself how   
   JM> and by who I will be treated by. For that I will take a portion of   
   JM> the money I have earned and purchase a health care policy from an   
   JM> insurance company that is allowed to compete with other insurance   
   JM> companies on a equal basis. Purchasing the type of coverage I need   
   JM> and not paying for things I don't.  Unfortunately Government   
   JM> interference prevents that.   
      
   I would too, but there are many people who can't get   
   coverage, at any reasonable price.  YOu must not know   
   anybody with some real common medical conditions that are   
   not well covered by the current industry.   
   Try getting coverage if you're a brittle diabetic.   
      
   NO easy answers here.  I lean libertarian, and would just as soon let folks   
   make their own decisions, but people such as   
   my lady can't buy good coverage.  When we moved to NEw   
   Orleans and were in property management for the first year   
   her diabetes wasn't covered.  We were able to keep her in   
   insulin and a few other necessary supplies via a bit of   
   sleight of hand you might say, and somebody involved in that process would   
   have been considered as breaking the law.     
      
   I don't pretend to have answers, or even know all the right   
   questions.  HEll, I'm an audio engineer.  Getting the sound   
   of your production out to that audience over the tv or   
   radio, or to an audience of 10000 at the amphitheater I know something about.   
   I've seen both the best and the worst that can happen under both publicly   
   financed and privately   
   financed health care.  IN either case, the worst ain't   
   pretty.   
      
   One thing we all have to remember as we look at this is the   
   reason private employers started offering health care   
   coverage as a benefit after ww 2.  Government was freezing   
   wages, and employers started offering this benefit so as to   
   better compete for the best people, and retain them.  That   
   was then, this is now, over half a century later it doesn't   
   work.   
      
   You sir are a lucky man.  YOru income and the state of your   
   health taken together mean you can purchase coverage that   
   fits your needs at a price you're willing to pay.  Many who   
   are not shiftless lazy bums couldn't get the coverage that   
   they need at a price they could afford.  NOte I discussed   
   two people I had working for me part-time as maintenance   
   technicians over the last 5 years.  One parlayed his 3   
   part-time situations into a full-time with health care   
   benefits.  The second who was just as good, but younger   
   wasn't so lucky.  Because he took no action regarding his   
   health care he found himself in a position where he couldn't afford to keep   
   his part-time situation working for me and   
   get the care he needed.  Proper preventative care would have been the answer   
   to the second situation.  But, not getting, and keeping coverage in a timely   
   manner means they go from being productive citizens to being a   
   drain on everybody's wallet, including yours and mine.  What goes first when   
   money's tight?  FOod and lodging, or that   
   health insurance premium?  When that health coverage goes,   
   forget preventative care.   
      
   Regards,   
              Richard   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:116/901)