Yep, just went to Mayo and no wait at all.

S-chips was not about the children, never really has been, it is a political football and the democRats are playing a risky game. They want socialized medicine as that could buy a whole new block of dependant voters for the democRats, or so they think.

If you think expanding Medicare is the answer, I don’t think you’re fully informed. Medicare tells hospitals how much they will be paid for certain procedures. It doesn’t matter what it costs the hospitals and doctors to perform the procedure. What happens is that people with private insurance end up subsidizing people with Medicare because we are charged a little bit more for our care to cover some of the costs hospitals and doctors cannot recover under Medicare. Anyone who thinks government controlled health care is the answer had better read about what’s happening in the countries with national health care. In Great Britian, people are pulling their own teeth because they can’t get into the government dentist!

You’re right that Republicans are trying to promote health savings accounts and for good reason. You complain about insurance companies making a lot of money. Do you think doctors and hospitals make too much money? If you promote HSAs, you will cut out insurance companies to a large degree and encourage competition when people are paying for some of their health care out of a savings account instead of a $25 co-pay.

You didn’t tell the whole story on the history of health insurance in this country. The main reason we have employment based health insurance and not individual insurance is primarily government regulation. During the war and the labor shortage it caused the government restricted salaries which caused businesses to offer fringe bennefits, like health insurance, as a way to compete for employees.

The fact we have a system that goes with the job rather than individual is the basis for most of our problems. The current system means plans are designed for employers, not patients. It also means insurers have zero incentive to provide preventive care since there is a good chance the investment will leave when the employees switch jobs, and therefore insurers.

Why is this important? Because in order to fix something we actually have to know what is wrong. People who desire socialized medicine start by blaming the free market for the current systems failures. The truth is that we don’t have a free market in health care and haven’t during the time of modern medicine.

I think we as a country have the potential to do things better than Canada or France or England is we want to. We won’t get there by creating a bad copy of their systems. Especially given the additional difficulties we would have due to our countries larger size and political inability to properly manage big programs.

As the nation prospered, employers took on the responsibility. Now, many employers want out of that responsibility. The Open Market has become restricitve to many. The Insurance Companies are in business to make as much money as they can, pay their top CEOs mega millions, provide less for more money.

One idea would be to expand Medicare to cover families who make too much money for Medicade, but less than $60,000 annually for a family of 4. Medicare has the lowest Administration costs to that of the Insurance Companies. The costs of premiums are not going to go down no matter how much competition there is the Open Market.

Health Care is available to those who can afford it. The Republicans favor Health Care Accounts. It still takes money to put into such accounts that many do not have. Many families in this country are struggling to pay the Mortgage, Utility costs, Property Taxes, Homeowners and Car insurance, College, save for Retirement, etc. Who has an extra $2K to $3K laying around to put into a Health Care Account?? Let alone pay the high deductibles?

Affording Health Care should not be a luxury only the wealthy can afford, but accessible to all. It’s cheaper than going to the ER for whatever ails you.

If you think our health care isn’t top in the world, I would urge you to take up Michael Moore and fly to Cuba next time you need surgery.

Bachmann provided no health insurance benefits for her campaign employees.

Is it any surprise she doesn’t care about insuring kids?

Children whose parents make three and four times poverty shouldn’t need government-sponsored health insurance (not health care. A subtle but important distinction), but they do. Private employers are not always in a position to provide insurance that offers access to that finest health care system. As far as the self-employed go — I have been in a position to buy insurance to cover a family when I was self-employed. This was the second biggest part of our budget, after housing. I made too much for SCHIP, but I can understand the bind uninsured families find themselves in.

Yes! Michele Bachmann would rather the US Borrow another $200 BILLION from China or somewhere for a 6 month period of time than spend $35 BILLION OVER 5 YEARS for Children, who will one day have to fight in the wars she voted for when she was in office. And she thinks she is saving her constituents money????? Elephants fly is she is!!!

The voters in the 2nd CD would be wise to vote to un-elect her.