Anybody saw the Stewart show? The GOP is having a conference on healthcare in Hawaii, unaware that the state has socialized healthcare for everyone who works at least 20 hours a week and this has been working for 4 decades now!!! It works folks! It works!! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! It was actually pathetic how stupid the Reps were when interviewed by comedians....
If you are in the US, Hulu has it, I think it was the Feb 11th show: http://www.hulu.com/search?query=JON STEWART&st=0
I watched that, as I watch most Stewart shows. It was illuminating...yet mum is the word with the politicians.
Do they use tourism funds not available in other states? Or do they use exorbitant property taxes? I'm asking.
I am not sure exactly how it works, but most Hawaiians are happy with it, at least they were in the interview and they didn't vote against it for 40 years... By the way Massachusetts also has a very liberal big coverage state health care system... After a quick search: "But perhaps the most intriguing lesson from Hawaii has to do with costs. This is a state where regular milk sells for $8 a gallon, gasoline costs $3.60 a gallon and the median price of a home in 2008 was $624,000 — the second-highest in the nation. Despite this, Hawaii’s health insurance premiums are nearly tied with North Dakota for the lowest in the country, and Medicare costs per beneficiary are the nation’s lowest. Hawaii residents live longer than people in the rest of the country, recent surveys have shown, and the state’s health care system may be one reason. In one example, Hawaii has the nation’s highest incidence of breast cancer but the lowest death rate from the disease." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/health/policy/17hawaii.html
Jesus Christ. I couldn't even imagine the kind of tax rates they have where milk is $8 a gallon. All this for free healthcare? Not worth it to me. I pay $35 a month for healthcare. It's POCKET CHANGE! I'd pay AT LEAST 10-20X that amount in other crap just covering the taxes. Again, not worth it. Current cost of milk for me: 1Gal = $3.10 Current Local Home Avg Cost = $110K Current Cost of Gas = 1Gal = $2.49 Avg Life Expectancy (for my city) Males-74 Current Cost of Medical Insurance = $35/mo
$8.00 for milk? Is that before taxes? Yeesh, and I thought where I live was expensive. California does have government funded health care for children under 19 within a certain income bracket though and it's coverage is amazing, even the best health insurance company in CA doesn't come close. My brother's ADHD medication which costs over $150 without insurance and $25 with private health insurance is only $4 with the state's. He even gets doctor visits and prescription glasses for under $10! I just paid almost $60 for my glasses and I pay for really good insurance.
Hawaii is a small, isolated wealthy State - yeah, I can see a form of universal health care could work there. I don't think we Americans over on the mainland have the sort of National identity to support universal health care. There's too many cheats that will screw the system. The only solution is a massive increase in the number of registered MDs/Dos and let the market, media and internet do the rest. Anything other than this and we'll just see more fraud and free-loading.
That is a very nice way of saying that Americans are a nation of cheaters. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
