Things Are Going to Get Interesting

As one of the 47 million who is uninsured I would like to see a health care system where Patients and their health is the top priority and profits are a distant second.  I am not holding my breath however.

If Obama were to win the election and he was able to institute universal healthcare what will that do to the quality of care? To me it seems that if more people are getting care for free that it will eventually hurt the quality of care. I am not an expert, but I have suffered greatly because of this broken healthcare system. Sometimes I wonder if a flight to Cuba would be cheaper than paying hundreds just to see a doctor and then hundreds more to pay for the medication.

Sue...Our health care system is broken - far to many people are suffering and not getting the care they deserve.  The wealthy are oblivious to the problem, or so it seems.  It's not just poor people that are affected here in the 21st century.  Progress with HC has taken a step backward, and it's only getting worse.  The health care industry is profit-driven and has no real interest in the health of individuals.  If anyone hasn't seen  Michael Moore's film/documentary on health care, it's worth watching - a real eye opener.

It's good to know from your sharepost that there is hope for the future in health care.  It will be VERY interesting to see the outcome of this HC reform effort.  I'll keep my fingers crossed. 

My personal view:  I want what Canada and several other countries have - a health care program in which EVERYONE has equal opportunity to have their health care needs met. 

Judy 

As one who has health insurance, I still can't afford my healthcare. I go back and forth all the time as to whether I'd be better off dropping my horrendously expensive COBRA, along with my deductibles and copays and hoping I could still get help somehow, somewhere. Along with all those expenses, the 25% I have to play for my Lamictal, Seroquel and Trileptal, sometimes I have to decide between my meds and how well I get to eat this month.  It seems like the health care system is bottoming out...how much worse can it get except for maybe everybody losing health insurance.

Thank you so much Sue for your thoughts about mental health reform. As a retired therapist who also has bipolar I have known the issues that impact folks with mental health problems for many years. I worked with managed care and it is worse than a "broken system". Funding is only one area in need of reform. I appreciate those of you who can write so well about these issues and hope it results in a better understandng  of mental illness. Annie