What do you guys think about free equal health insurance for everyone in the United States?

In the film sicko by Michael Moore free health insurance its discussed and i believe we should do what Canada, France, London and many other countries have do and give everyone free health insurance. It seems like the right think to do and i was very shocked when i watched the movie, when doctors had to make choices of not operating some one because he had no money and he died because of this. This is very unethical and i think something should really be done about this , in the countries that i mentioned that would never happen .I believe its very wrong to deny some one an operation because of no money , that鈥檚 denying the right to life.

The arguement is who pays, and who controls the decisions.

Instead of working half a year to pay taxes for benefits I dont receive. I would much rather keep my own money, and buy my own insurance.

People can press their local governments to do something as well. There are some cities that offer insurance to low income & self employeed individuals at a group rate (cheaper than single party)

The problems addressed in sicko dealt with people who DID have insurance, who were denied coverage.

Our current insurance system places the monitary priority to the share holders & maintaining profits, and NOT to the insured.

Its simple.. Insurance companies should actually insure their patients. They should give the benefits they promise to the patients, without the need for patients to file legal action to get the coverage they paid for.

Having nationalized medicine in a capitalist socieity is not a good mix imo. We would be giving more tax dollars into the hands of private businesses whose primary goal is to make a profit.

I do not see the government limiting the profits of those companies.

Start asking yourself why the medication is so much cheaper in those other countries? Its because the pharm companies can charge the insurance companies so much. So they do. Its because the FDA has limited our choices when it comes to over the counter & prescription drugs, giving certain companies monopolies over certain types of drugs. The FDA also restricting and invalidating the benefits of holistic medicines & natural remedies, forcing us to rely on the medical industrial complex to solve our problems.

Some natural remedies (such as weed for some ailments) are illegeal, forcing us to rely on higher priced prescriptions.

Check out Ron Pauls page where he talks about heathcare. With so many years as a physician, he knows first hand the problems doctors have with the insuance companies.

Canada,France and London have the right idea.I agree

Don't forget Michael Moore's "documents" are exagerated and sometimes to the extreme.

But, I do believe universal health care would greatly benefit our country in the long run. The problem, how much it'll cost the government to get it up and running.

My solution, stop the funds towards the war and use it for the program and our education system.

I was born and raised in Europe and half of my relatives live in the UK. I thus know that Michael Moore's movie sicko is very deceiving. I would rather be sick in the USA. When I travel to Europe I make sure that I buy special insurance that includes repatriation to the USA.

It would be a very good thing of course and help many people, but our country is in so much debt right now I doubt it would happen. It would just dig our country into a deeper hole and is not a top priority, especially with the wars going on.

I'm not saying that I don't agree with your no money no operatoin policy is wrong, because I do. I just think its not something that will be happening anytime soon.

I think it's a good idea, but it's probably too hard to implement in the USA.

Also -- London isn't a country.

I totally agree.

I am not familiar with health care anywhere but Canada and the U.S.A. But based on that, I feel Canada is doing a better job all around.

lol...I see you watched sicko, I am canadian living in US and I think it's better to be here and have my husbands insurance. otherwise if you are on hmo you are nothing different from those countries.

I agree with Moore he has a point. but tell me something what's stopping you guys from going to one of those countries?? no matter what happens with health everyone cares about money, and in that US currency rocks!!! and that's what keeps everyone from talking about health insurance.

i dont know what i am talking about i got so much to say ,but it's this question requires an essay answer.....dont have time for that

there are 3 solutions: socialized medicine, free market healthcare, or the corporate system we have now.

socialism may sound like the best choice, but i assure u it is not. the free market system would work cheaper and more effectively with everyone if they'd remove some governmental regulations.

also, when u give the system to the government, the government gets to decide which treatments work for you, and which won't. this should be a decision between patients and doctors.

No such thing as free. Someone pays for it, whether it is the sick person, insurance company, taxpayer, healthcare provider, etc. Doctors in other countries do the exact same thing. There isn't enough money for everyone to have every procedure....in Canada, France, Japan, etc., people still die waiting for an available procedure.

That is not denying a right to life. Hospitals don't go around shooting or stabbing people. You are just as 'responsible' for not paying for their procedure as anybody else.

I haven鈥檛 seen the film, but even if I had, I wouldn鈥檛 base an opinion solely on a documentary without researching its accuracy (I not saying it鈥檚 accurate or inaccurate, because I don鈥檛 know).

Personally, I don鈥檛 particularly want the government managing my health care, because they are horrible managers.

You said: 鈥済ive everyone free health insurance鈥?br> It鈥檚 NOT free. Someone will have to pay for it and that someone is the taxpayers, and as usual it will be the middle-class that gets hit the hardest with this raise in taxes that will result. My taxes are already so high I can barely make ends meet each month, and yet, I *scrape* money together to pay for health insurance because I realize that it鈥檚 not anyone鈥檚 responsibility to pay for my healthcare. Just like it shouldn鈥檛 be my responsibility to pay for other people鈥檚 healthcare. Harsh? Maybe. But the taxpayers are getting feed up with the 鈥榶ou owe me/I have a right to鈥?attitude that too many people have. So here's a suggestion--people need to get an education so they can get a job that pays them enough money that they afford to purchase health insurance.

And in the US no one is denied emergency health care. Even if you can鈥檛 afford to pay, the hospital will treat you. Of course, somebody has to pay for it in the end.

I agree that Moore is deceiving in his doco - I lived all my life in Canada and, while you don't have to pay for health care, you certainly get what you pay for! The waiting times are so ridiculous, people often go across the border and pay for things like MRI's and cat-scans because otherwise they'd be waiting for a year. A YEAR!!! Can you imagine blowing out your knee and having to wait a year to get an MRI to see what's wrong. Then, you'll need to get on a waiting list to see a specialist, then a surgeon, then get on the surgery waiting list. By then, you'll be retired so I guess it won't matter so much! If it's not life-threatening, you're screwed. If it is life-threatening, you're double screwed. It sucks! I'd rather pay if given the choice.

Nothing is free. Taxes would go up to pay for it. I prefer making my own decisions about my health. We can all see how well government agencies work here. Just look at the VA or any other government agency.