Reining in Medical costs

[Rymramoch]

There has been a lot of discussion lately about Universal Health Care, if it is best for the country, and what form it should take if implemented. Almost all of the discussion is focused on insurance and payment rates as a means of cutting costs, but there is more that could be done: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande
( I would quote but it is 8 pages long)

Dr. Gawande's has some very valid points, which have apparently come to the attention of congress, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/us/politics/09health.html?_r=1&em, but I think they are missing the point. I don't see how blanket-style cuts will actually change anything, this is an issue that needs to be addressed institutionally, during medical training and so forth.

I am currently working for Mayo Clinic and personally believe that all hospitals etc. should be non-profit, so I am obviously biased and was wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on the matter.

[Rymramoch]

Or, apparently no one cares?:(

[Satan's Onion]

I think it's more that Discussion is a forum each subject in which demands a lot of attention and energy, and the regular Discussion posters' energy is, at the moment, committed to the other threads about economics and Judge Sotomayor. I'd recommend patience; it's only been a couple of days. That's how this forum moves--kind of really slowly.

Also, please don't double-post, even to bump your thread.

That said, I'd be just fine with some kind of universal health care. It seems to work just wonderfully in other countries, especially for poor folks (there was a particularly interesting Frontline story on this a while back, I think, examining health care in other countries around the world); and, considering that my family and I are, in fact, poor folks, you might well see why I'd be all for it.

edit: You know what I just realized? You used the correct spelling of "reining" in this context. It's so often misused on the internet these days. Shame on me for not noticing that sooner.

[Rymramoch]

Sorry, had meant to edit, but it was late, or I was tired, or possibly both.....

and thank you, I hate when people use the incorrect word. I know it is pronounced the same, but still.

[Nique]

On the article, TL;DR but from a social standpoint here's my take;

Healthcare seems more like a utility than luxury. We often group in medical professionals with police officers, firemen, etc. as authorities we can trust to protect us, each in their way. As my taxes are already covering the cost of certain methods of protecting myself and others, isn't medical care simply an extension of that?

Also, there's got to be a middle ground here - it's not like anyone's asking for cosmetic surgery to be government sponsored here.