2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session 2013 special election arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration international internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology television terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

Just curious:
1.) What did we do to pay for health care prior to 1950? Were we much "healthier" as a nation then compared to now? Why do we need insurance companies to pay for us anyway? How did this all begin to twirl out of control? Was it during the "Great Society" years with Medicare introduction, or did it happen earlier than that? I think we need to know why costs have ballooned to really get at the root cause.
2.) Why has no one talked about price controls on doctors and hospitals? Is this taboo, or do they also have a large lobby like the pharmaceutial industry does?
3.) Frivolous lawsuits also account for much of the cost problem as well---well-meaning doctors try to protect themselves from us! We need to prevent a law suit at the drop of a hat from occurring, so that we don't have to spend unnecessarily for extra "care" we don't need, in order that the doctor feels protected. We have created too much "victim" mentality in the past 30 years and this is part of the cost of that, in my opinion. I enjoy the freedom to have a second opinion, just don't "over-doctor" me!

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
view in context