Discussion:

Discussion for article #229948

Such trivial distraction. What America wants needs to know is, did she vote for Obama both times?

Not sure but when there’s a war to be started she’s a definite ‘yes’.

She’ll still have to deal with a Republican Congress and a Right Wing Hate Machine that will use the “L” word about her endlessly the same way they use the “N” word with Obama.

I think we should try to close the gap between our system and the East Asian modeled used in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. These are perhaps the best bang for the buck systems in the world, with Taiwan being the best. I currently use Korea’s.

The main difference is in two areas.

(1)
Cost containment. The East Asian model has a cost setting commission consisting of consummer groups, insurance companies on the one side and health care providers on the other negotiating to determine just what a procedure should cost - with the government as an arbitrator. Persumably this would be done by regions as healthcare providers in New York City face different costs from those in Hooterville. This system works quite well.

(2)
Centralized processing. There is one centralized claims processing entity. They issue health insurance cards to consumers. You visit a healthcare provider. They provide service. The service has a set fee provided by the cost setting commission. They collect from you the copay. They file a claim on your behalf thru the central processing entity, the entity withdraws the money from the insurance company and pays the provider. The central processing entity functions virtually as a single provider. At this point the insurance company functions almost entirely like a bank. You deposit your premiums, the central processing entity withdraws the payment.

It is not a bad deal for the insurance companies, as their overhead goes way down. Essentially payment services have been socialized by sharing the overhead through the single processing entity. This can be done because the cost commission has standardized the cost of procedures.

I’ve worked in Korea a number of years, with people from Canada and the UK, and especially a couple of women who were pregnant, they thought this was a way better system than they had at home.

We are essentially, only two steps removed from having this system. Call it Ninja-fication of the healthcare system. In fact I have slogan for it too: destination ninjafication.

If Dems start talking “ninjafication”, then it looks to the public as if they are driving forward even as the GOPers are trying to go backward. The per capita per month cost of health care in Korea is $183. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_(PPP)_per_capita

(In Korea the Employer pays half the premium and the Employee pays half the premium out of their paycheck - they can see any doctor in the country).

And there is no one better equipped to handle that with such strength, power and grace.

What I like about Hillary is she is a rough and tough street fighter. She has no glossy eyed ideas about the Republicans, like Obama had coming into office. She is the person who invented the “vast right wing conspiracy” theme when dealing with them.

Also, while Obama was President and Hillary was Sect of State, the conservatives started saying nice things about Hillary. Hopefully the videos are all stored away and ready to go. Hillary will be able to use their own words to advocate for her and refute anything new that they throw at her.

True, but she won’t waste 6 years trying to get them to go to the prom with her.

I used to work for a Japanese corporation, and while I’m not familiar with the system first-hand, there was similar sentiment among my Japanese colleagues at the time healthcare reform was the big issue. They loved their system and were baffled at why the U.S. was so adamant about keeping the shittiest system imaginable among developed nations. Unfortunately I feel like we’re at a point in the U.S. where we aren’t even allowed to discuss better plans that have existing models in other countries to work from. Fox News will call it SSOXLIMIALISM!!! and we’d get town halls filled with Jazzy Scooters, tri-corner hats and incoherent signs… and then POOF! - no reform.

And you would be correct. Even more importantly, after all the political capital…on both sides…was spent over Obamacare, dragging the American public back through more healthcare debates is not going to be particularly popular.

Personally, I doubt anyone tries any major healthcare initiatives again for at least 20 years.

Whisper sweet nothings in my ear, Hillary.

GAWD NO…how about term limits, how about getting BIG MONEY out of our campaigns, how about NO MORE ENTITLEMENTS for OIL COMPAIGNS, how about REGULATING Banks…HOW ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS GET A BACKBONE???

For the millions who can’t get it, can’t afford it or who are afraid they may lose what they have, sure its a national issue for a national presidential election.

And if the Congressional Republicans try to tamper with Medicare or defund ObamaCare after millions now depend on it as Paul Ryan has suggested and Ted Cruz is bragging they will, it will suddenly scare even their own base into full crisis mode. I’m sure the Roberts Supreme Court will do its bit to make sure it does.

Conservatives certainly can’t live without it as the Far Right sees Ebola lurking around every corner while a black man lives in the White House.

Early hints at Clinton’s 2016 message, themes that have been repeated throughout her recent public speaking appearances, signal that it will focus heavily on income inequality, the middle class, and growing wages.

What a load of codswallop. Obama and Hillary are both heavily invested in making the TPP happen, which would undermine all of the above, and more.

Remember when both Obama and Hillary were pretending to be anti-NAFTA, to the point where they even suggested giving it a make-over? That was some first class acting!

My how things change.

Somehow videos of conservatives praising Clinton’s triangulation and corporate appeasement doesn’t do much for me.

I guess we can talk about Hillary. What I want to know whether she cares about America and Americans as much as she cares about her place in history. I am looking for somebody who hasn’t sold her soul to big money to be the first woman President. I am not sure I see that person when I look at Hillary.

Well, my post was about what Hillary or some other Dem could get behind on the issue of healthcare - and these are incremental changes to the existing system. A price control commission and a centralized processing service. I don’t really believe these ideas would offend any entrenched interest in the relevant industries so no intense intrenched lobbying from highly interested parties, just the GOP trying to stop progress on the issue.

An additional idea is bargaining for drugs, but that proposal would trigger intense lobbying from entrenched intrest (big pharma) so that would have to wait for another day. But those other ideas are not “undoable.” I think they are very doable, beyond keeping the ACA as is intact and they would have enormous effect on society and the economy. By the way, I think one reason economic growth has picked up a tick lately is because of the the savings generated by the ACA, which has put more purchasing power in the publics hands, in the aggregate, thus increasing aggregate demand.

Sounds like socialism, where cost of services are predetermined and fixed in price.

Americans need to speak up loudly for Democrats, or Obamacare will be stripped away as people cheer…then die, of course.

We should speak up for Democratic values, not “Democrats” who simply are identifying themselves as such.

Blind support of politicians simply for they color of their jersey is a losing strategy in the long run.