If it does, then Americans will continue to see every fragment of socialism as communism and pure evil and the end of the world.

We've gone over this before, but who's actually making money in health care? The hospitals claim that they're not, the doctors claim that they're not (that's why many of them are quitting). Is it all getting sucked up by insurance and pharmaceuticals, or what?

If you have pre-existing conditions it means that you weren't always covered. Why? And why should I pay for the fact that you were not? The answer may just have to be higher premiums for those who didn't maintain coverage. The current system deals wtih it with a waiting period. If you have a pre-existing condition you must wait for the waiting period and maintain coverage before you can get treated for that condition. That's fair, right? Unless it's urgent, of course. In that case, again I say you should have been coverered. Please do not ask me (I worked 303 hours last month and I'm a part-time PhD student) to pay for your bad choices.

That said, http://www.mercurynews.com/nation-world/ci_24248486/obamacares-winners-and-losers-bay-area

Great article. I love when the Obama supporter said "Of course I want everyone to have health insurance, I just didn't think that I'd be the one paying for it." Don't you love it when people who love to spend other people's money suddenly become the "other people?"

The United States at this point would be bankrupt if it adopted our Canadian health care policy. I'd at least estimate a ballpark figure of $2-$2.5 Trillion per year for their country in costs alone. While our system does not cost us anything up front, it is far from perfect. I sat in emerge 9 (was 18 at the time) once for 14 hours while I had a severe pnuemonia and possible kidney failure waiting for a room (Took 8 hours just to see a doctor). When I was on a trip in Florida my son managed to get a pnuemonia and the hospital had him in a room within 15 minutes and by the time the tests were done and medication given we were out within 2 hours (that was March of this year). However, I had purchased insurance or else it would have been $2000.00

Pharmaceuticals, Biotech and Research Hospitals.

Major Drug Manufactuers make about 23% on average.

12% for other Drug manufactuers

Biotech makes about a 11% profit margin

Not sure about research hospitals, but I do know they make tons of money by exploiting their colleges.

US drug costs, competition forcing hosptials to upgrade equipment far more then other countries and education costs are the three big culprits probably.

Well that and patient distribution.

Rich patients go to the rich hospitals.  They also tend to have the biggest percentage of uninsured people... a lot of whom aren't even from our country.

If we ever do go to full universal healthcare, they would also likely need to have a government takeover of most struggling hospitals.

Which would be fine: a more loose-knit version of Britain's NHS with plenty of cost-effective but non-premium healthcare for the majority with the option to go private if you have the money

Eh... first off

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23315869

additionally, the US has the problem of not being a small island nation where people are clustered on top of each other.

providing hosptials for Montana, Alaska and other places are going to be a lot costlier then the UK.

Our healthcare costs will be significantly higher no matter whose system we adopt due to all kinds of factors, to the point of where there may really be no real solution.

Why do Americans hate taking care of each other so much? That poor guy is trying to bring a great service to the people and he gets demonized for it!

"Obamacare" (Republicans are not the only ones using this name) :S

The poor guy? He is just as bad as Bush Jr. and is in the back pocket of Wallstreet! He knew that back in 2010 the millions of people who would loose their health coverage .Obama has created a health care system that is more beneficial to the insurance companies as it allows them to drop the individual insurance market and force them into this exchange, which has raised some people's coverage over 500%.

If 'Obamacare' fails, we will see an even bigger reform than we are trying now. Our health care system in the United States is horrible, and it's mostly because of the mix of private insurance and laws concerning health-care. Do you guys realize that one of the three big things the U.S. spends tax money on is Medicaid and Medicare. That doesn't even cover everyone either. Insurance doesn't really work if people aren't going to pay for it until they need it.