American Government health spending seen hitting $1.8 trillion

[mrstickball]

Argh_College said:

mrstickball said:

Argh_College said:

sethnintendo said:

That is what you get with most of the population fat and unhealthy.  Relying on prescription drugs rather than address the real problem.  Americans have become too lazy and will take a cure all pill for anything even though that pill is only hiding symptoms (and probably causing more problems).  Too bad the only way to really address it is with a lifestyle change.  Eating as little processed foods as possible and rarely going to fast food is a start.  Eating what you are supposed to goes a long way.  If you eat shit then you will probably become shit.  You are what you eat.

Thats nor just a US problem but WW.

Well i guess you´re right but most people are lazy and like to eat shit and drink alot. I dont think we can do anything about it...

Sure you can.

It'll have everyone screaming bloody murder in the streets.

Its called "Letting Darwin Do His Thing"

Cut off all subsidies. All freebies. Make people pay for their care, or go to a charity that can help them with their problem on a case-by-case basis. Then, if someone wants to eat cheetoes for lunch and have Mt. Dew for dinner, or have unprotected, STD-ridden sex all the time, they are free to do it. But if they won't get a free ride. In one generation, you'd have all the lazy, (physically) useless people gone, and the ones that survived knowing what it takes to live life proper and in good health. Not because its just the right thing to do, but its the most affordable way to go.

Of course, such a method requires smaller government and a responsible populace. Those are the core reasons we have the problems we do today.

dude thats crazy...

im a healthy person and i wont need any of that thank god im healthy but thats insane, i dont want people to start dying, no matter how shitty they are everyone has the right to live.

Sure, but does everyone have a right to your pocketbook?

I never said that the unhealthy should be barred from recieving care. Just barred from government redistribution of funds through health care. In doing so, you'd create significant incentive to either 1) stay healthy, or 2) be very pro-active about your health care options. Its the same way that the majority of life goes, but has changed as some people believe health care must be given entirely by the government, regardless of merit.

Like Samuel said, nearly every other system works that way - food, shelter, love, and so on. People have incentive, power, and responsibility to choose the best course of action so the best results. People acquire shelter through voluntary trade which ensures that landlords do not artificially inflate prices, or no one could rent, and tenants aren't A-holes to the property so they don't get kicked out. Food gets created, distributed, and eaten based on nutrition and the consumers' desire for specific foods (of course, in the US this is distorted through AG subsidies...)

Health care can work the same way if done properly. Done improperly, people have no incentive to be healthy or rein in costs for services that they do not pay for. You are seeing such things in healthy Canada and the healthy UK, and are seeing the starting stages of unsustainability among their systems.

Let me give you an analogy: I am a landlord. I own an apartment complex. When I got the complex, I provided electricity, heat, water, and trash for all tenants, and they simply had to pay a flat fee which I rarely changed. Problem was, since tenants got "unlimited" services, they felt no desire or need to turn the thermostat down, use less electricity for their needs, or conserve water by any measure. This drove up my costs significantly. In turn, this meant my costs were significantly higher, losing me money.

Eventually, I parsed out electricity and heating bills, giving them to the tenants while lowering their rent by the amount of money saved on my end. When they became responsible for thier heat and electricity, they were much more conservative with their usage: they turned heat down in the winter, and didn't leave lights on when they weren't home. The end result was that we both saved money. Services provided by the goverment, at large, are the same way. You can easily Google my analogy for utility subsidies for landlords, as its a documented fact this happens - to the tune of 30% savings among landlords and tenants when they're responsible for their own bills.