3 Changes That Could Improve Retirement

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Both of you (Waldo and Philip) are "big sissies". Neither of you have the courage to take-on the BS healthcare system hat we currently have in the US.
The free market (for US healthcare) has been usurped by a few inlfuential business organizations -- with the help of state and federal politicians.
To improve our healthcare system in all aspects, we must force complete and open competition (nationwide) on the following:
- Hospitals
- Clinics
- Replace the AMA... (they are ruining us)...
- Medical Schools (promote more of them - as opposed by the AMA)
- Insurance companies (again - nationwide competition)
- Doctor's groups
How do you do that?
1. ALL charges must be simple and posted (for every single procedure).
2. Let everyone choose their "level of care"... based on prices.
3. Promote growth in new medical schools at reduced rates...
4. Promote viscious competition for insurance companies, including competing with a low-cost government alternative.
5. Require pharmacies to buy prescription drugs under competitive bidding process...
... in other words --- remove all barriers to free and open healthcare competition. So many current barriers have been "influenced" by certain healthcare organizations that there is no free market in the US. One of these is the idea that insurance providers only compete at the state level.
Also, do not allow insurance companies to determine coverage (or no coverage) on an individual case/procedure basis. Either something is covered by a given plan, or not... period.
Let's stop protecting the compensation of:
- Doctors
- Administrators
- Nurses
- Firemen
- Paramedics
- Medical School professors and administrators
- the AMA folks...
Total... free and open competition...
Solution made...
Simple...
Just requires hard discipline...
:)

Solutions Galore of IL 3:07PM March 01, 2011

So, your answer is variations of 1) another goivernment program and then 2) another government program, and then 3) another government program.
But these new programs, of course(!), will all be much better than all earlier (and failed to one degree or another) government programs.
What about personal responsibility? Taking care of yourself, and saving for your own future needs? What is so hard about this basic idea? It's also called 'personal discipline' ... not buying something now so you can buy something even more important tomorrow....
You need it 'down the road' but decide not to save for it? That means you've also decided to live without it. It's that simple.
I'm all for a (very) basic social safety net. But we _WILL_ get more of what we subsidize, so we need to be careful how comfortable we make that net.
This coddling approach has not, and will not, get us where we all want to go as individuals and as a country. Doing more variations on the same theme simply will not solve the problem.

Waldo of RI 9:57AM March 01, 2011