Is health care...

[ERCougar]

Originally Posted by jay santos

This question prompted a good discussion between wife and I, and I've been thinking about it a lot.

I don't have a good argument against Obama's answer: "in a country as advanced and wealthy as ours, it should be a right."

I think we need to maybe redefine a very basic, bottom line health care plan that is probably fraction the cost of Medicaid/Medicare and make it available universally. It will be free (or subsidized based on income level) but it will be a real PITA to use and you don't get anything that could even be considered elective.

Agreed. In some ways, Medicaid is the best thing out there. What other plans let you have baby after baby after baby and all the ER visits you want without paying a dime? The poor really don't have to suffer too badly in our system--they get better emergency care than anywhere else in the world. It's the middle class that are pinched--that is, until they become poor.