Michael Moore’s Sicko Misses the Solution: Health Savings Accounts
Michael Moore’s new movie SICKO is a humorous and at times emotionally moving look at the state of U.S. healthcare, but it promotes a solution (government healthcare) that would only make matters worse. Instead of more bureaucracy and government control, we should be encouraging competition among healthcare providers and personal responsibility among consumers. Health savings accounts, or HSAs, do just that, and are the future of healthcare in America.
Many well-meaning people believe that a government take-over of healthcare coverage, called a “single-payer” system, is the answer. But if one simply looks at the countries that currently have single-payer systems, it is quite apparent that they are failed systems, with the citizens of these countries clamoring for change.
Because demand goes up when prices go down, the only way a government that provides “free” healthcare can control cost is by limiting access. So citizens in countries with single-payer systems always suffer long waits and lack of access to medical care and technologies.
For instance, in Canada there are currently over 800,000 people on waiting lists for medical procedures. The average wait time for people who are referred for surgery is over four months! If it weren’t for the fact that thousands of Canadians come to the U.S. each year for treatment, the average wait times would be even longer.
Per capita, Canada only has 20% the number of MRIs that the U.S. has, and only 14% as many CAT Scans. There are hundreds of prescription drugs available in the U.S. that are not yet available in Canada as they try to control costs.
The situation in Britain is no better, with over 1 million people currently on waiting lists. In June Britain’s Health Department found that 1 in 8 patients waits over a year for scheduled surgery, and shortages are forcing more than 50,000 operations to be cancelled each year.
Waiting for surgery is not just an inconvenience; it can mean the difference between living and dying. For instance, in the U.S. the survival rate for stage 1 colon cancer is 90%; in Britain it is 70%. American women diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer have a 97% survival rate after 5 years; in Britain it’s only 78%.
As Americans contemplate copying these failed systems, citizens in Europe and Canada are headed in the opposite direction. Germany just recently passed laws to enhance insurance competition, Sweden has begun privatizing some of its healthcare, and millions of Europeans are finding ways to opt-out of their government healthcare systems.
In Britain there are now over 6.5 million people who carry private insurance, despite the availability of “free” coverage from their NHS. Another 250,000 self-fund each year for acute private surgery, because they don’t want to or cannot afford to wait. Even the Labour party now favors privatization of healthcare in Britain.
In 2005 the Canadian Supreme court issued a ruling which stated, “The prohibition on obtaining private health insurance… is not constitutional where the public system fails to deliver reasonable services.” Private healthcare clinics are now opening in Canada at the rate of one per week.
Unfortunately, under a socialized system, your body and your life are no longer under your control.
Isn’t it amazing that some of the same people who criticize government ineptness – including Katrina, the many screw-ups in the war on terror, No Child Left Behind, and more – actually think the government would do a good job managing the nation’s healthcare?
Freedom, choice, and innovation are what have given us the highest quality healthcare in the world. We absolutely do need change, but the answer is less government intervention, not more. By encouraging consumer-driven solutions, competition, and price transparency, we can help avoid the healthcare disaster that government control would bring.
One big part of the solution that is already beginning is the adoption of Health Savings Accounts. Over five million Americans already have an HSA set up, and over five billion dollars is already invested in these special bank accounts.
People who have an HSA can set aside money to pay for future medical expenses, and get a tax deduction to do so. Because you must have a high-deductible health plan to contribute to an HSA, these plans encourage people to more carefully spend their healthcare dollars, since money they don’t spend stays in the HSA.
The result is that medical providers once again are competing for customers by lowering prices, and increasing quality and convenience. Already we are seeing plummeting prices on prescription drugs, and low-cost medical clinics spring up in Wal-Mart and other retail locations.
As more and more people obtain HSAs, we will not only see a benefit for the consumers, but we will also begin to see more people who take a proactive attitude when it comes to their health. A Health Savings Account owner who exercises and eats right will likely have a much larger balance in their account by the time they retire.
These changes will result in a healthier and wealthier group of retirees and a smaller burden on our tax system in the future.
Here this nice Video about health department
What you are about to see is all true… digital health department presents, Amazing Restaurant Violation.. well, i just hope you are no hungry or eating…LOL 
… digital health department Amazing Restaurant Violation food mcdonalds gross yucks do not eat
Find your answer for your own question related to health department
Does the state health department work at the national or state level?I know this is a stupid question, but just because something is at the level of a state department it doesn't always mean they work for the state. So does the state health department work to protect health at the national, or state level?
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The suspect is Vi the Virus. The Health Department is watching for her. If Vi, the Virus, shows her ugly mug, we’ll be ready!
At the clinic they did a pregnancy test and ultrasound ..than the Tech signed a paper that confirmed pregnancy that I could send in with my other information.
A. No
B. Supervisor in Home and Community Based Services
C. 37 years
D. Knowing I am helping the poor and elderly
E. Low pay
F. Get an advanced degree
G. Was interested in helping people. Probably wouldn't do it again.
If you have insurance, you have to tell the health department. It's fraud to say you don't have insurance and get a cheap rate.
It varies a lot. You will have to call. If you live in an urban or depressed area, you will probably have a better chance at getting it for free or very low cost. These programs can be funded by the federal government but administered by states, counties, cities or towns, or even nonprofit groups. And then again, some of them are privately funded.
Unless you put your city and state here and someone sees it and knows, you will simply have to call. Or on second thought, you might be able to find out by doing a web search also.
Yes, county employees can be really bad about returning calls.
Even if you don't have your receipts, take them back to the store and get your money back or get replacements. The store where your Mother purchased the drinks is not rotating their stock.
I have had so much trouble with our local Safeway. I bought some tapioca and when I cooked it, it did not firm up. I checked the date and it had been expired for 3 years!!! I bought 4 cans of table cream. All four of them were outdated. One was almost 2 years out of date and two were six months out of date and the last one was only a month out of date.
I returned the cans of table cream to safeway (along with a picture of the contents of the one that I had opened and it was nasty looking. It was the one that was 2 years out of date) The store manager tried to tell me that the dating system is different with every company. That is true and I am aware of that…but the cans were clearly dated with the month, day and complete year. When I showed him the bottom of the can he was at a loss for words. He gave me my money back and I went to check the shelves and found 4 more out of date cans, which i took to the manager.
Now, I check the dates on everything that I buy at Safeway and if I find a product that is outdated, I take it up to the customer service desk.
I guess that the manager must have gotten tired or me bringing things up to the customer service desk, because i have not found any outdated products in the last few months.
Of course NYC has a health department! You can check out this website for more information on applying for a food vending permit. I believe there is a waiting list!
You can also call 3-1-1 for more information.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/inspect/insp.shtml
I assume the problem is real based on what you describe. It is a serious health issue.
There are several options that the Health Dept can take. I suspect they will receive a court-backed order to hook you to the sewer line and place a lien against your house for the costs involved.
Also, your neighbors could sue the pjs out of you if you do not rectify the situation post haste. You could also face suits from a variety of environmental groups.
Best deal with the real issue.
Look in the phone book under Orange County for county health department.
Yes. Planned Parenthood does IUD's and they are located in most cities/towns.
your contractor should get all the appropriate permits you need for the job along with having it inspected after installation
Yeah. they will come periodically and check out the kitchen and dining area for cleanliness, and to ensure that you are safely preparing food. they will check you all the time, and in Texas, you have to keep the most current report posted for the public to see.
Are you serious? As a professional who teaches preschool students and other young learners, I am appalled that you would even consider allowing an employee to work with children in a room that contains chemicals. Your employee should not only call the Health Department, she could call whatever organization issues your license. Someone who would consider firing an employee showing concern for the welfare of children has no business working with preschoolers. You deserve to be reported!
Yes, well depending on your income. If you don't have any insurance and a very low income they can supply it to you for free, or they might charge you, but it won't be much. Depending on the birth control it can be anywhere from $5-$40. [also, again, depending on your income] You can call and ask, or go and talk to them.
Hope this helps
i dont know where you live but the go to the county and ask them for a program called MIA it stands for Medical Indigent Adult its offered by they county for low income people who have no insurance its a headache hassle tho u gotta take ur check stubs for last 3 months your rent mortgage if u got ur car insurance your fone pill your car loan if u got there is alot of things u gotta take but call your local county hospital ask them for that program majority of counties have it maybe they call it something else but this is in central california in stanislaus county where i live this is what its called once again MIA Medical Indigent Adult they should help you out you pay nothing maybe depending on your income youll be made to pay a copay but thats bout it hope it helps a bit
Only if they have a program where a doctor will see you and write the prescriptions, free or at a low cost. A doctor must base the new prescriptions on your past and current condition.
A doctor must decide whether your continued prescription should remain the same, be adjusted, or even be replaced by something else that might help you more. Many drugs should not be prescribed longer than a certain amount of time. Furthermore, your body could get used to one drug after a while and you may not still be getting the same results and you might be switched to something else for that reason.
Also, sometimes a drug might have been found out to have side effects that weren't known about before and the doctor may decide to switch you to something safer.
All these decisions will most often be determined based on your replies to the doctor's questions plus maybe one or more blood/urine tests.
Of course, this is all based on the assumption that you'll be seeing a good doctor. I don't believe that the odds are good of that happening if you get a doctor doing your examination under a free or very low cost government program where there's a line a mile long with people who can't afford a regular doctor… by appointment, who's been chosen by the patient because he's/she's good.
I'm not sure about the health department, but Planned Parenthood gives free pregnancy tests.
Not as long as you are in a lease. Just to keep the peace, when you call the health department, explain to them that you are concerned about hostility and you'd like to remain anonymous. I'm sure they'd understand.
You can read about your renters rights, just search for it online, they are very specific. It may be called the Fair Housing Act ???
no hun you don't have to have a parent
Yes, you should feel obligated to report them. Just so you are aware they will keep it confidential and no one needs to know it was you. If it's fear of reprimand from the bosses and such, you can keep your name out of it. If it's fear of being unemployed, there are other places to work. Please, don't wait until a little kid or old lady dies from botulism or ecoli. They are the high risk groups. You think the theatre has problems now…… Good luck. I hope you make the right decisions and report it.
Black Mold is serious and it can ruin your health. When you breath the mold spores are pulled into your lungs. The lungs are a perfect spot for mold to live and mulitple. And it is hard to kill off. I stays in your system affecting areas of your health such as memory loss, lack or coordination, dizziness, coughing, tired all the time, and much more. Many people have lived with the effects for years as there is no real cure.
But before you get too scared, black mold is a type of mold and it has a very long name. It is caused from years of moisture problems and rarely happens overnight. You can get it quicker if the conditons are right and it can spread until it ruins a building.
Just because you see mold and it is black, it does not mean it is the terrible "Black Mold" as it may be another type. There are many types of mold. None are good for you but many you can cure. Any type of mold needs to be addressed and the moisture problems need to be corrected.
Any water damage that is left un-fixed should be reported first to the Property Manager or the owner. If no action in a reasonable amount of time, call the heath department or building inspector. A building inspector will inspect the whole building and close it down in health hazards exist or it is not up to code. The owner will have to board it up and vacate tenants and this nulls your lease.
If the owner takes action and fixes the building problems in the time given by the inspector, you will have to stay and pay off your lease. Many times numerous other items show up, especially on older buildings, and the owners can not afford to fix all the problems. This happened to me and I am in Real Estate.
A old Victorian building I owned with 7 units was turned in the the inspector. He came out an wrote 5 pages of violations. Like the foundation was not to code the windows were too small by 1/4 inch and minor stuff. We had to board it up and vacate tenants. We did not agree with the findings as this was an old building and many like it were all over the area. We later found out the Hospital wanted our property to build a parking garage. They came while we were suffering with the mortgage and the vacated building and offered us a low low figure. We took it as we had no choice. But this example shows you just how ruthless a Building Inspector can be.
Good Luck
in ga you can go to any county you want to. check with your helth department and find out!