YOUR COMMENTS

Maybe if Hillary were nice enough to give back the money she and her husband are now charging our Government that $10,000.00 a month to house the Secret Service, they have. Then maybe if the Clinton's were to stop charging the Government that much money which by the way is also the cost of their house payment, we might be able to have more insurance coverage for all. That way we aren't wasting our taxpapers money on making thier monthly house payment bill. Wouldn't it be so nice if all of us could have the Government make our house payments for us.
Hillary and Bill need to think things through a little more careful, before judging others along with talking out of thier hats. Make some honest answer's to questions asked you Hillary, instead of coming up with a quick one liner.
- Andrea, Goffstown, NH

The answers to curb the rising health care costs in this country are through Americans being able to make choices in a free-market where competition is priority. If gas costs 5 dollars a gallon at every station in Manchester, but is offered at one dollar a gallon at a station in Goffstown. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out who would see an increase in customers if quality and service at the Goffstown station were on par with the Manchester stations. Thus, the Manchester stations would be required to bring their costs down inorder to be more competitive with Goff.. I highly doubt anyone with benefits is able to pin-point the acutal cost of a doctors appointment and blood test. They will tell you their co-pay, but not the actual cost of the visit and test. The consumers of health care in this country with benefits, in most cases, is made with convience, likability and qualifications of the doctor in mind. Their "actual" cost is never brought into play, probably. Why should it when all you have to pay is a low co-pay. This allows the health care industry to charge whatever they can get away with because the actual consumer is not paying the full cost for the services rendered. In closing, I am against Universal health care and would champion to scrap the present system in favor of one totally based on free choice and competition. Doctors want spend time with patients; not pushing papers!!
- Rick, Lancaster

Almost 1 Trillion spent on rebuilding Iraq, but God forbid someone mention health care for ALL Americans.
- Joe Jackson, Merrimack

John you didn't answer my fundamental question; is unlimited healthcare a right or a commodity? Should one individual require a Million Dollars in treatment, regardless of the odds of success, or maybe life will only be extended a short time should all of us pay for that treatment? Health care and health insurance costs are obtacles and or threats to the financial security of many. Does that constitute a crisis? Technically Social Security is not a welfare program since everyone pays and everyone can receive, same with Medicare. Will Universal healthcare result in new taxes?
I am not opposed to the idea, afterall people 65 and over have universal healthcare. To me the question of it being a right vs. commodity should be answered first. If it is deemed by the electorate to be a right, make it one and then pay for it. All I am hearing from politicians is "I have a plan" to fix a problem, but as a country we are not unified that we have a problem or that healthcare should be fundamental a right. Seems to me something this big, this personal should be an issue we vote on specifically rather than for a candidate running on a platform. Too often politicians promises go unmaterialized.
- Pete, Dover

Wow what mean spirited, small minded, misery loves company pack of responders! Do these negative thinkers accept the reality of the situation we are in NOW when denigrating any attempt at IMPROVEMENT? Is everyone here a big insurance co stock holder? Sounds like they are. Stop defending insurance companies as though they are on your side. They are not.
Guess what cave people, there is so much money to be made in insurance that you can be sure every insurance co now in business will continue to stay in whomever is elected, and still make plenty. What is it about NH people who post to the UL? They don't understand unions, defend big companies like they are angelic institutions, and now with the insurance. Damn if misery doesn't DEMAND company here.
- John Tomase, Pelham

If you look at the witches plan it is like all the other things she propses. No real solutions and no real answers. I agree that getting the feds involved totally in healthcare is a disaster waiting to happen. All anyone needs to do is look at the Medicare, Medicade program we have now and look at how much fraud there is. Do you really think that if doctors are told that they can only get "X" amount for a service that they will want to saty here and practice? If so then look at Canada and see how their system is working out. I am so tired of hearing about the "poor people without coverage". Yes it is too bad but fix the system and not try to make into yet another govenment fraud program that only makes those who get it dependent on it and no incentive to do things for themselves. It's easy to sit back and say "give me, give me" and a lot harder to say I can't do it because the costs are too high. What ever happened to people helping people, bartering for things and just plain doing something out of the goodness of your heart instead of the money in your wallet?
- Bill B., Pelham

Just yet another dependent creating social welfare plan to gain generations of government dependent people that the Democrats will have control over. (They call them potential voters). When the number of people providing these subsidized funds becomes outnumbered by the number of abusers....oops, I mean users, this country and all the principals of its foundations will be gone. Just rename us Mexico North or The United Socialists of America. Communism failed, so why are Democrats pursuing it????? Power & Control, thats why. Whos in charge of our schools now that the Democrats have power in this state???? The Stae is. Wait til they get their hands on Health Insurance. Long lines at the doctors office, waiting lists for needed operations, etc. And a 60% tax rate on all you used to earn. (Ask a Canadian why they come here for treatments)
- Mike, Candia

Is it not interesting that two areas of the economy running far ahead of the rate of inflation are subsidized heavily by the federal government; health care and college education. It seems to me when the federal government made massive amounts of money available for health care through Medicare and Medicaid and varous student aid programs; the cost of each ballooned. Could it be the case the government by making more money available to each has contributed to pushing the cost up of each? Unintended but very real consequences? Would healthcare be less expensive if there was more competition for patients? I am pretty sure federal and state governments control how many and where hospitals and nursing homes can be built. Part of the high cost in healthcare is driven by present government control. Now they have helped create the problem, politicians want us to believe the government is the solution. I believe it's an honest question, are any of us entitled/have a right to healthcare, and if so how much? Should it be unlimited? Is it garanteed in the Constitution? If not should it be? It is a fundamental question because to ensure that everyone has that right means some people will lose their rights to their material wealth by taxes or fees needed to cover the cost of "Universal Healthcare". It seems to me more so than any previous generation we are prisoners of the health care industry with many working simply to maintain group insurance. Although miracle cures and drugs are more availble to us than say our grandparents or great grandparents, I believe prior generations were a more
"free" We have been divorced from the economic realities of life when it comes to healthcare. Our lives are to be extended at any cost, but we expect somebody else is to pay for it, either insurance or the government. Using the same logic being applied to healthcare we should all have jobs that pay $200,000 a year, or we should all be driving new Cadillacs. What is the difference? There is no such thing as government money, it comes from all us and the government takes a huge cut to boot. If we truly want to make healthcare affordable the place to start would be allowing competition and people making choices about what healthcare they will buy (and the chances they take) as we do in every other aspect of life. With the help af many politiicians and decades of government growth we are conditioned to look to government to take care of us, more and more we look to it to be our parent.
- Pete, Dover

MickNH, although your intentions may be in the right place it's not fair to say that the proposed government health insurance would be comparable to what private insurance companies are currently offering. Canada comes to mind whenever this topic is brought up. Despite the fact that the average family is taxed over 40% with combined federal and provincial taxes, you'd be surprised how many Canadians come to America for treatment because their health care system is subpar to ours. Moreover, It's not fair to hand out health insurance saying it's our RIGHT when it's a clearly a PRIVLEDGE. America has been and is always about freedom of choice. Once we implement systems like this, we're destroying the foundation that this country was built upon.
- John Franzen, Manchester, NH

It is true that governmental administrative costs are lower than private health plans, it is the doctors administrative costs and the higher costs for the care charged to the government that is driving up costs. Ask any doctor how much more in office costs and red tape is driving up their costs for the patient care, they'll tell you that the compliance rules and the time and energy it takes to collect from the feds adds cost.

Ask why the rents in housing funded areas are generally higher than in no government subsidized rents, its because of the red tape and the added cost of the distruction to the properties that are caused by the non-working welfare recipients.

. And the feds were never supposed to have a police force. They were only supposed to have military for the common defense of the States, and infrastructure for the common good of the States. The Constitution is a straight forward document that is being twisted by communists
- Marc, Raymond

Kevin, Let the kids and poor cough in the corner while you debate government intervention with your BC/BS card secure in your wallet. Happy belated Thanksgiving.
- Mike, Hampton

Kevin,

Administration costs under medicaid are much lower than they are under most if not all private health care plans.

I feel fortunate to have excellent health care coverage from my employer and feel that all Americans should have the opportunity to have the same level of care.

It is true that nowhere in the Constitution does it state that the government should provide health care but (subject to my faulty memory) but it also doesn't require government funding of Police and Fire Departments. It also doesn't cover the funding of Abstinence Only Education in the schools.

It is a slippery slope to start talking about what is not in the Constitution. The Constitution was always meant to be a living document.
- MickNH, Manchester

They're debating the wrong thing. Instead of trying to fine-tune government management of healthcare, they should be discussing how to get government OUT of healthcare. Government intervention in markets always increases costs to the consumer, and decreases the quality of services (because provider resources are diverted to paperwork compliance and billing, instead of providing care to the patient). I challenge anyone to find where the Constitution authorizes the federal government to either provide healthcare for anyone, or dictate how providers must accept payment.
- Kevin, Lancaster