Lori,
Living in Canada, I have universal national health care and would like to comment on the points that you have written:
-p 22 of Heath Care bill mandates the government will audit books of all employers that self-insure.
Ensures, for the most part, that the employer is being fair to the employee.
-p 30 Section 123- a government committee will decide what treatment/benefits a person may receive
Would think that his is very unmanageable. In Canada, the health care system determines what services are covered....and most are. But it doesn't determine what services the patient may want. For example, if the patient wants to have some kind of cosmetic plastic surgery, the system will not cover it but the pateint is free to pay whatever plastic surgeon she/he wants to perform the procedure.
-p 50 Section 152 Health care will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Hmmm, don't agree with his. Here, you have to have a Provincial Health Card which is issued by the government and presented every time you require any medical services. There is abuse here where an illegal will "borrow" and friend's card but that is being curtailed with the issuance of photo ID health cards.
-p 58 Government will have real time access to individual's finances and A national ID health card will be issued
They already have via the IRS.
-p 59 lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your bank accounts for electronic funds transfer
Not good at all!!! Doesn't happen here.
-p 72 lines 8-14 Government will create a health care exchange to bring private health care plans under government control
Any private health care company that ties to compete with the government plan is simply not allowed. We do have extended health care private insurance that many people use to cover services that the national plan does not...IE: private hospital room, dental, chiroptractic, optometry etc.
-p91 lines 4-7 Government mandates linguistic appropriate services
Example: translation for illegals
I believe they do their best here to try and communicate with people who don't speak English or French but there isn't anything formal beyond that.
-p 127 lines 1-16 Doctors/AMA - the government will tell you what you can earn
There are limits here what physicians can charge for their services and the rates are set by the government. Of course many docs do not like this but it prevents docs from charging absurd amounts for procedures which are covered. I've yet to meet a poor doc in Canada!
-p354 Section 1177 government will restrict enrollment of special needs people
Always a debatable situation.
You can't have a national system and also allow unlimited charging by the docs. When it comes to national health care, I think the US is about the only country on earth that doesn't have some kind of national plan. Does that make the US right and everyone else wrong? Or just the opposite?
There isn't a national health care plan that is perfect but staying the way the US is now isn't the anwer either.
Harry]