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    <title><![CDATA[Discussion on Cost of health insurance will surpass income by 2033 ]]></title>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773]]></link>
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    <lastBuildDate>2013-06-18T22:09:02-07:00</lastBuildDate>
             

    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Backlash against seniors pending]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-68249]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Since seniors account for a huge percentage of health care costs paid for by private and public plans, combined with Social Security cash benefits, it is fair to assume there will eventually -- fairly soon -- be an uncontrolled backlash against them by younger folks who are slammed against the financial wall but have to pay the cash costs.Europe, Canada, China and even the United States are suffering from this already. It is called ageism. But it is nothing compared to what is about to be unleashed.In looking for an answer to this pending severe economic and social backlash, some secret agencies are likely planning for and/or creating a specific pandemic that quickly culls a majority of the chronically and terminally ill, and old folks.Science fiction?  Nope. Human nature just as civil wars and ethnic cleansing are today and have been throughout history.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-68249]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Rudy Haugeneder]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:13:56 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[But hey...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67531]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[...after your rates go up 2 or 3 times, everything it provides is &quot;free&quot;!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67531]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[JohnMcGrew@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Sat, 31 Mar 2012 03:08:31 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Missing the point.]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67473]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Yes I was being sarcastic.  Glad you are up to speed on that.The point is they already do that kind of age bias medical treatment in the UK.  If a hospital only has enough cancer drugs to treat 1 person and 2 are due for it the younger person always gets the treatment.It is documented fact that the elderly are second class citizens in the UK healthcare system.  Elderly people will wait months to get chemotherapy after a diagnosis.  If they ever get it.If I lived in the UK the heart meds I am on become 100% my responsibility to pay for at age 70.  The government has decided it is not worth it to cover.Forget about a donut hole.  That is pushing most elderly off a cliff.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67473]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Hates Idiots]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:06:56 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Moral question?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67403]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Really the moral question is 'how can such a silly argument be part of such a serious public policy issue?' Your skewed hypothetical doesn't even make the case well, and your conclusion is ridiculous - I know of no Western country with what you might call 'socialised medicine' where the choice would be made on the basis of who is likely to pay the most tax, either by decree or covertly. Haven't you heard of triage?Because of course the real answer in 'free enterprise medicine' land is 'the one with the most money' - whether it was earned (legally or illegally), inherited, or won at poker.I just know I'm going to regret responding - assuming 'You can do better...' was being ironic that was probably a much smarter response.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67403]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[GT in OZ]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:53:38 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[You can do better than that.]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67293]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Make is so that the 65 year old woman was hit by the car being driven by the 25 year old woman.  It adds a bit more injustice to the injury...]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67293]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[JohnMcGrew@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:28:12 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Going Broke the European Way]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67265]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Successful? They are broke or haven't you seen any news dispatches lately. They are throwing everything not tied down overboard in an attempt to keep from sinking. The German people are screaming 'No more' to bailing out failed economies - I hear them. And Health Care is just the opening volley in the U.S.The big debt problem in Europe is pensions that were promised because it was easier than trying to deal realistically with the unions. Health Care - yes we need one system for all - but certainly not the European model as it is a failed system.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67265]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[James-SantaBarbara]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:22:26 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Kill the Goose that laid the Golden Egg]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67273]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Your politics is showing! The job of those evil corporations is to make a profit and in the meantime employ as many people as they need to make a profit.We need the 99% to better themselves, if they are really interested, not to become the 100% by destroying the 1%. Don't like your master? Quit. Don't like your job/duties? Start your own. Then we'll see who is a penny-pinching miser.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67273]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[James-SantaBarbara]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:13:24 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Politics Politics Politics]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67260]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Why don't you just move to a 'developed' country and leave us be. Corporate America has been the most trustworthy provider of health care but it should be out of the business because it makes them less competitive with the rest of the 'developed' world. Your description of government vs. corporation is naive at best. At least businesses must appear to provide a needed product or service to consumers. Government is nothing more than Attorney welfare; of the lawyers, for the lawyers and by the lawyers. What a racket. And who do you think writes those illegible contracts and warranties?Yes single payer! Same coverage for Obama and the homeless lady I passed awhile ago on the street. No veterans health care system, no medicare, no medicaid, and bring a National ID. Thank you.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67260]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[James-SantaBarbara]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:56:53 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Moral question.]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67154]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[A 25 year old women comes into an Er suffering a severe diabetic seizure.  She weighs 300 lbs and is clutching a bag full of cigarettes and Twinkies.At the same time a 65 year old woman comes in suffering injuries from a bad car accident.  She is a healthy weight and was on her daily jog when hit by a car.Here is the tough question.  You have only 1 doctor on hand.  Who lives?  Who dies?  Socialized medicine puts a priority on the younger person every time because it is WORTH IT to keep a young taxpayer alive.  Elderly people costs more.Just look at the headlines out of the UK.  As pointed out in the link from 1999, this age bias in health care has been around for decades in the UK.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/407362.stmhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/elderhealth/9126976/More-than-half-care-home-residents-denied-basic-care-unpublished-data-shows.html]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67154]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Hates Idiots]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Wed, 28 Mar 2012 08:10:18 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Perhaps a rethink needed?]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67088]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I live in Australia, and travel a lot, to all sorts of countries, from the First world to the thirdest of the Third world. And what links the thirdest of the Third and the US? My absolute determination to make sure that if anything happens to me, I have the means to escape the local health care 'system' and get back safe and sound to the Australian health care system - which is not perfect, but is excellent, and thanks to universal health care, affordable. Without going into too much detail, we have a very high quality safety net, paid for by a mandatory income levy of 1.5%, plus the ability to pay for 'gap' insurance.If I may - and I know that there is nothing more annoying than outsiders offering advice - it seems as an outsider that there are three major things undercutting the US's ability to fix healthcare.The first is the ever-increasing power of industries and corporations in your political system. The second is a wide-spread belief that there is no such thing as luck - good or bad - everything is down to personal effort and personal worthiness. And the third is an almost reflexive belief that the US has the best .... [insert legal, medical, prison, airline etc etc] system in the world. Nothing is more certain to block real progress than the belief that you already have the best in the world - even if it is true.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67088]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[GT in OZ]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:47:27 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Can't grow infinitely]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67087]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[What you should hold into account is that these kind of growths can't and will not grow infinitely, their should and will be some kind of slow-down or stop along the way. Like, for instance, a scientific breakthrough that will decrease cost of healthcare.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67087]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[wompai]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:21:03 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Ignore the hype that says Europe is cheaper.  It is old data.]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67102]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Everyone who thinks healthcare is cheaper in Europe is looking at old data the Obama administration threw out to the public during the healthcare bill fight.It was an old 2000 study by the World Health Organization that declared all of Europe provided healthcare at a lower cost per person than the US.  The sad part is they were wrong and later quietly admitted it.The original study in 2000 was flawed in that it only looked at premiums paid in Europe.  They left out co-pays, deductibles and more importantly TAXES.  All of which somehow made it into their US numbers.  In 2003 they came out with a revised study based on a larger data set that included ALL SOURSES of money that paid for European healthcare. Once those factors were added in the US was the cheapest per person cost for healthcare among western nations.  Italy was still one of the best in Europe.After reading the final report I have to admit to liking the Italian operating and funding model.  Healthcare operations and costs are managed at the regional level.Healthcare taxes, done as a property tax, vary from region to region based on how effective the regional management is at managing costs.  The regional healthcare management head is an elected position not a bureaucrat, so quality and cost effective service, good care and low taxes, are what gets them reelected.It would be comparable to our states managing it in the US with an elected official in charge of the State Health Department.Who would have guessed Italy would model something after the method preferred by our founding fathers.  Let states manage their own systems.  Get the feds out of our lives.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67102]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Hates Idiots]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:06:02 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[No, what is greedy...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67070]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[...is people assuming that it's someone's responsibility to pay for their own care.  That costs are out of control is only the logical extension of what happens when people are allowed to consume something with absolutely no concern about what it actually costs.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67070]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[JohnMcGrew@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:37:33 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[And most of those countries...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67069]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[...are bankrupt, if you haven't been reading the paper lately.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67069]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[JohnMcGrew@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:35:20 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Absolutely not.]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67083]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[That's why I think people should be looking out (being responsible) for themselves and making their own decisions instead of relying upon others to do it for them.  You can't endow your trust upon a smaller group than that.  Allowing either employers or the government to be responsible for your care makes you a slave to one or the other.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67083]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[JohnMcGrew@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:34:17 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Single payer]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67060]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[The major reason that nobody can come up with a sustainable system  is the health care industries stranglehold on improvements or any changes; twenty percent of our national economy is made up of healthcare insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospital chains,  and for-profit healthcare medical conglomerates, medical devices makers and last but the least all of the above tainted with greed! As you can see they make up one of the largest organized constituencies in our country; they control our government which is made even easier because of an ignorant electorate. The only workable system is as close as our nearest neighbor--Canada, be a copy-cat Americans, it is working! Also look at the rest of the industrial, civilized world's countries who have a single payer system, they all work for their citizens. We need to change immediately to maintain our great country's place among the world's elite! We are running out of time folks!]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67060]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Rockpat]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:05:10 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Homes will be free!]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67058]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[I'm sorry, but these kinds of projections are just silly.If we follow this logic, house prices will be free by the same year.Rising health care costs are a serious issue - maybe the report authors were being intentionally flamboyant - but still!== John ==]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67058]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[jgwinner]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:24:39 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[This is how they do it]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67079]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Most developed countries have public health care, the anticonstitution story is false and does not matter. Way before cost of insurance meets income it will be unaffordable for 99% of us at that pace of premium increase. Increasing costs is due to the fact that heath is a business in an financial capitalism. These countries like France for example keep costs in control by dictating what doctors and drug companies can charge so they basically take this business out of the capitalistic world and it's working great with the exception they go too far by not asking a large enough co-pay which causes abuses. Doctors still make a very good living but do not usually drive Ferrari's except a few exceptions like cosmetic surgeons. Recently we moved and my wife had to quit her job. She was offered &quot;cobra&quot; to keep her insurance and the cost was over $900 a month. If one does not work how can he or she afford $900 in insurance per month? In France or other countries with similar systems she would have been covered just like if she was working.The way people pay for it is a percentage of their income up to a certain amount just like social security in the US, it's actually called social security in France. The more people pay, the less they have to increase premiums so in bad times like now they run a deficit. The same principles apply to retirement and public education which is almost free all the way to university.The US will have come to such a system, there is no way around it. If auto insurance is mandatory why would that not be the case for HC? It concerns everyone and when someone is brought to the ER and can't pay the bill the others who do have insurance pay that cost anyway. I am certain that the vast majority of Americans support universal HC or would be in favor of it if they would stop listening to the lies of lobbyists such as the &quot;fair and balanced&quot; news channel.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67079]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[Geotrouvetout67]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:12:57 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[Do you think]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67057]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[Those who look out only for themselves are any more trustworhy?Like he said it's more of a lesser of two evils.Personally my trust is endowed on a very small group.]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67057]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[harrim47]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:08:00 -0700</pubDate>
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    <item>
        <title><![CDATA[What makes you think...]]></title>
        <link><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67077]]></link>
        <description><![CDATA[...we can trust the government with our health?]]></description>
        <guid><![CDATA[http://www.smartplanet.com/forum/discussions/1-9773-67077]]></guid>
        <dc:creator><![CDATA[JohnMcGrew@...]]></dc:creator>
        <pubDate>Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:55:53 -0700</pubDate>
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