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Our Government runs the best health care in the US
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The US Family Health Plan is a military health plan sponsored by the Department of Defense. The USFHP offers benefits to active duty family members and all military retirees and their eligible family members, regardless of whether or not they participate in Medicare. USFHP offers a health care program built on an unsurpassed commitment to its members. Their high-quality service and strong physician-patient relationships result in exceptional member satisfaction. For members, there are no premiums, no deductibles and no exclusions for pre-existing conditions. In addition, for those with Medicare, there are no co-payments. Each facility has a pharmacy with prescriptions usually costing no more than $3.00.
There are USFHP clinics scattered around the United States. We are very fortunate in the Seattle area to have eleven US Family Health Plan provider locations run by Pacific Medical Center. In a 2008 survey of nearly 3,000 patients, Pacific Medical scored in the 82nd percentile for its overall patient visit, placing it among the very best health care providers in the Nation.
Pacific Medical accepts all major insurance so anyone can go to their clinics. I have been going to two of their centers for eleven years. My doctor at Pacific Medical in Seattle is unsurpassed in her skill and her compassion. You can normally get an appointment at Pacific Medical within 24 hours. They use Harborview hospital in Seattle for hospitalizations; they do all their mammograms at the Breast Center at Swedish, and refer you to the very best specialists in the greater Seattle area..JPG)
The Veteran’s Administration operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system with more than 1,400 sites of care, including 171 hospitals, 800 community clinics, community living centers, nursing home care units, counseling centers, and various other facilities.
In a 2006 American Customer Satisfaction Index report on the Department of Veterans Affairs' medical system, veterans rate their VA care much higher overall than the general population rates its hospital experiences. Vets consistently give VA doctors and nurses high scores for responsiveness (83 out of a possible 100), courtesy (90 out of a 100), and "respect and dignity afforded patients" (91).
Based on data from the Commonwealth Fund - 2007 Biennial Health Insurance Survey, in a nationally representative survey, Medicare recipients gave their coverage better ratings than those with employer provided insurance. Sixty-one percent of elderly Medicare beneficiaries said that they had received excellent or very good care, compared to just 50 percent of those with Employer provided Insurance.
Our Senators and Representatives have a smorgasbord of options when it comes to health care; the Federal Employees health plan provided by the US Government.
Our Government is perfectly capable of providing health care and a Public Plan doesn’t have to impact private insurers anymore than the government plans that exist right now.
If private insurers based their premiums on family size and income, we might not have so many Americans that are uninsured or under-insured. How is it ethical to charge a family of four with a household income of $60,000 the same rate as a family earning $180,000?
Reform is not just about the uninsured; it’s also about the under-insured, and those being squeezed out because of ever-rising premiums. Every 30 seconds in the United States someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem. About 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to medical bills. The annual premium that a health insurer charges an employer for a health plan covering a family of four averaged $12,700 in 2008; this is unsustainable. These are sobering statistics that should alarm every person in this country.
The VA system may have some deficiencies and Medicare may be under-funded, but you “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”. You look to these plans and plans like the successful and efficient US Family Health Plan and you build from there.
Health care should be a right and not a privilege. We will more than likely continue to make mistake after mistake until finally coming to the realization that all we had to do was duplicate an existing government health care plan or copy one of our European allies. We are slow to learn and slow to change. For some Americans it's easier to show sympathy for private insurance companies than those devastated by medical bills. Ignorance of the fact that we have a crisis and continued resistance to reform, will impact all of us over the coming years.
For More Information See Links Below:
Facts on the Cost of Health Insurance and Health Care
Medicare recipients give their coverage higher rating than those with Employer sponsored insurance.
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