You mentioned ridiculous insurance claims.

Are you referring to medical malpractice claims?

If so please remember that juries hear those cases and play a large part in determining the amounts rewarded in those cases.

Juries made up of men and women just like those of us in these boards.

Yes lawyers ask for damages but it's the juries and the insurance companies (when offering to settle) that determine the amount of a reward in most cases.

Can you really blame the doctors?

i just dont like the idea of wage based deductions on your insurance costs. i dont think its fair.

for instance wage...are we talking hourly or grossly??
because im telling you in the past two years i have a vast difference in my grossly wage...if only becasue i was too stressed and missed my children too much too work 4 nights a week. so now i only do 2-3.

i think that it is the insurance companies need looked into. i think somebodys gotta be taking a cut out of all the money thats getting paid into it. and I also know that many times they find fault in reimbursing hospitals for some reason or other. length of stay is a biggy.

just adding my $0.02

doesnt really seem fair to those who make more - have no kids or fewer kids to pay more? for same coverage.

Yes and no. Honeslty we have a deeper rooting problem causing the high cost of healthcare. Unless this problem is addressed we are merely making the richest, richer, and the average citizens poorer.

HMO, and the FDA need some SERIOUS looking into, before any money is thrown at anything.

Treat the disease, not just the symptom (that's what i like to believe.

Yes only for me it went the other way. I had to give up to keep mine. Its just a very important issue and needs debated now more than ever. Accountabilty from the states and smart spending would probably fix most of it.I think the rest wouldnt look that bad.

Here's something that may help to make everyone happy -- give allowances to all businesses - big and small - so that they can pay for all thir employees to have adequate insurance. That way all WORKING people can be insured, with their own merit and by their own job.

That, I think, would be a really good idea.

and secondarily, the founding fathers didnt believe the common people had enough knowledge to be trusted with selecting the President.

Tina,
I won't go far as to say you do not have the qualifications to help anyone else out--you have obviously come through a lot of stuff and have perservered in spite of that, and I'm happy to hear that.

However, I will tell you that while you may think you can help anyone out, it is not always the case. I have a very dear friend who is always giving me the solutions for things that come up in our conversations that I want to do with my life, etc. and he is always making suggestions "Well just go buy this, just do that." And I have to stop him and remind him that while his suggestions are good and may work for some people, they don't work for everyone.

Nobody really knows what someone else's life is like until they walk a mile in their shoes. And while that is as redundant and cliche as it comes (think of the beating a dead horse pic) it's very true.

I don't think it's a good idea for any of us here in this thread to go slamming each other into walls when we don't have a clue what they have been through. And that goes for making assumptions on both sides. You say it's not fair that we assume you are condescending or elitist, and the same rules should apply to you to not assume we are lazy or unwilling to make things better for ourselves because you just don't know what people are going through. And even if it isn't as bad as you have had it, you just don't know how people handle things either. Something that was hell for you might not be for them, and vice-versa.

What applied for Grants,spent my tax money or turned into an elitist.

I think it would be nice if we could all agree that everyone should be doing what they can to help themselves, and only seeking out government help from others when they can't.

Nobody should be allowed to abuse the system for their own lazy purposes.

It would also be nice if those who have made it, or those who were fortunate enough to be born in wealth would be willing to pass either some of their blessings or wisdom to those who do not see better things financially in their future.

And it shouldn't be based on the idea of an investment--ie. to get something in return from it. It should be based on being a decent human being and caring about your fellow man. That's all I'm saying.

Besides, while there are some people who milk the government for money, I would say that most people would rather be making it on their own.

Let's see... criminal justice system... taxes.. education.. health care.. the economy - all worthy endeavors, granted.

From whence to all of these things get born? Why, Parents! If it were not for the parents of this society who procreate indiscriminately, want to be their child's FRIEND instead of the PARENT, give the child over to the first system of the "other" who comes along [day care, the streets, schools, courts, etc.] that is willing to take over the tough job of being a real parent.... a lot of these "issues" would take care of their selves.

Instead of looking at what has "become" of our society, perhaps we should look at what has caused our society to get that way in the first place.

Also... as an FYI... I work in an urban HS - I see what our future is, everyday - and I see the people who make it this way [parents]. You can't fix a problem when you're trying to repair the results of the issue - you have to fix the cause, before you can address the result.

IMHO.

Not if you work.