okay so im still a young'un
BUT! AND THIS IS A BIG BUT IM TALKIN' LIKE XALDIN SIZED BUTT!
we do in a way have free health care.
but in a way we dont
and one flaw in the u.k.'s system is that while it is free. not everyone gets it still. because everyone is going in there. unlike the u.s. where it is slightly organized

I've been starting fights with all the rednecks at my school over this subject. It's really simple: people get healthcare, people live longer. Apparently conservatives don't like the idea of people not going bankrupt to pay for chemo, life-saving surgery, or any of the big stuff.

And if people looked at the big picture, by not charging for the fire department or for public schools, we're kinda socialist.

They don't have these arguments in England, do they?

I live in America, I think that for the most part, the healthcare system works but is flawed. I personally think that a system should be introduced that allows those without insurance and that cannot afford the bills to fill out a form in the doctors office and still recieve care while this new program aids them for that specific visit. Granted that means filling out the form everytime but it would insure that only those in need of financial aid would recieve it.

An overall change that would benefit the people would be if the government would step in and fund research for medications and equipment in order to help keep the costs of medicine down.

I'm not saying I know how this all works, that's just my idea of what would help make it better.

I live in Australia and we have a relatively similar system to that in the UK so yeah, IUNNO

Coming from someone who is currently on state insurance (as opposed to making myself look like an ass and stating i'm over 70 i'm just saying that) anyways, however, i know it's not quite up to par even if it were nationalized or whatever.

So I guess I just think they should take out the ceiling on how much can be spent per year on one person as well as the \"RAWRPREEXISTINGCONDITIONNOINSURANCEFORYO U\" bit. And make it so you don't have to be employed somewhere for you to be able to purchase insurance.

It fascinates me how you keep up on American politics all the way over there in the UK.

I think its great. As he said in his speech, people are dropped when they need the healthcare they pay years for. People are forced to wait to get cancer treated for stupid, petty reasons.

I think that private healthcare is a complete scam and it needs to be abolished entirely.

Okay...this is coming from a chick who doesn't know much about the government, or what's going on, so forgive me if I'm not on the right track, but this is how I understand the situation. Obama wants to give everyone equal opportunity for health care. He is taking a step towards equality, and I love that. Obama's ideas are amazing. They are of a perfect nation where everything works out and there are always happy endings. However, from a realistic standpoint, the USA is not in a position to entertain those ideas right now. We are in SO MUCH debt as a nation, that we can't afford for everyone to be equal. It isn't Obama's fault. The government has made a lot of mistakes in the past, and they have not stayed true to the idea of equality. So now, when someone who cares actually comes into office...when someone like Obama, who wants to fix it all and make equality an option is given the opportunity to do it, it simply isn't possible. I love Obama's plan. I really do. 20 years from now, maybe it would work. But right now, too many past mistakes by other people have set him up for failure in the eyes of the public. My instructor once asked the class who they would vote for if they could choose anyone, and my response was nobody. Not because I want an anarchy, but because the modern government is in such shambles, that no one person can fix it. Not Obama, or McCain, or Bush, or Oprah, or anyone. So please understand, I'm not bashing Obama. I really adore his point of view and the ideas that he portrays, but it is not realistically possible at this point in time. Sorry for the rant...here's to hoping i made even a shred of sense. In short, I like Obama's plan, I think everyone should have health care, but I don't beleive that it's possible at this point. Thanks for reading.
-M.

Okay, I pretty mutually agree that a better healthcare system would be nice, but I can see why there's so much opposition.

For the most part, Obama's spending habits are getting out of hand. With all of these bailouts and such, he's pulling a lot out our pockets already. And with a new healthcare system it would pull so much more out.

I don't know much more than that. If I knew the details of his healthcare plan, I might have a heck of a lot more to say. But for now, I say he's gotta ease up on the spending, cause it's putting the U.S. in way more debt than before and taking a lot of money out of U.S. citizens' pockets.

I'm not a very political person, but from what I've seen on the news, that even though the plan sounds good, it costs way too much. If we went with this kind of healthcare plan, hardly anyone would be able to retire. As my mom says, she'll have to work until she dies. And I agree. A healthcare system like Obama's will mean higher taxes for everyone and my generation will basicly be stuck in a rut.