Usa Expats, Universal Health Care Coming?

[Jingthing]

Btw....Hillary is un-electable on a national level

Polls show differently. Polls show ANY democrat would beat ANY republican, and Hillary is the heavy favorite to win the nomination for her party. So again, it is obvious this new mandatory system is possible or maybe even probable. So, the question for expats is will there be an expat exemption out of the requirement?

[NovaBlue05]

Btw....Hillary is un-electable on a national level

Polls show differently. Polls show ANY democrat would beat ANY republican, and Hillary is the heavy favorite to win the nomination for her party. So again, it is obvious this new mandatory system is possible or maybe even probable. So, the question for expats is will there be an expat exemption out of the requirement?

People are very P.C. when polled. They are quite honest when alone in the voting booth. Polls showed Kerry leading Bush on the eve of the '04 elections and Hillary is frankly ....too polarizing.

Edited September 19, 2007 by NovaBlue05

[sbk]

Again, I am not really understanding why the need for debate here. Shouldn't you be contacting Sen Clinton yourself and making your concerns heard by her?

I intend to do that, but in my experience when contacting famous people, they never get my emails.

I raised the issue to see how other US expats in Thailand feel about the possibility of being forced into a system that does nothing for them.

Just curious why you don't find out for sure whether or not the plan is going to require every American to commit to purchasing govt provided insurance? Seems you are getting yourself worked up about a subject on which you seem to have very little information. Why not find out for sure what the plan contains and then get worked up?

Check out her website that details her plan. I see nothing in there that says expats will be required to commit.

And, honestly, I have had a different experience. Sure, I am receiving a letter from a staff member, but I have always had letters to (and emails) to Congressmen and women acknowledged.

[PeaceBlondie]

In every country that pretends to have democratic elections (even Mexico under the PRI's perfect dictatorship, even in Thailand), candidates for election promise poor people they'll be rich; meanwhile those politicians accept big donations from the old power base to keep everything the same. It's called 'campaign rhetoric,' and nobody on the campaign trail today in the USA other than Ron Paul perhaps, is immune from making promises they have no power to enact. Hilary learned it the hard way when she tried to reform health insurance early during her husband's first term.

Mr. Shinawatra's anniversary present to the junta was an article in the Wall Street Journal, claiming that his administration had brought universal health care, for free, to the peasants. Hardly any country can afford to provide truly expensive, well-managed universal health care to all its people, including the USA. Well, the USA can afford it, but the doctors' lobby will make it impossible to implement.

[samran]

Well, the USA can afford it, but the doctors' lobby union will make it impossible to implement.

just an edit for you there, PB...

[TAWP]

Hillary, as a reciever of several hundred thousands of dollar from a lobby group for insurance companies, looks favorable on schemes forcing people into buying these insurances. How could that be? It's like...magic.

And like a true Dem she has no understanding of freedom of choice.

[Jingthing]

Just curious why you don't find out for sure whether or not the plan is going to require every American to commit to purchasing govt provided insurance?

There is no way there is that level of detail out yet, whether expats are exempt and what are the specific penalties and enforcement for non-compliance. But the plan does not require people to buy government insurance, it just requires all the have some US based insurance, private or government so that people who are happy with their employers plan don't have to change. But several times the phrase required for ALL Americans has been used, and expats are still Americans. This kind of ripoff of expats is not new so don't think this is imposible! I payed into Medicare for decades and that money is down the tubes for me as expats cannot use Medicare abroad.

The logic of requiring all Americans to have insurance makes sense, if you aren't going to just scrap the insurance companies. This makes healthy people participate in the pool and levels out the pricing for everyone making to total pool much healthier. However, as they say, the devil is in the details.

Edited September 20, 2007 by Jingthing

[jumnien]

Now, we Americans are forced to pay the medical costs when illegal immigrants shoot each other. It's only right to extend that to force us to pay the medical costs when illegal immigrants eat themselves into diabetes related diseases. It seems rather compassionate, doesn't it?

[Jingthing]

Now, we Americans are forced to pay the medical costs when illegal immigrants shoot each other. It's only right to extend that to force us to pay the medical costs when illegal immigrants eat themselves into diabetes related diseases. It seems rather compassionate, doesn't it?

It would be kind of ironic if legal US expats have to pay for both their own medical care which they can't access (we who have paid for medicare already have) and also illegal immigrants from other countries in the US.

[jumnien]

Now, we Americans are forced to pay the medical costs when illegal immigrants shoot each other. It's only right to extend that to force us to pay the medical costs when illegal immigrants eat themselves into diabetes related diseases. It seems rather compassionate, doesn't it?

It would be kind of ironic if legal US expats have to pay for both their own medical care which they can't access (we who have paid for medicare already have) and also illegal immigrants from other countries in the US.

It's already ironic that we American expats pay billions for the rather expensive technologically advanced bombs to kill half a country and subsequently pay more billions to rebuild the same country.