...Buying American is a "false platitude."
I support buying American and keeping our dollars here at home instead of having them shipped overseas along with our jobs.
Because buying medical procedures overseas that one cannot afford here is not the same as shipping jobs overseas NAFTA style.
Also Wasting billions of Dollars, filling the pocket books of corrupt insurance companies is not exactly what I would call sound fiscal policy.
...How many ordinary Americans that actually work for a living and don't spend their times commenting on blogs all day like you and me have the money to travel overseas to get that cheaper medical procedure?
Not very damn many that's for sure, but it has very little to do with the question I asked.
If Medicare portability was a law, I suspect at least a lot of seniors WOULD be able to travel overseas to get the medical care they cannot afford here because they wouldn't have to pay the huge co-pays required by US medical institutions.
Let's see... $$24,000 co-pay or $6,000 co-pay and $3,000 travel expenses.....????? Not too difficult a choice.
...What about Seniors and others who need extended care such as a 3 or 4 week stay in a hospital? What about the language barriers?
I just spent three weeks dealing with Motorola and a bunch of Indians I couldn't understand about getting my cell phone repaired. What in the hell makes you think that anyone would want to go out of the country for medical attention just because it's cheaper?
And we haven't even begun to talk about the impact shipping someone overseas for medical care has on their families. What if my aunt, uncle, or mother is in a hospital in Bangkok? I ain't got no money to be flying all the way to Bangkok to check on my loved ones to make sure that the doctors are treating them correctly.
Why anyone would want to go thousands of miles for cheaper healthcare is beyond me. How about we focus on reducing the healthcare costs here in the United States instead?
Outsourcing health care...my God that's bogus.
3-4 week hospital stays for non emergency procedures are just the type of senior who would do better overseas, saving themselves literally tens of thousands of Dollars, why should they not have that choice? You must not travel too much otherwise you'd realize just how many people in the world speak English, particularly in the health care field. I couldn't give you the exact figures, but a good portion of doctors world wide are trained in the US or at US run Medical centers overseas.
Somehow I don't think equating telephone conversations about a cell phone, with Indian service representatives is quite the same as talking face to face with a doctor,
You might also want to do a google search to educate yourself on just how many Americans go overseas each year for cheaper and dare I say, in many cases better medical care.
No one is talking about "shipping" anyone anywhere. This is about CHOICE and AFFORDIBILITY. My choice.
The issue of Medicare portability is really simple and not controversial at all. I don't know how you got your shorts all twisted up, but if you don't understand the concept, maybe it's not the best thread for you to participate in. I will typically answer anyone who addressed a comment of mine, but really, you are just so far off base on this subject, that it's hard for me to take you seriously.
Seriously...you think that?
Then I suppose buying that SMART car in Germany, instead of a Hummer here, is also shipping jobs overseas NAFTA style.
And I thought I was doing something good for myself and the world by refusing to support the NAFTA whores at GM and by buying an economical, low energy usage vehicle. But I guess you're right, I should buy American regardless the consequences.
HUMMER here I come!