FW: Romney praises Israeli socialist health care system

Right wing heads begin exploding shortly there after, or they start to spin it as not really socialism. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/30/romney-praises-health-care-in-israel-where-strong-government-influence-has-driven-down-costs/?hpid=z1 Romney praises health care in Israel, where ?strong government influence? has driven down costs By Sarah Kliff , Updated: July 30, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had some very kind things to say about the Israeli health care system at a fundraiser there Monday. He praised Israel for spending just 8 percent of its GDP on health care and still remaining a ?pretty healthy nation:? When our health care costs are completely out of control. Do you realize what health care spending is as a percentage of the GDP in Israel? 8 percent. You spend 8 percent of GDP on health care. And you?re a pretty healthy nation. We spend 18 percent of our GDP on health care. 10 percentage points more. That gap, that 10 percent cost, let me compare that with the size of our military. Our military budget is 4 percent. Our gap with Israel is 10 points of GDP. We have to find ways, not just to provide health care to more people, but to find ways to finally manage our health care costs. Romney?s point about Israel?s success in controlling health care costs is spot on: Its health care system has seen health care costs grow much slower than other industrialized nations. How it has gotten there, however, may not be to the Republican candidate?s liking: Israel regulates its health care system aggressively, requiring all residents to carry insurance and capping revenue for various parts of the country?s health care system. Israel created a national health care system in 1995, largely funded through payroll and general tax revenue. The government provides all citizens with health insurance: They get to pick from one of four competing, nonprofit plans. Those insurance plans have to accept all customers?including people with pre-existing conditions?and provide residents with a broad set of government-mandated benefits. Health insurance does not, however, cover every medical service. Dental and vision care, for example, fall outside of the standard government set of benefits. The majority of Israelis?81 percent ?purchase a supplemental health insurance plan to ?use the private health care system for services that may not be available in through the public system,? according to a paper by Health Affairs. Now, let?s get to the costs. As you can see in the chart below, Israel?s health care costs have hovered around 8 percent of its gross domestic product for over two decades, while other countries? have seen theirs rise: Israel?s lower health care spending does not look to sacrifice the quality of care. It has made more improvements than the United States on numerous quality metrics, and the country continues to have a higher life expectancy: How?d they do it? Jack Zwanziger and Shuli Brammli-Greenberg took a crack at that question in a 2011 Health Affairs paper. The answer, they say, has a lot to do with ?strong government influence: The national government exerts direct operational control over a large proportion of total health care expenditures, through a range of mechanisms, including caps on hospital revenue and national contracts with salaried physicians. The Ministry of Finance has been able to persuade the national government to agree to relatively small increases in the health care budget because the system has performed well, with a very high level of public satisfaction. The Israeli Ministry of Finance controls about 40 percent of Israel?s health care expenditures through those payments to the four insurance plans. The  ministry decides how much it will pay the health plans for each Israeli citizen they enroll, making adjustments for how old a person is and how high their health care costs are expected to be. It?s then up to the health insurance plan to figure out how to provide coverage within that set budget. If they spend too much?have a patient who is constantly in the hospital, for example?they will find themselves in the red. It?s that set budget?a capitated budget, in health policy terms?that seems to be crucial to the Israeli health care system?s success in cost control. © The Washington Post Company -- Larry C. Lyons web: http://www.lyonsmorris.com/lyons LinkedIn: http://w

Yeah, I was a little confused by that one. Does that mean that Romney is supporting a single-payer health care plan for the US? If so, then I may reconsider my vote this November. Judah > > Right wing heads begin exploding shortly there after, or they start to > spin it as not really socialism. > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/30/romney-praises-health-care-in-israel-where-strong-government-influence-has-driven-down-costs/?hpid=z1

Romney is no where near as conservative as he has been pretending to be. Look at his record when he is in the position as an elected official. LIberals thought Obama was a strong liberal. He's not. Conservatives might be tricked into thinking Romney is a strong conservative. He is not. But both Obama and Mitt must pretend to be thoughtless partisan hacks around election time, so they can get that coveted 20% from the left or right. The bright side is that we as a nation win. This is the second straight election involving two centrists. Two intelligent people capable of thinking and using reason. They have to look the buffoon around election time, sure, that's politics....but I think for the 2nd time in 4 years, we can't really go wrong. I think Romney would make for a competent president. ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

I don't think that anyone believes that Romney is a strong conservative. I actually don't think he's a reliable centrist, either. He was a centrist in Massachusetts because he was a Republican in a pretty liberal state. He does what's needed to try and make the most out of the political situation he's in. Instead, I think that Romney is what he's been his whole time outside of politics. He's a very wealthy, upper-crust businessman who is in it for money, influence and power amongst the wealthy elite of our country. I don't think that's what our country needs in a President. Judah ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more -----

----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- There is plenty of power with the White House, but not much money...at least until you are out. You may well be right about him, to this point. But the presidency changes people, man. If he's just been playing with funny money until now, it will all get VERY real for him the day he's inaugurated, an gets that first security briefing. Romney's a smart and successful guy, just like Obama was when he was elected. I would expect the same turn towards the middle upon his election. I would expect the same thoughtful and reasoned decision making. I could easily be wrong, and this faith is probably not enough to get me to vote for the dude.....but that's my impression of him.

> There is plenty of power with the White House, but not much money...at > least until you are out. Money, he's got. I think he's in it for influence and power. Being a rich dude opens plenty of doors. Being President of the United States opens up most every door. ----- Excess quoted text cut - see Original Post for more ----- I think that he genuinely wants to run government like a business. I have two problems with this approach. The first is that government isn't a business and so shouldn't be run like one. The second is that I don't like the way he's run his businesses. I'm not saying he's an evil, horrible person. I just don't think he's right for the job. > I could easily be wrong, and this faith is probably not enough to get me to > vote for the dude.....but that's my impression of him. I look at Romney's foreign policy advisory team and I see the guys behind GWB. Obama has plenty of militaristic tendencies of his own but he at least went through winding down Iraq and is in the process of winding down Afghanistan (after, admittedly, a surge there). He seems reluctant to start a war with Iran. Given the people Romney has chosen as advisers, I think the odds are more than 50% that we would end up attacking Iran in the first term of a Romney presidency. Which is not to say that we absolutely won't do that in the second term of an Obama admin but I think it is a much greater likelihood in a Romney administration. Beyond that, I don't see Democrats taking back the House in 2012. A Romney presidency combined with the current political makeup of the House seems like a recipe for increasingly bad financial policy, in my opinion. Romney may have some centrist leanings but the House doesn't and I don't trust a divided Senate to hold the worst instincts of the House at bay. Cheers, Judah

"Romney is no where near as conservative as he has been pretending to be." I have been saying since 2008, when it became obvious that he would be the next candidate after the McCain failure. In his own words, he's a progressive. He has the Soros stamp of approval. Leftist should be thrilled.  They will get progressive-full if Obama wins and Progressive-lite if Romney wins. J - If it?s between Obama and Romney, there isn?t all that much difference except for the crowd that they bring with them. - George Soros I think people recognize that I'm not a partisan Republican, that I'm someone who is moderate, and my views are progressive, and that I'm going to go to work for our senior citizens, for people that have been left behind by urban schools that are not doing the right job. And so they're going to vote for me regardless of the party label. - Mitt Romney