I mention this because I am an expert in health care. I understand the micro economics and the macro economics of health care.
The first surprise is that health-care does not respond to supply and demand economic theory. Research has proven this fact many, many times. Secondly, contrary to common belief, the majority of healthcare in this country is paid for with tax dollars. We (the people) have legislated wealthy insurance companies into being. We have pursued economics, rather than health care. What I mean by this, is that in America, health care is chiefly seen as a way to make money, rather than a way to keep people well. In the 1980s and 90s (indeed to this day) Uwe Reinhardt (Princeton) and others were publishing research that demonstrated the inefficiencies of the current health care system. Nothing has changed from this general picture until the current systems in place with “ObamaCare”.
This is what the economists found and is still true: the majority of healthcare is paid for with tax dollars, Medicare and Medicaid. The people in this country who are sick are predominantly, old or poverty stricken. Healthy people are insured by private companies that will only insure healthy people, thus assuring continued profitability. The real cost of health care has never been paid by insurance companies. Insurance companies operate for a profit, again, not to take care of human beings’ health, but rather to put money into wealthy pockets.
So the question is “Is health care a privilege or a right?” Most westernized countries declare that healthcare is a right and that all citizens are entitled to it.
In regards to Hillary’s mistakes that are so numerously mentioned:
I am aware that both Clintons have made many, many errors in their political careers. I do not see very many politicians who aren’t grossly overpaid for very little work.
Here is the difference that I perceive: Bush and the Republican party falsely perpetrated a war on the American people that, in our grief, we fell for because Americans were so hurt by 9/11/01.
People die in wars, lots and lots of people, lots and lots of American sons and daughters die in every single war that America engages in. Once the war was in place, Bush and Cheney then put together private armies and private contracts that profited from American tax dollars in the billions, not millions, but in the billions. They continued to perpetrate this false claim on America for as long as they could keep the money faucet rolling out personal profit and power.
The wealthy politicians (Bush and Cheney, Republicans) did not care about our sons and daughters, indeed, not any of the current Bush family ever had to serve within a thousand miles of combat. The reason they did not serve in combat is not because they were lucky like Jeff Bradham, but because they (rich politicians) made sure that their own sons and daughters were safe.
What I appreciate about the Clintons is that I do not see the horror of war being chased and profited on. I can forgive almost anything, except the killing of our sons and daughters for personal profit. That is unforgivable.
