Okay... let's talk politics. Health Insurance that is.

[mlbevins]

There have been several debates about the proposals that Congress has come up with for the health insurance proposal.  I understand that there are problems with health insurance, but I do not believe that it is the core of the problem.  The cost of perscriptions and medical procedures are the problem.  The phramacutical industires is making billions if not close to trillions of dollars from medications, and doctors test you to death and a lot of times you don't need the test.  Sometimes I feel like they are just draining you insurance.  If the proposals include the prices of the products and services that you are purchasing to go down then I am all for it.  As far as the public option, it is a good idea as long as they pay for it from the premiums that people pay for the insurance.  I however do not agree that everyone should be forced to have health insurance.  If you are a healthy person that never has to go to the doctor then why should you have to pay close to 2000.00 per year for example for something that you are never going to use, and even if you do have to go to the doctor the bills would be easier to just pay instead of taking out health insurance.  This is a free country and we should not have to be forced to get health insurance.  What is everyone else opinion on the matter?

[southernhorizons]

I agree that no one should be forced to have health insurance. That goes against the whole principle of freedom and living in a free country. But the government should expand options for people who earn too much for Medicaid (such as the self-employed, farm workers, and part time employees), but don't have affordable options right now. I think a lot of what drives up costs of doctors is malpractice insurance; if lawsuits were discouraged by making the caps really low so it wouldn't be worthwhile for the lawyers, than the doctors wouldn't pay so much for malpractice insurance and wouldn't have to charge the patients so much.

[MiqueMauz]

The problem with finding worthwhile tort reform is that the Democratic party in power right now gets much of their contributions from trial lawyers.  Like it or not, money wins campaigns nowadays, not the average voter.

As for the larger healthcare debate, the system very clearly needs reform.  Private healthcare prices need to go down, but the public option-esque ideas are not the way to go.  Subsidizing low-income families is much more reasonable and pragmatic.

My whole problem with the bickering is how little they actually talk about the issues.  The Republicans have some good ideas, but they spend much more time attacking the whole thing as socialist instead of trying to compromise.  The Democrats in turn accuse the Republicans of being hypocrites and demonize people like Fox News by trying to shut them out.  Freedom of the Press is an essential in America, even if you disagree with them.  Every act against the other side is exagerrated by their respective media, and suddenly we have an ultra-polarized country with no relief in sight.

And for the record, I'm a teenager from CA who leans left on many issues but am very willing to cross over when I see a good idea.  I'm hopeful that my generation will get past the childish partisanship and personal attacks that have marred American politics for the past few decades.