Comments on: Google Offers Personal Health Records on the Web

By: PJ

PJ — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:20:46 +0000

I agree with Tom. Either Govt or the people should take control of healthcare. Cost can not be controlled by third parties like health plans; what interest they have to control cost, what they want is profit.

$13,000 per person per year of healthcare cost is simply unthinkable.

Stop talking, act NOW, before millions of people die early because of this mess. Imagine our GDP/productivity in the competitive global economy with our aging population; our GDP will be seriously impacted by this healthcare mess.

As Tom said, make healthcare like a K-12 education or auto-insurance. Both are working reasonably well.

Right now, people are losing jobs if they (or dependents) fall seriously ill. What else do we need to trash the healthcare system. Employers can not provide health insurance anymore and remain competitive in the global economy.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 26 May 2008 13:09:18 +0000

People who have good coverage (if any) do not care about the cost of medical care they need.
And those who are uninsured also do not care about the cost as they generally end up in ER.
Even if you want to pay directly, the cost is unknown before you avail; as a result you have no way of buying the service you need.

It means the current system can not and will not work. Trash it.

There are only two options:
A) Provide universal healthcare managed/controlled by the Govt..just like k-12 education.
OR
B) Make it just like Auto-insurance as some one suggested earlier. Make the cost transparent and people will buy the services as required; and have insurance only for catastrophic events like cancer, etc. Use HSAs for the purpose.

There is no other option to fix healthcare. Wake up folks! Per capita medical cost would be $13,000/- in 2016 in the current system.

Act now!! Call your elected representatives right now.

Tom

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:16:36 +0000

Folks, people are losing jobs besides health insurance. If you (or your dependent) fall sick, you lose your job, and insurance of course.

People talk about personal health records, etc without understanding the fundamental problem in the current system.

Today, PEOPLE do not buy healthcare. The system does not need them to buy; even if they want to buy, the cost is simply unknown. Unless people are made to buy healthcare, the cost can never be brought down.

I don’t understand how PHR will reduce healthcare cost.

Mike

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 23 May 2008 22:27:16 +0000

I agree with Nat. Our healthcare system is in 18th century; we talk about 22nd century in the form of PHR!!

Let’s bring the system current. Make healthcare available for all. Then we can think of PHR.

Liz

By: Nat

Nat — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:52:28 +0000

The need of the hour is not Personal Health Records (PHR). If the healthcare system is efficient, PHR will make it more efficient.

I don’t understand how people can “manage their own health care and medical spending” when cost is not transparent at all. Currently doctors simply HATE to deal with anybody/anything other than patients as they are thoroughly frustrated with dealing with horrible health-plans.

What is the point in wasting time in the so called PHR now. If it needs to succeed, we need to have at least a single-payer system or open market where people deal with cost/payment directly.

The least what we can do right now is to make cost transparent. Get a legislation passed; it does not require any funding.

Nat