Rachel, thank you! I appreciate your thoughts. Tom – I appreciate your thoughts too. I agree – that Medicare is expensive. But Medicare only insures individuals 65 years of age and older — it’s no wonder it’s costing us money. I have a girlfriend who’s worked for medicare for 20+ years now. She feels that we could roll that same type of program out to everyone (phased in) .. and that it would probably start making money — as soon as you got some 30 somethings onto the plan, etc. It stands to reason if younger, and typically healthier, individuals were on the plan, the red ink should disappear. And if private industry can make a profit on providing insurance to individuals, why can’t the government? Why wouldn’t we want to add that revenue stream to our bottom line? But I do agree with you — that the vet system needs work (and funds) to make it the kind of program we would all want our vets to have exposure to … but, again, a profit center may allow for that.

Yes, the governmnet runs the VA system-ask a vet how they like it. and yes, the government runs Medicare which will go broke in less than 10 years without significant increases in taxes and/or significant decreases in benefits. Since neither option is palatable to our representatives in Congress, they won’t fix the problem, but instead want to spend billions of dollars to add millions more people to government programs.

Too long now insurance companies have run amuck — it’s time to reign them in — and the premiums that they charge! I won’t lose sleep over this. And, yes, the government will be successful if it runs a government insurance program — it already has two plans — medicare and medicaid. Why do you think it can’t effectively run a third one?

Rachel, I know you are right, however, I wouldn’t be facing death. Big difference. I would be facing life with my Creator. I want to stay here on earth as long as I am adding something to other people’s lives, but when that is done, I WILL move on.