McCain: "Like most Americans I go see my doctor fairly frequently

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/9417

That was Republican Senator John McCain speaking recently from the campaign trail. The Senator said “most Americans” can see their doctor “fairly frequently.” But that isn’t what recent studies show. A recent study called Public Views on U.S. Health Care System Organization found that 73 percent of Americans have had difficulty securing a doctors appointment and thirty nine percent who have insurance said it was difficult to reach their doctor on the phone. Twenty-six percent of those with insurance had difficulty scheduling an appointment the same or next day when they are sick. Meanwhile, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden was in Missouri this week. During one stop he explained that it isn’t just American people who are calling for a change in the way healthcare in the United States is run, it is also corporations who see it as a way to better compete and drive down overhead costs.

: They’re competing with companies in countries that all have healthcare plans that are not paid for exclusively paid for by the company, but the risk is shared by the entire nation. Ladies and gentlemen, everyone from corporate America to labor to all of you understand that we need healthcare – except John McCain.

[AndyA]

1. John McCain: Totally out of touch with Americans,

and completely wrong on the issues.

Unfit for the Presidency.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

25. yes, many many people can't afford to see the doctor!

and can't afford the medicine.

McCain makes me sick!

[ccharles000]

2. Out of touch

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Must be nice to be able to see a doctor "fairly frequently" if you need to.

Most of the rest of us ordinary slobs can't get to see a doctor for weeks after trying to get an appointment, and that's assuming we have insurance to pay for it.

[baldguy]

7. My mom went to see doctors fairly frequently.

She'd been feeling ill for a while, but there were no specific symptoms. First they thought it was a GI infection, then they thought it was her heart, then they thought it was psychosomatic. They figured there wasn't any point in giving an old lady who complains too much an extensive battery of tests - and besides, her insurance wouldn't cover it anyway.

Three years after it started, she died of lung cancer.

[Glimmer of Hope]

9. That is terrible. . I am so sorry.

[baldguy]

21. Just the Best Medical System In The World™ in action

[Sam Ervin jret]

16. my sympathies. we need to see Dr's and the Dr's need to be free to order the tests they feel need to

be done.

[Abugface]

4. Well ...

he was a womanizer for a long time, wasn't he?

[BlooInBloo]

5. I love it when republicans congress critters crow about the health care....

they refuse to allow the rest of America to have.

[stray cat]

6. I wish I had the government run health plan McCain does (ie taxpayers pay)

[TheFarseer]

8. I've seen a doctor ONCE in 12 years.

Not that I'm complaining. I don't need to see a doctor and the once I did was a complete waste of time and 130 bucks.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. Chances are that someday you will need to see a doctor.

Sooner or later almost all of us do. I hope you will have insurance and access to a doctor when that happens, but unfortunately there are some 40,000,000 people who don't have insurance and can't afford doctors when they need them. Not everyone has the good fortune to be healthy, and hardly anyone stays completely healthy when they get old.

[Cha]

22. I know I'm the exception but I haven't seen a medical

dr in 28 years. I got screwed on a prescription and decided to be responsible for my own health.

Feels good, too.

[bunnies]

10. I havent seen a doctor in 8 years.

8 years since I lost my insurance. Fuck you, McSame.

[gmoney]

11. Obama should propose to do away with Govt health care for congress

Give all the congressmen a "tax credit" and let all these old high-living geezers try to find coverage.

Or better yet, force them into some halfassed Anthem or Golden Rule or HMO plan and see how it works... we'll have a single-payer plan for everyone within a year.

[Union Thug]

13. like MOST Americans? Where does this yahoo get off?

Like me and my family for example? Or all my neighbors who see the doc when we get REALLY sick - you know, those illnesses that don't go away after hoping for a month that they will?

I hate that rich POS and all of his minions. Man of the people. Right. Like a country club and the commons.

[marlakay]

14. I go once or twice a year at most and that includes

my yearly exam and flu shot!!

[JackBeck]

15. America's health literacy is even lower than that of our general literacy rates.

And given the fact that there are millions that are uninsured, as well as many communities that use the emergency room as health care, once again, McCain has given another example of not knowing what he is talking about.

[tuvor]

17. It's almost as out-of-touch as not knowing how many houses you own.

[AllieB]

18. My gynecologist retired and in late August I secured a new appointment with her replacement....

for FEBRUARY. And the wingnuts complain about socialized medicine.

[Raine]

19. I haven't seen a doctor in so long I don't even remember

when it was, I'm lucky I'm relatively heathy. I do see a chiropractor once a month (I have back & neck prob) but I'm sure he's not referring to that type of doctor.

[Scat]

20. So out of touch

He must have forgotten about the millions of uninsured....

[RagAss]

26. So true !... welcome to DU

[Doremus]

24. A small aside.

You might want to rethink the chiro. Could be that's what's giving you back/neck problems.

Just sayin'.

[City Lights]

23. Fuck. Off. John!

My husband is self-employed, so we buy our own insurance. Our family-of-four premium is currently costing us around $825.00 per month and our coverage is mediocre.

I took my daughter for allergy testing and none of it was covered, so it cost us $856.00, just for the testing.

My daughter injured her knee in track last spring. We started with her pediatrician, who referred us to an orthopedic surgeon. He examined her knee and took x-rays, found nothing wrong with the knee and referred us to a physical therapist. The PT is not covered. She goes weekly for one hour to the tune of $230/hour. She's been in PT since July, and will hopefully be finishing soon.

My son dislocated his finger last spring, which required a trip to the ER. Follow-up treatment included non-covered physical therapy.

My son needed a physical before starting school this year and needed booster vaccines. We were responsible for paying half the $500 bill.

Don't get me started on what it costs me to go for my annual exam and mammogram.

We have no dental coverage.

We have no eye care coverage, and both of our kids wear contacts.

Our medical bills this year are killing us.

I want your coverage, John! :mad:

[RagAss]

27. Release the Mental Health Records, McSenile.

[CTyankee]

28. Here is my most recent LTTE re health care and McCain:

To the Editor:

Why does John McCain warn the American people that they don't want "government-run health care"?

John McCain has benefitted from such health care himself, which is funded through OUR taxes. He relied it when he was diagnosed with melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, and during his treatment for the disease. He now aspires to the job of President of the United States, which also provides government run health care and is delivered by doctors who are government employees!

If government run health care would be such a disaster for the American people, why does John McCain continue to have it, not only for himself but for his family? Even with a pre-existing condition, he surely has enough money to buy his own private plan and be seen by physicians in private practice. He married a fabulously wealthy heiress whose family fortune bankrolled the launch of his political career. He has choices that the vast majority of Americans could never dream of. Many end up in dire financial straits, bankruptcy and even poverty because they have a catastrophic health problem, such as cancer. At worst, John McCain might only have to sell one of his seven houses to pay for a private policy (if he could get one at all), while many Americans under similar circumstances risk the devastating loss of the only house they will ever have. One would hope that John McCain, as a former POW, would understand such physical and mental suffering better than anyone.

Barack Obama offers a universal plan that gives Americans a choice of private and public health care. He will pay for it by asking the richest Americans to step up and pay their fair share of taxes that the middle class has been paying all along. John McCain wants it both ways: a public plan for himself and his family that we pay for, but not one for the rest of us.

[Imagevision]

29. Really John, Fuck off!

[annabanana]

30. HA.. most "middle class" Americans no doubt..

Yu know, the ones with less than 5 million dollars a year annual income..

[quiet.american]

31. Thanks, John, for proving Barack & Joe's point that you just don't get it.

[PatGund]

32. Really????

Thursday is the first time in over two years that I'll have a checkup. The last time was when I was working in the Middle East and was taken care of by the Government of Qatar.

This is the first time in two years I've had both insurance and the time to get that checkup.

[Stinky The Clown]

33. Most Americans also have additional homes they can go to if something happens to one of them

Or something like that.

Johnny ...... yer a piece of work.

:eyes:

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

34. Cindy can afford the deductibles and co-payments

Even Americans with insurance have large deductibles that cause them to forgo routine and preventive care and "save" their money until their medical issues become chronic.

What an odious POS.

McCain: Most of my friends have no problem affording their country club fees, so the economy must being doing all right.

[kayell]

35. k&r Thinking about all the times I haven't gone to the doctor because even as one of the fortunate

insured, my co-pay has gone up & up & up the last 8 years. Not to mention that if I were given a prescription, I might not be able to afford it until my next pay check. It hurts to imagine how bad this must be for people with chronic health problems and no insurance. Or jobs.

[mascarax]

36. We don't all have YOUR health care plan, John.

Sheesh.

Someone needs to ask him during one of his much-loved town halls: "How many Americans have no health care?"

I bet it's the usual hemming and hawing...stammering...followed by, "I need to have my people check on it."

Betcha he doesn't know. Betcha!

[progressoid]

37. Un...right John.

:eyes:

[SheilaT]

38. People who are very healthy

don't see a doctor frequently.

Those who need to see a doctor often ought to be able to do so without it costing them lots of money. Somewhat like McCain's situation.