Famed Baltimore neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson addressed the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning on healthcare. Dr. Carson often criticized Obamacare and government intrusion in healthcare while President Obama sat in the audience. Dr. Carson encouraged a program where newborn babies are given health savings account as an alternative to Obamacare.

DR. CARSON: Here's my solution: When a person is born, give him a birth certificate, an electronic medical record, and a health savings account to which money can be contributed -- pretax -- from the time you're born 'til the time you die. When you die, you can pass it on to your family members, so that when you're 85 years old and you got six diseases, you're not trying to spend up everything. You're happy to pass it on and there's nobody talking about death panels.

Number one. And also, for the people who were indigent who don't have any money we can make contributions to their HSA each month because we already have this huge pot of money. Instead of sending it to some bureaucracy, let's put it in their HSAs. Now they have some control over their own health care.

I heard this yesterday. Interesting idea.

Won't work. If you've not been through it with a parent yet, then you'll find out that, unless you die fairly young and quick, then pretty much nobody has anything left over. Your costs are going to be far more than you've got and most middle class people end up writing over all of their remaining assets either to a private home or Medicaid nursing home.

That's what kills the system cost-wise. Those final last years. And we've got 100,000 people/day headed there for the next 20 years.

ObamaCare is the law of the land, Ladies.

Give it up already.

Knower of Things Wrote:
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> ObamaCare is the law of the land, Ladies.
>
> Give it up already.


So was slavery.

So was denying woment the right to vote.

So was separate but equal.

I don't know about you, but I am glad nobody gave up those fights.

Perhaps you need a history lesson. Perhaps you need to see what Obamacare is doing to people's paychecks.

Carson's idea works for the young and healthy. Not so much for the sick and elderly. If I understand what he's saying, the old would be put in a position of having to choose to seek treatment for their illnesses or just die already so they can pass their account on to the next generation. Great choice.

And what about a kid with cancer whose treatment costs millions. Do you just let him die?

Simplistic solution to a complex problem. Something needs to be done about the elderly sucking up huge resources at the end of life (follow the money), but this isn't it.

yes, give up the good fights. Wrote:
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> Knower of Things Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ObamaCare is the law of the land, Ladies.
> >
> > Give it up already.
>
>
> So was slavery.
>
> So was denying woment the right to vote.
>
> So was separate but equal.

Slavery? Suffrage? Segregation? What, not Nazi reference? Please...

So is Social Security.

So is Medicare.

So is Medicaid.

Let's compare apples to apples.

Knower of Things Wrote:
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> Slavery? Suffrage? Segregation? What, not Nazi
> reference? Please...

I'll leave the Nazi references to you. That is where people go when they have lost as demonstrated by your use of it here. Toodles!

Solyent Green Wrote:
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> Won't work.

No need to read anymore. The party of NO has spoken.

no no no Wrote:
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> Solyent Green Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Won't work.
>
> No need to read anymore. The party of NO has
> spoken.


Your loss considering that poster wasn't me.

What they said makes a lot of sense though.

Something you're not accustomed to recognizing.

where does this money magically come from?

People can't save shit for retirement. They sure the hell won't save shit for health care.

DHP3W Wrote:
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> where does this money magically come from?


Ask Obama, he has been printing money in the trillions.

It doesn't really work for people who have serious medical conditions earlier in life that would exhaust these accounts.

An HSA is just a tax dodge...especially as there's no requirement to spend it on medical expenses.

Just allow people to get high-deductible plans but require them to show they have the money to cover co-pays, co-insurance, etc. It could be just a secured account like a savings account. No tax deduction for the accounts, but tax deduction for the expenditures. Allow people to use them to get medical tests, exams, or treatments, even if not approved by their insurer.

mo money Wrote:
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> DHP3W Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > where does this money magically come from?
>
>
> Ask Obama, he has been printing money in the
> trillions.


+1. If you can't print it then just borrow it. Debt doesn't matter.

mo money Wrote:
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> DHP3W Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > where does this money magically come from?
>
>
> Ask Obama, he has been printing money in the
> trillions.


Just follow Bush's example with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Don't fund them at all, refuse to account for the money borrowed to pay for them by not registering it as part of the debt, then let the next guy deal with it. Problem solved!