i was curious so i googled some foreign newpapers/editorials. what i gathered is some people think our government is working as it should. no one part of gov't is too strong. i read some people that think Obama's legacy may be the only US President that ever defaulted. not a whole lot of nervousness about default, though. the opinion was that the US will not default. a biggie i read is that this is going on because Obama care was rammed down the throat of almost half of it's people and that not one republican voted for it. of course, there were opposing opinions here and there.

I'm from Europe and I cannot understand the aversion that so many people in the US seem to have towards national healthcare - we have it and although we whinge about it and it could do with improvement, I cannot imagine living in a country where seriously sick or injured people could remain untreated, when the tools to treat them are there, just because they don't have insurance. It's barbaric.

We already have insurance for the poorest in the nation. It's called Medicaid all poor people have it.

Now you don't even have to be poor to have it just lazy!

So many lies being thrown around by BOTH sides of the political aisle. And unfortunately, we don't have a clue. We know what we are told but what is the TRUTH?

I am not a well person. I have a few different chronic conditions that require numerous doctor visits as well as extremely expensive prescriptions every month. You'd think that this would be GREAT for someone like ME, right??! WRONG! Not only is my insurance premiums going up, I also cannot put as much money towards Flexible Benefits as I used to be able to. Last year, the cap was $3500. We went through that in just our after-insurance prescription costs! And that is without either of us going in to get eye exams and glasses (that we both wear). This year the cap is $1000 LESS AND we are both needing new glasses!

A poor person can get medicaid.
An old person can get medicare.
Maybe there are some who slip through the cracks and I would like to help them out. I am all for it. But when so much of my check is being taken ALREADY by taxes for crap that I HAVE NO USE FOR because of all the pork they add on to everything....WE CANNOT AFFORD IT WITHOUT SERIOUS CUTS BEING MADE TO THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT.

It's like saying that everyone in the entire country should make a minimum of $50,000 a year. People who make more wouldn't care one way or the other (until THEIR money was taken to subsidize the low wage earners). People who make less would think that was a GREAT plan. But where is the money coming from? It is NOT a sustainable thing and definitely not something to jump into with both feet when we are already trillions in debt. We cannot raise taxes too much. People already talk about how much better they would be to leech off the government teat (instead of WORK) like plenty already do.

"We already have insurance for the poorest in the nation. It's called Medicaid all poor people have it." Whoa hold it there cowboy, NO not ALL poor people get medicaid. In fact if your male and don't have full custody of your kids even though you are in the poverty level of income or completely unemployed you DO NOT get medicaid. In fact a woman with no kids same income status and no disabled will NOT get medicaid. I work I have ALWAYS worked medicaid saved my and my families asses on medical care cost when we have had it. I've been that poor, hell worse, and when sick prior to kids making minimum wage under the poverty level income, I couldn't afford the 60$ to go to a clinic to get treated for the pneumonia and sinus infection I had I didn't have 60$ I nearly died because I refused to go to the hospital and end up with THAT bill, luckily loving friends came up with 60$ for the clinic and 120$ for the meds I then needed. All could of been avoided with the ACA. I pay taxes and I get medicaid, I still get it under the ACA and I pay my freaking taxes! In a year if I get the job I'm after I will for the first time ever have health care for myself and family that gets us real medical care and not refused left and right for things our docs say we NEED and medicaid says nope. Our problem is health care for people who REFUSE to get jobs, get off their lazy entitled asses and grow up, not all poor people are lazy.

Please note I didn't mean to offend anyone with my comment! I remember watching something on US healthcare some time ago, seeing people stitch up their own really nasty cuts that needed hospital attention because they couldn't afford to pay and didn't have insurance really stuck in my mind. I've read a few things since then that would seem to corroborate the lack of universal healthcare, but I do realise that the info available outside of the country may not accurately reflect the reality within, so if I was off the mark then I apologise.

I have been very poor and Medicaid helped me also, and my three children, when they were young. You are right all poor people don't get it but when my oldest daughter was 4 she had a lump under her left ear. I worked - 40 hours a week; we went to have it checked. I paid cash and we were really poor I was a single mother to three children under the ages 5 making minumum wage. When they told me it may be cancer I of course really got scared. I did not have any insurance at the time so I went to the medicaid office to see if I could get emergency help as I could not afford a biopsy or surgery. I was denied but my family and friends found the money to help me with the surgery for my child. When I was in the walfare office there were people there with gold rings and teeth, and very nice cars. I didn't have any of that I drove a 20 year old car that I had to push start. Now if you go to the office the poverty level has been raised now you can make a good living and still get it - I know my youngest step daughter gets it and her mother makes ok money but she lies so she can get everything for free. When the first parts of the ACA went into affect I lost all my insurance everything I work for a small company now none of my kids or myself are covered we have nothing! I went to the web site and put in my info to see how much it would be and I can not afford it period. I pay taxes also and in the years after I left my kids dad - I was really poor I understand poor. I don't understand able body people with good jobs getting medicaid I can't afford to cover my family any more and we still don't make much. I'm sorry if I offended you but in this day with the ACA you can get medicaid in all those cases single men and women. I can't afford to pay for myself and my family but I guess I can afford everyone elses insurance I mean why not right, it's not like children are going uninsured - OH yea mine are!!!

I don't know. I went to the UK recently and heard some Britons speaking very favorably of us on the tube.

I think that those who think we as a nation are "barbaric" or opposing Obamacare are "barbaric" ought to take a look at what small businesses go through every day, and just how many people truly abuse the welfare system. They ought to take a look at the medical copays union employees pay vs. the copays people in the private sector pay. The number of people who abuse the welfare system is barbaric. What the small businesses deal with in terms of bureaucracy and lack of work these days is barbaric. The staggering difference between the copays of union members vs. those in the private sector is barbaric.

One of my friends is an RN. She suggested to me that instead of creating more bureaucracy, why not just put those who will be receiving Obamacare on Medicare or Medicaid?

I am from the UK, and work as a nurse in the USA. All my friends laugh and say Americans cannot pull their collective head out of their ass. I am very defensive of America, as I love it here.

That said, I work in healthcare, at one of the biggest hospitals in the country. We treat the rich, on their insurance/wage and the poor, on medicaid/care. The middle ground is missing. The rich could not care less the cost, nor the poor. The people who make up the majority, who work for their money and have to budget, are the ones stressed by their hospital stay.

While I understand and witnessed the problems in the NHS (National Health Service) in the UK, the US system truly screws those who are not millionaires or poor. When I had my child the care here was substandard to that I saw friends have in the UK and I got a $10,000 bill and they never even considered a bill.

Additionally, I think most Americans are unaware of their hidden costs - car insurance here is ridiculous - I pay a month what I would pay in a year in the UK. Why? Because car insurance companies have to cover the cost of medical bills. In the UK that is a non-issue. So, in the UK, yes taxes are higher for the NHS, but in America they get you in ways you do not realize.

Overall for me I prefer the NHS, despite working as a nurse in the USA (because my kids dad is here). Funnily enough, I always believed the US had a better healthcare system, but when I was seriously ill last year EVERY doctor here told me to go home for better treatment (despite me having 100% insurance - so no cost issues) as they said I would be treated quicker and more effectively in the UK. I never imagined that!

I'm chiming in from Canada here. Some of the things I've heard:

Americans think they are the only people that count.

They think that as soon as they cross the border it should be winter, even though parts of our country are more south than they are.

They think your gun laws are ridiculous. Just because you have a gun doesn't necessarily mean it will save you. Often the other person has one too. Too many innocent people get killed accidentally.

We don't understand why you don't embrace universal health care. Here in Ontario, employers pay 1.95% of employee wages (after a company wide $400,000 exemption) to the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan. This covers all doctor visits and hospitalization. There are no deductibles, co-pays, limits etc. Our problem, unfortunately is that to administer this, they had to put a cap on doctor's wages, which in turn has made it difficult for us to find doctors sometimes. As they cannot make an unlimited amount of cash, they have restricted the number of patients they will take on. Some of them will actually make you fill out a questionnaire to find out if you're healthy enough to be their patient.

I've also heard you're pretty pushy and loud too.....sorry.

I don't know many Americans, but our company does have a location in Texas, and I find the people there very nice. I've also been to New York - same thing.