CNN iReport

A lot of people think that we here in the United States have the best health care system in the world. I don't know about that. I have not had the chance to try health care in any other countries.

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I'm pretty sure from what I have read, we have the most expensive health care system in the world. Health care in this country is 17% of GDP and growing. The cost of health care in this country is rising 6.9% per year. That is a huge strain on the economy.

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I make about 50K a year. My employer pays about 16k a year to cover my wife and I with health insurance. That means that 24% of my compensation is in the form of health insurance. That's almost twenty five cents on the dollar. It comes out to $307 a WEEK.

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Like I said, I don't know much about health care in other countries, but I do know a little about health care in this one. I know that doctors, nurses and hospitals are being asked to do more with less every year by insurance companies. I know that hospitals around the country are closeing every year. I know that insurance premiums and co-pays are going up every year.

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I also know that the health care insurance companies have made many promises about keeping costs down. HMO's got low interest rate loans from the government and hefty tax breaks to get started. They said managed care was going to bring down the cost of health care. I know that at one time Blue Cross had a vertual monopoly on health care insurance. They promised that would keep down the cost of health care. I know that many insurance companies were allowed to enter the market, because they said they would keep costs down.

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Hows that working out? You know, the promises from the health care insurance companies. Have you been denied coverage before? Have you seen your premiums go up, and up and up. Maybe the health care insurance industry isn't the answer, maybe they are the problem.