1. Do any of you disagree with single payer healthcare?
2. Do any of you think there shouldn't be a public option for health insurance?
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hiltzik3-2009aug03,0,6650122.column?track=rss
I'm just wondering because I can't believe people are this fucking stupid. Sorry if you answered yes to either of those questions.... kind of.
I don't understand how most people in this country don't understand that they are in danger of being dropped by their insurance company if they get sick. We work for Intel so we are in a good situation. But the vast majority of people in the country are fucked if they get any sort of major illness
Furthermore people keep bullshitting and telling the public that healthcare reform will kill small business. When in actuality small businesses are currently screwed because they can't afford to cover their employees. Innovation has been stifled because people are less inclined to start their own business because they can't afford individual health insurance. It's amazing that we as Americans spend twice as much as any other country on healthcare and we are ranked 30th in healthcare among industrialized nations. That's like the Yankees paying all that money and not even making the playoffs, except people die because health insurance companies have less of a moral compass than contract killers.
I agree with many of the points that the LA Times article points out. The Health Insurance industry is big business... and like most businesses, making a buck is more important that the people that are being served. Watch Michael Moore's "Sicko" documentary and you'll get a sense for how bad it is for some folks to get proper healthcare and for how corrupt the private system is. I'm not a Michael Moore fan, but it is tough to watch some of the things that folks have to go through. For a country with as much means as the US to not have a health care system that works for everyone is a real shame.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, Obama has a real fight on his hands. Anytime a powerful industry stands to lose money, they will put all their resources behind driving home their message. You are already starting to see it with the BS on how "the government can't run a simple program like Cash for Clunkers, how can they run a healthcare system." Believe me, that BS is only the beginning. It's gonna be ugly.
i definitely am for some sort of healthcare reform...
ReplyDeletethe question is how much....how much of your dollars are you willing to pay for someone else....you can go to far and the gov't starts to profit and operate the same way as big business. i feel the gov't will ask those same questions and apply care similarly: your medical history, current status, etc. the concern a lot of ppl have is with gov't owned facilities the gov't tends to spend too much on the extremes while private owned neglects the extremes....
it comes down to how much it cost and how much power it reserves to one entity....
at some point depending on the balance and execution of power you may have to peel back giving more relief to private sectors when gov't becomes inefficient....our constitution is set up such that we have the power to do these things as a work in progress but folks do not excercise their power so any proposal brought forth seems like it comes with a stamp of eternity....
so as you stated we are in a decent situation with healthcare and probably would want to keep our option even if their is a gov't owned military like option...the question is how much of your money are you willing to part with to help millions receive the military option whilst keeping your current plan because at the end of the day you feel it is still better than the military option.
To answer both your questions
ReplyDelete1. I agree with single payer healthcare
2. I think there should be an alternative option to private healthcare and if its in the form of a public option whats wrong with that.
At the end of the day its all about people's health and if the public option is there to provide health care for 50 million uninsured then I'm all for it. Once more, the public option is "equivalent" to what our congress men/women get, sounds like a great deal?!?!?!?!!
Its quite obvious people (insurance companies) are going to oppose the status quo when it comes to healthcare reform (it screws with their money system). I just haven't completely understand why private insurance companies are riffing about the 50 million uninsured in the first place; it's not like they're competing for their health anyways. Most Americans working for the private sector go with their company's insurance program which already consists of a healthcare provider.
The purpose of healthcare reform is to provide coverage for those who have been denied and target small business who can't compete with premiums from private insurers.
Maybe that's what they are afraid of.. Losing the competion to government run healthcare providers resulting in small businesses becoming more interested in a more affordable public option program.
Either way, healthcare is a right not a priveledge. But as it stands "healthcare is a privelege attainable by the wealthy, a benefit provided soley at the discretion of an employer, government subsidized insurance plan for the elderly or charitable gift provided based on the goodwill of others."
It's out consitutional right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To have Life you have to have health!!! FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN and CHILD...
Trey if we went with single-payer we wouldn't need to pay anything more. We would pay less and everyone would be covered. With a public option insurance companies would have to lower their prices to compete with a public option.
ReplyDeleteGary that's why insurance companies don't want a public option. The public option will not drop sick people or deny people with pre-existing conditions. So individuals would almost always choose the public option. Individual insurance premiums are where these companies have huge margins because the "customer" has no leverage like a large corporation does.
If I were President which obviously can't happen because I don't do PC as you all know..... I would drag health insurance CEOs to the White House for a telivised Q&A. If they didn't come I would make them wish they had. I would release profits, salaries, margins, number of people dropped, etc. Republicans wouldn't be Ble to spin shit when I got done. I would call that stupid bitch (NC Rep who said the gov plan will euthanize old people) the liar she is.
i have heard hard core conservative, republican voters say the pursuit of happiness is not the same as down right happiness....semantics whatever....
ReplyDeletethe private sectors are afraid of losing their business of the healthy folks in the middle (your average 18-38 yr old person)....that is a huge part of the population....for instance myself, i rarely go to the doctor; i go for normal check ups (maybe)....as long as nothing is seriously wrong with me i would have chosen if the option was given to me to get the basic "military" health care option vs paying for my private healthcare through my employer....i have to think about my family but if i am single this may be a no brainer decision
so they stand to lose those middle folks....also you have to remember our employer probably has better options than others; so say if you worked for huge retailer (just throwing something out their i do not know the specifics) as a night shift stocker, you may want to dump your current plan you are paying out of pocket for the gov't plan through your taxes which may be cheaper and all you need....so the current private sector would lose all that clientele....
Exactly, I hate to generalize but the vast majoirty of people making an hourly wage are getting screwed by their health insurance company.
ReplyDeleteI don't have as much of a problem with Pharmacutical companies and hospitals because they actually do shit, like invent drugs and save lives. WHAT THE FUCK DOES A HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY REALLY DO? They push papers around and collect their cut.
Here is what former CIGNA PR rep said:
WENDELL POTTER: I thought that he hit the nail on the head with his movie. But the industry, from the moment that the industry learned that Michael Moore was taking on the health care industry, it was really concerned.
And I checked CIGNA's website they have a BS statement about keeping people healthy and all that crap.