"If we can find the money to kill people, we can find the money to save people."
-Tony Benn, British Labour Politician
....And with that, healthcare reform begins.
Wow, it was exactly a month ago when I was lamenting on the fact that healthcare reform was probably dead. But...like a Taiwanese in-law, it's back again!
Like I had said before, it's not a perfect fix, but it's a start. What's amazing to me is how many people believe all the misinformation that's been going around. Some of my "friends" on Facebook are shouting things like "SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR FREEDOM!" or "THIS IS HOW SOCIALISM STARTS!" (FYI - these people aren't really my friends, but people I might have known 20 years ago that decided they wanted to add me on Facebook....just wait till they read my blog, then maybe they'll delete me. hehe)
Just exactly how are we losing our freedom? Here is FACT #1, from the "Politifact Website":
1. The plan is not a government takeover of health care like in Canada or Britain. The government will not take over hospitals or other privately run health care businesses. Doctors will not become government employees, like in Britain. And the U.S. government intends to help people buy insurance from private insurance companies, not pay all the bills like the single-payer system in Canada. The key parts of the current U.S. system -- employer-provided insurance, Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor -- would stay in place. The government would create health insurance exchanges for people who have to buy insurance on their own, so they could more easily compare plans and prices.
Does this sound like a government takeover? Hardly. If anything, it's going to give people MORE freedom to choose.
Now, FACT #2 is one of my personal favorites:
2. Insurance companies will be regulated more heavily. They will be told the minimum services they must cover, including preventive care. They will have to pay out a certain percentage of premiums for patient care. By 2014, when the exchanges open, insurers won't be able to deny customers for pre-existing conditions
Regulation is exactly what the insurance industry needs. Oh man, do they need regulation. Insurance companies are evil, greedy bastards who will figure out any loophole to keep from paying your claims. I wish this regulation started right now.
Now, someone like me, who's not dirt poor, but not wealthy either, my insurance will probably stay about the same. My premiums might actually go up a little bit, but with that increase will come better coverage. If me or someone in my family gets sick, maybe I won't have to worry about losing our house to pay our medical bill. My only concern is if the premiums skyrocket, but from what I'm hearing, there will be a cap on premiums, depending on your income.
The Republican politicians hate this bill. Absolutely loathe it. If they didn't have to resort to racial slurs outside the Capitol building, and shouting "Baby killer!" inside, maybe they'd get a little more respect from me. Their pockets are lined so deep with insurance company cash that they can't see the big picture. The money that is being spent is for a common good. It's not being spent to attack sovereign nations or bomb wedding parties in distant countries. It's not being spent to build weapons. It's not being spent to build an empire in the middle east. It's being spent right here on the citizens of the USA, to give people healthcare who wouldn't have it otherwise.
Speaking of the "baby killer" remark. I was really, really hoping that the person who shouted that wasn't a senator from Texas. But...guess what...it was! Another embarrassing moment for Texas, I'm afraid. I'm a reluctant Texan, but I've made it my home, so I really hope that someday we can get out of this stigma of being labeled a state full of uneducated hicks. Watching Bill Maher last Friday night, he made this joke about Texans wanting to change school textbooks:
"The only use that Texans have for textbooks is to stand on them to watch football games."
Of course, after bashing Texas, he went on to say he would be appearing live in El Paso on April 3rd. Still, is Texas always going to be the butt of jokes? I hope one day it's not.
So...there are my thoughts on the current state of healthcare reform. I know of at least one person who will benefit greatly from this bill. My ex-mother-in-law. She's been denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Now she'll be able to get insurance.
Good job dems. Now start working on a public option, create more jobs, and start reigning in the banking industry.
-Tony Benn, British Labour Politician
....And with that, healthcare reform begins.
Wow, it was exactly a month ago when I was lamenting on the fact that healthcare reform was probably dead. But...like a Taiwanese in-law, it's back again!
Like I had said before, it's not a perfect fix, but it's a start. What's amazing to me is how many people believe all the misinformation that's been going around. Some of my "friends" on Facebook are shouting things like "SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR FREEDOM!" or "THIS IS HOW SOCIALISM STARTS!" (FYI - these people aren't really my friends, but people I might have known 20 years ago that decided they wanted to add me on Facebook....just wait till they read my blog, then maybe they'll delete me. hehe)
Just exactly how are we losing our freedom? Here is FACT #1, from the "Politifact Website":
1. The plan is not a government takeover of health care like in Canada or Britain. The government will not take over hospitals or other privately run health care businesses. Doctors will not become government employees, like in Britain. And the U.S. government intends to help people buy insurance from private insurance companies, not pay all the bills like the single-payer system in Canada. The key parts of the current U.S. system -- employer-provided insurance, Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor -- would stay in place. The government would create health insurance exchanges for people who have to buy insurance on their own, so they could more easily compare plans and prices.
Does this sound like a government takeover? Hardly. If anything, it's going to give people MORE freedom to choose.
Now, FACT #2 is one of my personal favorites:
2. Insurance companies will be regulated more heavily. They will be told the minimum services they must cover, including preventive care. They will have to pay out a certain percentage of premiums for patient care. By 2014, when the exchanges open, insurers won't be able to deny customers for pre-existing conditions
Regulation is exactly what the insurance industry needs. Oh man, do they need regulation. Insurance companies are evil, greedy bastards who will figure out any loophole to keep from paying your claims. I wish this regulation started right now.
Now, someone like me, who's not dirt poor, but not wealthy either, my insurance will probably stay about the same. My premiums might actually go up a little bit, but with that increase will come better coverage. If me or someone in my family gets sick, maybe I won't have to worry about losing our house to pay our medical bill. My only concern is if the premiums skyrocket, but from what I'm hearing, there will be a cap on premiums, depending on your income.
The Republican politicians hate this bill. Absolutely loathe it. If they didn't have to resort to racial slurs outside the Capitol building, and shouting "Baby killer!" inside, maybe they'd get a little more respect from me. Their pockets are lined so deep with insurance company cash that they can't see the big picture. The money that is being spent is for a common good. It's not being spent to attack sovereign nations or bomb wedding parties in distant countries. It's not being spent to build weapons. It's not being spent to build an empire in the middle east. It's being spent right here on the citizens of the USA, to give people healthcare who wouldn't have it otherwise.
Speaking of the "baby killer" remark. I was really, really hoping that the person who shouted that wasn't a senator from Texas. But...guess what...it was! Another embarrassing moment for Texas, I'm afraid. I'm a reluctant Texan, but I've made it my home, so I really hope that someday we can get out of this stigma of being labeled a state full of uneducated hicks. Watching Bill Maher last Friday night, he made this joke about Texans wanting to change school textbooks:
"The only use that Texans have for textbooks is to stand on them to watch football games."
Of course, after bashing Texas, he went on to say he would be appearing live in El Paso on April 3rd. Still, is Texas always going to be the butt of jokes? I hope one day it's not.
So...there are my thoughts on the current state of healthcare reform. I know of at least one person who will benefit greatly from this bill. My ex-mother-in-law. She's been denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition. Now she'll be able to get insurance.
Good job dems. Now start working on a public option, create more jobs, and start reigning in the banking industry.
(...and to Sara and Kyle, the country just became a slightly better place for you to live in.)
I think it is a step in the right direction. I think it a touch hypocritical of the Religious right to focus so much on what this is going to cost "Me" and why should I have to support those who don't work at all? Those that take advantage will be in the minority, our taxes will go to help a vast majority of people who really need it. To me it comes down to what is more important, the concept of "Private property" or "Compassion". Go ahead and take what I earn as long as it is under auspice of helping my fellow man. My life here is but brief, and my reward will be grand in heaven. That is all I am concerned about. I can't take any of it with me, so why not try and help along the way? To me this is the true Christian value - regardless if you are Christian or not, regardless if it is legislated or not.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course wouldn't be complete without tossing in how healthcare was defeated under Clinton, much in the way of being too expensive. However, somehow we found a way to afford a war that will end up costing so much more than healthcare. I hate it that my tax money is spent on harming other people... Wow, lots here to spark argument. Not looking for that, just wanted to say my part as well. Peace and love to all
Amen.
ReplyDeleteAs I've stated several times before on this blog: HEALTHCARE BEGINS AT THE GROCERY STORE.
ReplyDeleteIf this plan is so great, then why did Congress conveniently EXEMPT themselves from it--like they do almost every other law in this country?
As Dennis Prager has said on his show, "The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen."
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you, somewhat, that healthcare should start at home. It doesn't seem right to pay for healthcare for someone who is morbidly obese and who's sitting at home eating 5 cheeseburgers and two peanut butter milkshakes. But really, does this account for everyone who needs healthcare? Not everyone who needs healthcare needs it because of poor choices they made about their lifestyle.
I work in a hospital, and I have to pass through the ER waiting room every day on my way to my department. I can tell you that at least 95% of the people waiting are not fat. An accident can happen to anyone, healthy and unhealthy alike.
Thanks for your reply, Ken. But when you mention E.R., we're right back where we started. Everyone knows that they can get Emergency Care in the US--that's why you have so many people there! Now--since this bill has passed--I expect that even more people will start showing up there for non-emergencies.
ReplyDeleteYou've seen all the people lining up at "popular" doctor's offices in Taiwan. They have a runny nose, and they think they need a doctor. They could walk nearest pharmacy (like those Watson's stores) and get better--more appropriate--medicine.
I think people will be even MORE CARELESS about their health and safety now that this bill has passed.
I'd agree with you completely if healthcare were going to be free or extremely cheap. You'd see huge masses of people in the ER waiting rooms for things as simple as a runny nose. Hell, I already see that now with people on Medicaid. I see people come in with just a simple headache or toothache. It's abuse of the system, plain and simple. Taiwan's medical clinics were always full of people who basically just needed some over the counter cold medicine.
ReplyDeleteThat said, as TF pointed out earlier, those people will most likely be in the minority.
For most Americans, myself included, we will still have to pay the $75 or $150 copayment to go to the ER. I don't want to pay that unless I am very, very sick and have no idea how to take care of the problem. The only time we have ever been to the ER in the last two years is when my wife had swine flu.
Co-pays will not go down. They will likely go up.
T.F's thinking is extremely idealistic and frankly, quite disingenuous if it were truly put to the test personally for him. This kind of "selfless" rhetoric comes from someone young who has never had a mortgage, car payment and children to raise...
ReplyDeleteAnd if he did his research, he would find that entitlements take up half of the federal budget, costing far more in the long run than any wars being fought. This new legislation is an entitlement that will not eventually end like a war does and will just grow bigger over the long run.
What this legislation does is a good thing. That is not what is in question. How it will be paid for is. There is no free lunch no matter how much is said about medical care being a right when it clearly is not.
Taxes must go up and will in time. A bill will be enacted for a VAT or "value added tax" which is a national sales tax to help pay for this. Prepare yourselves for a much leaner middle class lifestyle. It's inevitable.
Taylor is 100% correct in his views. I want to add that any legislation that encourages dependency is not good.