"What country in its right mind would pay millions of people to deny other people health care?" -- Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed
It's the Fourth of July, so here's an idea for a renewal of the spirit of the Declaration of Independence: Let's declare our independence from health insurance companies. Let 'em go, kick 'em out the door, and say goodbye to bad rubbish.
Members of Congress are trying to hammer out a health care reform bill, and they'd be wise to show a bit of the country's early revolutionary spirit. They should remember -- rather, we the people should be sure they remember -- that Congress is in Washington to look out for the interests of the American people, and not the interests of the health insurance industry, no matter how many millions of dollars the industry has given them.
Every organized, modern country on earth has a health care system that recognizes decent health care as a human right, not a privilege for only those who can afford it. It's called being civilized. What we in America have instead of that kind of system is an insurance racket. It wasn't always that way -- the practice of employers providing insurance coverage didn't really take off till postwar companies started using it as a recruiting tool -- and there's no cosmic law that says Americans have to continue being dependent on the good will of insurance companies to stay healthy.
The way health care is set up in the United States now leaves more than 47 million Americans uninsured and millions more with substandard care. Last year, the United States ranked miserably in a study of deaths that could have been prevented by timely access to health care. The study, conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, looked at 19 countries. France, Japan and Australia scored the highest. We were dead last. If that wasn't bad enough, the study noted that "all countries have improved substantially except the U.S." (Cue ironic shouts of "USA! USA! USA!")
In other words, the way health care is set up in the United States now is wrecking companies and homes, and it's killing people. To get right to the point, our health care system is a travesty of justice and a mockery of the whole idea of America as a community of citizens.
Meanwhile, let me tell you what your health care plan would be if you were one of the fine public servants in Congress: You'd get unlimited doctor's office visits of your choosing; all routine exams, physical therapy, accidents, labs and X-rays are covered, as are unlimited hospital stays, most chronic care and rehab; you'd have full prescription coverage, and unlimited specialist consultations. There would be no deductibles and no co-pays. And that's for you and your entire family. The cost? Thirty-five dollars per month. I've tried but I can't think of any moral justification for denying these public servants' employers (us) the same kind of plan.
Barring the heavens opening up and God speaking directly to Congress, though, we're not going to get the Congressional health care system. So far, these guys can't even agree that Americans should have the choice to opt out of private health insurance. The main sticking point in the health care reform debate has been whether to include a "public option" in the final plan. Public option means that if someone could not acquire good coverage at an affordable price, he or she would be able to enroll in a government health insurance program akin to Medicare. It would be a safeguard for people whose employers don't provide insurance, those who've been rejected by insurance companies, or whose "pre-existing condition" sent their insurance payments into the stratosphere. Recent polls show that nearly three-fourths of Americans want such an option included in the plan.
A couple of weeks ago while arguing against the inclusion of a public option in the new health care bill, U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham repeated the standard health industry line, "People don't want a government bureaucrat standing between a doctor and his patient." The obvious reply, as several pundits have pointed out since then, is that what we have now is an insurance company standing between our doctors and us, and not too many people are happy about it.
And why should they be? The health insurance industry has grown into a giant parasite that threatens the American economy and individual Americans' lives. Even worse, because of insurance companies' plainly immoral practice of denying coverage to people who are actually sick -- in other words, people who really need insurance -- around 18,000 Americans die every year because they can't afford or can't qualify for health insurance.
A public option would be one of several choices for patients and businesses and would leave the private insurance system intact. But it would no doubt increase the number of Americans who get their health insurance through the government, which, of course, is why the health insurance industry is wailing, bribing, pressuring and fighting like crazy to kill the public option. They say it would ruin them. My question is: What does that say about the value of what the health insurance industry offers us? If Americans want to exercise their freedom of choice, and wind up pulling the parasitic insurance business off their backs, well, isn't that how a genuinely free market is supposed to work?
COMMENTS
RE: Health insurance leeches bleeding America dry
Posted by frankgriffin on 07.05.09 @ 05:50 AM
"Do you honestly believe that socialized healthcare would do worse than this? Right now one out of
every 20 people around you does not have health insurance."
Yep, some people may not have health insurance but atleast they get treated under the current
system. People like to equate no insurance as not care at all. Government will degrade everyones
care by delaying new drugs and treatment and waiting lines and denial of care with no recourse. 85%
of all advances in technology originate in the USA. If we become yet another socialized nation that
will end. You will not see fan fare about this from our main stream media since you do not hear
about the denial of a drug that was never developed. Many people just cant wrap their minds around
the consequences of moving in the socialized direction. Many countries depend on the USA for new
drugs just like how much of the world currently depends on the USA for military security. Once the
USA pulls out there is no one left to fill this role. Europe's care would completly faulter if they
actually had to spend money on more than a token military force.
"No, socialized healthcare is not without its flaws, but it is a significant improvement over the
system we currently employ."
Wrong, Socialied care is nothing more than a trade off from one set of problems to a different more
serious set of problems. There is little recourse against a government controled process.
"You speak about rights in our Constitution, but last I checked, the upholding the well-being of the
country is one of the fundamental principles that our government is supposed to be based on. How is
providing a means to keep the citizens healthy not a responsibility of the government? "
Your brain is turning to mush with the above statement. When did you "last I checked" you never
checked at all because what you say is not there and never was there in our constitution. We have
the freedom to persue happiness, we are not entitled to it! Providing a means to keep the citizens
healthy is up to us not government. Show me where you saw a right to health care. This all boils
down to responsibility. Our ancestors would shake their heads at what sheep we have become.
"Frankgriffin, socialized care can and does work. For every story you can tell me about waiting
periods for specialized care in countries with a national health care system, I'll tell you three
stories about American being dropped or denied coverage for a pre-existing condition or having the
treatment they need not even being covered by their insurance. "
Sorry but I got you beat on this one. For every story of care in the USA waiting for care I will
give you a hundred where those in a socialized systems waited much longer. Many in these countries
just accept the wait as normal now. Many in the socialized system just accept that they will not
get care after a certain age so there is not challenge of being denied because they didnt even try
because they already knew they would be denied and have no recourse to go elsewhere. Of those
people denied in the USA by insurance, how many ended up being treated? If it was a serious
condition most do get treatment even if their insurance does not pay for a procedure. Dont mix
insurance failure with not being treated. Liberals are so slippery at times hehe.
"In terms of raw data - here's the reality"
You are comparing apples and oranges on this dude. I understand the mistake because the devil is in
the details. Socialized countries cook the books on how they report on this stuff. For births some
countries do not count a death for infant mortality unless the kid lives for one month after birth
where the USA counts any child that shows signs of life as a live birth and is counted as a death if
it deos not make it. The socialist countries will even count the live birth as a still born if the
kid only makes it a few days. This skews the numbers against the USA for birth results and life
expectancy. Dying in year zero will really put a dent on total life expectancy for a country.
There are some legit problems with living in a free country that can hurt results but freedom is
better than tyranny. If everyone was forced to eat healthy I am sure we would all live longer but
who wants to eat granola all the time. The government already infringes on smokers rights to smoke
in their own buildings.
"Do you honestly believe that the majority of minimum-wage families can afford the average premiums
for private health insurance? If they can't afford it because they are working in a minimum-wage
job...does this mean they are less entitled to quality health care? "
They will not have a gold plated plan but they could have major injury or illness coverage. This
type of coverage is rather cheap. The government interfers of course and makes companys insure a
sex change or some other nonsense along with it of course. If they cant afford a lexus does this
mean they are less entitled. Wealth envy gets us no where but misery. Stats show that only .3
percent of people are actually trying to raise a family on minimum wage so your argument is not
based in fact BTW.
"I would disagree that our education system is a total failure"
You can find a few pockets of success but by and large it is a failure. Parent do make a big
difference in a childs education but they are not even close to the whole picture. Some parents do
not even know how much our education standards have been lowered. When kids are allowed to go to
private school with vouchers and such, their grades almost always go up. This shows that even with
the same parents a child can do better when they are not subjected to the government model.
"Wrong. Please see my previous post about international averages of health care costs"
You really need to dig to learn these things but I am afraid you are WRONG still. Spending less on
paper proves nothing. To be able to afford the best is also not a bad thing. On kind of a side
issue we in the USA have the disposable income to spend large amounts of money to keep ourselves
alive and to exhaust every last avenue to stay alive. Things like this cost money and I am afraid
the Euros just do not have the cash or the ability to do this since they are told what they can
pursue and how much of it they can have. In the USA we have the luxury of being able to spend every
last dime we have to stay alive if we wish. In Europe these individuals would be considered line
jumpers and wasting system resources if not outright law breakers. This conflict is of course
artificially created in these Socialized systems. The human suffering from the wait lines and lost
productivity and livability are not shown in the numbers you provide. If you are honest about this
you would agree with me. Being blindly in favor of a government master is in vogue so join the
crowd.
"Almost every older person I know (55 or over) with a serious illness has had the experience of
being dropped or denied coverage by their insurance companies. Most end up moving to a medicaid-type
program."
So you are saying the got treatment in this horrible capitalist system! Score one for our current
system.
"Our life expectancy is lower than the UK, France and Canada. They must be doing something right."
If you call cooking the books doing something right sure.
"(grins) I thought you were talking about the Bush administration there for a moment."
"My apologies. You're right. Thanks for pointing that out. However, your percentage data is
inconsistent with other sources."
Correct, I have seen many percentages on this. Most of the percentages are conservative and use
only verified data instead of probably or likely number of illegals.
"Immigration politics aside, every human being should be given life-saving care when necessary"
I have no problem with this at all. I would throw in a free trip back to latin america with each
vist hehe.
Great discussions BTW guys. Some of what I say is opinion but much of it is based in fact so
disagree with me at your own risk hehe.
RE: Health insurance leeches bleeding America dry
Posted by luke2008 on 07.04.09 @ 06:57 AM
and another point I'd like to make is that just because someone does not pay for health insurance doesnt mean they cant afford to pay for health services.
I run my own small business and dont have health insurance. I pay everything cash. I also do my best to stay healthy. I work out, eat as best I can, dont smoke and drink only occasionaly, my wife and kids do the same. Thats common sense. I was taught these things by my parents. That and God's grace keep us healthy. Not a government program.
RE: Health insurance leeches bleeding America dry
Posted by luke2008 on 07.04.09 @ 06:45 AM
The numbers given by jphurley are somewhat misleading.
For example you show that health care expenditures in these socialized healthcare countries are lower than here in the US.
But what is the tax rate in these countries? Much higher I'll bet. Socialized medicine requires a huge tax burden in order to fund it. This is not including whatever you pay when you actually go see the healthcare provider.
Also keep in mind the US GDP is mostly consumer spending, some 70% of it. We create and produce very little compared to what we used to be.
We're also unhealthier than other countries, but thats not because we dont have socialized medicine. Look at what we're eating, drinking smoking, and we're NOT exercising.
You see, you cant get something for nothing. Nothing is free in this world but Jesus.
I say a true free market would do wonders for healthcare.
Get rid of licensing requirements for doctors, nurses, etc. That does not mean abolish medical education.
We should severly weaken the regulatory power of the FDA, or better yet abolish it, open up the market for generics and other drugs that may work. That lowers drug costs.
Nothing can replace genuine human compassion. People who cannot pay, including illegals might still be able to get the services they need from those people with the means and compassion to pay for them.
De-regulation lowers costs for everyone. The free market, thats the solution.