Another late start today, sorry about that. Let’s go to Andrew for an interesting statement:
Large numbers believe healthcare reform will hurt them personally, but support it for the good of the nation. Obama has tried to argue that it will help most people personally. It’s the worst sales job he’s ever done – because, I suspect, we all know it isn’t true.
The entire point of healthcare reform is that it would help most people personally. Otherwise, why bother? And more to the point, why do 72% of Americans want it done?
My view is that healthcare reform, ideally single-payer, but even in the form of a public plan to compete with existing private ones, would be beneficial to every American. A public option is going to be cheaper because it doesn’t need to spend money on marketing; this in turn can help drive down the rates offered by the private firms. Anyone who can’t get coverage through a private firm can get it through the public option. People too poor to pay for insurance get a subsidy. Everyone will see their premiums drop because of fair competition, and over the long term costs will drop even more because folks will stop going to the emergency room (the most expensive healthcare option) for head colds and arthritis.
The private firms can’t compete, you say? Cry me a river. They’ve been profiting for decades while refusing coverage to sick folks. Screw ’em.
Then we just have to do something about malpractice insurance, which has become expensive enough to drive doctors out of practice altogether.
As much as my old Libertarian soul hates the idea of embiggening the Gubmint, I find that the idea of letting the U.S. Federal Government take over Americans’ healthcare is vastly superior to a system in which the private health companies go out of their way to deny people benefits.
The This American Life crew…has a segment in this weekend’s episode on rescission of health insurance policies – insurers’ established practice of looking for ways to invalidate policies once it turns out that the insured actually needs significant medical care… The story describes a couple of particularly egregious cases, such as a woman who was denied breast cancer surgery because she had been treated for acne in the past, and a person whose policy was rescinded because his insurance agent had incorrectly entered his weight on the application form.
If the healthcare insurance providers are willing to operate under regulations that require them to pay benefits to their customers, then great. If they insist they can’t make any profit that way, then basically they’re saying “we make our profits by letting people die.” To which I respond: eff ’em. I’d much rather deal with a government bureaucracy than a private bureaucracy that stands to benefit by my death.
Everyone gets treatment in emergencies and the uninsured get treatment the rest of us pay for in higher premiums. So the basic point remains: does this form of socialized medicine make more sense than socialized medicine which brings everyone into the system, and tries to find ways to lower costs?
An “Aha Moment” on the subject of tangible forgiveness. Video’s about 2 1/2 minutes, but it’s worth it. Key description:
When I was pregnant with my twins, I had the realization of being forgiven for the abortion I had in the past and didn’t have to explain it anymore.
Whatever your feelings are about organized religion or abortion issues, the thought of unloading a heaping helping of guilt appeals to anyone, I think.
Keith Olbermann found some neat stuff at the Baseball Hall of Fame over the weekend, although mostly I link to it to show this:
Is it just me, or does Keith Olbermann have the same body shape as me? Thick calves, slight gut, enormous fricking head? And he’s even taller than I am. Remind me to never anger him. By, you know, voting Republican, or something.
My friend Cassie has written a nifty trilogy of teen-oriented fantasy novels, The Mortal Instruments, and Simon and Schuster has seen fit to release the first book, City of Bones, on the intarw3bs. It would behoove you to read it, as it is Pimp.
