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Found a quote by Secretary Sebelius of Health and Human Services in an NPR article that I found really ironic:
Republicans argue that upward of 100 million Americans would opt out of private insurance in favor of a public plan if such a plan were available.
Guess the words "Give the people what they want!" no longer means anything to our politicians, especially when it rubs up against their lucrative partners in big Pharma, the AMA lobbyists, Insurance company lobbyists, etc. They just don’t get the idea that health care for families should not be held hostage to the bottom line on an insurance company’s balance sheet. They have no grasp of the concept that a child or a parent with cancer is not just a number on an actuarial table. They only seem to know that not to treat a patient is cheaper than treating that patient; the intrinsic value of human life doesn’t even enter into the equation. The only way to teach them is to convince the legislators that votes on this cannot be bought no matter how much campaign money or bribes are offered.
Oh, and just as an aside, for the last three years that I worked as an employee of a large company that offered insurance, my company was forced to change insurance companies each year. Why? Because renegotiating the yearly insurance rate changes were unsuccessful at producing rates that were considered reasonable, and there was always some other company willing to offer a teaser rate to get their business knowing that they would hit the company hard by year two. The powers that be talk about being able to keep the insurance one has if they like it, or to keep their doctors, but even if you work for the same company, that doesn’t always happen. This is way more than just a portability problem. It’s insanity!
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Naked. Greed.
Period, end of discussion.
Thanks, Ann
FunnyWheelieDiva
“Because renegotiating the yearly insurance rate changes were unsuccessful at producing rates that were considered reasonable, and there was always some other company willing to offer a teaser rate to get their business knowing that they would hit the company hard by year two.” ——-yeah, happens ALL the time AND really hits small business owners really hard.
Associated with this is the idea of ‘regulatory reform’ ; it’s been said by me -and others- that the Obama Admin is just trying to reinstall a system that has failed.
Here is but another example of that, titled “How Obama learned to stop worrying and love the bailout”.
“Those hoping for significant changes — from a housecleaning of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to a bigger role for the combative and radical head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Sheila Bair — will be sorely disappointed.”
“What the administration is offering instead is sweeping power, probably as an extension of the Federal Reserve, which would give a new regulator the ability to contain and dismantle risks to the system. It’s a plan that not only keeps the alphabet soup of government bureaucracy, but fails to sweep out the top-ranking regulators and officials whose coziness with Wall Street helped get us into this mess in the first place.”
‘DON’T give the people what they want’ is the mantra of of the U.S. government.
‘Change’ I can’t believe in.
All I can say is, damn shame Obama decided to become Bush lite. Oh, well, at least I think he’s still better than McCain. If it were up to McCain, we’d be meddling once again in Iranian politics, possible to the point of taking up arms.
Hey, Ann! Thank you!
Would rec if I could :)
K-Seb is a great disappointment so far.
Ann, same thing with me working in a hospital a few years ago: every year, they changed insurance companies or plans. We would be invited to “insurance adjustment inservices.” I asked once if there was any chance they would “adjust” the premiums we paid downwards. Ya right.
Lives are at stake here. This is important.
Well, they do. And they are likely correct. But that shouldn’t be a driver of policy. What that means is that Republicans think that the insurance companies that cover 100 million Americans will not be up to the challenge of competing with the public option. This is really the “Trojan horse” effect that Obama was making disclaimers about.
Here’s the irony. It is the insurance companies themselves who will determine how many folks decide to move to the public option.
And btw, NPR is still a corporate tool.
i want universal health care – not insurance.
i want hr 676 — for single payer universal health care. we have the money to pay for it, if we take private insurance out.
and i’m not alone.
Just received this cynical fundraising letter from Obama capitalizing on the healthcare issue:
…So I’m asking you to remember all that you gave over the last two years to get us here — all the time, resources, and faith you invested as a down payment to earn us our place at this crossroads in history. All that you’ve done has led up to this — and whether or not our country takes the next crucial step depends on what you do right now.
Please donate whatever you can afford to support the campaign for real health care reform in 2009.
It doesn’t matter how much you can give, as long as you give what you can. Millions of families on the brink are counting on us to do just that. I know we can deliver.
I was so furious I felt compelled to hurl this reply out into the ether:
This letter reads like a scam. Exactly what policy is it one would be donating to promote? Single payer? My choice. Or whatever compromise with the insurance corporations which the administration sells us as inevitable? And exactly what would this donation be used for? Isn’t devising and passing policy which promotes the best welfare of the citizenry what officials are elected to do? I am extremely disappointed that six month into this administration I am once again being asked to open my pocketbook in order to participate in government, as if I could hope to compete with the access bought and paid for by the big insurance companies.
P.S. I do not appreciate being addressed as one of the “folks.” Better to remind people they are citizens with all the rights and responsibilities. “Folks” is condescending.
Sincerely,
amen on that.
i am soooo sick of hearing “public plan” with no details to explain exactly what that means. although i note that the one possibly semi-decent public plan bill that’s been around for a while, stark’s hr 193, is never mentioned (some single payer advocates told me about it).
policy debate by talking points and sound bites? fuck that.
I am still astounded they would send out something so insulting. Does anyone know who would be responsible for this? Did they give the guy who devised the Air Force 1 flight over Manhattan a new job? What office would this have come from? I feel a phone call coming on.
Really? How so? Obama uses it all the time and I never get that anybody is offended.
I think there’s two reasons they don’t especially care to give the people what we want. The first reason is, of course, the insane amount of money they get from BigMed.
The second is their own health insurance system is platinum plated. They have no sense of urgency, no worries about a sudden illness or accident making them go bankrupt. As you pointed out, Ann, I rather doubt they have to deal with changing plans and doctors every year because they’re under new insurance each time.
Their insurance is guaranteed and quite generous, whereas for all too many — people like myself — we can’t get insurance at any price due to ‘pre-existing conditions’. Got asthma? Diabetes? Migraines? Back troubles? Allergies? Been treated for RSIs? Seen a therapist, ever? Got any chronic condition whatsoever, or have had some bad luck in the past, forget about buying your own insurance in nearly every state…or, if by some chance you can get into an assigned risk pool, be prepared to shell out one or two grand a month for the privilege of high deductible, low payout insurance with a lifetime cap… oh, and those preexisting conditions are still disallowed for treatment. Self-employed, small business owners, partially disabled — all of these are also SOL.
But again, our Congresscritters don’t have to worry about being any of these things. They get their platinum-plated insurance. Even after they’re out of office.
That’s why they don’t really care about helping the rest of us. Well, enough of ‘em. We don’t have enough Bernie Sanders on our side.
Your points are extremely well taken. Only public campaign financing can take the first concern off the table, otherwise you are owned by some corporate interest or interests. The second point is the one that was made by George Orwell in “Animal Farm.” We are all equal, but some of us are more equal than others. It is accepted that Congressmen deserve the very best health insurance that taxpayer money can buy and taxpayers do not because see point number one.
I would only add this other point. Politicians, even the most minor municipal level politicians are generally treated like royalty when they are hospitalized. There is always a nurse or two at their beck and call, and they want for nothing. It gives these guys the idea that EVERYBODY gets this kind of service when, in fact, it is only the very important patients, and politicians top that list, that get fawned over during their hospitalization.
I still say all the healthy people should just drop out of the private health care system, It would collapse in less than six months and each of the 100 million could send in $100 per month to cover out-of-pocket expenses for those who have dropped out and then find they need some treatment that cannot be delayed until we implement a new single payer universal health care system. We could probably reach a deal with the Canadian government or even one or more European governments to provide emergency specialist care until a new national system was introduced.
Food for thought?
Good point that, tk1200 — you’re right, VIPs likely do get a level of personalized healthcare we’d only dream of.
I’d like to add something further: I did drop out of the ’system’. Had no choice, really. See, I started my own business, just me and my spouse, and we made a decent living as freelance contractors in tech writing. Because I’d had some ‘prior conditions’ (migraines, hayfever allergies, and back troubles), I couldn’t get insurance on my own, period. So I joined a professional organization that offered group insurance, which was okay for about 18 months — then the underwriters dropped the organization. We had 3 months to find our own private insurance again…and of course, I got turned down repeatedly.
About a year later (2006) we went to India for what ended up being three years of spiritual studies. Know what? Medical care there is AMAZING. And cheap. It didn’t matter that we lacked insurance because all the basic stuff could be had for what seemed like pennies (okay, rupees in this case). Medicines that cost $100/month in the U.S. were often 1/10th that much in India. A house-call from a doctor was less than $5 (just try getting a house-call in the U.S. anymore). When my spouse suffered a minor retina tear requiring emergency laser surgery, it cost us a grand total of $39 (that’s not a typo), and it was at one of the ultra-modern super-specialty hospitals in Bangalore. Eye care, dentistry, all of it is quite affordable. At no time while we were in India did we have the least anxiety about getting sick or injured.
Back in the U.S. this past March…and we’re back in the old boat again. Worrying about illnesses. Hell, we don’t even have a family physician at this point. In India, if we needed an antibiotic, we’re talking less than $10, including the doctor’s consultation. Here? A couple hundred bucks, easy.
As other commenters have noted, it isn’t just insurance people need, but access and reasonable costs. We really need single-payer, like every other 1st world country in the world has.
If Americans had even one year of the kind of routine access to healthcare like they have in Canada, New Zealand, France, Germany, or the U.K., they’d never give it up. Instead, we get bamboozlement, obfuscation, misrepresentation, and outright lies.
Why? Because other people continue to get quite rich being parasites on the rest of society.
Imagine if you heard on the radio, “Well, how you go about purchasing a military service to defend your country should be left up to you…”
No. NO it shouldn’t be. We divvy up the tax money and pay for it because it’s *that* important. Same with health care. Jeez how did people live to be this old and still not realize this?
The military and defense of the nation are in the Constitution — because it’s just that important. Health care isn’t in there because the founders didn’t see things the same as we do today. They had real snakes. We just have lobbyists.
That right there should be a Democratic National Healthcare ad aimed at the GOP! The Lizard Brains do try so hard to conform if the MSM bubble of lies is peeled back and the 20% learn that they are in the Out Crowd…heh! heh! Heh! we win.
That and I want Michael Moore’s flim “Sicko ” to finally be shown on National tv Prime time, its not like the networks got anything good on in the summer.
Just received this cynical fundraising letter from Obama capitalizing on the healthcare issue:
…So I’m asking you to remember all that you gave over the last two years to get us here — all the time, resources, and faith you invested as a down payment to earn us our place at this crossroads in history. All that you’ve done has led up to this — and whether or not our country takes the next crucial step depends on what you do right now.
Please donate whatever you can afford to support the campaign for real health care reform in 2009.
It doesn’t matter how much you can give, as long as you give what you can. Millions of families on the brink are counting on us to do just that. I know we can deliver.
I was so furious I felt compelled to hurl this reply out into the ether:
This letter reads like a scam. Exactly what policy is it one would be donating to promote? Single payer? My choice. Or whatever compromise with the insurance corporations which the administration sells us as inevitable? And exactly what would this donation be used for? Isn’t devising and passing policy which promotes the best welfare of the citizenry what officials are elected to do? I am extremely disappointed that six month into this administration I am once again being asked to open my pocketbook in order to participate in government, as if I could hope to compete with the access bought and paid for by the big insurance companies.
P.S. I do not appreciate being addressed as one of the “folks.” Better to remind people they are citizens with all the rights and responsibilities. “Folks” is condescending.
Sincerely,
Sorry about the duplication. I was trying to clarify by correcting the italics. Edit is not my friend.
I got that e-mail from Obama and wondered why money was needed. They pass laws in Congress, not on the campaign trail so why is my money needed. FWIW, they won’t be getting a cent of my money.
The economy needs cash the savings we could get from National Healthcare for everyone, well when that money goes back into our economy that would be a Stimulus package all by itself.
How many homes are foreclosed because the owner filed for bankruptcy because of medical reasons?
The number one cause of Bankruptcy in America medical emergencies. How many credit cards bills don’t get paid for this reason?
The cost of these bankruptcies increases home loan and credit card costs for every one!
We need numbers!
Excellent points!
What our politicians are really saying is: I’d rather remain in office than help the American people; in order to do this, I must protect the special interests of those who bought me.
Oh, silly woman. Give the people what they want? How absurd! What do you think this is? A democracy!? What were you thinking?
I do not know anyone who likes their health insurance….. NO ONE
I have cancer, getting active treatment with IV chemo, tests and consults. I have mets to my brain, lungs, small intestines and left groin lymph nodes. I would NEVER get a private policy…… I am paying the employee portion from my employers health insurance until Nov 20 then go on COBRA. I am on long term disability and have applied for social security disability.
My plan requires me to pay $1500 deductible and $3000 out of pocket expenses- $4500 each year. Where does that money come from when you are disability?
And the kicker is that I have to wait 24 months before I qualify for Medicare after I am enrolled in social security disability. 24 months……either I pay COBRA or I die………
((((((katymine))))))
with everything you are going through, paying for health care should not be something you have to worry about.
here in MA we’re all required to purchase health insurance. but still, because of deductibles, copays and coinsurance — people can’t get the health care they need.
insurance does not = health care.
Praying for you katymine
Katymine, I had a similar situation when I applied for disability due to emphysema. Then, once I applied, I got sick and had to go to the emergency room. Once there, they discovered that my problem was not just COPD; I needed a quadruple heart bypass, and the doctors refused to let me out of the hospital until I got one. Since I had no insurance, they gave me the forms for AHCCCS. Hopefully, you can get the medical help you need and Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System can help you to pay for it. Hope you’re doing better.
P.S. After I received my first disability check, when it came time to renew AHCCCS, I was over income. So I talked to the people at AHCCCS and asked what I was to do? Without any insurance, I couldn’t even go to the emergency room if I got sick again. They said that was not the case; if my bill was higher than (they gave me some mathmatical formula that I can no longer remember) they could still help me. Indeed I did have an incident wherein I needed to go to the emergency room, and that gave me another 6 months of AHCCCS.
Excellent article Ann. It might be interesting to figure out what it costs to set up a free clinic, divide that into the total cost of the Iraqi debaucle and see how many could have been built around the country.
A doctor friend once said to me that if they socialized medicine all the good doctors would leave and go to countries where they could make a lot of money and the quality of medical care would drop.
My argument is to the contrary. If they socialize medicine, all the people who went to medical school primarily to make inordinate amounts of money would leave and those who went into medicine because they genuinely want to help their fellow man and make a reasonably good living, would stay and the quality of medical care would go up.
Keep up the good work.
THE only health care system in America as a semi-public plan is the VA… It also depends on the definition of “socialized”.
Mine is government owned hospitals, clinics, salaried doctors and NEGOTIATED drugs for cost cutting. THAT is the VA…..
Canada does NOT have socialized medicine, Standard Medicare is NOT socialized, what it is fee for service plan without a network or authorization requirements.
Teddy’s diary is upstairs!
Harry Reid “Would Welcome a Legislative Proposal” to Repeal DADT
Ann – congratulations on being on the front page at FDL.
Thank you so much!
And the politicos wonder why they march in the streets of Tehran.
The big player is the insurance companies. They determine who pays. When their bottom line is in jeopardy they ultimately get the government to pick up the bill. That’s why Medicare exists. Payments for the elderly’s healthcare sucked up too much of the profit. Of course the elderly still has to have supplemental insurance. But those damn prescription drugs also hurt the bottom line. So they got the government to pick that up. It’s a wonderful world when you can lobby the government to socialize your greatest expenses. And it’s not just healthcare. Flood insurance can only be bought through the federal government.
Single payer is the only answer. Frankly, most of the insurance industry should go the way of the horse drawn carriage.
Eli is upstairs at the Mothership!
The War On Marriage Claims Another Victim
A good first step would be to stop ALLpolitical donations. NONE!
If that doesn’t work, switch to a third party. Pols know 2 things, money and votes. Strip them of both (or make them think that at least) and maybe they’ll start listening.
Giving people what they want
I’d sent an email to a HELP committee member urging that “public option” must be in the package, whatever. Have gotten two or three responses from folks I’d no idea was on the committee. One was Sen. Jeff Bingamon from New Mexico (I’m a former New Mexican, so that interested me), which referenced his site http://www.bingaman.gov/news and found two press releases about what he’s doing for the reform cause otherwise which I found very interesting and FDL folks need to know about. He’s taken on a some needed smaller pieces of the huge issue; while I’ve no idea if the donut hole issues is being addressed in the other vehicles being considered, I was rather impressed, although I’m sure that it needs to be part of the whole package.
, Bingamon Bill to Help Low-Income Seniors Pay for Medications
This bill (Helping Fix the RX Gap Act of 2009) corrects for the donut hole under Medicare D in which medication assistance ends once a recipient reaches $2700 in benefits and then can’t access benefits again until after paying the next $3,454. Bingaman proposes to cover the hole with credit from other federal health programs, Pharma assistance programs, and safety-net hospital med coverage.
My hunch this would not solve all the problems related to the donut hole, but God knows that it could be part of an answer to the donut hole for which a whole lot of seniors have wanted an answer.
The second bill is Medicare Quality and Payment Reform Act of 2009
The requirements are rather interesting and have been reflected in the MedPAC, Commonwealth and other entities. The three main components are as follows:
Provide a report on readmission rates and resource use to Medicare providers’
Establish benchmarks based upon these data, that over time,w ill be used to adjust Medicare payments. In analyzing payment levels and determining what tests and treatments are appropriate, HHS must take into account the overall health status of the patient or other factors that influence health care needs.
Institute a voluntary pilot program, which would replace the current fee-for-service payment system with bundled payments for certain high cost and high volume services. These payments would encompass the cost of an entire patient care episode over a set period of time (e.g. 30 days)
The goals are to lower costs and improve overall quality. Some of the terms have been referenced in recent posts and comments and while I suspect these proposed provisions are not enough, but they are a start and specifically address badly needed Medicare related issues.
And, lacking a universal single payer system, Medicare problems must be addressed within that framework if not in other proposals.
Blessings and thanks to all for being part of our education on these broader issues,
More on Sen. Jeff Bingaman
The HELP Committee on Wednesday morning will begin consideration of The Affordable Health Choices Act – a measure aimed at reducing health care costs, protecting choice and guaranteeing quality. Nurses, medical students, and individuals with first-hand experience joined Bingaman and his colleagues at a Capitol Hill news conference in support of reforming our broken health care system.
Bingaman is also a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which is the other Senate committee that has jurisdiction over health care reform. Bingaman is the only Democratic senator of the HELP and Finance committees.
Something never mentioned is that Social Security is an annuity . One of the many WallSreet Bank inventions is an annuity which they peddle to lay hands on more of our retirement money . WallStreet Bank annuity programs all charge management fees with CEO’s drawing large salaries . Medicare is a health insurance program that does exactly the same thing that the Blue’s and other insurance companies do . If you are over 65 and take your Medicare card to the hospital when you are ill the hospital will give your insurance the same treatment they give to all insurance’s . Give it the old drain as much as possible treatment . Some of the CEO’s in the private insurance companies have salaries amounting to Billions of dollars . The CEO has a staff that is paid very well also . Medicare managers and staff receive a fraction of what the private insurance company managers receive . Medicare started around the time of our President LBJ and our President RR did everything he could to kill it . He called it “socialism” . As the writer of this article points out we are in “serious trouble” largely because of health care costs and the insurance companies will be dead if we adopt a universal Medicare type of health care program for all . We are now finding out that our Congress is not our Congress for the people . Our Congress accepted checks handed out on the floor of Congress and watched as the insurance companies put us in this situation . Now it’s us dead or them dead .
Nice essay, Ann. We all have health that needs care. Give the people what they want.