This is a lot of blog-fodder. I'm still ranting about Obama's health care speech and there's a whole lot of things happening. Max Baucus trotted out his groups efforts today and the nation is trying to digest what he said.
What frustrates me about all these efforts so far is that there is always a penalty of some sort for not buying health insurance. We're spending all this effort to force every American to dedicate 8% to 9% of their hard-earned income to their health insurance. So if I was one of those who simply couldn't afford health insurance how am I supposed to continue to live on 8% less income? Now let's consider if my employer is forced to pay for my health insurance. Maybe my company now has to downsize in order to pay the extra costs and, if I'm lucky enough not to be laid off, my company takes part of my salary to pay for my insurance and I still get taxed on the rest that they pay for me. No matter how this ends, I have less money in my pocket. That's less money I can use to buy all those frivilous things like bread, milk, and eggs.
When will our politicians learn that they can't force me to spend my money. If I am forced to spend my money then I'm missing freedoms. Taxes are a necessary evil to keep our government running and I still have a bone to pick with the percentage. I say we're paying way too much for a government that only knows how to bloat. Give me leadership, protect my freedoms, protect our lands, what more do we need to pay for? Our country went off the trail of greatness when politicians realized the government was a potential gold mine if we only figured out how to get the people to pay for it.
By the way, what kind of trouble do you suppose I would get in if I refused to pay taxes because I disagreed with the way those taxes were being spent? It drives me nuts that my tax money goes to pay for abortions, prostitution, and the support of every sin known to man. What's worse, those taxes also go to pay for the same things in other countries. That's MY MONEY!!! I would never walk into an abortion clinic and offer to pay for the next fifty abortions. I would never do a lot of things my government does with my money. It disgusts me. When does my government stop being my government? They say I don't have to agree, I just have to pay for it whether I do or don't.
Yes, I'm unhappy and I've lost faith in my government. Am I going to start stockpiling ammunition? Of course not. I still love life. When the government takes that away, then I'll fight.
Okay, on to a couple of Obama's quotes.
Quote #11: " We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of- pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick."
This is a nice sentiment. Of course most insurance plans already have a way of covering this issue. This is nothing new. The idea of limiting the amount will just fix the costs and limit the plans. The general rule is: the more you pay each month, the less you pay when you're sick. So I'm not sure how limits are going to help. Besides, losing a few thousand dollars is much better than losing a few hundred thousand dollars and forfeiting any chance you have of the future.
By the way, where do non-profit hospitals fit into all this? As we begin to fix all these things are we going to kill the system of donations to non-profit hospitals that helps pay for those who can't cover the costs? My own father can testify to having a very large hospital bill forgiven because he couldn't pay after a heart attack. Much of that money to pay those bills happened because of a non-profit hospital with private donors. I haven't heard anyone bring this issue up and I think the non-profit hospitals are going to get hard by all this. Why donate to a hospital if the government is guaranteeing it instead? We're going to give up health care to our government just like we gave up education.
Quote #12: "And insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies."
That would be nice but everything Obama says adds more cost on the insurance company. That cost has to be passed on at some point. What we keep hearing are hints that the government is going to essentially fix the profit levels for insurance companies. They're going to be taxed more and they're going to have to pay more. The company will have to make less money. This will have an impact on stocks and there will be a lot of negative changes happening in the companies. Top executives will be in lower number as the insurance companies go to younger and less-experienced executives that will command lesser salaries just to keep some semblance of a profit margin. Some companies will simply sell out of the business and we'll see a consolidation of big companies that are big enough to still make a profit. Or, perhaps, we'll get a new Mae or Mac added into the government holdings as it becomes increasingly necessary for the government to begin guaranteeing health insurance policies.
Currently most insurance plans are going to cover these procedures with a small co-pay. It's out of pocket but it's not usually going to break the bank or cause long-term financial distress. Complete cost coverage is a nice idea for the policy-holder but not so nice on the policy-writer. Is the government going to fix the cost of these procedures so hospitals and clinics don't take advantage of the insurance companies? Is there going to be some provision for cost increases? How many hospitals and clinics will choose not to offer these services because there's no money in them?
We are a capitalist country. If there is no profit, there is no service. Who's going to pour $100 million into research for new equipment when it will take them 100 years to make that money back? I'm a small business owner. I want to give my customers great products with great service. But I'm not going to pay them for me to provide that service. I've got to charge what the service is worth. If the government is allowed to come in and fix my prices, the better fix it high enough that I won't complain and low enough that my customers don't complain. Either way, I'm going to throw it back in their face and close down my business. I like being my own boss and I refuse to allow the government to take over my company and force me to accept a new boss.
Regulate. Make it fair for the consumer as well as the company. Other than that, STAY OUT OF MY BUSINESS!!!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The Big Speech - Part 3
I hope we're getting through to the President. In a recent article based on an interview with CBS, Foxnews reported the President seems to be opening up on a few key ideas with regards to reforming health care. The two biggest areas of compromise seem to be opening the possibility of tort reform and removal of the public option. Neither of these have made it into writing yet but we'll see what happens.
You can read the whole article here.
I'm choosing to ignore the dumber comments in that article for now.
Tort reform deals with handling all the frivilous malpractice lawsuits that plague the medical community. This is a vital step in reducing unnecessary testing aimed at reducing lawsuits as well as lowering the overall cost of practicing medicine. Republicans have been trying to accomplish this reform for many years now but efforts have traditionally been blocked by Democrats. So if Obama truly pushes his colleagues for serious tort reform then I think he will be met in the middle with a little more serious compromise on the part of Republicans. Don't expect a public option but you could see more votes for reform.
I still have to point towards the smugness of several key Democrat politicians as a major roadblock. As long as Pelosi, Reid, and other Democrats continue to hold reconciliation over the heads of Republicans, they will find the vast majority of Republicans (and probably a great deal of the American people) opposing everything they do, not just the issues they want to make a big deal about. Holding out reconciliation as the ultimate option is the ultimate in partisan politics, which is the exact political game the Democrats have been playing since they gained such a large majority in Congress. By now I'm certain a majority of Americans realize the mistake they've made in giving them that majority after seeing the childish way they've handled their "great power" without "great responsibility."
If Democrats are serious about health care reform the people can support, they will drop the nuclear option of reconciliation and get serious about hammering out differences. It seems you can't get a Democratic leader on camera without hearing about how they'll only deal with Republicans for so long and then they'll go it alone. Do it and we'll see what happens in the 2010 congressional elections.
I'd be surprised is Pelosi and Reid are reelected next year. I think their political careers are over already. The question is how many more Democrats will fall? The Bible says "Pride comes before a fall." The pride has come. Soon we'll see the fall.
Well, I should handle another quote or two from Obama's epic speech to Congress.
Quote #9: " First, if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the V.A., nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have."
The problem with this quote is that Obama really doesn't have any control over this. It's a pipe dream. Most options on the table now include a penalty for not giving health coverage to employees. If the penalty is cheaper than the cost of insurance, you can be sure employers will leave their employees to whatever other option they can come up with. If the penalty is more expensive then insurance companies will have more room to play with costs and we all could be paying more anyway. So it's easy for Obama to make this statement but it isn't very probably that he could back it up with reality.
Quote #10: "What this plan will do is make the insurance you have work better for you. Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition."
First of all, we don't have a plan yet so it's useless to talk about what it will do. Obama would be better off setting goals rather than making promises he can't keep. As for preexisting conditions I have put forth the idea in a previous blog that we should consider pushing the insurance companies to offer high risk health insurance. This allows the companies to protect their risk investment while keeping those in lower risk categories at lower rates. I don't like the idea of higher rates due to a preexisting condition but at least I would have the option of coverage. Obviously some conditions are a higher risk for greater monetary outflow than others and the rates should correspond.
Now there are some conditions that insurance companies are going to have a hard time being on the hook for. I understand the reoccurance of cancer, for example, can be a back-breaker for insurance companies if their forced to cover it, even with high risk rates. In those special cases I think there can be government options to consider. This is no easy matter and there are a great many places to look for solutions. In the case of cancers due to smoking we should consider making tobacco companies cover the costs. I don't take responsibility away from the smoker but neither do I take it way from companies that profit from such an obviously deadly substance. This is an example and there may well be other industries we need to look at as well. Most "sin" taxes wind up going to help with education or other more noble quests. I'd rather see them cover the real damage they cause.
I'll handle more later.
You can read the whole article here.
I'm choosing to ignore the dumber comments in that article for now.
Tort reform deals with handling all the frivilous malpractice lawsuits that plague the medical community. This is a vital step in reducing unnecessary testing aimed at reducing lawsuits as well as lowering the overall cost of practicing medicine. Republicans have been trying to accomplish this reform for many years now but efforts have traditionally been blocked by Democrats. So if Obama truly pushes his colleagues for serious tort reform then I think he will be met in the middle with a little more serious compromise on the part of Republicans. Don't expect a public option but you could see more votes for reform.
I still have to point towards the smugness of several key Democrat politicians as a major roadblock. As long as Pelosi, Reid, and other Democrats continue to hold reconciliation over the heads of Republicans, they will find the vast majority of Republicans (and probably a great deal of the American people) opposing everything they do, not just the issues they want to make a big deal about. Holding out reconciliation as the ultimate option is the ultimate in partisan politics, which is the exact political game the Democrats have been playing since they gained such a large majority in Congress. By now I'm certain a majority of Americans realize the mistake they've made in giving them that majority after seeing the childish way they've handled their "great power" without "great responsibility."
If Democrats are serious about health care reform the people can support, they will drop the nuclear option of reconciliation and get serious about hammering out differences. It seems you can't get a Democratic leader on camera without hearing about how they'll only deal with Republicans for so long and then they'll go it alone. Do it and we'll see what happens in the 2010 congressional elections.
I'd be surprised is Pelosi and Reid are reelected next year. I think their political careers are over already. The question is how many more Democrats will fall? The Bible says "Pride comes before a fall." The pride has come. Soon we'll see the fall.
Well, I should handle another quote or two from Obama's epic speech to Congress.
Quote #9: " First, if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, or Medicare, or Medicaid, or the V.A., nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have."
The problem with this quote is that Obama really doesn't have any control over this. It's a pipe dream. Most options on the table now include a penalty for not giving health coverage to employees. If the penalty is cheaper than the cost of insurance, you can be sure employers will leave their employees to whatever other option they can come up with. If the penalty is more expensive then insurance companies will have more room to play with costs and we all could be paying more anyway. So it's easy for Obama to make this statement but it isn't very probably that he could back it up with reality.
Quote #10: "What this plan will do is make the insurance you have work better for you. Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition."
First of all, we don't have a plan yet so it's useless to talk about what it will do. Obama would be better off setting goals rather than making promises he can't keep. As for preexisting conditions I have put forth the idea in a previous blog that we should consider pushing the insurance companies to offer high risk health insurance. This allows the companies to protect their risk investment while keeping those in lower risk categories at lower rates. I don't like the idea of higher rates due to a preexisting condition but at least I would have the option of coverage. Obviously some conditions are a higher risk for greater monetary outflow than others and the rates should correspond.
Now there are some conditions that insurance companies are going to have a hard time being on the hook for. I understand the reoccurance of cancer, for example, can be a back-breaker for insurance companies if their forced to cover it, even with high risk rates. In those special cases I think there can be government options to consider. This is no easy matter and there are a great many places to look for solutions. In the case of cancers due to smoking we should consider making tobacco companies cover the costs. I don't take responsibility away from the smoker but neither do I take it way from companies that profit from such an obviously deadly substance. This is an example and there may well be other industries we need to look at as well. Most "sin" taxes wind up going to help with education or other more noble quests. I'd rather see them cover the real damage they cause.
I'll handle more later.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The Big Speech - Part 2
Before I get started this blog, check out John Thune's new website offering fact checks, good blogs, and other info on healthcare reform that we can support.
I looked at five quotes from President Obama's speech in the last blog and I'd like to look at a few more here.
Quote #6: "Since health care represents one-sixth of our economy, I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn't, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch."
I agree. Unfortunately that's not what's going on. What we're getting is a complete overhall and possible governement takeover of health care. Rather than focusing on fixing the causes of our health care system problems we are on track to replace our current system with a whole set of new problems. Instead of fixing what we know is wrong, we're throwing it all out and creating new problems we can barely define. So, if Obama really means what he said, let's get to work and fix the problems. Let's not create new problems while leaving the old ones in place.
Quote #7: "Our overall efforts have been supported by an unprecedented coalition of doctors and nurses, hospitals, seniors' groups, and even drug companies -- many of whom opposed reform in the past."
This is a difficult statement to make as well as talk about. My take is that there are a few groups who have gotten on board because they know they'll get preferential treatment when the government gets in charge. They're just being financially smart to position themselves to still be around in 10 years. I wouldn't take all this support to mean they are ideologically on board with Obama. AARP is counted as one of those senior groups offering support and they are being hammered by their own membership as a result. I can't imagine the cries we'll be hearing from those Doctors and Nurses when they have to struggle agains their own government when trying to help their patients. Drug companies will get their money no matter what and most hospitals are already non-profit in their status anyway. Besides all this, it's the support of the American people that Obama doesn't have and that's the whole problem.
Quote #8: "But what we've also seen in these last months is the same partisan spectacle that only hardens the disdain many Americans have towards their own government. Instead of honest debate, we've seen scare tactics. Some have dug into unyielding ideological camps that offer no hope of compromise. Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short-term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long-term challenge. And out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned.
"Well, the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed.
"Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do."
I noticed a lot of smug looks from the democrats along with great cheers. I understand there are partisan politics at work but you can't pull this argument out for a couple of reasons: first, the democrats have full charge of Congress and, as they have pointed out over and over again, they can pass this thing on their own. That's as partisan as it gets. The reality is probably that they couldn't get it through even on that basis but there are some democrats with unusually large egos who want to lord it over the Republicans, and every American, that they hold all the keys, have all the power, and have a mandate to do whatever they see fit. This tactic is backfiring in dramatic fashion with the American people right now and an appropriate response will be to send the majority of these democrat senators and representatives packing. Now before you call that a partisan statement, I'll even admit that I would prefer a different democrat in their place if that was the only way to get them out. You can't run rough-shod over the American people. We're the ones that hold the real power in this country and every politician will do well to never forget that. Unfortunately some already have.
So the time for bickering is indeed over. The time for action indeed is at hand. It is indeed time for Congress to do what the American people have sent them to Washington to do. The American people are speaking loudly right now about what that is but I'm not sure our President, let alone a great deal of Congress, is even listening. So I would add to the end of this statement from Obama that it's time for this countries politicians to become more concerned with what the American people are saying and lead in that way.
I'll handle some more quotes in my next blog and I want to end this blog by saying this: We've been seeing a lot of our democrat politicians act like they think they know what's best for our country even if the people don't agree. There are times for leaders to do the right thing no matter what the people are saying and they often will suffer the consequence of being sent home in the next election. I realize that there are many democrats who honestly believe a governement-run health care system is the best thing for America. And, even though America has been speaking loudly against it, they are still going to push for it. I can respect the kind of honesty and integrity it takes to stick by your beliefs even though I respectfully disagree with their beliefs. I believe George Bush stood by this beliefs and, despite a lot of criticism, stuck by his guns and pushed to declare war on Terrorism. In the end it cost a lot Republicans their seat in Congress. That's a trend that is sure to swing back sooner rather than later given the current trends in politics. I am certain George Bush was sticking by his belief that he was doing what was best for our country. He was being honest with us.
I'm still trying to get a read on Barack Obama and I am uncertain about his honesty. Time will tell but I hope he honestly believes he is doing the best for our country. I don't agree with his beliefs and politics but I will respect him if shows honesty and integrity through all this. So far he's been using a lot of fuzzy logic, fuzzy math, and fuzzy politics to get his way. I'm very concerned about his association with radicals and his continual effort to get them into his cabinet and other positions of power.
In the end, we may determine that President Barack Obama did everything he could to change America in ways he thought was best for America. But I'm afraid that his idea of what America should look like is considerably different than what our founding fathers thought America should look like. I'm also afraid his idea is far different than my idea as well as the ideas of the vast majority of Americans. All Americans may disagree about what that picture really looks like but I don't believe there a great many who want to trade in capitalist democracy for socialism, fascism, or communism. All three of those, I believe, are to be found somewhere in President Obama's ideological picture of what America should look like.
I looked at five quotes from President Obama's speech in the last blog and I'd like to look at a few more here.
Quote #6: "Since health care represents one-sixth of our economy, I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn't, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch."
I agree. Unfortunately that's not what's going on. What we're getting is a complete overhall and possible governement takeover of health care. Rather than focusing on fixing the causes of our health care system problems we are on track to replace our current system with a whole set of new problems. Instead of fixing what we know is wrong, we're throwing it all out and creating new problems we can barely define. So, if Obama really means what he said, let's get to work and fix the problems. Let's not create new problems while leaving the old ones in place.
Quote #7: "Our overall efforts have been supported by an unprecedented coalition of doctors and nurses, hospitals, seniors' groups, and even drug companies -- many of whom opposed reform in the past."
This is a difficult statement to make as well as talk about. My take is that there are a few groups who have gotten on board because they know they'll get preferential treatment when the government gets in charge. They're just being financially smart to position themselves to still be around in 10 years. I wouldn't take all this support to mean they are ideologically on board with Obama. AARP is counted as one of those senior groups offering support and they are being hammered by their own membership as a result. I can't imagine the cries we'll be hearing from those Doctors and Nurses when they have to struggle agains their own government when trying to help their patients. Drug companies will get their money no matter what and most hospitals are already non-profit in their status anyway. Besides all this, it's the support of the American people that Obama doesn't have and that's the whole problem.
Quote #8: "But what we've also seen in these last months is the same partisan spectacle that only hardens the disdain many Americans have towards their own government. Instead of honest debate, we've seen scare tactics. Some have dug into unyielding ideological camps that offer no hope of compromise. Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short-term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long-term challenge. And out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned.
"Well, the time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed.
"Now is the season for action. Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do."
I noticed a lot of smug looks from the democrats along with great cheers. I understand there are partisan politics at work but you can't pull this argument out for a couple of reasons: first, the democrats have full charge of Congress and, as they have pointed out over and over again, they can pass this thing on their own. That's as partisan as it gets. The reality is probably that they couldn't get it through even on that basis but there are some democrats with unusually large egos who want to lord it over the Republicans, and every American, that they hold all the keys, have all the power, and have a mandate to do whatever they see fit. This tactic is backfiring in dramatic fashion with the American people right now and an appropriate response will be to send the majority of these democrat senators and representatives packing. Now before you call that a partisan statement, I'll even admit that I would prefer a different democrat in their place if that was the only way to get them out. You can't run rough-shod over the American people. We're the ones that hold the real power in this country and every politician will do well to never forget that. Unfortunately some already have.
So the time for bickering is indeed over. The time for action indeed is at hand. It is indeed time for Congress to do what the American people have sent them to Washington to do. The American people are speaking loudly right now about what that is but I'm not sure our President, let alone a great deal of Congress, is even listening. So I would add to the end of this statement from Obama that it's time for this countries politicians to become more concerned with what the American people are saying and lead in that way.
I'll handle some more quotes in my next blog and I want to end this blog by saying this: We've been seeing a lot of our democrat politicians act like they think they know what's best for our country even if the people don't agree. There are times for leaders to do the right thing no matter what the people are saying and they often will suffer the consequence of being sent home in the next election. I realize that there are many democrats who honestly believe a governement-run health care system is the best thing for America. And, even though America has been speaking loudly against it, they are still going to push for it. I can respect the kind of honesty and integrity it takes to stick by your beliefs even though I respectfully disagree with their beliefs. I believe George Bush stood by this beliefs and, despite a lot of criticism, stuck by his guns and pushed to declare war on Terrorism. In the end it cost a lot Republicans their seat in Congress. That's a trend that is sure to swing back sooner rather than later given the current trends in politics. I am certain George Bush was sticking by his belief that he was doing what was best for our country. He was being honest with us.
I'm still trying to get a read on Barack Obama and I am uncertain about his honesty. Time will tell but I hope he honestly believes he is doing the best for our country. I don't agree with his beliefs and politics but I will respect him if shows honesty and integrity through all this. So far he's been using a lot of fuzzy logic, fuzzy math, and fuzzy politics to get his way. I'm very concerned about his association with radicals and his continual effort to get them into his cabinet and other positions of power.
In the end, we may determine that President Barack Obama did everything he could to change America in ways he thought was best for America. But I'm afraid that his idea of what America should look like is considerably different than what our founding fathers thought America should look like. I'm also afraid his idea is far different than my idea as well as the ideas of the vast majority of Americans. All Americans may disagree about what that picture really looks like but I don't believe there a great many who want to trade in capitalist democracy for socialism, fascism, or communism. All three of those, I believe, are to be found somewhere in President Obama's ideological picture of what America should look like.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The Big Speech, Part 1
So President Obama delivered a major speech to encourage Congress to pass health care reform earlier this evening and I want to take the time to look at a few quotes from that speech. He said a lot of the same things he's been saying all along and he made a few statements I think we need to hold him to. I've pulled together a lot of quotes from the speech. In fact, I copied 5 pages worth of quotes so it is impossible for me to put this all in one blog. So I plan on using it as blog-fodder for the next several days.
You can find the complete text of President Obama's speech here. This will help others to look up my quotes and hold me accountable if I have taken them out of context. That's not my desire. The President is sincere, I think, but I think he has failed to think critically about the debate and some of the things that are coming forth from Congress.
So, let's begin. All the quotes, by the way, will be taken in the order in which they were spoken. I won't jump around in the speech.
Quote #1: "But thanks to the bold and decisive action we've taken since January, I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink."
Very early on we see a strange view from the President. By saying that "we have pulled this economy back from the brink" I assume the President believes we've stopped the slide and the economy can now improve. This seems a bit hopeful since unemployment rates continue to rise. I'd say we're still sliding and most economists put our recovery from 2 to 10 years out. So I think this statement is a bit premature.
Quote #2: "Some can't get insurance on the job. Others are self-employed and can't afford it since buying insurance on your own costs you three times as much as the coverage you get from your employer."
Okay, first of all, the self-employed are their own employers. Coverage provided by employers is subsidized by your employer. So the self-employed are usually fully aware that they are responsible for the entire cost of health insurance. That is the choice they make and the risk they take when they step out into the business world like that. I know, I'm a self-employed small business owner. The reason health insurance is difficult to afford is because profit margins are far to thin when you're trying to build you business. Forcing me to pay for coverage, no matter how cheap, will directly affect my ability to grow my business. Small business owners often do much at their own expense. They could move back into working for others if they can't take the heat. There's no shame in working for someone else.
Quote #3: "Many other Americans who are willing and able to pay are still denied insurance due to previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or too expensive to cover."
This is mostly true, I'm sure. I would think that, just like in the auto insurance industry, that there could be provisions made to provide high risk insurance at a higher rate. Anyone who seeks coverage should be able to find it. I agree. The solution is where we're likely to disagree. This might be a good place for co-ops or exchanges.
Quote #4: "There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage."
Well, we're getting closer. We've taken out the illegal immigrants from the ranks of the uninsured that we're talking about. I still say the actual number of those who want health care but can't afford it is considerably smaller. We'll discuss that matter more with other quotes from the President.
Quote #5: "Then there's the problem of rising costs. We spend one- and-a-half times more per person on health care than any other country, but we aren't any healthier for it."
I think the statistics tell a different story. We've been bombarded with commercials and statements that say exactly the opposite of what the President states here. I've included links in past blogs that support the claim that our health is much better than those in other countries, specifically those in countries with socialized medicine.
Well, in order to break this up and keep these blogs short and readable, I'll stop here. We'll pick up with Quote #6 in the next blog.
You can find the complete text of President Obama's speech here. This will help others to look up my quotes and hold me accountable if I have taken them out of context. That's not my desire. The President is sincere, I think, but I think he has failed to think critically about the debate and some of the things that are coming forth from Congress.
So, let's begin. All the quotes, by the way, will be taken in the order in which they were spoken. I won't jump around in the speech.
Quote #1: "But thanks to the bold and decisive action we've taken since January, I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink."
Very early on we see a strange view from the President. By saying that "we have pulled this economy back from the brink" I assume the President believes we've stopped the slide and the economy can now improve. This seems a bit hopeful since unemployment rates continue to rise. I'd say we're still sliding and most economists put our recovery from 2 to 10 years out. So I think this statement is a bit premature.
Quote #2: "Some can't get insurance on the job. Others are self-employed and can't afford it since buying insurance on your own costs you three times as much as the coverage you get from your employer."
Okay, first of all, the self-employed are their own employers. Coverage provided by employers is subsidized by your employer. So the self-employed are usually fully aware that they are responsible for the entire cost of health insurance. That is the choice they make and the risk they take when they step out into the business world like that. I know, I'm a self-employed small business owner. The reason health insurance is difficult to afford is because profit margins are far to thin when you're trying to build you business. Forcing me to pay for coverage, no matter how cheap, will directly affect my ability to grow my business. Small business owners often do much at their own expense. They could move back into working for others if they can't take the heat. There's no shame in working for someone else.
Quote #3: "Many other Americans who are willing and able to pay are still denied insurance due to previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or too expensive to cover."
This is mostly true, I'm sure. I would think that, just like in the auto insurance industry, that there could be provisions made to provide high risk insurance at a higher rate. Anyone who seeks coverage should be able to find it. I agree. The solution is where we're likely to disagree. This might be a good place for co-ops or exchanges.
Quote #4: "There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage."
Well, we're getting closer. We've taken out the illegal immigrants from the ranks of the uninsured that we're talking about. I still say the actual number of those who want health care but can't afford it is considerably smaller. We'll discuss that matter more with other quotes from the President.
Quote #5: "Then there's the problem of rising costs. We spend one- and-a-half times more per person on health care than any other country, but we aren't any healthier for it."
I think the statistics tell a different story. We've been bombarded with commercials and statements that say exactly the opposite of what the President states here. I've included links in past blogs that support the claim that our health is much better than those in other countries, specifically those in countries with socialized medicine.
Well, in order to break this up and keep these blogs short and readable, I'll stop here. We'll pick up with Quote #6 in the next blog.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Fines??? I've got better ideas
I'm trying to figure out the logic behind all these crazy health care reform options that include taxing or finding Americans for not getting mandatory health insurance. Why is there all this focus on making Americans pay money for Health Care no matter what?
It is my right to NOT buy health insurance if I can't afford or just don't want it. I regard any governmental intrusion on that right to be unconstitutional and an offense against my freedoms. It is nothing more than the government forcing something on me. That is an elimination of some more of my freedom.
The problem with all these options being put forward by democrats right now is that they are aimed at the American people, not the health insurance companies. Any increase in expense to the Health Insurance industry will eventually be passed along directly to the insured or to the government and, by proxy, all Americans. It may not happen right away but it will happen. The reason this will happen is because private health insurors are just that - private. They are trying to make money. If they can't make money, they will adjust things until they do. The more the government gets involved, the more likely the health insurors will be pushed out and we'll be forced into a government system.
I'm looking for health care reform like everyone else. But my idea of health care reform involves regulations that keep insurance companies from exploiting their clients and an end to the frauds and ridiculous litigations that plague the industry right now. Fix the insurance companies but know full well that there are other causes to sky-rocketing rates. The government already knows this but they won't put forth any options to fix those. The health insurance companies are far easier targets. And even easier targets are average Americans.
I'm tired of the rush to get this job done. Let's take it in parts so we can be sure to get each part right. I suggest we start by dealing with fraud and litigation. How do we do that? I don't really know. I'm not an expert. But I suggest we start thinking about setting up a special fraud unit within the Department of Justice to look into Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, state run fraud units to investigate and handle state and local fraud, and let's consider a number of checks to insurance and malpractice litigation. I'm thinking of state or even county level committees that have the power to allow or block litigation in cases where they do not find enough compelling evidence that it should go on to a court. We already do this with grand jury investigations for criminal cases. I don't know who should be on these boards but it should be a mix of appointments, elected officials, doctors, and hospital representation.
Do you have any thoughts?
It is my right to NOT buy health insurance if I can't afford or just don't want it. I regard any governmental intrusion on that right to be unconstitutional and an offense against my freedoms. It is nothing more than the government forcing something on me. That is an elimination of some more of my freedom.
The problem with all these options being put forward by democrats right now is that they are aimed at the American people, not the health insurance companies. Any increase in expense to the Health Insurance industry will eventually be passed along directly to the insured or to the government and, by proxy, all Americans. It may not happen right away but it will happen. The reason this will happen is because private health insurors are just that - private. They are trying to make money. If they can't make money, they will adjust things until they do. The more the government gets involved, the more likely the health insurors will be pushed out and we'll be forced into a government system.
I'm looking for health care reform like everyone else. But my idea of health care reform involves regulations that keep insurance companies from exploiting their clients and an end to the frauds and ridiculous litigations that plague the industry right now. Fix the insurance companies but know full well that there are other causes to sky-rocketing rates. The government already knows this but they won't put forth any options to fix those. The health insurance companies are far easier targets. And even easier targets are average Americans.
I'm tired of the rush to get this job done. Let's take it in parts so we can be sure to get each part right. I suggest we start by dealing with fraud and litigation. How do we do that? I don't really know. I'm not an expert. But I suggest we start thinking about setting up a special fraud unit within the Department of Justice to look into Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, state run fraud units to investigate and handle state and local fraud, and let's consider a number of checks to insurance and malpractice litigation. I'm thinking of state or even county level committees that have the power to allow or block litigation in cases where they do not find enough compelling evidence that it should go on to a court. We already do this with grand jury investigations for criminal cases. I don't know who should be on these boards but it should be a mix of appointments, elected officials, doctors, and hospital representation.
Do you have any thoughts?
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