Healthcare NOW!
On Friday, I was able to leave work a little early and visit a healthcare rally held in Newark. The event was a stop on an 8 day march from Philadelphia to Washington. The march is called The March for Melanie in honor of an activist from Philadelphia, Melanie Shouse, that recently lost her battle with breast cancer.
Melanie’s death certificate certainly said that the cause of death was breast Cancer, but it was just as much caused by a lack of healthcare. President Obama had this to say about Melanie, who was a volunteer on his campaign:
She was fighting that whole time not just to get me elected, not even to get herself health insurance, but because she understood that there were others coming behind her who were going to find themselves in the same situation and she didn’t want somebody else going through that same thing.
Melanie’s fellow activists decided to dedicate this march to her memory, braving cold weather, huge snow piles, uncleared sidewalks and likely rain tomorrow. Remarkably, when I saw them on Friday, they looked ready for anything and they were undeterred by the elements.
Each marcher has a story to tell about how their lives have been affected by the flawed health system that we have in this country, either through poor health that cannot be properly treated or from financial hardships originating from healthcare expenses. They are a group that puts a face and a story on the issue that we all to often discuss in technical terms.
John Kowalko was on hand to point out that we have some strong allies in the health insurance companies, since their recent jacking up of rates is just another egregious act by an industry that sees their monopoly slipping away.
Their final destination is a rally in Washington DC on Wednesday, February 24 at 2PM. If you can make it, meet at Union Station at 12:30 to walk the last mile of the walk to the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Tags: Health Care Reform, kowalko, Public Option, Washington D.C.
I’m really glad you could go to this. It is beyond short-sighted that we should still be fighting for this. There are real Americans hurt now by not having insurance and those who have employer insurance now will be paying more and more.
i still dont understand why a third party gets to profit off of a doctor healing me. the insurance ponzis didnt go to 12 years of school to learn how to make sick people well. Why do they get my money?
well, not MY money. the insurance schemes have decided im not worthy of access to health care cause i might get sick.
a.price, they don’t have to. Drop your insurance and pay for your healthcare directly. You choose to be administered by a third party.
Sure, if you do get really sick, all you have to lose is everything. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates self-insure, why can’t a.price?
“Drop your insurance and pay for your healthcare directly.”
Yes, the conservican answer to anything: Go it alone, devil take the hindmost. If God loved you, you’d be OK.
The problem is that health insurance is too expensive.
I have been paying about $700 a month for a family of three
a.price guess what. A fourth party gets about 45% of that money.
Why not make the insurance companies tax exempt,and have the government make sure that the money that would have gone to the IRS,stays with the patient instead.
That would make the cost of insurance almost reasonable. Instant savings, they could implement it tomorrow if they wanted.
The only problem is that the state and federal governments won’t let that money go.
fightingbluehen brings up another conservative answer for everything,
cut taxes and goods and services will be cheaper.
suppose i sold pizza @ ten bucks a pie and pay 45% taxes. if the government declared me tax exempt, would i then sell pizzas for$5.50?
OF COURSE NOT!! i already have a market willing to pay $10 so i’ll keep prices the same and pocket the $4.50.
cut taxes and goods and services will be cheaper.
Of course… look how well that works for college tuition.
a.price guess what. A fourth party gets about 45% of that money.
That is the argument for single payer.
That is the argument for single payer.
But alternately, rather than an ineffective tax break (benefits of which will redound to shareholders, not to rate payers) we could mandate a maximum administrative overhead (including profits) — say no more than the Medicare admin overhead.
thanks anon,my point exactly
dybstr said, “fightingbluehen brings up another conservative answer for everything,
cut taxes and goods and services will be cheaper.
suppose i sold pizza @ ten bucks a pie and pay 45% taxes. if the government declared me tax exempt, would i then sell pizzas for$5.50?
OF COURSE NOT!! i already have a market willing to pay $10 so i’ll keep prices the same and pocket the $4.50.”
That’s where the government can be useful. To regulate according to the money not payed. Every thing would stay the same.
That’s where the government can be useful.To regulate.
Funny you should mention that; direct rate regulation is in the proposal Obama is bringing to the summit this week. Let’s see what the Party of No (ideas) says about that.
we could mandate a maximum administrative overhead (including profits)
IIRC both the Senate and House bills have feeble cost ratio provisions specifying how much of total dollars must be spent on patient care (80%, and waivable).
“Why not make the insurance companies tax exempt”
Once upon a time, health insurance was non-profit. It would be your party that decided it should turn a profit.
we could mandate a maximum administrative overhead (including profits) — say no more than the Medicare admin overhead.
ok so now that’s the liberal answer for everything (i’m neither, labels are for soup cans) capping prices leads to a further deterioration of services.
what we need to do is to reverse the super inflation in health care COST, then we can manage health care INSURANCE
dybstr i,m not talking about cutting taxes. I’m talking about a complete exemption for the medical insurance companies.
The government would have to make sure that the money they don,t pay in taxes, would go directly to the savings of the consumer.
No more prolonged bickering in congress, just instant savings .
Like i said though, the dirty little secret is that the government wants that money.
The government would have to make sure that the money they don,t pay in taxes, would go directly to the savings of the consumer.
What could possibly go wrong?
Funny how the people who support big business so vehemently have so little idea of how it operates.
The government would have to make sure that the money they don,t pay in taxes, would go directly to the savings of the consumer.
Hmmm… I would actually take that deal, if in exchange the industry was barred from all political activity including corporate campaign contributions, lobbying, or hiring former regulators or elected officials.
Instant savings for how long? I’m thinking the cost of health care will continue to rise so this 45% saving is only a short term fix – if that – especially when you factor in Anthem’s 39% rate increase.
Actually, the dirty little secret is that shareholders and the over paid company execs want the money. And repubs will rise up to accuse the government of interfering with the markets if they were to regulate how tax exemptions (which would be a tax cut for these companies anyway) because the lobbyists will tell their radio handlers to fire up the troops who are now being misused by these insurance companies.
I,m only talking about the most logical fix i can think of.
I,m not towing any political lines, and i don,t give a flying f%&# about any insurance companies.
I,m just looking to save money….today and not when some self serving politician finally gets around to it.
Then single payer is your answer, I’m thinking.
“Then single payer is your answer, I’m thinking.”
No cassandra,i’m just looking for cheaper insurance,not a hand out.
No, you want a handout to go to the insurance company and let them pass the savings on to you. Good plan.
FBH, why should insurance scams exist at all? i find it increadible you seem to think they somehow deserve money for letting people die. i would LOVE to only pay the doctor. sadly, i dont make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
oh and your suggestion that the gvt regulate how much people can charge for things is more socialist than I AM wiling to be…. which is saying something since i am an avowed socialist.
The insurance companies would gain nothing in the deal. It would be business as usual for them, except instead of paying the tax, they would pay us that money or charge us less.
They would gain additional funds to pass on to shareholders as profits. They’ll never pass that on to you. Unless they start competing with a genuine non-profit like Geisinger or Mayo. It just ends up being one more handout to the insurance companies.
no they wouldn’t. what utopian planet do you live on? insurance companies dont care about making you healthy. they care about making themselves rich. they sell something you NEED… health. they arent going to see the “right thing to do” and lower rates and accept people with pre existing conditions unless they are forced to. IN america, telling someone by law how to conduct business is seen as the ultimate treason…. what we CAN do is create competition for them. They will only change if staying the same means they will lose money. it is the only way to effect change in a capitalistic society. Now, if we WERE socialist, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion because everyone would have health care coverage and no one would be flooding the emergency rooms…. which eventually comes back to the tax payers.
the five solutions to our health care mess, single payer, single payer, single payer, single payer, single payer, it,s how the rest of the civilized world solved it, our system evolved during world war two when wage freezes made it the only way to attract workers in a tight labor market, it only worked when companies were willing to pay for it, now that they are not it,s a total failure.
We don’t need socialized medicine. We need cheaper health insurance.
And a pony.
Beat me to it, anon!
And single payer is not socialized medicine.
FBH, please define socialized medicine. that comment is the more vapid than most of the idiotic crap that falls out of sarah palin’s mandible.
Socialized medicine is like your classic hippie or commune stew.
Everybody contributes what they can to the stew, be it more or less,and then everyone enjoys an equal share.
Am i close ?…..do i get a cigar ?
No.
No.
that is a classic ignorant wingnut answer. you have no idea what you are fighting against. Just barfing up the crap that Fox News feeds you every night.
No wonder this isn’t getting anywhere. It is educated people who want all americans to be healthy verses Jerry Springer rejects. you cant argue with people who are still convinced the earth is flat.
Single payer is not a handout. You pay for insurance through your taxes and premiums. Is public school a handout? What about public libraries? Roads?
Conservatives are very silly. Give health insurance companies more money and hope they pass it along to us. Well, we’ve already seen what happens with private health insurance companies. They pass the wealth to their executives.
a.price, i don,t watch TV unless it’s showing the Premiership, cartoons, or reruns of old movies.
well, that explains your grasp of reality.
Exactly.
I’m a natural wingnut.
Geezer: Absolutely correct! It was Richard Nixon who brought about for profit health care. Ole Tricky Dick knew exactly what he was doing. HMO’s were created but were never to cover even basic health care. I am sick of these democrats (Obama) who refused to put in his 11page plan, a public option. Obama knows very well the Senate will drown the bill and continue to deliver billions to the for profit with no cost savings. The only cost savings would be a Medicare for All health care plan administered for 3%. Unfortunately the campaign coffers are filled to the brim of the Democrats just like the corporate Republicans. If the Obama administration can’t deliver health care reform and cover every american, the dems will loose the 2012 election. The citizens delivered the White House, Congress and Senate to “git r done”, and they can’t because they are as deep into insurance companies pockets, as are the republicans.