Thursday, July 9, 2009

Republican Health Care Reform - Don't Get Sick





I want something done about health care in this country. We have a president now whose willing to do something about it. Finally. He wants to spend billions of dollars to do it.

A few years ago we had a president who wanted to do something about Saddam Hussein. He spent billions of dollars to do it. We let him.

I want someone to explain the difference here. I want to know why some people are willing to justify spending billions of dollars on war with other countries, and not justify spending that much on providing health care for every hard-working American.

My husband works harder than anyone I know. Yet he can't get health insurance now because he has a pre-existing condition. Even if the business he worked for provided it, which they don't because they can't afford the premiums, there would still be a waiting period of at least 1-2 years before they covered his medical condition, if they covered it at all. Not everyone can work for huge companies that provide excellent benefits, except Walmart (the largest employer in the US) of course, they make their employees wait two years, or so I heard.

I want to clarify a common misconception perpetuated by the listeners of Rush Limbaugh who take what that doofus says as actual truth - Americans who want some sort of health care reform do not want something for nothing. So let me make something perfectly clear. My husband doesn't want free medical care. My husband, and all Americans who have some sort of medical condition would like the opportunity to buy insurance at a reasonable price, to not have to decide between going bankrupt or going to the doctor if they feel sick. People are dying every day because of this, because they are not going to the doctor. Not poor people; they get Medicaid. Not rich people; they all can afford insurance, or if they can't get it, they can afford to pay out of pocket. It's the MIDDLE CLASS that is taking it in the pants! So unlike the bumper sticker below, I chose a new one to put on my car: Health Care Reform - a Choice Between Life or Death.

I choose life.
What are you choosing?

5 comments:

Mandy said...

I agree with you completely on this. I don't understand why so many people are freaking out so much about what Obama is saying about health care.

As far as I understand he doesn't want to make universal health care. If people wan't their own private insurance they can, he just wants to have a plan out there for the others who can't get private insurance. Why is that such a terrible idea? It makes perfect sense to me. Doesn't everyone deserve health care?

Danielle said...

Amen. Thank you. My husband is a small business owner and therefore we must have an individual health insurance plan that we pay for all by ourselves. We have really crappy coverage, but it's what we can afford. It seems like just as we pay off some unexpected medical incident that insurance didn't or barely covered, another crops up, thus sucking up large portions of our disposable income - the rest of which gets sucked up by diapers, etc. My husband is an attorney who does lots of bankruptcy work and do you know what he comes across all too often? "I lost my job and my wife got breast cancer. We just couldn't keep up with the medical bills..." This is just as common of a reason to file bankruptcy as "I was stupid and bought a house I couldn't afford."
Why do all these conservative people think that WE (and I'm talking hard-working, white-collar people here) want something for nothing? I had a friend who went so far as to say that deregulation was the answer to our healthcare crisis. Ummm...didn't we already ride that train?

okbushmans said...

As someone who now has a "pre-existing condition" and is getting swamped in medical bills, I can completely understand where you are coming from. It has been an eye opening experience regarding the medical industry. And I agree, there are major things that should change with the health industry.

However, I have also been on "government provided health insurance" or medicaid, and had HORRIBLE horrible experiences. It was the most inefficient, unorganized, unprofessional, yet restrictive as far as doctors/choices go medical drama I've experienced. And I don't see how expanding it will make that situation better. I really would rather be in the situation we are in now, then have to go through that again.

I am curious if there is a state who has tried this "not free medical care" plan, and how it has worked. A HUGE problem I have with their current plan is taxing employer provided health insurance. Also, (my mantra) we should be restricting the power of the federal government, not expanding it.

I would say more, but what would I know? I would hate to perpetuate myths spewed by my fearless who obviously controls every thought I, and my fellow conservatives, have. So if I am against this piece of legislation, does that mean I am chosing death?

Mandy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
L said...

I don't want to argue about health care. It's not why I wrote this post. I just wanted to vent what I consider an injustice. It's clear from what's happening currently in Congress that it's impossible for both sides to agree. If I read one more conservative commentary saying we can't all be Michael Jordan's I'm going to throw up. Survival of the fittest yet again. Apparently some will always think health care is a privilege not a right. If you can afford it, or don't have a pre-existing condition, you live - like that CEO from Apple who just bought a new liver, if you can't you lose everything and you will probably die sooner than your rich friends. Just the luck of the draw in life I guess.

High costs need to be curbed (perhaps a competing government insurance program - that you pay for ) would help with that, and absolutely all children need insurance. I think that should be the first priority. Second insurance companies should not be able to deny anyone based on health problems.

I don't have a problem with any business being encouraged to provide insurance, but that should happen only after overall costs go down. Yes, I live in a dream land I know.

Deregulation will be about as successful as it has been the last two-three decades in the financial district.

Medicaid does need to be overhauled, everybody knows it, but Medicare is actually pretty efficient for a government run program. It is possible. I have a hard time believing if one's family was about to lose everything because of an illness, as Danielle pointed out a harch reality for a lot of families, and if they qualified for medicaid they wouldn't use it as a matter of principle. Isn't that what that program was designed for?