Comments

1.   pt

     1020 days ago

   I am proponent of health reform. In fact I think the best thing that could happen is a single payer system. The component of corporate profit should be taken out of Health care. The only people making money out of health care should be doctors,dentists and nurses. The people who complain that the public option would put the government between you and your doctor, don't seem to understand that right now the inurance company is between you and your doctor, with no accountability. Atleast the government can be voted out. I also wonder, how many people, in the so called grass roots opposition movement, oppose this plan simply because it comes during the term of a preseident who is a black man.
   
2.   noskad

     1019 days ago

   I'm not so sure that a single-payer system is the way to go, since there would be the potential seen with, for example, UK's National Heath Service. I do believe there should be a public option, because that would force for-profit insurance companies to operate lean while still providing quality service. My mother is a cancer survivor. She had a bad fall spring 2008 and because of her medication to prevent the cancer from coming back, her bones were brittle and she broke both legs. When my stepfather changed jobs shortly after that, they could not afford COBRA. Now because of a 3-month gap in coverage, the very same insurance company that covered my mother for more than a decade will no longer cover mammograms or biannual medical checkups to make sure the cancer does not return--because it is now considered a pre-existing condition. Now she's decided to just try to get on disability with Medicare coverage (no pre-existing clauses) rather than go back to work. She wants to return to the workforce, but there's no longer an incentive to be a productive member of society if no insurance company will cover her and all her pay will go to paying out-of-pocket for her medical treatment. If a public option forces the private insurance companies to change the way they do business, that will only be a benefit to American society as a whole. They have been dictating care to physicians and hospitals indirectly for years. When a hospital discharges a patient in 3 days because of what insurance will cover, despite the doctor believing the patient should be there much longer, the system is obviously broken. This happened after my mother broke her legs. Private insurance companies--and the Republicans in their pockets--SHOULD be scared, damnit! They've been screwing over the working public for years with exorbitant premiums that keep increasing while the level of care received steadily decreases. I just received a letter yesterday, in fact, that a medication I take for pain management is moving to "tier 3" or non-preferred on September 1st, when our fiscal year starts. This will more than double my monthly copay relative to the current one. Will my premium go down by $30 per month? Hell, no, it went UP by $14 per month. So, insurance companies should be very afraid. The auto industry screwed itself by not updating factories to keep up with modern fuel-efficiency technology and focusing on huge gas hogs. Now American automakers are wondering why foreign carmakers are whipping their asses in sales. The news reported last night that 4 American-made trucks and SUVs were the clunkers most exchanged in the cash-for-clunkers program. What are the top vehicles being purchased through the program? Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai cars that have fuel efficiency ratings that exceed 35mpg. The insurance industry has been following a parallel path, so it's time to trade in those clunkers for lean-operating and service-providing insurance benefits!!!
   
3.   actionscripture

     1019 days ago

   I don't have any personal horror stories relating to health care, so my heart is not on my sleeve with this issue. I am a free-market supporter. I believe that decoupling health insurance from employment is one of the major ways we can reform the current system; no public option needed. As you say, it would lead to greater competition in the workplace and would also facilitate greater competition between private insurers since they would be required to market to individuals, not large corporations with big budgets. Also, health insurance should be more like car insurance. My car insurance doesn't pay for my oil changes and tune-ups, so why should my health insurance pick up the bill for a checkup or a quick-fix antibiotic? Health insurance should only be used for major health-related illnesses, accidents, etc; much like car insurance. I don't believe there are many people that think the system is fine the way it is. We know that it isn't and that something must be done. What we DO believe, though, is that big government is not the answer.
   
4.   noskad

     1017 days ago

   The problem is that the big insurance companies have no problem paying for checkups and antibiotics. When it comes to major expenses, it seems they try to find any way possible to pay as little as possible. From my experience as a former manager in the corporate world, big companies can negotiate better premium rates and increased coverage. The smaller companies are the ones that get the high premiums that are passed on to their employees, and the coverage is not as comprehensive either. How much negotiating power does an individual have? Insurance companies allowed free-reign in the free market could steamroll individual families, and I believe that's a fear that many people have right now. The best way to reform healthcare is to allow doctors to make the best decisions for their patients without incentives to order extra procedures so that the insurance company can be billed more, and without insurance companies inserting themselves into the decision-making process by influencing what treatments can be provided based on insurance coverage. Pre-existing conditions clauses should be eliminated, or at least written with a waiting period before coverage can begin for the illness/condition, rather than an absolute bar from coverage.