We’ve been having very fruitful discussions at OJ because so many posters with various views have been giving Health Care Reform critical thought. For anyone who thinks that Single Payer is the way to go, you will be interested in what Rep. Anthony Weiner has to say about it in the above video clip. However, I am also VERY interested in what Larry Gilbert, Lam, Michelle, Marko, Art, Terry and SAHS Teacher, among others, will have to say about his arguments. Not to give the surprise ending away, but Mr. Weiner wants health care for all under the current Medicare program. A program so successful that 96% of the people who use it are SATISFIED. It’s a program that took seniors from a 30% poverty rate to the current 8% rank. He doesn’t want to talk about socialized medicine of OTHER countries like Canada, France or the UK. He wants good, old-fashioned AMERICAN MEDICARE for all. Please take a couple of minutes to view and post for our community!
For Marko and other small business owners, look at this comment made by a fiscally conservative poster after he viewed the clip:
what he says is logical.
i am a fiscal conservative, very small business owner and the current system is totally flawed, individuals & small businesses don’t get the group discounts for health insurance that big companies do. the cost is disproportionate to pay.
i simply can’t offer health insurance as a benefit to my employees & it’s that much harder to recruit & retain employees.
Weiner admits that Medicare needs some fixing. But the program itself, is a model of world-class success . Single Payer reform is the only way to go. Meciare for ALL.
If you want a 70% reduction in benefits, problem solved!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_(United_States)
Currently there are 3.9 workers paying taxes into Medicare for every older American receiving services. By 2030, as the baby boom generation retires, that is projected to drop to 2.4 workers for each beneficiary. Medicare spending is expected to grow by about 7 percent per year for the next 10 years.[47] As a result, the financing of the program is out of actuarial balance, presenting serious challenges in both the short-term and long-term.
Medicare is a “wealth transfer program”. Where is the wealth going to be transferred from with everyone on it?
Not one senior will support such a plan because it will mean the wealth transfer that guarantees them the benefits they now enjoy will END. Just look what cutting medicare benefits stirred up this summer.
Yes, seniors like their medicare. Here’s a great article.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/mp_20090629_2600.php
But remember, that approval relies on 1. not having to pay the bill 2. not caring that medicare administrative costs are astronomical and failing ( see http://orangejuiceblog.com/2009/09/lets-stop-this/) and 3. each senior is one of 42 million or so in a program paid for by (in the words of Gary Oldman in The Professional)
….EVERYONE!!!!!!
(1) The rich are covered from the profits they make from their employee’s, the working poor.
(2) The government people are covered from the taxes taken from the working poor.
(3) The old 65+ crowd are covered by Medicare, funded by taxes on the working poor.
(4) Infants and children are mostly covered, from taxes collected on purchases from the working poor.
the working poor are not covered, But they are the ones who are paying the price, the cost, of the 4 groups above.
The big health insurance companies do not have A RIGHT to feast upon all of us because of the massive campaign donations they make. It is a diseased systems that needs to be cut out and buried.
Health care for all under the current Medicare program.
Sounds like a answer to me.
Terry,
Where do private health care insurers make their profits? From the premiums people pay in, it would be the same under Medicare-for-all, except the premiums would be far less because we won’t be paying for the profits of the private health care company’s stock-holders and CEO’s.
This from today’s NY Times;
” It has been frustrating to watch Republican leaders posture as the vigilant protectors of Medicare against health care reforms designed to make the system better and more equitable. This is the same party that in the past tried to pare back Medicare and has repeatedly denounced the kind of single-payer system that is at the heart of Medicare and its popularity.
…..BUT FAR FROM HARMING ELDERLY AMERICANS, THE VARIOUS REFORM BILLS NOW PENDING SHOULD ACTUALLY MAKE MEDICARE BETTER FOR MOST BENEFICIARIES-BY ENHANCING THEIR DRUG COVERAGE, REDUCING THE PREMIUMS THEY PAY FOR DRUGS AND MEDICAL CARE, ELIMINATING CO-PAYMENTS FOR PREVENTATIVE SERVICES AND HELPING KEEP MEDICARE SOLVENT, AMONG OTHER BENEFITS.”
Terry and his supporters know what Cook, Vixen and anonster voice. Terry his supporters and the Republican party do not care to support health care reform because they wish to have the President fail in order to defeat him in the coming election. This is their objective . All rhetoric is to this end. Arguments are intended to keep the focus off the real agenda. Argue frivolous points so America does not focus on their objective.
Preventable deaths should be brought graphically to the public in order to cause anger and opposition to the Republican political self interest agenda.
Conservative Democrats are not far behind Republicans in causing public harm. This group’s self interest is campaign funding directly.
They are willing to sacrefice lives, deaths preventable with health care reform for the sake of their agendas.
Ironic these individuals find death panels in health reform drafts, talk about how terrible Democrats are for including such legislature in health care reform.
At the same time they defend health insurances that actually, not in draft form, exclude humans from health insurance that in many cases result in death. These are real death panels. The real death panels are the Republican Party and those they tap for assistance, the far right fringe groups, who’s driving interest is elimination of a Black president.
As is usual, the conversation is good and the points are sincere. My take on this is that the GOP is fighting for its political life right now. IF/When this thing passes, and if it is successful, the party will lose massive amounts of its members who will come to realize how betrayed and how used they have been by their own leaders.
The Democrats have betrayed us, too. However they will come out on the right side of this issue when it passes. The single payer is the best way for all of us. However, it is still uncertain if the Democrats will do right by us and give us high quality, affordable health care without all of the undue influence of the insurance industry. They have been talking about mandating insurance – which to me sounds punitive and suspicious. With single payer, medicare for EVERYONE, we’ll get the coverage we need and can buy supplemental, if we want, just like the seniors do now.
It is time for relief from a broken health care insurance industry that is responsible for very evil policies driven by the bottom line and greedy insiders. I believe that is why it has been so hard to get adequate information about the reforms until just lately – and IF you are willing to LOOK for the facts.
Do you all understand what you are reading? Tell them they cannot continue to pay for the services on Medicare for “everyone” because medicare is a welfare tranfer, and liberal radicals talk about “profits”.
Democrats and leftists have a self interest in destroying the current health care system which is the best in the world and are funded by billion dollar interests who stand to profit if it falls. Currently, they already succeed in harming the national medical establishment with medicare, to the tune of $100 billion a year they foist off on to the private sector. Do not expect they will improve your health care one bit with that canard.
They will be happy to kill people to get their way. The more of you dependent on government, the better they feel. They demonize institutions which do a better job of saving lives than anywhere in the world, and line up selfish institutions like unions and public interest groups like ACORN, who simply want to siphon off as many of your tax dollars as possible and leave you with a broken health care system and nowhere to turn.
Remember, population control is at the heart of the new leftist theology.
Do not accept the simplistic notion that health care reforms require some “government” plan. Pass a few laws to make the changes Obama wants, even make it mandatory to purchase. Beyond that, a few people with something to profit from are trying to sell you something.
Anonster
Insurance companies make most of their profits from investing the premiums they charge, so they dont have to charge more and can be prepared for unexpected disasters. Your hatred of the profit motive in providing the best service is telling.
http://www.columbiabusinesstimes.com/5703/2009/09/18/storms-recession-reduce-insurance-company-profits/
It has been the worst canard to continue to pump “savings” as the selling point in government reform. The single payer system isn’t on the table. And the administrative costs of current government programs show they are worse than the private sector. Even if it was possible to get there from here, it wouldnt happen for years. Which means, higher costs right now. Do I need to say “no sell?”
As well, admin costs have nothing to do with the “rising” costs of health care, which are because we have more instruments of health care and are constantly inventing new ways to use them.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/07/administrative_costs_in_health.html
Again, as always, people who have no interest in slowing the growth of health care costs (otherwise, they would be talking about something else) and people who dont care whether or not the health care system is improved, (because all they talk about is how bad the other guy is, not his argument) are talking about failure.
I want health care reform to be a success. I actually care. Some of you might try it.
You might find this article on today’s Huffington Post relevant:
“MediCare for All” Becomes No Care at All
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deane-waldman/medicare-for-all-no-care_b_301256.html
Terry, please explain to me, how the Republicans are Blocking “Reform” without enough votes to block it in the House, or the Senate, or the White House???
It seems there are Democrats opposing “reform”, doesn’t that make it “Bi-partisan” opposition?