"Now you see it,now you don't." "There are none so blind as those who will not see." I think the previous two statements best describe those folks who march in lock step with the Madam Speaker of the House of ill repute, the Majority Leader of the Band of Senate Thieves, and the Great Illusionist of the White House. When presented with pictures, videos and documents of their exalted leaders they find excuses to believe it is not real. I find it incomprehensible that after seeing the evidence, they can still claim it is all rumor and opinions.
When presented with alternatives from those with a differing view, they deny the existence or even the possibility of finding a better approach to problem solving, much less that an alternate has been offered. Capitalism has served this country well for its entire existence. Sure regulations and laws are needed to prevent abuses, but scrapping the system is not the answer. It might help if we enforced the laws currently on the books. Most people would acknowledge that our health care system can be improved, most things on earth can. There are many options that can be used to lower cost, provide care for the needy and still maintain the best health care in the world. Yet these delusional people would have us throw out the baby with the bath water.
I think Vice President Biden, strange as it seems, is telling the truth about this governments policies. "We must spend money to avoid bankruptcy." How absurd ! However, that's just Joe. Wake up, all you Kool aid drinkers, the country is worth saving from those who would demonize it.
Joel Brandes
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
These idiots are dooming their own programs to failure by strangling the economy. Viva Socialism!
ReplyDeleteJoe, I agree that there are likely ways to fix the system without some vast omnibus gov. program that adds to the deficit and I would love for folks from both sides to stop the name calling and fear mongering so that we can get down to the business of fixing things.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.who.int/whr/2008/whr08_en.pdf
ReplyDeleteThis is a link to the 2008 World Health Organization "World Health Report". It's an interesting read. In Chapter 2, it describes the necessity of moving towards Universal coverage:
"The fundamental step a country can take to promote health equity is to move towards universal coverage: universal access to the full range of personal and non-personal health services they need, with social health protection."
It also describes how the move towards universal health is met with much resistance:
"While universal coverage is fundamental to building health equity, it has rarely been the object of an easy social consensus. Indeed, in countries
where universal coverage has been achieved or embraced as a political goal, the idea has often
met with strong initial resistance, for example, from associations of medical professionals concerned about the impact of government-managed
health insurance schemes on their incomes and working conditions, or from financial experts determined to rein in public spending."
If you read through the report, you will see that we really are behind the times in terms of implementing a universal health care system compared with other nations throughout the world--especially Europe. It's the proper move--why shouldn't we all be entitled to fair, equal coverage without risking catastrophic expenses?
Joel says that we can "still maintain the best health care in the world"--but we don't have the best health care in the world--not by a long shot. It's sad that out of 191 nations that are members of WHO, the US ranks 37th in terms of the World's Health Systems, however we spend the MOST per capita on health care and the HIGHEST percentage of our GDP on health care and related expenses. Something has to be done, and I think that we're moving in the right direction. It's not going to be perfect, but it's certainly a start.
Right on point 10:07....finally some facts.
ReplyDelete10:07
ReplyDeleteI think you made the point that we on the Right side of this issue have been making all along. You
say "shouldn't we be entitled to
fair equal coverage" etc
. That's just the point you people on the left think you should be entitled to in this case health care. You people believe the government is responsible for all our needs and wants. We on the other hand think we should be responsible for ourselves and the government should have only a small role in our lives.
Have you heard of anyone leaving this country to go to Canada or the U. K. for surgery or other legal medical treatment? When the W.H.O. advocates for universal health care, why should we trust their ratings? I am my wife are alive today because Obamacare is not yet the law of the land. Go visit John's Hopkins and see people from all over the world coming here, willing to pay any price for the kind of care they can't get elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to chime in here for a minute.
ReplyDeleteLOOK, people in the US are going to Canada for cheaper prescriptions.
That being said, they may not be going there for health care but let me assure you, once this thing, (God Forbid) goes into effect, health care won't be worth a damn in 10 years here in the US.
YOU CAN BANK ON THAT!
In fact, just watch how few Doctors you'll be seeing graduate over the next 5 years. They'll all be IMPORTING Foreigners to the US, JUST LIKE PRMC IS ALREADY DOING!
Joe, they're "importing foreigners" because our own kids aren't making the grades here in US schools. They finish with less education/training and focus than alot of the foreign students.
ReplyDeleteWRONG!
ReplyDeleteThe FACT of the atter is, Doctors aren't stupid. Why go into a PARTNERSHIP with the Government when you could make a LOT more money doing something that isn't REGULATED by the Government.
Use your head and stop wetting your pants.
11:50...I certainly don't believe that the government should be involved in all aspects of our lives. At the same time, I don't believe that huge corporate giants whose sole purpose is to make a financial profit (i.e. private insurance companies) should be involved in my medical decisions either.
ReplyDeleteI actually have pretty decent coverage currently and it's 100% paid for by my employer--will i switch to the public plan if/when it happens? Probably not. BUT, I will be really glad to know that many family members and friends of mine will finally be able to get coverage at a low or no-cost level. They are not insured, not because they don't work or haven't shopped around for health insurance, but simply because their employers don't offer it to them as they are either contract employees or the employer cannot afford to offer it to their employees. Having the public plan as an OPTION for people like this seems like a good idea for me.
I agree that there will be issues--possibility of illegal aliens getting coverage, people abusing the system, etc. But no matter what system is in place, there are going to be problems...I'm hoping that this proposed plan will do good and will solve more problems than it creates--I'm confident that it will.
12:21...I'm not going to dispute the point you make, it's true that in many of the highly specialized fields, the US does in fact shine. We are well know for our cancer treatment in some of our hospitals/facilities. HOWEVER, if I did get cancer, most likely my insurance company will eventually drop me, my family and I will go into a ridiculous amount of debt to try and pay for treatment, possibly lose our home, etc.
The proposed plan is not calling for the elimination of private insurance companies, but giving an alternative and adding a little more regulation--making sure that they don't drop people when expensive treatments are required. I personally know of one person that was dropped by their insurance when they were diagnosed with Lukemia and their family lost their home while trying to pay for treatment. I also know of another who did not have insurance, had to spend 10 days in the hospital and had a lien put against their house because the debt was not paid in full.
Sorry for rambling, but this issue is pretty serious for me because i have a lot of close friends and relatives that are going to be directly affected by this.
1:19, thanks for some valid input and perspective. Why do folks with insurance through their employer act like their employer won't decide to downsize and give them the pink slip when they show up to work tomorrow; bye bye insurance. Or, like many people, they get seriously injured while on the job and lose employment/benefits while recovering, or like mentioned are diagnosed with a disease that causes them to lose coverage. I guess these are simply the lazy people who don't want to work and are simply looking for government handouts.
ReplyDeleteI feel very strongly about this healthcare bill - Mostly because i think it is a load of S***. I am a Cancer Survivor - For now.. and If any of you have seen the movie SICKO(if you havent please watch it, it shows both sides- free healthcare in Canada & the UK, and american Healthcare also) You would understand that with "free" healthcare comes RATIONING!! which for me means, if they decide that there are NOT enough of my treatment for people who are actually on their deathbed, then i have to go without my treatment because simply put my cancer is not "important enough" to be taken care of, i hate thinking that one day i could die due to the fact that our gov't got to decide IF or WHEN i get to have my treatment- they could decide that i dont get to see my oncologist for 6 - 8 months because many people will now get to see him for free; most of you are thinking well yes, but you wont have a bill for seeing him, HEY DIPS***'s i WORK for a living and PAY for my private insurance, and happy to do so, so that i can decide which doctors i go to and when i want to see them!! ugh. people MEDICAL CARE IS NOT FREE, GET OVER IT. SOME OF US NEED THE CARE SOONER INSTEAD OF JUST FREE, Joe i hope this blog is helping people understand why this is such a HORRIBLE idea. Sorry for the Rambling but i Cannot Stand OBAMACARE!!!
ReplyDeleteKD
2:29...I can see your points and they are of valid concern in a single payer system, but that's not what this plan is about. This plan is not trying to eliminate Private Insurance--it's just not. If the plan was to COMPLETELY rid the country of private insurance companies (and therefore making insurance a gov't run monopoly) I would be opposed too.
ReplyDeleteI also work for a living and do not expect nor accept handouts. But, I've also been the victim of a layoff due to the business closing its doors. And I've also changed jobs a few times in my career. I do know one thing: every time that I've ever been laid off or have changed jobs, I do NOT get COBRA coverage. Why?--because it's WAY too expensive. I just take the chance and pray that I don't get seriously injured during the lapse in coverage.
Why is having a public OPTION so bad in situations such as this? Some examples:
1. You get laid off or leave your present employer for a better opportunity--wouldn't having a low-cost (possibly free) public option be better than opting for COBRA coverage at $350-450/month?--more if you have family coverage.
2. You are self-employed or do contract work and can't afford to pay $400+/month for insurance and try and keep the business afloat at the same time? Wouldn't a public option be a financial relief?
When a normal person has a toothache, he sees a dentist and has that tooth repaired. It makes no sense to extract all the teeth to stop the ache. Tearing down the dentists office because he makes too much money benefits only the people in the demolition business. That my friends is Obamacare, destroy everything to fix what is a simple problem by creating a larger one.
ReplyDeleteRD says, "At the same time, I don't believe that huge corporate giants whose sole purpose is to make a financial profit (i.e. private insurance companies) should be involved in my medical decisions either."
ReplyDeleteWhy does a bank loan money? Why do companies make things? Why do restaurants update their menus or follow a corporate model? TO MAKE MONEY, TO MAKE A PROFIT. An insurance company takes premiums and bets against you having to file a claim. In health insurance, you bet against you're insured having a lot of claims because there will be claims. You made a medical decision when you accepted their coverage and let them decide what coverages they want to include or exclude. When they deny a claim, it's because of your policy. Gov't will only make this worse. There is no one for all policy that benefits every person on this planet and seniors will receive the least care and coverage. There is no gov't program that doesn't cost more than expected including the military. Why pay more for service/coverage that will not be any better than it is right now? Try self insuring yourself, then it will truly be between you and your doctor. The insurance company is only in between right now because you let them. Over the years more and more people let them come between thru employer benefits, now like cell phones, they think they can't live with out them, and it's true for a few but not for all. I agree with you that if affects us all and all the people we know, but I don't think a gov't fix is the answer.
A democrat "expert" last nite on one show said "Don't worry, both reid & pelosi will be re-elected."
ReplyDeleteGood news, reid's approval is 10% & going down while pelose's is below 30 & still sliding.