Night Strike wrote:PLAYER57832 wrote:PS and let's just ignore the FACT that socialized medicine is not even being considered right now.
Except that's what Obama stated it will lead to before he started his presidential campaign.[ And even more recently prominent democrats like Barney Frank said that he wishes they could go straight to single-payer, but that the public plan would have to be a stop on the way to that.
The majority of American people, when they hear the real facts, want a single-payor system. Obama has said that
if he could start from scratch, he probably would favor a single-payor system, however he also says that making such a sweeping change to 6% of the nation's economy is just not practical
right now.
Here is the deal.
Do you have insurance? If no, then we, then unless you are independently wealthy, the taxpayers will foot the bill should you get seriously injured -- so much for your idea of "pay your own way".
If yes, have your rates increased in the past 3 years? Note, I don't just mean your "out of pocket" expenses, I mean the portion your employer might pay as well. For almost everyone in the US, rates have gone up a minimum of 30% for the
same coverage.
BUT -- most people's coverage has not really remained the same at all.
Furthermore, do you know what the "lifetime limits" to your policy are? Do you know how much medical care you can use before reaching those limits? Chances are a bout with cancer and/or a serious accident will eat them up.
Worst of all, if you do manage to actually use most of those benefits, then your insurer will cancel OR you will wind up costing your employer so much money to ensure you that they will be all but forced to let you go. And, yes, supposedly you are not supposed to be fired just because you get sick, but welcome to the real world. No employee is so perfect they can withstand a true attempt to fire them.
ALL of those things hit small business owners far harder than the big corporations. This legislation would put everyone on even footing, would require the insurers to offer the same policies to everyone, not better policies to big corporations or only healthy people. Will some people pay more? Young, very healthy people will pay more, BUT it will balance out because the overwhelming majority will (surprise!) get sick eventually.
FIRTHERMORE, you cannot lump medicaid, (which often has not worked well) with Medicare, which has absolutely worked very well... ask your elderly neighbors if you don't think it works!
The American people are starting to see through the rhetoric that Obama, Pelosi, and other democrats are spouting regarding the plans and are now seeing the plan for what it is: more government.
As opposed the the scare tactics put forward by the far right?
Real people could care less how much government there is. We want
effective government. Bush might have theoretically reduced government roles by turning jobs over to private contractors, but it really wound up costing us more money AND was less effective that direct government work.
This is the part all you "less government" folks seem to forget. Things the government does are inherently different from those things the private sector does. They are specifically things that are either too critical to leave to market vagaries (defense, transportation ... and many people would say heathcare now, as well) OR are not profitable (a lot of ground-breaking research in all areas, parks, forests, cleam water, clean air, protecting species, etc.)
Sometimes just making money is not the best guage of success. Sometimes its what you accomplish WITH that money.