"Health Care? Now There is an Issue….Why Didn’t Someone Tell Me.”

[The Whiskey Priest]

Eureka, after 5 years, Bush has discovered that most Americans cannot afford health care. So, this coming Tuesday he is going to trot out those tired old plug horses of the free-market right, Spending Accounts and Association Group Plans.

Watch for the hackneyed phrases associated with these moth-worn policies. Consumer driven, which means you are on your own. Consumer driven assumes that Americans have time to shop around for the best health care. That implies that the health care providers are not giving you the best care now and that the health care providers are performing services that are not needed.

Under the Consumer Driven rubric, each of us will need to have a good understanding of physiology, biology, pharmacology, chemistry, psychiatry, and basic medicine. It assumes that the average citizen will now what, who and where to go for the most cost effective health care.

Spending Accounts---You put money into an account, then you take it out when you need health care. That is self-funded health insurance. The money lenders love this one, they get your money, then they get to say when you can take it out. If we are going to self-fund, then why not car insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance…..any insurance plan could be self-funded. The reason we don’t is because insurance is based on spreading the risk. A more truthful name for Spending Accounts would be “Don’t get sick Plan.”

All this will amount to is smoke and mirrors. That is what the republican party is good at, they have never solved a problem, only made them worse.

[Shortyfuse]

1. I hope he does not

I think his Corporate buddies have been pushing him to do universal health care. I cannot think of an administration or Congress that I would like less to do this.

[Greyhound]

4. Corporations pushing universal health care? I'm very confused, please

'splain to me how the corporate masters would be in favor of a national plan? They've poured billions into defeating any and every effort to even move in that direction.

[Orangepeel]

11. corporations with union workers

GM is a good example. They are always complaining (legitimately, I believe), that they are less able to compete with Japanese automakers because their cars start something like $6000 higher because they pay their workers health care and pensions and the Japanese government pays Toyota's.

There are, of course, may other reasons that GM can't compete effectively with Toyota, but that is one of them. (of course, that's a bargain that GM made with its workers, and it should live up to that bargain).

But going beyond that example, Government subsidized health care would be very good for the economy. It would help corporations, but, more importantly, it would help small businesses and spur entrepreneurship. There are, I'm sure, thousands of would-be entrepreneurs who, instead of starting their own business, are working for a company because of health insurance needs.

The first step, IMO, would be to go with the plan Kerry proposed for the 2004 election. Give everyone the opportunity to get health care like a government employee. For example, I work for a state, and I pay reasonable premiums for Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Everyone should be able to do that, with government subsidy of the part of the premiums the state pays on my (the insured's) behalf.

The next step is to subsidize the part of the premiums that the insured (i.e., I) pay for those who really can't afford to pay anything (but most people, I believe, could afford the premiums that a government employee pays)

[Mel]

13. not Whole Foods

this plan is the very one that John Mackey is pushing on his employees.
Read Mackey's speech that he gave to CATO.
http://www.worldcongress.com/news/Mackey_Transcript.pdf

[rox63]

2. I imagine the insurance industry won't like this

Nor will doctors, after many of their patients stop getting medical care, since they can't afford it.

Bush plans to tell Americans that they have too much health insurance. Read what Josh Marshall has to say about it here: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007555.php

[Shortyfuse]

3. thanks

I do not know if I agree with him on the Democratic course.. Most Americans hate insurance payments. I sure do. Aligning ourself with insurance companies will not win votes.

[Shortyfuse]

5. Sorry I ;may have misunderstood him. Did he mean that Democrats din not th

...

[Shortyfuse]

8. democrats

did he mean that Democrats should say they did not think that was the problem.

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. Jeez, that'll make it even worse...

:banghead:

[Skidmore]

7. The only think he discovered was that he found an issue in the polls

to address that he has already associated his name with as having attempted to "fix" it in some manner. It's an issue polls have noted that the public is very concerned about. He doesn't dare to touch Social Security again, call more attention to the details of the war than necessary, and is running from scandal and accusation of criminal activity. They are trying to change the subject. And if we don't demand what is needed, they WILL screw up health care beyond all hope of repair.

[sallyseven]

9. Look at Medicare D to see a preview of bush and

his ideas about health care.

[stray cat]

10. Bush wants to give people a tax break for health insurance

and no longer have employers cover the cost. Its a great idea for big business and terrible for workers.

[elehhhhna]

14. It's terrible for business, too.

Their employees will spend ridiculous amounts of time and energy shopping plans, fighting for coverage, negotiating, etc. Many will just be uncovered--and untreated families lead to distracting family problems. They're INSANE and the corps need NATIONAL single-payer HC as bad as the public does. This also does NOTHING to address the 45Million uninsured Americans. It's dead before it starts.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

12. "But all my millionaire friends don't have any problem getting care"

[Telly Savalas]

15. Healthcare Savings Accounts are such a laughably stupid idea

that it blows my mind that it can be taken seriously.

[OzarkDem]

16. Sam's Club Health Insurance is here

Step right up and get your very own individual health insurance plan from the king of quality retail - Sam's Club.

It won't cover you for maternity care, mammograms, pre-existing conditions or most other preventive and medical conditions and will probably have an egregious lifetime cap on expenditures, but it will probably make you ineligible for many of the government programs for uninsured. And its bound to make trillions in profits for the insurance industry.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/1/prweb328249.htm

"Individual policies are NOT the same," says Mike Chapman of www.BenefitsBoutique.com, a nationwide insurance firm specializing in affordable health insurance for individuals, the self employed and small businesses. "Individual plans don't cover maternity in most states, so who pays for all of the babies born to employees without the maternity benefits? And what happens to "the 1/5 of individual policy applicants " that Sam's ExtendChoice(TM) website admits "can't get individual insurance because they (or someone in their family) already have an expensive preexisting medical condition?"

"Can you say tax payer?" asks Chapman. "Can you say employee?" BenefitsBoutique.com offers both individual and group medical insurance plans, but doesn't promote individual health insurance plans to businesses for ethical reasons. He admits, though, that the price savings from individual plans is compelling. "Small business owners rarely know the health or family planning issues facing their employees' families. Small businesses that replace a group medical insurance plan with individual health insurance policies may save a buck but could jeopardize the health of their employees' families and their financial well being."