Bush will start plugging "private health accounts" tonight

[patrioticliberal]

It's just like privatizing social security. Absolute horseshit!

[BlueManDude]

1. bush is the reverse clinton

everything he touches turns to shit. who is it that trusts this guy to protect their livelihood, their security, their property, their freinds and family?

[Peter Frank]

2. That will go over as well as his SS reforms...

[XanaDUer]

3. Yup.

I cannot say how I await the * supporters' response to this brainstorm, esp. the ones with kids.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

4. I'm surprised that he's doing this.

It seems like a really, really stupid idea that won't go over well at all.

[Clark2008]

9. Well, his administration isn't known for their intelligence

...and, given no WMDs, you can take the term "intelligence" anyway you want. ;)

[rfranklin]

5. Perfect companion program to his drug plan...

total chaos and a screwjob for the elderly.

[Maine-ah]

6. Correct me if I'm wrong

as I understand it, the way these accounts would work, is that you put money into a non-tax account and you also have to carry catastrophic insurance, right? I don't know if anyone else here has been quoted for this insurance or not, but I have. It's still somewhere around $400 a fucking month. I don't know anyone that can stash money into a savings account and pay for that insurance as well. I can't even stash money into a regular savings account, let alone a "health savings account".

[BlueJazz]

10. NO..NO..NO!!!..You don't understand. Bush has said that by.....

...People saving money for important operations and such, the crisis
on health care will be alleviated.
(Let me see now..If I can save $2000.00 per month, I won't have to worry about
that costly operation.)..PLus the HUGE interest that Banks give savings accounts
will help a lot!! (.002 Percent)
Brilliant!!

[KnaveRupe]

12. Wrong.

The way they work is as follows:

Instead of enlisting employees into a traditional HMO or PPO (which, depending on the plan can cost employers as much as $14,000/year), they instead take out a high-deductible, low premium plan. The company pays the much lower premiums, and deposits the amount of the annual deductible (I've seen around $5000 as pretty standard) in an employee's HSA.

The employer saves money on each employee. The employees think, "Hey! If I don't get sick, I get to keep all that money!"

It's insidious and seductive. We will have to work hard to counter the appeal. Mark my words - this isn't the same as dismantling Social Security. Get ready to fight another uphill battle.

[ComerPerro]

14. You summed it up pretty nicely

It is a huge handout to large businesses, and while it sounds nice on paper it will probably screw more people than it saves.

I don't think that many Bush-loving Americans who currently have health insurance realize how expensive medical care is.

Enough doctors visits for them or their children and their HSA will be completely drained.

[KnaveRupe]

16. Exactly.l

But try and tell the average American "Lottery-winner-in-waiting" that they are going to use up that money every year anyways. Good luck.

The insidious selling point is, that once the deductible is paid, they still have coverage, so they will see it as a win-win proposition.

Like every other con-game, they give you a good deal to get you in the door. But once you're in, they will screw you. The challenge is in finding a way to convince the average American of that, while the Preteldent is appealing directly to their greed.

[ComerPerro]

19. Here's what I want to know: Where did this president

get that credibility? What is different about him and his administration that makes the American people implicitly want to trust him? Why do we have to jump through hoops to prove the obvious about him, that he is a con artist and a liar? And why can't anyone actually stand up and use the word "liar", instead of "intentionally deceived" or "misled"????


Oh, wait... 9/11... That's right...

[bballny]

17. you don't keep the money

it disappears after a year Unless it has changed it's use it or lose it.

[KnaveRupe]

18. Are you sure?

I know that for Cafeteria plans that is the case, but for these HSA's, I believe that you get to keep it.

The REAL reason they are pushing these is twofold - to screw the Unions that still have health insurance, and to provide another tax shelter for the upper-middle class (who will pay the deductible out-of-pocket, and leave the maximum annual contribution in the tax-free HSA, where even the interest is tax-free if eventually used for health expensses).

See - if we're going to win this at the watercooler, where this battle will be won or lost, we need to KNOW these facts cold.

[Warpy]

7. It'll appeal to young Turks in their 20s who are fresh out of college

and just landed a cushy corporate job and think they're gonna strike it rich.

The rest of us know it's total bullshit.

[patrioticliberal]

8. No it won't..come on now Warpy

[annabanana]

11. sure.. all of our EXTRA DISPOSABLE INCOME

can go in them to cover our triple bypass

that'll work

[laruemtt]

13. what alternate universe is he living in?

savings? what's that? yeah, we put away a little, but for people, who are being downsized, losing their homes, losing their pensions, exactly what should they save? and all this stress from this dying economy contributes to more sickness. screw you, dumbya!

[durablend]

15. Those people are all LOSERS

Don't you understand that? There's bajillions of people here who are doing better than "well" (they're doing stupendous), so anyone who isn't is obviously a worthless loser

:sarcasm: