RNs and Obama Say NO to Forced Health INSURANCE!

[masuki bance]

Run time: 01:17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N_JtuwZtOo   Posted on YouTube: September 26, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: September 26, 2009 By DU Member: masuki bance Views on DU: 1159

 
"Some folks who said that it's not possible to provide universal health care coverage unless there's a mandate._ Their essential argument is the only way to get everybody covered is if the government forces you to buy health insurance. If you don't buy it, then you'll be penalized in some way....The reason people don't have health insurance is because they can't afford it."

In the Feb. 21, 2008, debate with Hillary Clinton, then-Sen. Obama stated plainly,- " Massachusetts has a mandate right now. They have exempted 20 percent of the uninsured because they have concluded that that 20 percent can't afford it. In some cases, there are people who are paying fines and still can't afford it, so now they're worse off than they were. They don't have health insurance and they're paying a fine."

President Obama should heed his own words and block an individual mandate from being part of any health care reform. Otherwise, in his words, the people he is claiming to help will end up worse off than they were.

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Significantly, in Massachusetts, where an individual-mandate health reform law, much like what President Obama is proposing on a national scale, was passed in 2006, at least 352,000 people, or 5.5 percent of the population, remained uninsured in 2008. That number was actually (but non-significantly) higher than the number of uninsured in 2007, before strict enforcement of the individual and employer mandates went into effect.

“The legislation championed by the president and the congressional leadership is a virtual clone of the Massachusetts plan,” said Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP). “Today’s numbers show that plans that require people to buy private insurance don’t work. Obama’s plan to replicate Massachusetts’ reform nationally risks failure on a massive scale.”

[stray cat]

1. Say no to forcing health care people to treat those who chose not to participate?

[Nikki Stone1]

3. It's not about choice for at least 20% of MA residents; unless you count the choice between

insurance and food for the children.

[SandWalker1984]

4. Spoken by someone who has employer provided health insurance...

If you had to pay for it yourself, you would understand exactly how badly these corporate mafia disguised as insurance companies are cheating us.

From what I've seen of the Baucus bill, there is NOTHING to meaningfully regulate the premiums that can be charged. The insurance companies are already talking about charging people over 50 UP TO FIVE TIMES AS MUCH as others for premiums.

Tell me, if you can't afford the premiums because they cost more than you are earning, more than your rent & groceries -- and you are forced to pay the penalty instead --- just what are you to do then if you have a heart attack? Or an accident? Stay home? You couldn't afford the insurance, so now what?

The problem here is that the big corporations want it all, your last dollar or last piece of equity you have left.

Obama campaigned against that behavior and against a Baucus type mandate to buy private insurance.

Let's call it like it really is -- OBAMA IS A LIAR.

As a long time Democratic party member, I am totally disgusted with what is being done in the name of health care reform so far.

[chadmak09]

5. i have to agree somewhat

I have to agree with some of that.
I am very upset that obama did not start out this fight the right way.
He started half-a##ed!!
He didn't even give universal healthcare a chance.
He started the fight in a compromised position to begin with.

Mandate PRIVATE INSURANCE on americans????
Are they friggin Kiddin me!!!!!!!!!
Thats the answer to this HUGE crisis we are in here???
Making everyone participate in a corrupt insurance industry?

Its like a never ending game in this country.
The republicans want you to think one dogmatic way and have fox news spouting bullcrap and paranoia, And now, the corrupt democrats are coming to light (aka blue dogs).

I am a middle class american with blue cross blue shield insurance (supposedly very good insurance) and am currently having some health issues..

And I am spending HUGE amounts of money of healthcare right now because of my health problems. co-pays, deductibles, etc.etc.etc. are wiping me out!!!
AND I HAVE a good job and supposedly good INSURANCE!!

the study at harvard shows that the biggest reason for bancruptcy is healthcare.
And, THE LARGE MAJORITY OF THOSE BANKRUPTCYS WERE PEOPLE WHO HAD HEALTH INSURANCE.

So how does a public option that most americans are not eligible for help myself and other people??
Dont get me wrong here, I would rather have a public option than not, but the public option is not the fix!!
So why not FIX the problem??
Or at least give it a try.

Obama stated before that he was for universal healthcare.
What happened??

-Chad

[katkat]

6. what happened

Re: what happened

I dunno, Chad. Either we elected someone with not even a vestige of a spine or someone stupid or someone who lied his head off in the campaign and/or is now in way over his head. The first two seem unlikely given his background, so I am homing in on the third as I try to understand this.

I think Obama has no clue about why people voted for him and how angry we are, (it was said Nixon was very isolated from actual public opinion), and Rahm is leading him around by the nose.

[masuki bance]

2. One more rec. nt