Sen. Obama, Please No More Deck Chairs on the Insurance Industry Titanic

[babylonsister]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rose-ann-demoro/sen-obama-please-no-mor_b_49920.html

Sen. Obama, Please No More Deck Chairs on the Insurance Industry Titanic

29 Comments | Posted May 29, 2007

The first misconception in the health care debate is the portrait of all of us as "consumers" of health care.


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Obama's speech today was filled with recognition of the plight of those millions who face bankruptcy for high medical bills, and even concludes that "the biggest obstacle in the way of reforming this skewed system of needless waste and spiraling costs are those who profit most from the status quo - the drug and insurance companies."

But when Obama notes "it's time to let the drug and insurance industries know that while they'll get a seat at the table, they don't get to buy every chair," he's missed an opportunity, and made the wrong choice.

The insurance companies have not just bought the chairs, they've bought the table as well. Or to thoroughly mix the metaphor, we won't cure the sickness by using public money to buy more deck chairs on the insurance industry Titanic.

There are only two approaches to healthcare reform. Keep sailing on that insurance Titanic, or enact a humanitarian system that ends the insurers' stranglehold. There is such a proposal. It's John Conyers' HR 676 in Congress, or similar state versions, such as SB 840 in California. They establish a "single-payer" system in which one public entity collects and distributes all the funds and dispenses them for delivery through our current, mostly private hospitals, clinics, doctors, and other providers with guaranteed, comprehensive healthcare for all.

[zulchzulu]

1. It's going to have to incremental to get to single-payer healthcare

It would be great if we could wave a magic wand and presto! Single-payer healthcare!

But...

...it's going to have to be incremental legislation to get there. If you think we can pass legislation (that's what has to be done) to ignore the pharmaceutical AND insurance industries, which have monumental lobbying interests, then I'd like a ride on the spaceship to that planet...because it's not here and now.

I've talked with people who were for universal, nearly-free, single-payer-based healthcare until they realized that it has to happen on the local level. I also think that the same healthcare senators and congresspeople get should be accessible to the public. Not free, but comprehensive and affordable. And of course, one less trillion dollar Stealth bomber to go to children up to 18 for free.

Imagine communities pooling together to get an assessment on what generic pharmaceutical drugs are needed and buy those in bulk and distribute from there...kind of a healthcare co-op without the fancy pharma branding to pay for it. That's where I see the future of affordable healthcare. But that is going to have to happen over a series of hurdles...

[madrchsod]

2. you are right

it`s not going to happen over night. from what i have read the subsidy idea is`t going to do anything to help the great unwashed. it will still be the choice between food or going to the doctor. all my daughters friends do not have insurance to pay for health care so how much can they afford to pay on minimum wage? my wife just got employee insurance and her co pay is almost 25% of her take home per week...that`s on ten dollars an hour.she`ll have to work at least 8-12 hours over time to make up the difference.