I have lost all respect for john mcain. He seems to have no sense of decency left. I refer to his "health care" plan. His idea is to take health insurance off of employers and place it on the individual. He says this will make it more competitive and lower the cost. Really ?
a. does he understand that there is already competition in the health insurance industry ?
b. does he really believe that one individual can cut a better deal for health insurance than say a group of 20,000 people ?
c. does he really think that the competition between: mobil, exxon, bp, shell, etc. keeps the cost of gas low ?
d. does he really expect people to think that his "tax rebate" for the cost of health insurance will cover it?
Shame on you Mcain. If you believe Mcbush...you deserve what you get.
a. does he understand that there is already competition in the health insurance industry ?
Do you really think less competition in the healtch care industy will make it cheaper? If so you are the one confused.
b. does he really believe that one individual can cut a better deal for health insurance than say a group of 20,000 people?
When a person is spending thier own money, they spend it more wisely than other people spneing your money.
c. does he really think that the competition between: mobil, exxon, bp, shell, etc. keeps the cost of gas low ?
What would be the price of gas if only one oil company produced and sold the gas? do you think it would be less expensive than it is now? If so you are the one confused.
d. does he really expect people to think that his "tax rebate" for the cost of health insurance will cover it?
Right now, health insurance doesn't cover the cost of medical care. So wouldn't a check help?
Now, if I get this right, what you want is someone in office who will give you a 'nanny-state' where everything is given to you but without costing you something. The free market system works best when it is a fair market. Competion always brings about cheaper prices. Fuel cost will not go down, even if Exxon didn't make a dime. It is mostly a supply and demand question, a lot more demand and less supply. Companies cannot drill for oil, cannot build refineries so we have less and must import. Our population is sky-rocketing, ths more demand in the future. Add that to China and India's booming population and soon, no one will have oil, prices will get a lot higher then now.
The problem is that those who have enough money can't relate at all to those of us who do not.
I pay for my daughter's HMO Horizon plan because she is not working due to a series of health issues--it is $465.00 per month and one of her medications costs me , out of pocket, even with the health insurance, $220 a month. That's$700 right there. I make a decent living, but for some people, the medication would be out of the question since insurance only pays half.
Even though many employers do include health insurance in the employment compensation package, many do not. Some very large employers, especially in retail, keep employees below full-time status and provide no benefits, and when I say 'no benefits' I mean no benefits; no insurance, no vacation pay, no holiday pay, no sick days.
Although I believe that the jobs of senators and representatives are important ones and deserve fair compensation, I often do wish that their health care insurance was not included in that. I think it's more difficult to empathize with the poor, and others who have to struggle to pay for health insurance when you don't. I had such great insurance when I was working I never gave a thought to how much that probably cost. When I had to retire and pay my own insurance I was shocked, and after six months I could no longer afford it.
My neighbor works part-time at a Dollar Store, and in this little town she was lucky even to get that job. She works 20 or so hours per week, and makes $7.00 per hour. She has no benefits, but she can buy health insurance (no prescription, no vision, no dental and $2,000 deductible each) for her and her husband for $188 every two weeks; she only brings home around $240 every two weeks.
"The problem is that those who have enough money can't relate at all to those of us who do not."
Few people are in the same financial situation all their lives.
My family was quite poor, did not even own a home or a car until the late 60s and 70s respectively. My parents both worked at low-wage govt jobs, but had good health care (not always either! when I was 9 and got sick, we had only limited health care) and even better pensions, and, combined with their desire to own a home etc, they lived frugally, esp. now that they are older, and even they are quite well-off by most standards. We can sure relate to those who don't have this and that.
i also had relatives that were far better off, one of my father's sisters married a surgeon that was almost twice her age, had two kids with him, the oldest, a boy, was a "painter" (now a tourist guide), when his father died he left him a significant amount of $ plus a house, but the lazy bum cousing went thru them in a few years, and now is rather poor.. his pre-teen kids both star in TV commercials and bring in more $ than the parents..
Some hospitals have cut their ER losses due to uninsured patients in half by providing free preventive care clinics for their "frequent flyer" patients. These are patients that turn up in the ER every few months with major health problems caused by diabetes, heart disease, epilepsy, etc. and the expense of emergency care for these events is major. By providing free care for those with chronic conditions, they have cut the cost of their care in half and rarely see these patients in the ER.
We must have some form of basic health care provided for all citizens in this country. We are the only industrialized nation left that doesn't. I believe this will bring down the cost of health care significantly.
McCain's plan is a rehashed form of what has been offered for years and has already been proven that it won't work.
If you think getting the government involved in paying for our health care will drive the costs down, think again. Just where has the government been able to anthing cheaper than private enterprise? Name one service the government provides that private enterprise can't do cheaper.
What I had in mind is not necessarily just government provided, though I do believe for those unable to pay or for the working poor there should be a government payment or subsidy. There also needs to be greater regulation of the insurance industry. California is now actively going after companies who drop customers for having medical claims or for unnecessarily denying a majority of claims.
As to private business - I don't believe health care benefits when the bottom line is profit. Ratings recently came out on local hospitals withing 2 counties here. The for profit hospitals received the lowest ratings while the government supported county hospitals received the highest. Fortunately, Medicare reimbursements are now tied to these ratings so those for profit hospitals may be hit where it hurts most - in the profit.
