National Health Care and Obama’s Carrot
By Pat Racimora on October 11, 2008 at 4:19 PM in Barack Obama, Campaign promises, Health Care, John McCain
Health care costs are obscene, no doubt about that. I had a cortisone shot a few months ago that had to be performed in a hospital because my city has no private office with a fluoroscope. This meant a full dress pre-operative preparation. I was in the hospital for a total of one hour and 45 minutes, mostly waiting in a bed. Cost? $5,500 for one shot! I swear to God this is true.
This situation makes health care a red hot campaign issue. Obama focused heavily on this health care plan while denegrating McCain’s modest health care proposal during their second debate.
McCain’s policy, in all honesty, does not solve the underlying problem of soaring costs. But it does provide relief for a lot of people who can use that $5,000 tax credit to help purchase insurance. It may even cause insurance companies to lower rates as they vie for these new customers. But, mostly McCain’s plan has merit because it is actually doable!
Obama’s plan is no more than a campaign promise that will not be kept because it cannot be kept. So, if you are voting for him primarily because of his health plan, think again.
If Presidents could implement national health care, Teddy Roosevelt, Frankin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, and Bill Clinton would have already seen to it that every American had at least some form of basic health care coverage. They all tried. There is even now a national health care bill that has been languishing in Congressional committees since 2003 (HR 676).
The truth is that many other factors must align, and the chances of that happeing anytime soon is about as likely as Ralph Nader winning the presidency by a landslide.
Here are some issues that currently stifle the possibility of having any form of government sponsored National Health Insurance (NHI) in the United States:
1. The complicated way our government makes decisions and does its business, including the ability of the minority (sometimes a single person or a very few people) to stifle the will of the majority, including the American people.
2. Successful lobbying against NHI by powerful for-profit stakeholders (e.g., managed care organizations, insurance companies, and the pharmaceutical industry).
3. The advantages available to the private sector created by our checks-and balances and two-party systems, purposely designed to limit the power and scope of government.
4. A public that polls as wanting NHI but is currently either distrustful of big government or apathetic when it comes to action.
5. Our culture of individualism that resists collective solutions.
6. The continuing (and mostly unspoken in public) prejudice of the working middle-class against supporting with their tax dollars no-cost resources to those they perceive as less deserving (e.g., addicts, loafers, high physical risktakers).
7. The inability of pro-medical care reform activists to agree on a specific proposal, and sometimes actively opposing each other.
8. Unexpected events that interrupt the legislative process (e.g., wars and scandals).
9. Personality clashes and ensuing haggling among the fragmented power players that influence the fate many attempts to reform anything, including health care. (This happens more often that you would think.)
10. Institutional bias that was designed by our founding fathers to pit alliances against each other as a way of protecting minority factions and limiting the power of government to control the individual and individual personal choice.
Some medical historians claim that timing will be the key, and that those rare opportune windows depend on a confluence of forces coming together “just right.” Is there such a window in the near future? Here are factors that must align for NHI to stand a chance. Unfortunately, almost all are nowhere in sight.
1. A unified political landscape. (Things seem less unified than ever right now, even rancorous splits within the two major parties.)
2. Ability of the President to pull people together. (Unfortunately, this campaign has divided people, especially Democrats, with wounds that will fester for some time.)
3. The people become more willing to give government a chance to do something right and competently. (We don’t see any evidence if this yet, in fact skepticism has devolved into cynicism.)
4. The medical establishment realizes that NHI is inevitable, so it is best to join the team to help shape it than to fight it. (This ultimately happened in Canada after years of strife, and it would take a long time for that to happen here, if ever.)
5. A resurgence of working class organizations and unions. (First we need jobs!)
6. Our foreign affairs concerns, if not solved, are stabilized. (This will not happen for a long while, no matter who wins the election.)
7. The economy is on the mend, such as more jobs, less reliance on foreign oil, and do on. (Clearly things are going in the opposite direction.)
8. Continuing advancements in medical science, medical technology, and pharmacological treatments, especially those that are cost-effective and detect early or prevent disease. (We are moving forward, but the wars and the economy has already drastically reduced federal grant funds available for medical research. In addition, the cost of early detection for risks is overwhelming since everyone is at risk for something, but we can’t give everyone every risk test..)
9. Demands for NHI from the majority of powerful social or political groups. (That hasn’t happened.)
10. A weakening of current health care markets, such as an increase in “high profile” criticisms of for-profit managed care operations. (There was a brief period of exposure of the profit-making business of health care, but criticisms, though still valid, have waned.)
11. A rise (or resurgence) in national pride and a return to the exercising of fundamental values such as caring for others. (Most Americans are furious our country’s leadership–and that includes the Democratic congress–and having trouble caring for their own families let along anyone else’s.)
12. Some substantial degree of healing between Democrats and Republicans and so-called red and blue states, or at least a strong bipartisan agreement that NHI must be enacted. (Highly unlikely in the near future.)
13. Meaningful lobby reform, cutting off to some extent powerful interest-group access. (This is far easier said than done.)
14. Public financing of elections, reducing the influence of powerful interests. (McCain is doing it, Obama reversed his promise.)
15. Agreement on the shape/scope of the plan from among various health care reformers. (So far the majorities favoring health care reform have been unable to coalesce around a single plan and are sometimes openly antagonistic towards each other.)
16. A significant external shock, such as skyrocketing health care costs threatening the collapse of our economy, a major health care scandal, a plague or natural disaster or attack that injures large numbers of young and the healthy middle and upper-income Americans, and other unfortunate occurrences that force change. (This is a scary scenario—we pray that this is not the reason we ultimately get NHI.)
In conclusion, McCain won’t solve the problem, but he has a functional plan that should help some people. As for Obama and national health insurance, I wish I could conclude differently, but no. It’s just another promise that cannot and will not be kept.
EXCELLENT VIDEO…A MUST SEE
The Second American Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKFKGrmsBDk
Cooper,
Thank you for showing the video.
Whenever people asked me if I am a Chinese American, or a Japanese American. I always answered: I am an American.
thank you, Amen to that!
exactly I am not an Italian American or gay American, I am a proud American.
Great video.
Ann Arbor for Palin, you’re welcome.
That is exactly the point. We are AMERICAN. Forget about the xxxx-American. This is a divisive description at best.
http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/
Here’s another goodie from Uppity cross posted at RBO…in case you haven’t seen it yet…interestink…no?
The tide is turning for McCain/Palin as we speak. Odumbo’s unearned financial crisis bump is vanishing in the wind and reality is kicking in again. Check the state polls in a few days and you’ll see it happening. The GOP is about to spend $160 million dollars on a mass media/GOTV turnout juggernaut. They are waiting for the debates to end, and then it’s all out war. Hold on to your flak jackets, and get your popcorn.
Excellent commentary on this health care issue, Pat. Everyone should read it very carefully. National health care is just a dream now.
Pat, thanks for the great info. McCain’s Healthcare plan really does make a lot of sense … especially given the new reality of where’s the money going to come from for Obama’s plan.
Here are the highlights for MAC’s plan:
Portability: Families should be able to purchase health insurance nationwide, across state lines. Americans need insurance that follows them from job to job. They want insurance that is still there if they retire early and does not change if they take a few years off to raise the kids.
Tax credits: While still having the option of employer-based coverage, every family will receive a direct refundable tax credit - effectively cash - of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to offset the cost of insurance.
Health Savings Accounts: Those obtaining innovative insurance that costs less than the tax credit can deposit the remainder in expanded Health Savings Accounts.
Ensuring Care for Higher Risk Patients: McCain will work with governors to develop a best practice model that states can follow - a Guaranteed Access Plan or GAP - that would reflect the best experience of the states.
One approach would establish a nonprofit corporation that would contract with insurers to cover patients who have been denied insurance and could join with other state plans to enlarge pools and lower overhead costs. There would be reasonable limits on premiums, and assistance would be available for Americans below a certain income level.
Plan of Action: Lowering Health Care Costs:
1)Lowering Drug Prices. McCain will look to bring greater competition to our drug markets through safe re-importation of drugs and faster introduction of generic drugs.
2)Quality, Cheaper Care For Chronic Disease. Chronic conditions account for three-quarters of the nation’s annual health care bill. By emphasizing prevention, early intervention, healthy habits, new treatment models, new public health infrastructure and the use of information technology, we can reduce health care costs.
3)GREATER ACCESS AND CONVENIENCE: Expanding Access To Health Care. Families place a high value on quickly getting simple care. Government should promote greater access through walk-in clinics in retail outlets.
4)Greater Use Of Information Technology To Reduce Costs. McCain mentioned getting medical records online and centralized in the last debate.
5)Availability Of Smoking Cessation Programs. Non-mandatory, but available to those who want to quit.
Covering Those With Pre-Existing Conditions: McCain Supported “The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act” in 1996 that took the important step of providing some protection against exclusion of pre-existing conditions. McCain Would Work With Governors To Find The Solutions Necessary To Ensure Those With Pre-Existing Conditions Are Able To Easily Access Care.
Long-Term Care: McCain Will Develop A Strategy For Meeting The Challenge Of A Population Needing Greater Long-Term Care. There have been a variety of state-based experiments such as Cash and Counseling or The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) that are pioneering approaches for delivering care to people in a home setting. Seniors are given a monthly stipend which they can use to hire workers and purchase care-related services and goods. They can get help managing their care by designating representatives, such as relatives or friends, to help make decisions. It also offers counseling and bookkeeping services to assist consumers in handling their programmatic responsibilities.
McCain Healthcare plan details: http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ba2f1c-c03f-4ac2-8cd5-5cf2edb527cf.htm
if obama wins his minions will be very upset they still have health insurance issues
in fact i think they will be upset because most obama promises will not be fulfilled
Now we know where “Yes We Can” came from: ACORN.
http://blog.savejersey.com/2008/10/10/acorns-informational-video.aspx
Check it from the 4:00 and 8:25 markers, catchy tune.
Please pass along, my friends.
obama is not promising universal health care
he is promising lower costs and covering preexisting conditions like pregnancy (wow obama); basically status quo and a few tweaks
his health plan is not extensive
his bamboozle is potent
Camille, How is he going to lower the costs? Why does he say everyone will be covered?
he is not specific, is he?
camille thinks he/she is clever. Sorry camille, we see through your obama double speak
Camille,
Everyone remembers he said he would insure 47 MILLION uninsured Americans. He even clearly stated that the 47 million do not include illegal aliens.
HE C-H-A-N-G-E-D AGAIN?
Obama is a true agent of change!!!
“Promising lower cost and covering preexisting conditions like pregnancy”? Give us a break! He voted to kill the BAIPA.
Right. Even at its best, when he was vying with Hillary for the nomination, the most he would promise was ‘reduced costs’ for health insurance (the private type) and a cleaning up of government operations to try to bring costs down enough to provide some assistance with premiums for low income people (like the system in Illinois that has medical care in a frozen state at the moment).
“Secret Service Intimidates Private Citizen for Obama” “That’s right, you were rude!”
http://rosettasister.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/%e2%80%9csecret-service-intimidates-private-citizen-for-obama%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%9cthat%e2%80%99s-right-you-were-rude%e2%80%9d/#comment-1304
I read about that on another blog…the Obama thought police reporting for duty!
Didn’t Villareal post on that?
If this doesn’t scare the crap out of people, then I don’t know what will.
It doesn’t, just like it didn’t scare people whom supported hitler. Half the germans were so feverous for Hitler they thought they were right, the other half either just didn’t like him or thought it would pass. Well, by the time it got serious enough, it was too late, Hilter was given the power to police the state and you either shut up or got put in a camp.
This time, it will be ugly. This time nuclear weapons are everywhere. If another Hitler arises we will have a holocaust alright. A nuclear holocaust.
They also thought that the Hitler Youth was laughable. Today we’ve all seen those videos of the children singing for “Our Leader”.
The German industrialists thought that they could control Hitler. Today those massive corporate contributions going to Sen. Obama are an expected quid pro quo - they think that they will contol him.
The German public was caught in the double-whammy of the hyper-inflation of the ’20s immediately followed by the world-wide Great Depression. Today our financial markets are in a ruin and there is a lot of talk of another Depression.
It scares me. A lot.
But then, we are a resilient people; more individuous, far less homogenous than the Germans, scrappy and self-centered to a degree that appalls the rest of the world. That tells me that even if Sen. Obama is elected, his Presidency will be an unmitigated, impotent disaster. He will be summarily discarded, as we decide to turn our national and political attention to real people.
I agree we won’t see a comprehensive health care plan now.
I don’t like McCain’s plan, at least so far as he’s explained it.
It’s one of the areas that I think he has better ideas than are being expressed.
I read McCains plan on his site. It’s not bad, but he’s not very good explaining it and he lets Obama get away with lying about it.
Obama has him tangled up explaining the tax part of it.
The good stuff is really about how his vision is.
He’s so, so right!
My friend just told me she paid 400 bucks for a root canal.
Folks…….that’s nuts.
That’s cheap, my root canal cost 500 and I had to pay $350.00 to have a tooth pulled recently.
Oh lordy…….that’s wild.
AnninCA,
We all want many things.
The issue is how much we can afford?
We need to find a balancing point between our desire/dream and the reality.
I respect a politician to say that he can not do it because he can not.
I distrust a politician to say that he CAN while practically, no one can.
I came across this analysis on a website during the primaries. Sorry, but I copied the text and forgot to note the source:
I used to work with health care providers on communications in a past life, so this stuff is not foreign.
Believe me….his plan is naive. It harks back to our ideas in the 80s for how to reduce costs on the employer side.
They don’t work.
My ex-husband is British. We never lived there together, but my best friend was a Nurse in England and her husband a doctor there. My best friend says that the health care in England is BEYOND deplorable, which is why she and her hubby moved back to the states. I asked my ex-hubby about it last night, on the phone, and he told me it’s the WORST health care in the world. AND he said that there is a SEPARATE system for wealthy people. Someone can probably help me here with what it’s called.
Anyway, I do NOT want socialized health care. What I DO want is the graft and criminal element taken OUT of the system so that health care is AFFORDABLE for everyone. Insurance too. We have WAY too many illegals draining the system, NOT PAYING TAXES back into the system. I saw a hospital administrator addressing Congress about an illegal immigrant being drunk, causing a car accident, killing the other party, being in a COMA, and with NO insurance was left on a breathing tube in the COMA for 7 years. To the tune of TEN MILLION DOLLARS. Eventually the hospital deported the illegal back to Guatelmala, to his family, and THE FAMILY SUED THE HOSPITAL FOR SENDING HIM HOME. Can you IMAGINE?
America doesn’t have the MONEY for Mr. Bling Bling Obama to go on his spending spree of a Trillion Dollars. We NEED to take care of AMERICA first. NOT let Obama send our money overseas and spend it like a drunken sailor. Do we NEED to be reminded of his spending during his BLING BLING campaign? The crazy I hate America trip, the ridiculous anoint the Greek God coming out party, etc.? He is RECKLESS with money, like a spoiled little two year old brat. He is NO MORE fit to be President and handle a budget than my dog. PERIOD. I am OUTRAGED that it has gone on this long.
Love the cartoon, Pat! I suppose that’s the “unity pony” Bozo is riding….
I want Hillary’s healthcare plan! Too bad we lost the real candidate to a crook and a fraud.
Ms. McMad,
As a former British “subject”, I completely agree with you.
Amen to that!
We lost healthcare reform when we lost Hillary. She was the only candidate who has worked a numer of years on a plan. She wanted to redeem the loss of healthcare reform as first lady, which was halted by ignorant bigots afraid of a smart woman. This was my hot button issue this year and it is off the table now and I do not see us having anyone as capable as Hillary of getting this done for quite some time.
Tears from me over loss of healthcare reform and Hillary.
Hoping for Hillary 2012 or it never gets done right.
Obama will reduce taxes for 95% of the Americans.
Obama will provide health insurance to 47 million uninsured Americans.
Obama, DO THE MATH!
obama doesn’t give a damn about health care. When Hillary was beating obama’s tiny brains out on health care here is what he did:
Obama does Harry and Louise, again
The Obama campaign sends out an ugly mailer. Sorry, but this is just destructive — like the Obama plan, the Clinton plan offers subsidies to lower-income families. And BO himself has conceded that he might have to penalize people who don’t buy insurance until they need care. So this is just poisoning the well for health care reform. The politics of hope, indeed.
krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/obama-does-harry-and-louise-again/
It’s about being crowned king. Whatever issue obama has to say whatever on he will. obama doesn’t give a damn about health care or ay other issue important to Americans. It’s about being crowned king.
Even if he COULD implement it, it’s useless. His “plan” shows a distinct lack of understand of the cost of single pay health insurance. This is the mark of a man who has been on the government teat for so long he hasn’t got a clue. For starters, where I am, a single pay HMO costs close to 900 bucks. A Month. Well it’s between 8 and 9, so I will be kind and say $800 a month. For a family it’s closer to $2000. A Month. He has stated he will not “interfere” with the “states”. Right there, the plan is doomed, since many states’ legislators are in the pockets of the health insurers. If you can’t cross state lines in order to force your state insurers to compete, you still can’t afford health insurance.
Now let’s assume that the nearly 50 million uninsured people have to buy a policy. He said he will reduce the cost by $2500. You can see where a family that can’t afford $24,000 a year isn’t going to be able to afford $21,500 a year either. Obama is handing out snowballs in the summertime. They melt right in your hand! This program won’t increase the number of insured one bit. It’s a pig in a poke just like Obama himself. Useless idea for those who are not already insured.
I would do better with Mccain’s idea to cross state lines and get a $5 writeoff besides. No muss no fuss and a better deal.
Great cartoon and great article Pat! The biggest problem with healthcare is the exorbitant cost. I went without health insurance for many years and couldn’t afford to go to an urgent care clinic or the emergency room because of the cost. No private doctors, where I live, will see you without insurance coverage. I wonder whatever happened to the people who became doctors “to help people.” Greed is a big problem these days, certainly with healthcare.
Well, in my area, they will see you without insurance, and I have to say, the price is less. Pay cash, and you’ll get great care.
Apparently, it’s hit the tipping point. It’s cheaper for them to deal with non-insured and take cash than to mess with insurance.
I posted this the other day, but I just love this story, so I’ll repeat myself.
A doctor in Tenn. got fed up. He revamped. He no longer takes insurance. He fired his office staff. He now has a sheet of paper outlining the costs.
He’s making as much money as before and is happier.
Doctors like “cash” patients because they usually get paid more than they do from inusrance. With the insurance dictating what they will pay, and what the doctor will write off.
My pcp sees me, I have no insurance. I get a 15% discount for paying at time of service. If its something he cant take care of, he knows a doctor who will.
Canadians have been trying to perfect health care for many years and are still working on it. I doubt Barky and the keystone cops will accomplish anything worthwhile.
About 30% of Canadians’ health care is paid for through the private sector. This mostly goes towards services not covered or only partially covered by Medicare such as prescription drugs, dentistry and optometry. Some 65% of Canadians have some form of supplementary private health insurance; many of them receive it through their employers.[10] There are also large private entities that can buy priority access to medical services in Canada, such as WCB in BC.
The Canadian system is for the most part publicly funded, yet most of the services are provided by private enterprises. Most doctors do not receive an annual salary, but receive a fee per visit or service.[1] According to Dr. Albert Schumacher, former president of the Canadian Medical Association, an estimated 75 percent of Canadian health care services are delivered privately, but funded publicly.
“Frontline practitioners whether they’re GPs or specialists by and large are not salaried. They’re small hardware stores. Same thing with labs and radiology clinics …The situation we are seeing now are more services around not being funded publicly but people having to pay for them, or their insurance companies. We have sort of a passive privatization.”[1]
The Canada Health Act of 1984 “does not directly bar private delivery or private insurance for publicly insured services,” but provides financial disincentives for doing so. “Although there are laws prohibiting or curtailing private health care in some provinces, they can be changed,” according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.[11][12] In June 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Chaoulli v. Quebec (Attorney General) that Quebec’s prohibition against private health insurance for medically necessary services laws violated the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, potentially opening the door to much more private sector participation in the health system. Justices Beverley McLachlin, Jack Major, Michel Bastarache and Marie Deschamps found for the majority. “Access to a waiting list is not access to health care,” wrote Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin.
The British haven’t excelled at national health care, their system appears to work as well as some of our HMO’s. The Canadian system has had it ups and downs, but they seem to be doing better with it.
The French, Japanese, Aussies, Brazilians, etc… have all had better luck with national health care. The Japanese system is quite complicated and I think one needs a masters in unravelling complicated systems to understand it all. With most nations that have national health care, there is an option of purchasing private insurance to provide more coverage.
One major plus for national health care is that the countries that have it live longer than we do - their life expectancies are closer to 80 or over 80. Even a few that are emerging out of third world status. People make use of the health care, they opt for pre-screenings because it costs them nothing. They keep up with treatments, follow-ups and medications because they don’t have to decide between paying the electric bill and medical care. In the U.S., people with health care insurance will avoid pre-screenings, follow-ups, taking medications as directed, etc… because they can’t afford the co-pays or it’s something not covered by their plan.
Small businesses are dropping health care for their employees. For many small businesses, 35-40% of their overhead is heath care insurance. We are rapidly reaching a point where major corporations aren’t going to be able to provide health care insurance.
If the financial mess seems horrific, just imagine the crisis if we have if 90 million uninsured.
Senator Obama’s plan won’t work. If someone can’t afford a basic HMO plan now, they aren’t going to be able to afford the federal health care plans. His health plan might make it possible for the people with pre-existing illnesses who can’t obtain insurance to have it, but that’s about it.
Senator McCain’s plan at least gives people $2,500 -5,000 to invest in a basic plan. It’s not much, but it will probably help more people to obtain health care than Senator Obama’s plan while the Federal government and the American public come to the realization that we have to have national health care.
The British haven’t excelled at national health care, their system appears to work as well as some of our HMO’s. The Canadian system has had it ups and downs, but they seem to be doing better with it.
The French, Japanese, Aussies, Brazilians, etc… have all had better luck with national health care. The Japanese system is quite complicated and I think one needs a masters in unravelling complicated systems to understand it all. With most nations that have national health care, there is an option of purchasing private insurance to provide more coverage.
One major plus for national health care is that the countries that have it live longer than we do - their life expectancies are closer to 80 or over 80. Even a few that are emerging out of third world status. People make use of the health care, they opt for pre-screenings because it costs them nothing. They keep up with treatments, follow-ups and medications because they don’t have to decide between paying the electric bill and medical care. In the U.S., people with health care insurance will avoid pre-screenings, follow-ups, taking medications as directed, etc… because they can’t afford the co-pays or it’s something not covered by their plan.
Small businesses are dropping health care for their employees. For many small businesses, 35-40% of their overhead is heath care insurance. We are rapidly reaching a point where major corporations aren’t going to be able to provide health care insurance.
If the financial mess seems horrific, just imagine the crisis if we have if 90 million uninsured.
Senator Obama’s plan won’t work. If someone can’t afford a basic HMO plan now, they aren’t going to be able to afford the federal health care plans. His health plan might make it possible for the people with pre-existing illnesses who can’t obtain insurance to have it, but that’s about it.
Senator McCain’s plan at least gives people $2,500 -5,000 to invest in a basic plan. It’s not much, but it will probably help more people to obtain health care than Senator Obama’s plan while the Federal government and the American public come to the realization that we have to have national health care.
The Canadian Medical Association is the absolutely worst source of accurate information on how the Canadian system works. The current head is a clone of the US AMA, and is seen as having a personal drive to privatize health care in Canada.
The Canadian system is much more than a mix of public and private parts. There are supplemental health insurance policies running on the side to pick up things like the cost of a private room in a hospital or excess physio costs (most of which are covered anyway), or vision care, or dental/drug coverage. BUT, the key is that 100% of hospital, emergency, surgical, specialist, blood test, xray, cat scan, mri, etc., costs are all covered. All throughout Canada. Just show your card, you get the service. You can’t get into see your own doctor quick enough? Just go to a walkin clinic at big malls. Have an emergency? Go to the emergency room.
Plus, the home health care, disabled care, elder care, post-surgical care, etc., is publicly funded — and again, no co-pays, no premiums, just get a doctor’s order.
Really, you gotta keep the smoke out of your eyes when talking about the Canadian healthcare system. It is not at all like the UK system, its more like the French system, and despite constant efforts by the big US medical services and insurance companies to take over, they have not, and the system is still working just fine for the bulk of the population. That’s not to say that having had a rightwing throwback conservative government for the last 3 years hasn’t hurt the healthcare system — it has. But its still the place to be compared to any others.
PS re Canadian healthcare system: People with jobs pay like $60/month for whole-family coverage. (No deductibles, no co-pays, no exclusions for prior conditions.) People who don’t work don’t pay anything if they can’t afford it. Supplementary insurance for students (over 25 and not dependent) is like $100 for the whole year. Etc.
One thing for sure is that Obama’s healthcare plan (lacking a government mandate), contrary to Hillary’s, won’t achieve universal coverage and will cost(per capita)far more than hers as well.
Lest we forget, Obama used to say that he agrees more with the Republicans’ idea of letting businesses regulate themselves than the Democrates’ propensity of imposing government’s regulations on businesses.
Now that the financial crisis proves him and the Republicans wrong, he apparently has changed his mind and is suddenly against deregulations.
Health care is a tough one because it requires so much reeducation.
Right now, we’re still dealing with the tangles of thinking that “good” health care pays for everything, including your breast enhancement.
The fact is that most people would be FAR better off with basic coverage, and pay for the extras outta pocket.
someone should remove that bs ameriplan post
A compelling cartoon and analysis, Pat. You obviously have given this much thought and researched this topic exhaustively. Whoever wins the election, I hope they draw on your wisdom and experience in the area.
It seems to me that regardless of who wins the election, the promises of neither candidate are likley to be kept. Even given the sincerity of their proposals, they will not be able to implement their plan without the support of the legislature. We have seen how little actually got done by a Demo majority with a Repub president in the past ~ 8 years. We haven’t forgotten what happened to Hillary’s proposals nearly a dozen years ago. All the conditions you list that must be met to pass legislation for Obama’s health care plan would seem to apply as well to McCain’s plan. With some tinkering and modifications, such as increasing the $5,000 to $10,000, McCain’s plan might be more doable. But implementing either (or for that matter, any) plan will not be easy. Democracy at work seems to mean squabble, squabble, squabble with little ever accomplished that resembles what might have been a reasonable and workable proposal. Conflicting self interests always get in the way and the powerful lobbies and corporate greed stand in the way of anything good trickling down to the people who need health care assistance. A cynical view, perhaps, but that is the way things look to me.
*****BREAKING*****
!!!!NEWS ALERT!!!!
OCTOBER SURPRISE
!!!!!!BOOM!!!!!!
http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/obama-born-in-kenya-new-information/
Very informative Pat, and I agree with much of your analysis. Aptly stated when you referenced the “significant external shock”.
We had a conference last week to inform us about our new choices in health care plans, and I don’t care for any of them.
We have had great coverage through our employer, but we are now being shifted to plans that cost more and offer less.
The solution is going to be difficult, if not impossible!
Mostly, my fellow african american that are my best friends who otherwise conservative republicans who initially have been supporting Obama, are going back to republican base after seeing this by Rat Racimore
Thank you for this:
It looks like it may be the end of the line for old Barky!!!
http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/10/11/obama-born-in-kenya-new-information/
We’ll see. Obama is teflon coated so don’t put all your eggs in that one basket.
I want to know why McCain and Plain don’t see fit to explain what troopergate is about. NOBODY MENTIONS THE BACKGROUND STORY!!! When you tell people that the trooper …TASERD… Sarah Palin’s 10 year old nephew and sister’s son and step son of the trooper, they are shocked! The state trooper also threatened to kill Gov Palin’s father. He was also drunk on the job. The real question was why he wasn’t fired! Not that the Gov wanted him fired!!!!! The person Palin fired wouldn’t fire the trooper and he should have. When will McCain and Palin and the GOP make the facts know and highlight this????
It’s sad to tell you the truth… She has cited many reasons why she fired the official who by the way is a wife beater himself….
She most be somewhat ticked off that she’s being portrayed as this power abuser when it was her husband who was causing her trouble and rightful so…..
I am not for universal health care. I think the insurance companies need to be overhauled. In a BIG way. I work with all different types from personal insurance, medicare, workmans comp, and no fault. Everyone of them have their hidden surprises. That will make them outright deny. No rhyme or reason except they can.
After you through there “push” this button for this and that. You finally can talk to 2 or 3 different benefits csr at BCBS and get 2 or 3 different answers. The same with the claims department. Its “administrative” people running an industry that is geared towards there bottom line. Not the patients nor the doctors.
Proof that John McCain tried to regulate Fannie/Freddie
“McCain Letter Demanded 2006 Action on Fannie and Freddie”
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28973
Notice Nobama’s signature is NO WHERE on the letter.
Great post, Pat. You’ve hit the nail right on the head regarding health care. With McCain, we’ll get something. With Obama, we come up empty. End of story.
I’ve paid for my own health care for years, and the past few years the cost of my insurance has risen steeply. I’m about at the point where I can no longer afford to pay for it. McCain’s tax credit would pay over 60% of my cost. That would help a LOT. What Obama proposes will never happen. And I don’t believe he really cares enough to push it anyway. Better to get half of what you want than nothing at all. Kinda reminds me of Bill Clinton’s candidate x and candidate y.
I am very gun-shy about all this “this is the one that will FINALLY bring him down ” stuff, only because Obama is so like Damien in the Omens
the combination of this video of Phil Berg, Corsi’s detainment in Kenya and now this about the Kenyan birth certificate all seem quite irrefutable, especially couple with his refusal to simply show the effing documents and end the whole discussion.
Anyone would, anyone who’s ever had a kid knows that if a kid has what you’re asking for to prove them right and keep you from bugging them,they’ll hand it over in a second, it’s only if they don’t that they protest too much and make a zillion excuses about what’s wrong with you!
Obama’s a liar.
And Healthcare….Hah! Anyone who thinks that Obama will come through with anything is deluded. Save your prayers for a Higher Power and Santa.
Then this:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=9e8cd8a7-e90b-4311-8aa9-aefd014a14b2
This expose was written in 2006 by a woman raped by Ayers and his roommate, do you see the similarities today?
Afraid of Ayers? Here’s a young girl who wasn’t, to her everlasting regret. Note that it was written in 2006. (This is a previously posted link that needs to get much more exposure):
HER EXPOSE REVEALS HOW AYERS USED GUILT OVER ACCUSATION OF BIGOTRY TO OVERSEE HER RAPE
I compared what we pay through employer insurance plan, and included what the employer pays. The amount set forth by McCain does provide for a savings for our family and we have a really good plan here in New England. The only thing I wanted to see was provisions for pre-exiting conditions and Mccain seems to have thought that out. His plan sounds good here.
I don’t believe with the current economy either of these candidates will provide any type of health care. I believe whichever one is elected will be a miserable one-term failure, and the opposing party will take over after the following election, and will have a more successful agenda. That’s one of the reasons I am so hoping Obama loses - if he wins, we will probably have to wait 12-16 years for another democrat (hopefully a real one), and it won’t be Hillary. At least with McCain, we will have a shot again in 4 years - and I don’t think McCain will be as damaging as Obama (especially in conjunction with Pelosi and Reid - I just don’t trust any of them).
Obama’s game is the same Chicago game that Al Capone played - steal a lot of stuff, give a little of it away to “the people” and earn their support, give some away to your cronies, keep the remainder for yourself.
Cute cartoon. Reminds me of a pinata for some reason. LOL, maybe because I just want to whack something with a big stick and show everybody that there really is no candy inside.
If Obama had any intention of even trying to get universal healthcare, he would have already declared he intended to appoint Hillary Health Care Czar. She had and plan and the experience to know what works and what doesn’t.
Though I would love to see a universal health care system in this country, I’m not holding my breath. Given the current economic circumstances in this country, with two wars to settle, with an illegal immigrant problem to sort out, any candidate who says they are going to make significant improvements to health care is talking out of their…well, I just don’t believe it.
Sad but true.
Some of the largest donors to the Obama campaign have been Health Insurance Comapanies. By expanding coverage to large numbers of uninsured, they’re the ones who stand to gain. One question, where will the newly insured find a doctor? When MA expanded coverage, they soon learned there were not enough primary care docs to handle the influx. Remember, those primary care docs already see 30 - 50 patients a day as it is. And increasingly, young docs are avoiding primary care like the plague. So who will care for the newly insured? Get ready for Primary Nurse Practitioners.
What’s needed is not expanded insurance coverage but a total reworking of the entire system as it is - starting with the Causes of why Healthcare is so expensive to begin with and dealing with them in a fashion that does not serve to stifle innovation. It’s a tough job but rest assured, The One will not do it.
I really don’t like the part of McCain’s plan where he wants to tax employer paid health benefits. That was part of Reagan’s plan in the mid 80’s when he took away most of the deductions of the middle class and effectively increased their taxable income while giving a big tax cut to the rich. I am in my job because of the health benefits, even though I might be able to make more money if I worked elsewhere.
It probably won’t get through because not just rich people have good health benefits. Union and government workers do too, and it will hurt them, even with the tax credit.
Having said that, I still have to back McCain. Obama is too dangerous, especially with a compliant house and senate.
Pat, a stick in his left hand with Racist written on it would complete the picture.