1.) The health care industry is already heavily regulated. State and federal government restrictions on what treatments MUST be covered make it impossible for insurance companies to sell the insurance they want to sell and individuals to buy the insurance they want to buy.

2.) I would be perfectly satisfied with a health care industry that has a 1000% profit margin if it meant my chance of survival goes up significantly. It doesn’t hurt me any if they make money; in fact, making money is generally GOOD for an economy.

3.) Good for your aunt — though I suspect the doctors and hospitals saved her life; not the Oregon Health Plan. Every state controlled plan starts out OK and ends up with rationing.

It didn’t work so well for this lady:

http://breitbart.tv/flashback-oregon-state-health-plan-denies-chemo-offers-assisted-suicide-instead/

Obama and the Democrats have a blue pill, red pill mentality. They don’t understand why “we” should spend twice as much to increase chance of life a few percent. They don’t care if you die. They view your wealth, and the wealth of the insurance company, as their property; and would be remiss to see you spend it on something as silly as keeping you alive.

I think the polls reflect what they do because people have become so polarized, screaming about a “public option” that they don’t even know what that means. And the government has not fought for and represented its people in so long that we no longer believe it possible for them to carry out our wishes. It used to do so, when we had the funding, and that funding came from those who could afford to give it.

Indulge me, please, and listen to what I have to say. I will sincerely listen to all replies in honest disagreement.

In 1952, we had a 92% tax on anything people made over $300,000 (roughly $2,662,962 in today’s terms). We had a booming economy and a wealthy class willing to share the burden of making America great for our citizens and our children. The 92% on the super-wealthy went to pay for programs like social security, education (secondary and post-secondary), Medicaid (for our elderly without huge pocketbooks), and the like.

It was a society in which the majority of Republicans and Democrats recognized the need to, or the value of, sharing the benefits of our great nation’s even greater wealth. It was a society that had a flourishing private sector economy, with business booming. A society in which an average worker could send their child to school, to have a pension not tied to a temperamental stock exchange.

The majority of our popular media is owned by a few corporate conglomerates. That is indisputable–no spin. Much of the advertising money that pays the media channels’ budgets comes from the private sector (Cialis, pfeizer, etc). That is their bread and butter. My spin: the media has a major monetary influence not to reform our healthcare system to offer a reasonably-priced healthcare for our citizens because they are being paid major money by people who are making record profits off denying care, offering shoddy coverage, and increasing the price of healthcare exponentially even when market conditions do not warrant it.

Our free enterprise in this sector has led to a market that is free of consequences for corporations. A market free of any influence by the consumers that receive their coverage–a great way to inflict consequences would be through a democratization of the health care industry; either by offering a cheaper government alternative (i.e. the contentious term “public option”) or by tying their hands when it comes to preconditions (a short way of saying, “We’ll take your money but don’t want to offer you our promised service.”)

When it comes to the customer is always right, or consumer choice, our choices are a sorry bunch when it comes to health care. The primary reason for this being our ravenous health providers.

“It is well known that other 1st world nations have higher health statistics than we do when it comes to mortality rates, and consumer satisfaction, and they get this at a fraction of the cost.” –John Kitzhaber, 2-time Oregon Governor, 19-year Emergency Room Doctor.

U.S. health providing corporations, incidentally, also have the highest profit margin of any other 1st world nation. 30-40% of their total expenditures go to “administrative costs” and the majority of this money goes to individuals whose job it is to find ways to deny the health care they have promised to provide.

My aunts and cousins have had to be on the Oregon Health Plan for a year or two at some point. The Oregon Health Plan is a form of healthcare provided by the state government for those that cannot afford health care (i.e. it’s socialized medicine, just like medicare, but for poor rather than old people). It saved my aunt’s life. Not only did it save her life, but it offers fantastic health benefits, and does so at a fraction of the per-person cost that for-profit health corporations (or “providers) do.

Perhaps that’s because we had an M.D. as governor who knew that none of the 9,000 billing codes for doctors had to do with “health improvement” or “cure” or per-capita lower mortalities for a hospital that educates patients about their conditions, and has worked to change it.

OHP is now largely unavailable due to a shift in priorities, but demand is coming back. Our little laboratory for democracy here in the wild west is concocting new and cheap ways to offer socialized health care. A healthcare system focused on health, not on profits.

I’m getting preachy, but I’ve tried to at least be sincere. Thank you for hearing me out.

Regards,
–Stevo

How many framers of the constitution made a clarion call that mandated the population to buy health care?

How is it freedom when you can be jailed for not buying health care? I would think that jail time is the antithesis of freedom.

Social freedom? I’m all for social freedom but that requires LESS government, not more. Then again, I don’t need a sugar tit either.

You could argue numbers all day long and I’d probably be at a loss to say anything about it..but when you troll by foisting the idea that the healthcare reform bill is freedom I have to say you’re nuts!!

Obama is telegraphing his plans to phase out Medicare/Medicaid and replace it with a single Obamacare plan. He really thinks he’s FDR (among other past Presidents).

Other than that, couldn’t give you a reason. The mushy middle is a fickle bunch. That’s why they’re mushy

Since they’re the only ones using a LV model, they’re the only ones IMO who know s**t from shinola. The rest are irrelevant as far as I’m concerned (“Adult” polling models? People who don’t care enough about their country to even bother to register to vote? Who *cares* what they think)

How does that go with the recent Gallup survey referenced here? Does anyone have any ideas as to why the approval for these plans is up?

Is this something the country really wants?

Britain’s NICE panel makes home inspections MANDATORY:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6917328.ece

I shy away from any EOTWAWKI talk, but if the government starts shooting people for political reasons, that’s time for me to join in.

While there are factors other than Democrats gaining control of congress and the white house, such as the recession and record deficit spending, it is Democrats pressing the issue of health care reform under such conditions that has weakened support in classic Democrat overreach form. I think the real clincher here, i.e. that which tips the overall response from yes to no, is the government requiring all Americans to have health care coverage and imposing taxes on those who do not comply. Americans want better , cheaper health care, not bigger, more intrusive and expensive government.

Middle American has caught on the word “responsibility” really means “require”. Thus the question is transformed from,
Do you think it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure all Americans have healthcare coverage?
to,
Do you think it is the federal government should require all Americans to have healthcare coverage?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.
-Ronald Reagan
…………………………………….
It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority
keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.
-Samuel Adams

Answer the questions in the below blog on healthcare.
http://livingfortruth.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/questions-need-to-be-answered-in-health-care-debate/