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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119906)	11/10/2009 3:40:10 PM
From: Madharry	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Mass. has a public option and they are losing their shirt over it. there is no way states can afford it without fed support.

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (119906)	11/10/2009 7:48:56 PM
From: Skeeter Bug	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

>>How is a broke state like Ohio going to implement a public option?<< how can a poor person afford a nice steak? i guess that means you need to do without, too. ;-) if they can't afford a public option that you think is "efficient," how can they afford a private one that you think is inefficient (and rightfully so)? the private insurance companies don't want any competition at any level and they paid off obama to prevent it from happening. >>I can see how efficient Medicare is. Medicare pays 80% of coverage and a supplement pays UP TO 20%. My Mother's private insurance supplement is nearly 5 times as high as her Medicare payment. Admittedly, Medicare payments are too low and a new public plan needs much more rational fees. But there is a hell of a lot of room in that 500% premium for one fourth the coverage rip off the private insurers are scamming.<< efficiency != complete basket case that is so bad it will eventually bankrupt the wealthiest nation the planet has ever seen. medicare is a ponzi scheme. let's not lionize something that bernie madoff could so greatly appreciate. yes, it does some good. it also does lots of bad - like bankrupt an entire nation under its current organization. >>The main things I am worried about is Congress suckering in to allow private insurers to keep their rip offs in place (and maybe add more) and allowing the insurance crooks to cherry pick the healthy folks while the public option is only for the patients they do not want.<< there is no public option - obama sold out. just like obama made it clear that a single payer system was 100% off the table BEFORE discussions even began. he knows who butters his bread - the same people who buttered bush's bread. the insurers will not be able to cherry pick - i think that's gone. what isn't gone is their ability to raise rates to astronomical levels to increase their profits. think bankers being allowed to raise rates to 29.99% on perfect credit customers. i heard that a family can expect to pay about $20k out of pocket come 2015 for health insurance - even a family in their mid 20s (hypothetically speaking, as we know there will be no jobs for such an individual). >>BTW, all of those "deficits" are already being paid by individuals and corporations in the inefficiency of a for-orofit fragmented insurace industry along with welfare kicking in to pay for those in emergency rooms without insurance. In fact, my guess is that they are much higher.<< i'll bet you that profits for these same "inefficient" corporations go up under this plan. wanna bet? again, don't pretend like medicare is efficient - it is just untrue. it is just that the true cost of the program is, in large part, hidden from people who don't really want to acknowledge it. btw, i'm not saying private health care works in its current form. it is broken. badly. quite simply, the profit motive needs to be taken out of healthcare. this plan doesn't do it. in fact, it elevates it. some simple solutions include enforcing 92% (or whatever number is reasonable) of all premiums must go out in health care or returned premiums. if you don't like it, don't run an insurance company. throw in tax deductibility to doctors for providing medical services to the poor. add some tort reform and make it clear that people near death have to spend their own $200k to keep themselves alive and bed ridden for 6 more months. the public can't do that for everyone. i just saved however many thousands of pages legalizing theft of tax payer money and came up with a better plan than the one they have now. at some point, though, the children of america need to grow up and take responsibility for their health. well, they don't have to and probably won't - they'd rather go broke believing someone else will pay their bills.