Health Care

Yes, I realize you have a view on Health Care. but before casting Judgement lets actually look and see if we actually like it.

One of the arguements i keep hearing, is that this is socialized medicine. This is a common republican attack.

Hum, let see, Socialized Medicine so Like, Medicare? which most "hard" working Americans who are over the age of 65 are on? or Medicaid which prevents the infant mortality rate in this country from being as high as it is in East Asia?

Lets get the facts straight, every major hospital in the United States, is owned and operated by The USFG, or State governments. Thier are a few exceptions, for example Yales on campus hospital is privately funded.

So were afriad of socialized medicine, but what is that exactly? According to Medterms.com its "A system of health care in which all health personnel and health facilities, including Doctors and Hospitals work for the government and draw salaries from the Government..."

I don't know maybe my "unexpert" eyes cannot find it, but where is the portion of the senate healthcare bill that directly pays doctors and removes thier current salary provisions?

Ok, maybe im being unfair, just show me where the bill even talks about the pay tables involving Doctors, nurses, or even the Janitor at the hospital?

Also, were in the healthcare bill does it say you can only use this healthcare at "publicly funded" hospitals and Doctors offices?

The Next arguement i keep hearing is that it "forces" companies to get government health care.

Well, Sec. 1251 says otherwise, in fact the bill expressly states it will not force anyone to use this healthcare policy.

Public Option: simply its a government ran health insurance company.

People say it will crowd out, other insurance companies.

Quick question, why should we care? From a strickly Free Market prospective the only thing allowing these companies to be powerful is federal tax breaks, and federal defense of thier legality, these are bad capital markets that are surviving because they are deemed "needed" by politicians (both sides of the aisle).

Republicans have long argued that the private is more effective than the Public, in doing anything, if this is true then why are the scared of a Public Option? The reason, a public option would out compete many "bad" insurers. This is an instance in which the public is far superior to the private in efficency.

Ok, the Nuclear Option and what the hell is the current health care bill?

What the Democrats are doing is having the house pass the senate bill, then they will go into a process called "reconciliation" in which the house leaders and senate leaders will get togather and mash part of the senate and part of the house bill into the final bill. It then goes the the house who will have to pass it with a simple majority. The trick is you cannot filibuster this bill, sicne the senate already passed this bill, (when dems had 60 in the senate), there can be no filibustering of the bill, so the Democrats would only need 51 votes to pass this bill, and they have 59 senators.

The hard part is getting everyone in congress in a line, Nancy Pelosi is KNOWN for being able to do this, althought many democrats may lose thier seats in the house because of it.

What is the Senate health care bill?
1) it raises medicaid avaliability to 130% of the poverty line (about 15,000 for an individual and 28,000 for family of four)
2) it gives tax breaks to American families making under $88,000 dollars, so they can afford health care.
3) This is a negative: It fines people for not having insurance, up to $750 in taxes.
4) Bans Insurance providers from dropping client who have preexisting injuries.
5) Creates a Public Option
6) Allows states to Opt out of the Public option
7) Cost 848 billion over the next 10 years, or 84.8 billion a year.
8) Heavily Taxes "HIGH COST INSURANCE PLANS" i.e. the type of insurance the upper level management at your coporation recieves.
9) 5% tax on ELECTIVE Cosmetic Surgery
10) Rasies PAYROLL taxes for Families making MORE THAN $250,000
11) Tax Credit for small Buisnesses
12) this is tricky, the public option will not be ineffect until 2014, also during this year it allows for Non-profit insurance Co-ops to be built, for small buisness, and individuals. This is how this works, A-E are small buisnesses with individual healthcare plans and cost, the plan allows them to pull resources from all of them and get better rates on healthcare, i.e. they can negotiate as a large group instead of five individual groups. This brings down cost because insurance companies give price reductions to high volume companies.
13) NO public funds to pay for abortions.


Thats the jest of it.

While i agree its not perfect its far better than the current alternative.

While I've taken a liberal view on this issue its not the same on every issue, i believe that rational evaluation of bills and progress should be taken instead of adhoc and emotional responses that Republicans NEED to be able to attack this bill. If, republicans came to the table and had a different option this would be a very different debate, but when you look at this health care bill you need to ask the Question is it better for people to be dieing now because of inadequate health care, or is that 5% cosmetic surgery tax just to high a price to pay. If the later just remember that 500 dollars could of saved a kid from lukiema, or prevented an infection that caused a child to lose a limb.

IF you make $250,000 or more a year, yes you do get an increased tax, but you also have the option of getting keepier health care, in which you would probably recoup the differences.

The question is are Republicans looking out for you, or do they have the insurance industry giving them plane rides so they will be agaisnt this bill? Ask yourself that question.