Here’s what it sounds like the Health Care Bill will do for me, which is all that matters, right?
- I will live forever. Medical attention for all my health needs is my right, guaranteed by the Constitution and my President. Whenever I get sick, I can go to the doctor, and I don’t have to worry about who will pay the bill. The older I get, the sicker I get, doesn’t really matter. As long as I stay out of unstoppable automobiles and avoid very heavy objects dropping on my head, I will always be able to be fixed. I have a healer, and his name is Obama.
- In the unlikely event that I die, it will be because my government thinks it is time to go. I’m glad to be relieved of this decision, because it’s getting more complicated. Since the government has guaranteed my health, and since nearly everyone can be kept alive for a long, long time, it makes sense that at some point someone has to decide that my time is up. Time to pull the plug, disconnect the machines, and say goodbye to the best health care in the world.
- In the next three or four years, my country will give me everything I need to be well, and it’s all free. So in the next couple of years I’m going to meet my doctor. I imagine that he and I will become pretty good friends, since I plan on visiting him once or twice a month. Since it’s not going to cost me anything, apparently, I may as well get my money’s worth.
- After three or four years, expenses for this whole thing begin to hit home. But by that time, it will be my kids, and then their kids, who will be paying for it. I’ll be close to retirement. I really like the way these laws work—you get all the wonderful benefits for several years before the actual costs begin to come due. It makes the whole thing seem almost—affordable.
- Since the government will be paying for my health, they have built into the law a lot of provisions for keeping me healthy. For instance, from now on all chain restaurants have to include calorie counts on their menus. And we’ve heard, “As goes New York, so goes the nation,” so soon all salt, fat, sugar, and refined white flour—basically everything that tastes good—will no longer be available, because the government wants us healthy. Even though this sounds like a bad thing, I’m happy about it. I’ve never really been successful at self-control, so letting the government control me might work out.
- Taking that idea to its logical conclusion (this is all very logical, right?) it seems to me since the government wants me to be healthy, and since the doctor is free, he could write me a prescription for a health club membership, and it would be covered by the government. I hear they have really nice hot tubs and saunas at health clubs. And smoothies. I love smoothies.
7 comments:
So... you like it... How do you reconcile a good idea with bad implementation? Tricia
I love it Ron. On bullet point two it only seems logical that life insurance is a right for all Americans also. We might not all get sick but we all will die sooner or later. And while we are at it let's add guaranteed income to the list of rights. Everyone needs a good income to survive. Food is also very vital and in California an automobile is a must.
Hey, this sounds a lot like communism!!!!
The bill does not sound that way to me.
This bill places federal regulation onto the health insurance industry, generally requires everyone to purchase insurance (directly or through their employer), and provides subsidies for such purchases for small businesses and low-income individuals. It also contains some tax increases to pay for (at least part) of its costs.
The bill extends federal involvement in health care, but that involvement is already quite large when we consider Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, and Federal Employees and Retirees.
I don't recall anyone in favor of the bill saying that Obama was a healer. He has never made this claim. He is in favor of getting more people covered by insurance so that their doctors can provide proper medical care.
Some proponents of the bill believe that healthcare should be a right rather than a privilege. However, even if they feel that way, the bill makes this "right" only accessible to American citizens who purchase insurance. And, this insurance is NOT free. It might be subsidized to a greater or lesser extend depending on a person's income, but someone will be paying a premium for that coverage - even if it is the government paying the premium in some cases.
The private insurance will only pay for medical procedures and prescriptions according to the terms of the insurance contract. Coverage will not be at the whim of the government. I've not heard of a requirement that all plans cover "health club prescriptions."
Calorie counts will be required for restaurant food. The federal government has required labeling of grocery food for many years. Has that led to a ban on the sale of high fat, sugar, and white flour items at grocery stores? No. Are we better off knowing what is in our food? Yes. If New York City bans some type of fat in resturants, does that mean that the federal government will follow suit? Hardly. NYC has no cattle industry, for example, thus no cattle lobby.
Similarly, the federal government has to answer to a Congress made up of members from across the country. For example, we have known that cigarettes cause lung cancer for many years, yet we have have never banned the growing and sale of tobacco. Why? About four states have significant tobacco farming and processing. Also, a substantical group of Americans still smoke. The federal government banned smoking on flights but that was based on second-hand effects. So far, no one has shown that eating Oreo cookies causes someone else to develop clogged arteries.
We've had Medicare (a true single-payer system) since the 1960s and the government has not implemented "death panels" or otherwise tried to kill old people to reduce costs. In this bill, private insurance companies will be competing to sell their plans to people. While implementing death panels might conceivably save them money, it would kill their sales as soon as anyone knew they were doing it.
Our nation spends much more on healthcare (per capita) than other industrialized nations. Yet, when measured objectively (e.g., rates of disease, lifespan, infant mortality), our system produces only mediocre results. We have awesome technology and drugs but can't get basic care to millions. We leave a huge group of people - often our young adults - in the position of being one medical emergency away from bankruptcy. Our sickest people wander in a no-man's land where no one will insure them.
I am glad that the federal government is trying to address these problems. Individuals cannot reform an entire system - only the federal government is big enough to deal with it. I believe the government should at least attempt to make life better for the citizens of the country.
Doug - Thanks for your helpful comments. Of course, my thoughts came from my tongue, which was firmly implanted in my cheek. I was attempting to make fun of the impressions - provided by over-generalizations and over-simplifications by both sides of the debate - not the reality.
Now to be serious (hard for me!) - Do we need health care reform? Yes. Do we need it in this form. No. There are less obtrusive ways to find the same results, ways that do not impinge on our freedoms in the present or open doors for infringement in the future.
Thanks for chiming in.
Wow. Can you podcast the next LT meeting?
To anonymous 2 -- Huh?
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