McCain Adviser: There Are No Uninsured Americans

The Dallas Morning News reports on a John McCain adviser's opinion on lack of health insurance in America:

Texas once again led the nation with the highest percentage of residents without health insurance, a U.S. Census Bureau report showed Tuesday, although the same study also reports a slight dip last year in the percentage without coverage across the nation.

...

But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American - even illegal aliens - as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

McCain's campaign told The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn that Goodman is not, in fact an adviser:

I had also e-mailed the McCain campaign for comment, asking whether they stood by Goodman's word. A McCain spokesman, Taylor Griffin, responded by telling me "John Goodman is not an advisor to this campaign." A very quick search on Google and Lexis-Nexis turned up no other independent mentions of Goodman as an advisor, so I edited that reference out of my item and apologized.

Cohn contacted the Dallas Morning News, who responded:

We stand behind our story. John Goodman, president of the National Center for Public Policy Analysis, says he helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy. In addition, below is a link to the Wall Street Journal op-ed that Mr. Goodman sent me. It lists Mr. Goodman as an "unpaid adviser" to Sen. John McCain. As you can see from the e-mail, there was no attempt to clarify his title.

Finally, McCain's campaign told Cohn that Goodman had "volunteered his advice to the campaign in the past" but that "earlier this summer the campaign informed Mr. Goodman that his advice was not required and requested that he not identify himself as being associated with the campaign in any way, including as a volunteer."

Comments

[dosokomo]

He's right - everyone has access to the ER whenever they want - no need to make appts, just go with your whole family whenever it's convenient. Its ok that your ankle pain for 6 months or 6 minutes is taking nursing time away from the stroke or heart attack patient. It's ok that ERs have wait times in days, that ER nurses work short and tired - what's a mistake or two. The ER is not insurance. Doctors and nurses should be able to say that a patient is wasting our time and resources and refer them to a clinic - but the federal laws do not allow this - we must see anyone and everyone who presents to our door. But it wouldn't matter what referal they get - so many don't follow up and come back sicker than before.The­y can buy the booze and cigerettes and drugs that landed them in my ER - they can pay for treatment too!

[psudeke1]

(from johnmccain.com) "FACT: As President, John McCain Would Work With Governors To Find The Solutions Necessary To Ensure Those With Pre-Existing Conditions Are Able To Easily Access Care."
FACTS are not conditional nor can they be posed as hypothetical. When will this campaign stop the obfuscation, equivocation, and exaggeration? Voters need real FACTS.

[formerprosecutor]

I really can't believe "they" said that. Emergency rooms routinely turn away people that don't have insurance, an ability to pay, or don't have an immediate life threatening injury or complaint (such as a heart attack or stroke). Wonder what it is like to live in the clouds.

[SherryIndianapolis]

A lifelong Republican that knows the truth:

http://thebruceblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/28/video-a-lifelong-republican-moves-an-audience-of-democrats/

God bless us, everyone..­....

Obama/Biden '08

[roxn]

Yes !!

I'll just go for my cancer screening down at the ER !!

Perhaps we should allow Mr. Goodman to keep his THIN DIME –
When they LOSE THE ELECTION !!

I guess we could know a leader - by who he chooses to be his advisers.

[flyingmonkey]

Even people WITH health insurance in this country aren't properly insured. The insurance companies cancel people who actually have problems, won't insure individuals (people denied for taking Prozac???) and even when someone has health insurance, they're bilked out of thousands of dollars when they actually use it. I have dual national friends who work and are insured in the US, yet when having a baby, they went back to the EU to have the baby because there they can have it for free while here, even with insurance they have to pay 30,000 bucks. We are on the verge of becoming a third world country because of out of touch idiots like McCain and Goodman running things. I'm thinking that getting EU citizenship is an American's best healthcare policy these days.

[barkway]

"The government acts as the payer of last resort?" Who does Goodman think that "payer" IS? It's US...the taxpayers! We get stuck with rising costs on our property tax bills to pay for these emergency room visits by the uninsured (not even counting the hospitals that turn people away who have no insurance OR the sub-standard care they get when they are accepted). I paid $300 extra on my property tax last year to the local hospital for these uninsured folks (most of whom are illegal immiigrants in this state). WE don't have any insurance ourselves because WE can't afford it....but I'm paying for illegal immigrants to get it via this "payer of last resort" system? NICE. This country should be ashamed of itself if this is considered acceptable.

[keepemhonest]

I hope MSM reports THIS!!!

I hope Obama & Biden REPORT THIS ON THE STUMP.

[Zigi]

Let them go to the emergency room! = Let them eat cake!

[wdw101]

no how about get a job......

[concernedms]

I hope you were being sarcastic. If you weren't, how sad. If you were, then you are probably trying to voice what the hidden truth of the Republican agenda will be.

Regardless, it is important for us all to remember there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who want a job with or without benefits but can't find one. Entire communities are suffering.

Jobs aren't the answer. Employers are cutting benefits, ending pension plans,and undermining the loyalty

Even people with good jobs can't afford the increasing co-pays for medical treatment, office visits and medication.

Could everyone afford to care for a Down's or other special needs child without insurance. Palin needs to speak to that issue. Who is caring for her special needs infant while she campaigns?

[txbyrd]

I am left of left and a big Obama supporter. When this story was first posted the disclaimer, while ALREADY easily available on the web, was not included in your initial posting.

Now you post the disclaimer and, again, keep the misleading title.

If I want spin, I'll go to Fox News.

Shoddy. No better than the snark sent out by the Republican smear campaign.

Big disappointment. Carry on. I'll depend on the other internet news sources from now on.

[Viper]

While i may agree in part... Note that a Conservative paper is sticking with the story! And there is a second story. McCain campaign also decided Gramm was not an advisor and would not admit initially that Rove was an unpaid advisor. I would be interested to see if there is a link between this guy and Gramm.

Never the less, mccains healthcare policy, is to tax healthcare benefits by employers, take the employers deduction away which will kill employer based healthcare (all we have) and then give a family a tax credit of $5K to buy their own/negotiate with insurance companies and read 40 page policies of small print on their own... this is worse than NOW. Also in my company the insurance for each family cost 18K. Only an idiot in the hands of the insurance companies could come up with such a policy!!!

Employers will like it because it will get them out of healthcare and back to running their business. My guess is we will go from 25% w/o insurance to 50% rather quickly! But employers who favor a single payer medicare like system, know this will not work!

If you take tax cuts and tax credits out of the repug tool kit along with unregulated capitalism and free trade instead of fair trade, they have no economic tools... thus no solutions


Regards

[wdw101]

if Obama gets elected I will slowly have insurance fade away for all shop staff.....­..you wait to see how many uninsured you have then..

[Viper]

We spend 3 times more of our GDP on healthcare than other nations, insurer only 75% of the population. An larger precentage once sick will find their covergae isn't that good.

Even if you are insured, once you get sick, really sick...you lose your job to pay the premiums and your healthcare. If you lose your job, the first expense you can gamble with , is not having healthcare insurance.­.. do you pay your electric or insurance bill... So the insurance that you and your employer paid for for years.. is nolonger there.

I know I own 5 cancer treatement centers. Employer based while better than nothing really does not work. The insurance company loves the fact that when your biggest healthcare expense hits, they are likely not to be there. Deductables and copays in policies today are huge. Insurance costs increase at 3 times the infalatiopn rate annually! But what insurance company's pay providers has dropped! Go figure.

We dont need more money for healthcare . 50% of every dollar goes to insurance companies that treat no one. Wal-mart gets rid of the middleman. We have to. We pay 3-5 times more for then same drug, because the rest of the world controls the price. Control the drug price and cut out the middleman and you have cut healthcare by 50% plus and covered everyone..­. no increase in COSTs, a decrease! Docs and hospitals make the same. No difference in healthcare quality! Single payer yes!

Regards

[Viper]

Repugs cant do this! Its against their philosophy of laisez faire capitalism and Free trade... which no other country in the world really practices. What works is known.. but gthey cant go there because it measna dmitting that their foundation does not work... The last 8 years should have already told them that!

Capitalism is wonderful.­.. But laisez faire( no regs, market will handle all problems) works no better than communism. They fail becuase they ignore human nature. Communism fails beucase no one wants to be equal, you want to run faster than your best friend, score more touch downs and have a faster car. Human Nature/Product of evolution.

Laisez faire capitalsim assumes that everyone will do the right thing and do the best for the overall long term good of their country and others... If that was the case we would not need speed limits or police to enforce those limits.

Your competitors comntrols Drug costs, they charge massive tarrifs on our goods, they have slave labor and work hours not seen here since 1900s. Their environment is a cess pool.

They have regulated economies.­..

Who is the largest exporter..­. Germany.. a company half our size where everyone has healthcare, a shorter work week and a month long paid vacation..

Regards

[jackstpaul]

As a very ardent single-payer advocate in action and spirit, I question whether the post above is sincere. It is so riddled with factual errors, typos, and errors of other types, that I can't believe it is serious. It looks like a troll who wants to make payer-payer advocates look stupid or someone who is very, very poorly informed.

This statement seems unbelievable given the mistakes and quality of the prose "I know I own 5 cancer treatement centers."

FACTUAL ERRORS:
1. "We spend 3 times more of our GDP on healthcare than other nations"
FALSE. The US spends about 16% GDP, other Western nations typically spend 7-10% of their GDP. But the more important statistic is amount spent per-capita, i.e. per person/per year. The US spends about twice what most other Western nations spend.

2. "insurer (sic) only 75% of the population.
FALSE The national uninsured rate is about 16%. Many reliable sources have reported this approx. number.

John Goodman is a libertarian lunatic. The most bizarre things come out of his organization and him.

[wdw101]

whine some more now......b­ut you add the government into the mix......n­ame one program the government is doing better than the private sector

[XME]

So there answer is to change the results of the census without doing anything to have get more Americans insured...­isn't that just GREAT. Don't help people, just skew the numbers!

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

I am so glad McBush's adviser just agreed to give me heath insurance. Next time my doctor adds for payment I'll give this tool as my co-payer.

Typical Rethuglican approach to problems. Pretend they do not exist.

[ReelBusy]

As we can tell from this article just like a prescription drug, John McCain has some side effects.

So I put it in a video earlier today:

THE SIDE EFFECTS OF JOHN MCCAIN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBqs26mpg8o

I look forward to hearing from the GOP trolls.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Great clip. Keep up the good work.

[MargaretO]

Love it!

[ziaiolanda]

Is it kinda like President Reagan's definition of a vegetable? (Ketchup)

[Viper]

Its worse they redefined manufacturing to include making Hamburgers and etc. That hides the huge drop in MFG, about 75% since we went FREE TRADE!

Its worse, to hide the increase in unemployment they decided that 5% less of the population is looking for work than under Clinton... Did you not wonder how you can create 84% less jobs, with a larger population, but unemployment did not soar!?? What?

Global warming, dont allow NASA to show pictures of the shrinking poles.

Outsourcing, pay for a study which concludes that outsourcing is hurting the U.S.... change the conclusion!

Regards

[MargaretO]

You forgot, don't allow photographs of the caskets of our dead soldiers being brought home.