Jonathan Alter: Our Heath-Care System Is Just Fine As Is!

newsweek.com:

Go ahead, shoot me. I like the status quo on health care in the United States. I've got health insurance and I don't give a damn about the 47 million suckers who don't. Obama and Congress must be stopped. No bill! I'm better off the way things are.

I'm with that woman who wrote the president complaining about "socialized medicine" and added: "Now keep your hands off my Medicare." That's the spirit!

Read the whole story: newsweek.com

Comments

[canuck4barack]

05:17 PM on 08/02/2009

Whew! When I saw the title of the article I was worried you had turned on us Mr. Johnathan Swift ...uh...I mean Alter.

[DemocraticVoter]

04:38 PM on 08/02/2009

Outstanding column, Mr. Alter!

[kimleehan]

04:20 PM on 08/02/2009

Did you know that the AVERAGE corperate benefit expenditure in 2008 was $ 9,312 per-employee and that the per-employee contrabution exceeded $ 2,000, that figures out to be $942 a month per-empoyee, And that does'nt even include the deductible, The problem is the employee only saw $ 77.00 come out of his paycheck (every two weeks) so he actually thinks he's getting a good deal when he's getting _ _ _ _ _ _ ,

[23000Days]

04:32 PM on 08/02/2009

Sorry, I'm not getting the point, I guess. If the insurance expenditure is 942/month and the employee deduction is 150/month, how is the employee getting shafted?

[freddiefreeloader]

06:14 PM on 08/02/2009

I get it $9,312 + $2000 = $11,312 devide by 26 weeks = $435.00. every payday, just because you don't see it coming out of your paycheck does'nt mean your not paying it. And how much do you think a public option will cost every payday?

[bluecollarblogger]

04:53 PM on 08/02/2009

hmmmmm........

[hopefull252]

04:17 PM on 08/02/2009

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Life - Dems want to limit this in 1200 pages of a bill that will not support Life

Liberty - We lost that with the Bush "Patriot Act"

Pursuit of happiness - Thanks to both parties for making this almost impossible

[MrJoyboy]

04:10 PM on 08/02/2009

You pay the insurance company when you're healthy and you pay the doctor and hospital when you're sick. Great system.

[Skiwee]

03:51 PM on 08/02/2009

Just about every single reason for radical health reform is listed here. Great article/satire Jonathan!!!

Everyone needs to readit, especially the nay sayers.

[Westof405]

03:49 PM on 08/02/2009

Great column. What I love are the people who want the government to leave Medicare alone. How is it they have no clue who runs Medicare? When Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) introduced his amendment to kill Medicare altogether, not one Repug would stand up and vote for it, yet they don't want single payer for the rest of us. Weiner's bill was a "put up or shut up" tactic and it worked-it showed what hypocrites the GOP are.

Remember the drug bill the GOP passed a few years ago? It prevents Medicare from negotiating drug prices with the drug companies, so no wonder the prices are outrageous-they can charge as much as they want, just like no-bid military contractors like Halliburton and KBR do. It is a license to steal, plain and simple.

[deepfreezevideo]

03:34 PM on 08/02/2009

http://cbs2.com/local/nataline.sarkisyan.CIGNA.2.615167.html

Yep...just fine.

[23000Days]

04:39 PM on 08/02/2009

Yup.... And they're worried about Obama kil.ling Granny!

[december30]

03:08 PM on 08/02/2009

Wonderful article Jonathan, sure hope everyone reads it.

[BlueOnBlue]

02:43 PM on 08/02/2009

The appreciation of satire requires a sense of empathy. This neatly divides the two sides on this issue.

[Clarabell]

02:40 PM on 08/02/2009

I was listening to KGO radio last night and one callers concern is that we might get a Public Option that is "rigged" for failure. So we really do need to pay close close attention. This would surely be a big plus for the insurance companies.

[juskidding]

02:57 PM on 08/02/2009

the AMA - Wall Street - Insurance - Pharma alliance will pull every stop,

including this boogie man: a rigged public option.

[JICC]

02:17 PM on 08/02/2009

Yes, same as your bald spot dear. Don't do anything about it, is just beauuuutiful.

[Clarabell]

02:39 PM on 08/02/2009

You really do need to read the article, then come back and make a comment that makes sense, without bringing his hair into it.

[gwix]

03:35 PM on 08/02/2009

Try reading the article. Really. Reading isn't that hard to do. You can read with hair or without hair. However, reading does require cognitive skills.

[BlaineNelson]

02:13 PM on 08/02/2009

Are you satisfied with your Health-Care as is?

http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=5856
.

[DonRoberto]

02:11 PM on 08/02/2009

Anything less than a government-run public option, in direct competition with the existing industry, will fail to either a) cover all the uninsured, and b) provide any downward pressure on healthcare costs.

Note to Huffpost: PLEASE don't lead with a headline that delivers the exact opposite idea from that within the article.... some people skimming thru your content *might* misconstrue its meaning, especially when the author is satirizing opposing viewpoints.

[Emerald1943]

02:13 PM on 08/02/2009

Good point, Don! Don't you just love the ones who only read the headlines and then pontificate about it? LOL

[Emerald1943]

02:06 PM on 08/02/2009

Great article, Jonathan! Keep up the good work!

It's amazing to me how many people read this and thought this was serious! Same thing as the conservatives thinking that Colbert is a true right-winger! LMAO