It May Take A Revolt To Fix Health Care: Taibbi

Rolling Stone:

Let's start with the obvious: America has not only the worst but the dumbest health care system in the developed world. It's become a black leprosy eating away at the American experiment -- a bureaucracy so insipid and mean and illogical that even our darkest criminal minds wouldn't be equal to dreaming it up on purpose.

Read the whole story: Rolling Stone

Comments

[68-lukeburlington]

We are all tired of waiting for crumbs.... the Republicans always get their way, war, war, war, tax cuts, war, war, tax cuts, war, big arms deal, war, tax cuts, war........

............Liberals finally get power and still wait for crumbs! Were is our "Decider"? Why does our guy

start with the compromise and water it down from there in the interest of "bi partisanship" with people who arn't into it. http://www.suburbanempire.com

Left wing sass served up fresh daily by folks in Vermont.....so you know it's liberal!

[Firbolg]

The phrase that sticks in my mind from this excellent article is
“(healthcare reform) amounted to a referendum on whether or not we actually have a functioning government”.
Obviously, we don’t.
So what have we got, I wondered? Then it hit me.
Think Afghanistan.
A bunch of glove puppets placed in the capital by meaningless elections and whose writ wanes three feet from the edge of their desk. Congress and the administration.
War-lords and Taliban who compete amongst themselves to plunder the wealth of the nation while oppressing those under their control but who can unite in an instant to viciously repel any attack on their collective untrammeled freedom to act as they please. CEOs and corporations.
Fanatical sects struggling for the illusion of power and relevance who can easily be goaded into demonizing and attacking their opponents by their “own side” and its anointed spokespersons using the flimsiest of facile propaganda. The “left” and “right”.
Probably including myself and, for sure, you.

[ccairnes]

I'm revolted. I have found the way the whole discussion about the American Medical Industrial Complex has evolved revolting. I was first revolted when the nomenclature went from being about "health care reform" to being about "health insurance reform". The cost of medical care would be significantly reduced by eliminating insurance and just having health care. Fining people who do not contribute to the medical insurance scam either because they don't want to or because they can't is truly revolting.

[GiveUsFree]

Why would Max Baucus cede ground to the Republicans basically making them the equals in the Senate and Finance committee he chairs? Democrats have the majority, and should act like it. You want to know why Baucus did what he did? Well, he got paid millions of dollars in campaign money from the health insurance industry. What are we going to do about it?

[rudolfhern]

If the government mandates I as an individual be forced to buy insurance but 87% of the businesses do not, isn't that a violation of the 14th Amendment's "equal protection under the law"? Businesses claim themselves to be legal entities and enjoy the status of personhood under the Constitution. So we can make a case that we are being treated differently. If I HAVE to buy meaningful insurance, then EVERY business has to provide meaningful insurance!

[wdw505]

no just has to buy insurance for the health of the corporation

[Balancement]

Add this video to the arguments for a public option:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4tc-q5rtqE

brilliant.

[wdw505]

reforms needed:

You are require to have insurance at least to cover catastrophic care

You are require to have 1 physical every 2 years to catch the small things when they are still small things

if you have not had a physical you lose coverage

Insurance companies may not use preexisting conditions when pricing

Insurance companies may not drop you if you get sick as long as the premium is paid

No insurance caps

A company or individual may purchase from any insurance company in any state from any state.

After two years ERs are only for emergencies

after 2 years if you are without insurance and without an immediate life threatening condition you can and will be turned away

Illegals will be turned in to ICE

Everyone should have some skin in the game a minimum of 15 dollars for each visit to be paid before service

An ER visit is 25 dollars also to be paid at time of service

No taxes on existing policies

[jayraye]

The poor scared little Dems are afraid the Rethugs might throw some used teabags at them. They might get their suits messed up. Run little Dems, run. Run and rewrite your bills so the pubs will stop saying mean things.

[Dale Larson]

"The poor scared little Dems.........Run little Dems, run. Run and rewrite your bills so the pubs will stop saying mean things."

This was almost Monty Python-like. Pretty funny!

[antifluff]

con't

emergency room treatment for illegalAliens: once and then they are sent back to the country of their origin. If they have a child, the child goes with them, when they grow up, they can come back legally.

These plans are using thousands of pages to take citizensRights. Our constitution was a LOT shorter and was amended immediately to protect citizens. Where is the protection for citizens/patients in any of these bills (hint, it is not there). This is about taking the rights from citizens, not taking care of them (lawmakers have admitted, it will not cover all the uninsured)

Tell your lawmakers that you want more choices, not fewer, more rights, not gov control on the few remaining rights.

[antifluff]

Conservatives:
tort reform: limit awards to double life insurance policies or provide life-long allowance including medical care if still alive if illegalAlien, no lawsuit. (howardDean said dems are afraid to confrontTrial lawyers)

open insurance competition (either with state govs or feds): do not limit insurance companies with state lines. Let the customers decide what type of insurance coverage they want. (lawmakers do not want this either)

tax breaks: give citizens the same tax breaks employers are given for purchasing health insurance
(lawmakers do not want this either, I guess they didn't get their cut)


health savings plans: money can accumulate over life time and it can be left to heirs (non-taxed for health care, or taxed if not using it for health care)

school loan forgiveness for working in fed clinics(for those without insurance): fed clinics would pay off student loans in exchange for service in clinics (part time so same doctors can build clients in private practice)

con't

[wdw505]

well said and fanned

[NoOneSpecial]

Tort reform:
While a good idea in theory really only lowers doctor's costs of buying malpractice insurance. It doesn't lower health care costs.
http://www.factcheck.org/president_uses_dubious_statistics_on_costs_of.html
Texas enacted tort reform years ago. Medical costs there have only continued to rise.

Open Insurance Competition:
Yes, by all means lets let insurance companies consolidate their business in states that offer the least consumer protections. Watch as Texas becomes to Aenta, Wellpoint, BCBS, etc. what Delaware is to credit card companies.

Tax Breaks:
For the 500th time please explain how a tax break or credit helps low income earners and people living below the poverty level.

Health Savings Plans: And if you need costly treatment and your HSP can't pay for it?

School Loan Forgiveness: not a bad idea.

Emergency Room Treatment for Illegals: Since the current health plan under debate purposely denies illegals any treatment, why is this even a part of the argument. Illegal immigration is a whole OTHER issue to contend with.

And now, how about a little exercise/homework on your part?

Please explain how your list, if implemented, will seriously cut into the problem of medical bankruptcies. 62% of all bankruptcies are due to medical bills and of those, 78% HAVE health insurance.

[tuberider]

Sisyphus found great wisdom. Climb On Matt Taibbi !

[underoath]

CNN SEPTEMBER 08 2009
Now thinking specifically about the health insurance plans available to most Americans, would you favor or oppose creating a public health insurance option administered by the federal government that would compete with plans offered by private health insurance companies?

Favor - 55%
Oppose - 41%
No opinion - 4%

[Carl]

Man. I'm Canadian and I found that depressing. I always thought I could do my part by telling my positive stories of healthcare and a single payer system, but now I see it has nothing to do with that.

[wdw505]

not many care what a foreigner has to say about US health care, if it is not thank you for bringing medical innovations to the world

[lletaa]

I care! I wonder if Canadians use the word rescission, you know, the thing our wonderful insurance companies do to people while they are at their most vulnerable.

[kesmarn]

First I'd like to apologize for my very rude fellow countryman who implied that Americans aren't interested in your opinions. It's not just Canadians he's rude to--it's everyone who doesn't share his ultra-conservative opinions. So please ignore him.

I'm glad to hear that you've had a positive experience with Canada's single payer health care system. As you know, we hear plenty of false tales of woe about your system--usually from people who have never set foot in Canada and probably couldn't find Niagara Falls on a map for a million dollars.

Taibbi's article was--what's the word--daunting, maybe? But I think I'll wait to see what the Prez has to say tomorrow night before I make a final judgement on which way things seem to be going. There's no doubt this is going to be a real battle because the insurance industry is amazingly powerful and wealthy and they'll go to any--repeat ANY--lengths to sabotage this. We just have to make sure that the Republicans know that the American people will make sure that the congresspeople who oppose this reform are going to be in the unemployment line with millions of other Americans in the near future.

[wdw505]

i don't imply anything.........i am very direct

[lletaa]

I agree cause polls show most people want public option to counter this abomination of a healthcare system and congresspeople dont want to be fired.

[MaddDog]

Post a link to Matt Taibbi's article to your Facebook page.
Get your friends and family to post links to it.

This article MUST go viral.

[ywcachieve]

You've got Repubs coming out to heath care meetings with guns, already.

[dancingsarah]

That was one Repub and he did nothing violent. You forgot to mention the Dem who bit the entire finger off a Repub who dared to voice an opinion at another town hall meeting.Maybe it would help the atmosphere if Pelosi and her buddies wouldnt refer to either side as UNAMERICAN.

[kesmarn]

..." a Repub who dared to voice an opinion.."?

No.

...a Repub who punched him in the face first...

to be accurate.

[Firbolg]

US healthcare chaos is just one symptom of a diseased and dying democracy that is being strangled by the power of special interest money from global corporations who have no interest in the people or the country beyond plundering our wealth.
And the disease is spreading because the same special interests, with the help of a willing Congress and Administration can easily provoke us to turn on one another like rats in a barrel because of our insularity, gullibility and ignorance and, while we are distracted, bleed us dry.