Dylan Ratigan: Americans Need To Be Free From "Stranglehold Of Employer-Based Health Care" (VIDEO)

Today on his MSNBC show Morning Meeting host Dylan Ratigan laid out his case for how the current battle to pass health care reform has left the average American out of the process. Ratigan argues that Americans need to free themselves from the "stranglehold of employer-based health care" because it continues to get "more expensive and lower quality."

The battle over the strict anti-abortion Stupak amendment demonstrates "the absurd task of getting 300 million politically diverse people of different ages and different walks of life to agree on one specific value system for health care," Ratigan said. Meanwhile,

CEOs of huge corporations, union leaders, and others, laser-focused on maintaining the status quo of American health care that is bankrupting our nation and empowering those individuals at the expense of everybody else in our country.

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Comments

[robbep]

If your company cant control your income and healthcare how can they control you? If I have my employees scared of leaving the job bcz they cant get healthcare I dont have to worry about how low their wages are.

[seattle music]

I agree.

Single-payer. Done.

[gvnn688]

I really do wish Dylan would stop this rant. When the President first talked about health care and the Public Option, it was aimed at those with and without health care coverage. It was the media who informed and reported to America, they, 80% or so of you, were happy with your health insurance coverage. The media wanted to know why the President was trying to change a health care system Americans were happy with. Remember, the President started saying, if you like your current health care coverage, you can keep it. This became a slogan for Americans with health care coverage. Americans with insurance that did not suit their needs would have had an option to go to the exchange for health care coverage more to their liking. Where was Dylan during this time? The President could have used his help. Dylan could have explained to the American people why the Public Option was the best deal for them. The President faced an onsaulght of critics who questioned his rationale in changing a health care system Americans with insurance were happy with. Dylan, give it a rest; it was the media and an ill-informed that screwed this one up.

[Laws456]

Dylan has been one of the few people on tv making a case for Real Reform. Have you listened to him prior to this?

[Coyote50]

I think it's good he's keeping it up. The way things are now, people who already have employer health care won't be able to change it - and we know that much of it is over-priced and putting people into bankruptcy when they really get sick. We'll get a bill that won't be that good, but will be tons better than what we have - mainly because if you lose your job, you'll have somewhere to go besides COBRA, which is also expensive. This is a process. We need to keep the pressure on so the dems know we really want more than what they are agreeing to - so that they don't compromise even more. I know a lot of people who are in their late 50's and early 60's who would love to retire, or at least go half-time but can't afford to without health coverage. Just think how many jobs would open up for the young if our generation got out of the way. If we can get something now that is decent, and then people decide to keep the dems for a while, it can get modified. But if something good doesn't come out of this process, I fear we'll lose the mid-term elections badly and then nothing will get done about anything..­..So keep it up! And then, when it passes, be happy about it and sing your praises from the rooftops for a little while -- until there's a chance to change it again....

[Lapinetchat]

GREAT comment - you make a LOT of sense and I couldn't agree more.

[robbep]

Yep. Obama had nothing to do with this mess and his backroom deals with pharma prove that.

[Helanren]

I've always wondered why employer based health insurance is regarded as the holy grail by so many people. The only reason this has involved is because in WWII, health insurance was used as a fringe benefit to attract workers, after wages and prices had been frozen. There is nothing intrinsically 'logical' or 'good' about it. Obviously, when changing the system, you do not want to trade in your employer insurance for 'nothing at all', you'll want to see it back in higher wages or in an other way, but it makes sense to overhaul the whole system and get rid of this historical aberration.
Government can set guidelines for minimum insurance packages; people can buy that package (and if they want, additional coverage) from either truly competing insurance agencies, or preferably (since the health insurance industry has already proved to be wasteful, inefficient and out-for-me­ga-profits only) from a not-for-profit, public agency which can act on a large scale to keep costs down. Employers can then focus on their actual businesses, and use the money to lower production costs and/or raise wages. Part of the cost of the public agency will have to come from taxes (probably on both workers and employers), but the overall costs will be lower than what employers and employees combined have to bring up now.

[Chris1950]

Dylan makes a lot of sense. I chose my car insurance company based on my vehicle status and needs. He's right. Also the Govt SHOULD offer a Public plan too. They can address the low income people in this country where the Insurance companies require too much profit and Wall Street would never allow them to compete with that segment of society. WHY do emplyers still need to offer insurance anyway. The cost is huge on their bottom line. Their competitors abroad do not have that massive cost and can compete with better pricing...­...Chinese companies obviously is the biggest example - notwithstanding their disparity in wage costs....

[Lapinetchat]

AMEN! And I still say, people worry so much about taxes being raised - I'm fine with raising my taxes $2,000 or $3,000 a year if it saves me $10,000 in the long run!! Dang, we pay almost $16,000 a year for this lousy so-called "coverage" that doesn't cover diddly squat, no preventative and no drugs. Cripes, I spend almost $300 a month on migraine meds, without which I couldn't work and I'd be on disability.