Health Care Reform Opponents Say The Darndest Things

Today begins the House GOP's latest kabuki pageant, entitled "Let's Repeal Obamacare Despite The Fact That Most Americans Prefer It Or Want It Expanded Even More, Because We Have To Toss A Bone To The Kooks." It occurs alongside a simultaneous movement, spearheaded chiefly by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), to pressure health care reform opponents into dropping their own government provided health care.

Thus far, Schumer's campaign has found very few takers. And that stands to reason! The health care plan that you and I provide for our Congresscritters is really, really cherry. Oh you should see it! It's wonderful! You'd be loathe to part with it, if you were fortunate enough to receive it because a number of powerful corporate interests came together to ensure it was provided to you. But my favorite response from anyone declining to forgo their health care against pressure from Schumer has to be this one, from freshman Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.):

"What am I, not supposed to have health care?" he said. "It's practicality. I'm not going to become a burden for the state because I don't have health care, and God forbid I get into an accident and I can't afford the operation. That can happen to anyone."

I know, right? You read that, and you think, "Wow. That actually sounds like a stirring defense of expanding the franchise of health care to more Americans." Because tomorrow, this could happen to anyone. At any moment, an uninsured American could get into an accident. When the ambulance takes that person to the hospital, that person will get treated. And if that person can't afford it, don't worry, the existing system will hound him into bankruptcy and debt. And if they cannot get their scrilla, the "state" -- that is, you and me -- will be burdened with the costs. When that person lands in a destitute state, there will be further burdens placed on "the state." Unless the plan is for this person to crawl off into the woods to die of shame from that time that person got into an accident.

Health care reform: it's not perfect. But in addition to reducing long-term deficits, it also decreases these burdens.

Now, I don't know why Grimm can't do without the Congress health care plan. In the first place, he's a Marine who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, so why he can't simply receive the health care benefits he's entitled to as a result of his military service is a mystery. Beyond that, when most of us get jammed up by operations we cannot afford, we can, as best as possible, fall back on the kindness of friends. And Grimm has some powerful friends with deep pockets: he received $143,450 in contributions from real estate interests, and $31,950 from the securities industry. Heck, the man received $24,900 from health care professionals, so maybe some of those dudes can hook him up if he needs the help.

Naturally, those aren't the sorts of pals that most of America's uninsured run with in their daily lives. So my diagnosis of the hypothetical, "Will Michael Grimm be okay if he gets into an accident and the treatment is expensive?" is "Yes, he's going to be just fine." And I'm sincerely glad for that.

Rep. Grimm really is quite a lucky ducky!

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Comments

[Grace Scroat]

11:59 AM on 01/11/2011

One simple change could solve all these nightmare scenarios without forcing one person to pay for another person's Erectile Dysfunction or sex change operation. Keep the laws in place now that require that urgent/emergent care be provided without regard to ability to pay. And then, for those who have no ability to pay or would be driven into bankruptcy etc etc, have the feds pay their bills. Simple. The feds don't seem to have any trouble paying trillions out "to keep the economy from crashing" so what's a bit more.

[MJinCanada]

02:07 PM on 01/11/2011

"Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider."
-- George Carlin

[Edward T]

06:32 PM on 01/10/2011

Therepealpledge(dot)com. Ask you representative to sign it if you are serious about reform and want your elected officials to be serious as well.

[nooel]

03:10 PM on 01/09/2011

Can someone please explain to me how health care reform covers more uninsured, does not ration health care, and reduces the deficit? Because I can explain how the CBO score was gamed, so saying "check the CBO score" will not suffice. I want to know the mechanism for completing more coverage, reducing costs, not rationing care, AND reducing the deficit.

[wandering girl]

03:54 PM on 01/09/2011

honey, are your fingers broken so you can't google any reliable sites?

here's one: http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/22/news/economy/health_care_reform.moneymag/

[nomadrdw]

04:15 PM on 01/09/2011

er, ah, the author of the article explains it in very simple words above.....When the ambulance takes that person to the hospital, that person will get treated. And if that person can't afford it, don't worry, the existing system will hound him into bankruptcy and debt. And if they cannot get their scrilla, the "state" -- that is, you and me -- will be burdened with the costs. When that person lands in a destitute state, there will be further burdens placed on "the state."

[MJinCanada]

02:22 PM on 01/11/2011

Exactly. Meanwhile, in a country like Canada, the person may have to pay for part of the ambulance ride, but will get treatment, affordable medication and even physiotherapy/rehab, for which each taxpayer will chip in a sliver of a penny, with the assurance that if they or a family member gets hurt, they will also be secure.

Meanwhile, with the assurance that they will be adequately and promptly reimbursed without massive amounts of paperwork, insurance company doublespeak and dithering, the various labs, technicians, clinics and doctors agree to reasonable rates.

A couple of months ago, a local guy got hit at an intersection and lost his leg. Because of internal injuries and complications (childhood heart condition), he spent weeks in the hospital. He's self-employed, so his friends put up a facebook page and collected enough month for his rent, utilities and expenses till he can work again. But he doesn't have to worry about medical costs on top of it. Meanwhile, literally thousands of people are just happy he's okay -- and not fretting about him being a "burden."

[TBinNJ]

01:32 PM on 01/09/2011

This quote should be plastered everywhere. Proves how out of touch and ignorant these clowns are

[GC1301]

07:15 AM on 01/09/2011

Whether a Congressman gets a healthcare benefit as part of his or her employment package has absolutely nothing to do with the important health care issues facing our country. Most full time employees do have some form of health insurance through their employer. I do agree that the congressman cited above seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of these issues.

[PlatoSunTsu]

07:23 AM on 01/09/2011

Wrong! As taxpayers WE pay for most of their "cherry" healthcare.
http://www.suite101.com/content/health-care-for-the-us-congress-a72870
read up.

[Grace Scroat]

12:04 PM on 01/11/2011

GC1301 did not say anything to the contrary. He just observed that the fringe benefits Congresspeople get has got nothing to do with Obamacare and its proposed repeal.

[GC1301]

07:49 PM on 01/18/2011

so what.....what does that have to do with the more important issue of national public health. Its just a few hundred people....ridiculous

[Ballymagibbon]

07:09 AM on 01/09/2011

FYI - The fact that the Congressman was a Marine doesn't qualify him for any type of free government health care. I served for ten years and have no benefits. My father retired after 30 years and has benefits but only through "Tri-care" which he pays for. But Grimm's response is priceless.

[wandering girl]

04:00 PM on 01/09/2011

if you have no benefits, it's because you failed to meet the (very liberal) requirements, most of which consist of 24 months of active duty service and an honorable discharge.

for retirees, TriCare is extremely affordable - less than $500 a year for the entire family to be covered.

[shangrolah]

01:14 AM on 01/09/2011

Meanwhile, this goes on as the rate of heatlh care spending has undergone historic declines. Repealing health care not only will lead to a quarter billion added to the budget deficit, but also reverse the declines.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/05/106268/health-care-spending-declines.html

"WASHINGTO­­N — U.S. health care spending in 2009 grew at the slowest rate in 50 years, as the recession and high unemployme­­nt caused outlays for nearly all medical goods and services to slow or decline, according to a new government report released Wednesday.

Unlike previous recessions­­, when spending for health services began to slow some two years after an economic downturn, the effect of the Great Recession was swift and profound on insurers, health care providers and patients in both 2008 and 2009.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/05/106268/health-care-spending-declines.html

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/demons-and-demonization/

http://businessjournalism.org/2010/10/04/reuters-and-milwaukee-journal-sentinel-receive-2010-barlett-steele-awards/

[bmike]

02:47 AM on 01/09/2011

You must be getting rich and need more .Are you just trying to shake the money tree to see what falls in your lap

[sfwomanvoter]

08:47 PM on 01/08/2011

Great display of the usual GOP hypocracy.

[ArjenBoatsma]

09:53 PM on 01/08/2011

an even greater display of GOP immorality.

[SteveDenver]

04:04 AM on 01/09/2011

add to that GOP self-supremacy

[Gidster]

06:35 PM on 01/08/2011

Conservatives neither understand, nor perceive irony. Along with empathy and compassion, it is removed by indoctrination.

[JoannainPA]

06:23 PM on 01/08/2011

Did any else see what the right wing is putting out... They are saying that the CBO says that repealing health care would save 530 billion dollars, and that fox will expose the democrats every time.
BUT if they actually bothered to visit the CBO's website they would see, that this information is NOT true. My hope would be that they do, and when they see that they have been lied to. Maybe, just maybe, they will caught on to how they are being lied to and lead based on false info. I doubt this will happen, sadly. I am all for a good factually debate. I believe that is how we become more prefect as a nation. This can not happen until integrity is restored, for which i do not see happening.

[Gidster]

06:37 PM on 01/08/2011

Since when have the right wing EVER cared about facts? For the past decade, facts and even reality itself has been shoved aside in favor of the consensus reality created by the conservative message makers, like Frank Lutz, Roger Ailes and Karl Rove.

[tacevad]

04:55 PM on 01/09/2011

that same core group who still think iraq was behind 9-11 and that sexual preference is a choice while abortion should not be will believe every lie the right can conceive

[Trepasky]

04:36 PM on 01/08/2011

We will always disagree on some topics however, those voting against something that they 'receive' is a conflict of interest.
Unless the members in Congress refuse health care, then why should they be allowed to vote on denying that to others?

[Gingerale]

04:59 PM on 01/08/2011

Excellent point!

http://www.e-tabitha.com/2011/01/who-me.html

[Raccoon1]

12:27 PM on 01/08/2011

$178,000 a year and they can't afford health care. Many, many of these people are millionaires in their own right, yet they can't stay away from that 'free' government healthcare.

[Gidster]

06:38 PM on 01/08/2011

But the idea of offering it to their fellow citizens outrages some of them to distraction!

[ritgar]

12:28 AM on 01/09/2011

It isn't free, but they do only pay about 1/3 of the cost, the gov't picks up the rest.

[Gaylord P Farqua]

12:09 PM on 01/08/2011

GOP freshman Grimm's sage advice that giving up health care could be disastrous because if one were in an accident and needed an operation is  right on target. He was not  referring to the American people but only  his GOP buds in the Congress and , of course, his family. The millions of Americans without health care insurance, the millions paying outrageous rates for Cobra coverage, and those whose policies will deny them most of the essential coverage if the Health care REFORM Act is repealed are not part of the GOP/Tea Party thinking or concern. And that is really GRIM.

[Gidster]

06:39 PM on 01/08/2011

Since they are not big donors to his campaign, and do not have lobbyist padding his pockets, the American people you speak of, never enter Grimm's or any other conservative's mind.

[Sinister Minister]

11:57 AM on 01/08/2011

How stupid can America become?

We listen to people with some of the best health care benefits in the country paid for with our tax dollars tell us that it is wrong for us to have health care paid for with tax dollars.

We listen to people with retirement benefits that in many cases result in them being paid more in their retirement than they were paid when they were in office thanks to mandatory COLA raises, also paid for with our tax dollars, tell us how after paying into social security for forty plus years anything we get back is an unearned "entitlement" that will ruin the country.

We listen to people that promote armed conflict around the world, not only by direct involvement, but also through covert secret budgets funded by tax payers money, tell us that they are pro life and have a right to have their opinions forced on women when it comes to abortion.

We listen to people that allowed the family of a man that supposedly just pulled off a major attack against the United States, tell us that if we choose to fly on a commercial airlines we must be considered as possible terrorists and give up our constitutional rights.

What have we come to?

[JoannainPA]

06:31 PM on 01/08/2011

To add, a political party was started by a news"news" org and the Koch brothers( the countries largest polluters, oil company owner) freedom works, yet some how its the "green movement" that just wants to grow there industries.

They can not conscience that these big oil and wall st people are manipulating and creating the illusion that there is still a debate among scientist that climate change is man made. They can't fathom that big oil and there industry funded studies could possibly have a motive in suggesting that climate change is not real and its just those crazy tree huggers.
Its sheer insanity. I had some tea party person fill my email with insane statements. They also think that American universities are all run by the left wing. sad isn't the word any more.

[bayguy13]

11:18 AM on 01/08/2011

The job killing republicans also have their death panels. In this case it is the death of the uninsured.

[Gidster]

06:53 PM on 01/08/2011

If you look at the last 35 years, history shows that Republicans are not big on job creation.

Nixon/Ford: 11.2 million in 12 years
Carter:  10.5 million in 4 years
Reagan: 16 million in 8 years (A large majority were professional Civil Service workers, replaced by contractors.
Bush 1: 2.5 million in 4 years
Clinton: 23.1 million jobs in 8 years
Bush2 Net Zero in 8 years. (3 million jobs created in 8 years, at a loss of 13 million jobs permanently outsourced.)

These are documented facts.  Republicans are right now fighting against tax penalties for companies that outsource, fighting against infrastructure projects that will create jobs, and fighting against any and all stimulative recovery efforts, in favor of adding $700 billion to the deficit, so 3 million billionaires and millionaires can pay less tax for owning the majority of wealth in this nation.

The Job Killing Republican Party, hard at work for the wealthiest Americans only.

[tacevad]

05:01 PM on 01/09/2011

not sure why I hadn't fanned you yet Gidster but I just rectified that situation.

[Grace Scroat]

12:13 PM on 01/11/2011

If there were people *dying* from being uninsured we would be hearing their names. Please, direct me to the website where the names and documented circumstances of all the people DYING from being uninsured are listed.

[bayguy13]

01:48 PM on 01/11/2011

So you assume that everyone who is uninsured is alive and well? Just look at Arizonia where two people have recently died because their transplant coverage was stopped.

[MJinCanada]

02:39 PM on 01/11/2011

http://namesofthedead.com/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/aug/21/healthcare-provision-us-uk
http://www.familiesusa.org/issues/uninsured/publications/dying-for-coverage.html
http://guaranteedhealthcare.org/stories

It's easy to find more.