I am watching the this healthcare thing head the same direction as usual. The people are being given the same stories as before and just like before they are worried about losing their doctor, They worry about the costs etc.
What bothers me is that some opponents really seem proud that they may defeat any reforms. They seem to enjoy sticking it to Obama. So I guess when they defeat Obama on any serious attempts to fix the situation they will feel satisfied.
And they will never attempt to fix it themselves.

What a victory to be proud of. Senator Graham said we don't want the government between you and your doctor. The insurance company between you and your doctor is fine though. And then Graham went on a tyraid that we don't want a government run healthcare system. Funny, Where do you suppose Graham gets his insurance.
And then you have a conservative editorialist David Brooks saying that we are doing too much and that healthcare should be put off for a few years. This is a guy who obviously has plenty of money and insurance. How does he face someone who is strugglig with these costs? Or losing their homes? Or not taking the meds they need because they can't afford them? What does he propose? Nothing. This is about partisanship. Beat Obama even if it means screwing ourselves.

I guess some people don't even see the problem. They are not the same people who sit in emergency rooms half the night because they have no choice.

So if they win and stop any changes we lose. Remeber that. Its not Obama that loses. Its us. I wish people would wake up to that reality.

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Truth, Justice and the American way

The American people need to stand up to the insurance companies, no matter how hard it hurts, and cancel their policies en masse for six months as a protest.

I've had health insurance for over a decade... different companies as I've changed jobs and employers have changed providers... some much better than others, but none of them good.

Most of my claims which are 110% valid have been denied - no reason given by the insurance company, and no possible recourse. Most recently I had to pay $320 out of pocket for an annual physical because my insurance doesn't cover those unless a $200 deductible is met first, and they don't cover the cholesterol test I got. I've had insurance with deductibles before, but they also always covered things like well-checks despite no deductible being paid. This was Blue Cross/Blue Shield to boot - it may as well have been insurance purchased through some unsolicited sham spam email, for all the good it has done me.

$1300 a year for 3 years, and they haven't paid ONE RED CENT ON A SINGLE F*^#ING CLAIM!!!

You can sue anyone anytime in this country for no good reason, even the federal government, but congress made sure that a person doesn't have the right to sue an insurance company - and these same congress-critters that sought that type of protection for their special interest are the ones that don't want any type of healthcare reform - gee, I wonder why.

I could sue Obama for swatting that fly - I'd lose and have to pay outrageous court fees... but I could do it, if I could find a lawyer dumb enough to take on a case that has less than no chance of winning...

But even if I have a legitimate claim in to an insurance company, for a procedure that they should pay for according to their own rules - if they refuse to pay and give me no reason, I can't even call them and ask why or take them to court - they have more power than the POTUS, congress or the SCOTUS.

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"Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous."
-William Proxmire



“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” - Mark Twain

We definitly need to bypass the pols somehow because to many on both sides are getting too much money from the lobby. Fienstien is alrready dragging her feet. This stuff is way out of hand. I like your idea though. We should have a general strike on insurance cost. I like it.

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Truth, Justice and the American way

One more thing. We should make congress give up their health insurance until the fix the problem.

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Truth, Justice and the American way

I agree with the idea of getting gov't out of the healthcare business as much as possible. Let's cut out the middleman and allow employers to deuct healthcare costs directly from their taxes. We'd see more self-funded insurance programs (we have one where I work where only major medical is paid by an insurer and the rest is paid by the fund) and we'd cut out all of the gov't's inefficiencies. It also would increase the number of employers providing medical coverage. We need a safety net for those who are unemployable (with some exceptions such as primary care-givers), but that's about it.

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

Leftists and very small children don't seem to be able to understand that the Government isn't there to "fix" the economy, anymore than a tick is there to fix your dog.~Oftencold

...and that will happen right after the 43rd monkey flies out my butt.

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

Leftists and very small children don't seem to be able to understand that the Government isn't there to "fix" the economy, anymore than a tick is there to fix your dog.~Oftencold

How do you control ridiculous profit taking by insurers? No matter who they are? They don't want to insure everyone for everything. Not enough incentive as long as you can just take the cream. We have to control costs. If it was a thing that we choose like cable TV I could be more easily convinced. But when it comes to our families health we are held hostage. Why should we pay $50 for things we can buy in Canada for $8? Because we are powerless against this industry.

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Truth, Justice and the American way

By giving the employers a tax cut for the medical benefits you provide, you give them greater incentive to self-fund, thus taking a whole lot of business away from the insurers. You see, by self-funding, you keep the cash in the business, earning interest and only disperse it is as needed. With a major medical policy backing you up, you save a butt load of money. I still pay for the expence, but I only draw on it if needed and if I never draw on it, the money I put into it stays there providing for those who do draw on it. With the gov't running things, all of that money goes to the gov't and they do thier usual mismanagement of the funds and we get less benefit from it. Under my proposal, instead of the employees paying into the fund, the employer does and deducts it from his taxes. This keeps the $$ in the hands of the people who use it and out of the hands of both the gov't and the insurers.

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Our nation has not always lived up to its ideals, yet those ideals have never ceased to guide us. They expose our flaws, and lead us to mend them. We are the beneficiaries of the work of the generations before us and it is each generation's responsibility to continue that work. - Laura Bush

Leftists and very small children don't seem to be able to understand that the Government isn't there to "fix" the economy, anymore than a tick is there to fix your dog.~Oftencold

My health insurance is deductable now. Its the cost that is out of hand. Its doubled in 9 years. I think Conrad has proposed some coop situation. How do we get the medical costs down? I mean shouldn't I be free to buy my drugs from other countries.

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Truth, Justice and the American way

If not then this isn't a true globalist economy... and we should be allowed to place large tarifs on all the chinese crap coming into this country to encourage the U.S. to start manufacturing again...

As it is you can get your meds in Canada or Mexico... just be careful on the return trip.

__________________
"Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous."
-William Proxmire



“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” - Mark Twain