Democrats play games with health care while Americans are hurting
Filed under: Health, Bankruptcy, Insurance - Health Insurance
I'm one of those 30 million people without health insurance. I don't have it, my wife doesn't have it, my daughter doesn't have it.The short version of the story goes like this. A couple of years ago, I received a note from my insurer that they were going to be tripling the monthly premium for my small business coverage. So I had no choice but to either go broke paying the new premium, or simply cancel the coverage. I canceled it.
In the meantime, I was hit by a car while cycling and fractured my T10 vertebra.
Fortunately my excellent car insurance covered the injuries 100% (still not sure how that worked, but I'll take it). Now I have a pre-existing condition. Consequently, the only insurance we can get is obscenely and prohibitively expensive -- if we qualify at all.
As you can imagine, every day is more or less a gamble. If one of us becomes sick or injured, we're screwed. Fortunately, we're in our mid-30s and in pretty good shape. But anything can happen -- a fact of life we're now acutely aware of.
So you can imagine how I felt watching Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) on the Senate floor Saturday evening complaining about how she's being pressured by voters on health care reform.
With families dropping into bankruptcy due to medical expenses every 30 seconds, and with 9/11-level casualties every month due to a lack of health insurance, Senator Lincoln stood there and lamented how various political groups on both sides were pestering her with calls and TV ads.
As soon as I heard this, I looked up from my laptop -- eyes ablaze -- and loudly invoked Livia Soprano, "Oh poor you!"
Meanwhile, Joe Lieberman and Ben Nelson are conducting an underground filibuster, delaying the process while jockeying for publicity and a little bit of Republican cred. Sorry, Senators. Republicans will attack you on health care reform no matter what.
It's laughable on its face that we're expected to have sympathy for members of Congress who are receiving Medicare or dirt cheap primary care (by the way, 18 Republican senators are on government-run Medicare), while also complaining about both government-run health care and how they're getting phone calls from people who don't want to go broke if they're injured.
Ultimately, I'm locked out of the system and at the mercy of Blanche Lincoln and the others while they play self-serving games with the issue. I'm not looking for a handout. I'm just looking for a fair deal and some security for my family. And so I'm still waiting for the Senate to take this as seriously as I do.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-24-2009 @ 9:28AM
Ivonne said...
I agree with you!
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11-24-2009 @ 9:30AM
m said...
This fight on Health Care Reform is ridiculous! Yes everyone is struggling and if you pay out of your pocket for health care insurance the price is staggering and it is tough I live it! However I am not willing to give up my private insurance for my family for what is being offered right now. I have a friends that are on State assisted Health care and it is a joke oh but the government runs it I forgot! Will it really be any different?
Does anyone remember when we were able to purchase health insurance over state lines before the government interceded? My premiums were 1/3 the price I am paying now. The insurance company did not change the rules my government did and I had to pay the higher price!
I am not sure what state you are in but you can probably get free or very cheap insurance for your child already. It is accessible and yes there is alot of paperwork that you will need to do over and over again. But it will get you practiced for what is coming if this passes.
FYI Democrats in congress take advantage of the same health care that the Republicans do. We all need to stop profiling and look at the person who is talking and what they stand for not what letter is behind the name. I try and teach my children this everyday and that is something my mother taught me.
Remember nothing is free in life, sometimes you just have to wait longer for the bill.
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11-24-2009 @ 9:42AM
Bill said...
As a small business owner who has bought my insurance myself and my family for over ten years. I can tell you to find and independant insurance agent that will find you the best rates and good coverage. I pay less now than I did 5 years ago ainly because I dont need insurance to cover pregnancies for my wife.
If they really want to reorm helth care they would open the states up and you could get health care from any company in the u.s instead of only ones that are in yor state.
And wake up people as someone who really does own a small business I have a few questions to ask yourself.
First off why did the government get rid of any cap on lawsuits against insuance copanies?
If you had a business and you know your expenses to opeate that business are going up what would you do to survive and not go broke? A pass the cost on or B go bankrupt
oh if you think that this system the way it is designed, would still give you the option to buy your own insurance you are mistaken
Let's look at it your cost of doing business goes up you pass the cost along. With the way it is designed their cost will rise exponentially which they will pass on and then in almost four years when the gov't system is coming into action the prices will have been so high from the insurance companie's because the government has lef them no choice. Which will cause even more people to not have insurance and further demonize their industry.And some of the other provissions in this bill will force people to take the government system.
READ THE BILL AND THE STIMULUS ONLY THEN WILL YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE REALLY TRYING TO DO.
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11-24-2009 @ 10:29AM
Cris said...
You have a valid issue. Unfortunately this health bill, will not help you. You will have to pay more than what private insurers charge you currently to get the "public option" and if you don't buy into one of the two you will pay a fine for not having health care. What will you do? You will end up paying a fine and still not have health care. This bill is not to help you, you are the one who will help pay for the people on medicaid who pay nothing and are set to get additional benefits. You will also likely be taxed more and therefore end up with less money. Hope you have savings and a cheap mortgage. Obama wants to help a certain minority-at your expense. After all, who do you think is going to pay?
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11-24-2009 @ 10:32AM
GAC said...
While I sympathize with your situation, health care reform in its present state is NOT the answer. American's seem to believe that they'll be getting five star coverage, when instead they'll be getting something akin to Medicare/Kaiser lite, with the added bonus of having a huge bureaucracy telling them what they deem acceptable levels of care. No, thank you.
If you are the one with the preexisting condition, why not get coverage for you wife/child? Quite frankly, all one really needs is a catastrophic plan to pay expenses for a major illness or injury. Other things (cold, flu, etc.) may seem pricey, but the cost to insure these minor aliments is typically well beyond the actual cost of care! The problem is that we American's have begun thinking we should get everything free... $5 doctor visits, $10 prescriptions. Maybe, if the money was coming out of our pocket, we'd learn to be more judicious with our health care dollars.
My hope is that at some point our elected officials will stop playing party politics and come up with some creative solutions to the problem. Why no one has looked at the Swiss model (mandated coverage for all with a subsidy to the low income to purchase through the carrier of their choice) is beyond me. To be frank, I think our politicians are playing us like a fiddle. And we seem to like it.
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11-24-2009 @ 11:59AM
Richard said...
Funny that there's so much criticism & cynicism here regarding the politicians - regardless of the party. Why not recognize the effect of the numerous * political action committees/lobbyist * that exert their enormous pressure on our representatives - mostly in favor of the large companies - to leave things as they are...?
Even though we know we've got a serious problem here in America with our health care system, we the regular citizens will continue paying for it in the end: either through stratospheric insurance or continuously higher health fees (if you risk it & go uninsured like the author, Bob) or, as most of our poor have had to do, simply neglect illnesses & injuries...!
None of these options is appealing to you I am sure & if you were to lose your job, you'd quickly be worse off... So, does some reform - imperfect as it might be - MAKE SENSE or is it just our innate fear of CHANGE taking over???
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11-24-2009 @ 1:24PM
SGM said...
We PAY our senators and congresspeople with our taxes. One of the benefits you and I pay for for them is a "cadillac" health insurance plan. If this plan they are crafting for us is so wonderful, why does any amendment that would require them to share this idiocy fail? We should demand that the first requirement of a any and all health care "options" they pass be mandatory enrollment of all Senators and Congresspeople.
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11-24-2009 @ 1:34PM
Mike said...
I sympathize no end with your situation, but the 'solutions' being proposed by congress aren't the answer, they just make a different and worse problem. Do you realize that if the present bills pass (both the house and senate have different versions) that the health care won't even go into effect until 2013? So, it's not going to help you.
Wonder why the healthcare bills don't address tort reform? Don't address buying health insurance across state lines? Do include nonsense like requiring vending machine owners to post labels regarding the nutritional stats on what is being sold in the machine? Perfect case of let's ignore the 800 lb gorilla but take care of this ant over here in the corner.
Yes, we need laws to make healhcare more affordable and more accessable, but that doesn't mean we need to throw the present system out the window. We do need the states to get OUT of the healthcare business where they dictate what employer health plans HAVE to include - get the heck out of here. Is it REALLY necessary that the employer sponsered health plan includes viagra (for men) and birth control (for women)? Hey, make that an option within the plan that someone can choose for an extra cost, but to make all of us pay for it? I don't think so, but that IS the way it is for right now.
You say you are a small business owner - I hope you are NOT a successful one, not because I don't want you to succeed, but because if you are successful the government will tax that heck out of you to pay for it's healthcare bill. The one that doesn't go into effect until 2013.
As usual, the government has turned to bribes, and back room dealings to get the health care bill done. To heck with common sense and what is really necessary, no we need to cater to politicians and special interest groups (can you say unions and SEIU).
For now, seek out the 'free' clinics in your area. Only when necessary use the emergency room. When you are waiting in line in either of these places, remember, if government health care passes, we all will get very use to waiting in lines. And vote your present congress people out of office if they are supporting the nonsense that has been presented.
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