All you people falling for the corptocracy view that universal healthcare would ruin what we have (causing you to have poor healthcare), you must be so far gone that you, yourself, are in urgent need of mental healthcare (either that or you are so wealthy or never had a health issue, which just makes you a callous asshole). Surely you understand that some of the best run “socialized” organizations are government funded (and run). And that we are already funding most of American’s health through some kind of tax payer funded system.
So many people believe that the vast amount of people in America are covered through employee based systems, but the numbers don’t jive and when you break it down the way Sara Robinson does in her Campaign for America’s Future article entitled, “Goverment-Funded Health Care? We’re Already Two-Thirds There“, you see that in reality, we already have government funded health insurance for 2/3′s of Americans.
32%
The percentage of Americans who receive employer-based insurance.
68%
The percentage of Americans who already receive some form of publicly supported health care; 43 percent directly; 25 percent indirectly because they are uninsured and thus the cost of their care is subsidized.
Sara then goes on to break it down:
This is the kind of fact that most of us know in our bones has to be true somehow. But it turns out there’s no “maybe” about it. Let’s look at the numbers.
The Fortunate 43 Percent: The Ones We Cover Directly
About 43 percent of all Americans are already getting health care that’s directly paid for, one way or another, by some level of government. Here’s the breakdown:
32 million government employees and contractors—This group includes 2.7 million federal employees; and 19.3 million state, county, and municipal workers. That’s a grand total of 22 million workers who are getting health insurance—usually from privately-contracted insurers—that’s been paid for by taxpayers.
In addition, there are an estimated 10 million+ full-time federal contract workers. They’re getting their insurance from their own employers; but since these are government contracts, we’re still paying their bills in the end.
(Note, however, that this 32 million figure doesn’t include these workers’ dependents. I made the conservative assumption that most government employees pay an extra out-of-pocket premium for dependent coverage. To the extent that that assumption is wrong, we may also be covering at least some of these workers’ spouses and kids.)
58 million recipients of Medicare, Medicaid, and state health care plans – This includes 47 million Medicare/Medicaid recipients and 11 million mothers and children covered by SCHIP programs.
27.4 million active duty military, reservists, and veterans, plus dependents—This breaks down into 1.4 million active duty troops being served by the military system; and .8 million reservists and 23.6 million veterans who are qualfied to receive care through the VA.
Active duty service members also get free coverage for their dependents. Assuming a ratio of one dependent per active duty service member, that adds another 700,000 Americans getting their care from military doctors.
3 million miscellaneous—This includes 2.3 million Americans in county, state, and federal prisons; 200,000 whose insurance is subsidized by state high-risk pools; and 400,000 Native Americans whose care is provided through tribal health services subsidized by some combination of their own tribal governments and the federal government.
TOTAL: This adds up to about 120,200,000 Americans whose health care coverage is directly paid for by the government. I’m sure there were pockets that were missed by this accounting, and I encourage readers to write and tell me about thtme.
I should now interject (read the entire article breakdown there) and explain that when someone says, “Government funded” that means YOUR MONEY! You know that, right?
Then, when you add those that are uninsured (like I am about to be), then it will be YOUR MONEY that helps pay for my burden on the scam system. The very best way to control costs is to cut out that bloated blood sucker, health insurance companies. They make it far more expensive and far less effective than many other places in the world.
Thirty-two percent. If private employer-based insurance plans aren’t even serving a third of the country any more, why on earth should Congress put the least bit of time or money into preserving them? And as long as so many of us now depend on this broad patchwork of federal, state, local, single-payer, socialized, private-insurer based plans—all paid for, one way or another, with our tax dollars—how much money could we save by simply putting everyone on Medicare, and calling it good?
Sixty-eight percent. Government-funded care is already working well for 43 percent of us, and could be working far better (on much less money) for the other 25 percent.
We are only propping up a blood-sucking leech of a system by keeping health insurance (in any form of the healthcare system) in this country. Cut them off and do this right. (I’m talkig to you, Marsha Blackburn and all the rest of you supposeded “representatives”).
I plan to document my family’s slow death spiral because of it (including the latest story of my mother-in-law who has been in the ER and shipped 1.5 hours to Memphis 3 times in the last month). And yet without a diagnosis. My family drove over 5,000 miles last year for doctor’s visits because you cannot get the care closer. I spent $23,940 last year (and I haven’t figured in the gas or the mileage).
It is a money-making scheme more than any desire or “oath” to help people get well (and run as imbecilic as humanly possible as well). My entire history in healthcare has been a huge cluster f#ck with one sole exception, Dr Richard David at Vanderbilt Hospital.
47 years of healthcare and one good example. Yeah, we have the good shit here, right… dumbass.
Let Bill Maher speak for me and explain how nice it would be to actually have some sort of competent “socialized” agency working healthcare, say like firefighters or policemen or dare we say it, even the post office.
The general American attitude about health care makes me crazy. Do we really think that what we have now is working?
Posted by Lisa | March 13, 2009, 1:52 pmFinally, the time has arrived to fix Americas Healthcare crisis, and Americas healthcare knightmare. Hundreds of thousands of you are killed needlessly every year by your healthcare delivery system in a rush to profit. And because of a rush to profit Hundreds of thousands more of you are needlessly dying from treatable illness that people in other developed and civilized countries don’t DIE! from. Rich, middle class, and poor alike. Insured, and uninsured. Men, women, children, and babies.
Additionally, thousands more of you are driven into financial ruin, and bankruptcy just because you, or one of your loved ones got sick or injured. And all of this is happening at a time when America spends twice as much of it’s GDP (Gross Domestic Productivity) on health care than any other country in the developed world. Individual Americans spend about ten times as much on health care as any other people in the developed world. This is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY. AND IT MUST END!
But before we can truly fix this healthcare crisis and disgrace, everyone needs to clearly understand what the problem is. And everyone needs to clearly understand the real enormity of the problem. The problem is that HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAL DELIVERY IN AMERICA IS SEVERELY CORRUPTED AND COMPROMISED BY GREED! AND THE PRIVATE FOR PROFIT MOTIVE. And it is corrupted, and compromised IN EVERY ASPECT, AND EVERY PLACE OF HEALTHCARE AND MEDICAL DELIVERY. Unfortunately for all Americans, compromised healthcare ALWAYS results in needless suffering, injury, disability, and or death. Which is exactly what is happening now in America in shocking numbers.
Health care is NOT! a private for profit business. Healthcare is an essential public service. Like police, and fire. And healthcare is also a human right! PRIVATE FOR PROFIT HEALTHCARE IS AN OXYMORON, AND AN IMMORAL AND UNETHICAL PERVERSION OF HEALTHCARE AND HUMAN RIGHTS.
So how do we fix this healthcare disgrace? I believe the fix for Americas healthcare disaster is essentially the same thing that every other developed country in the World has essentially done. “NOT FOR PROFIT, TAX PAYER SUPPORTED, SINGLE PAYER, AUTOMATIC, FREE UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE FOR ALL. Essentially HR676 (enhanced, and expanded medicare for all). Just like every other CIVILIZED! country in the developed World has. There is no other way to truly fix and reform our current disastrous healthcare delivery system.
All Universal health care systems work best when everyone participates. But I know that the healthcare lobby, and some politicians will try and undermine “Not For Profit, Tax payer supported, Single payer, Automatic, Free Universal Healthcare for all” by falsely claiming that it will limit your choice, and require you to participate.
So, I propose that everyone be included in the national plan unless they choose to opt out. If you opt out and need medical care the national plan will insure your provider that they will be reimbursed under the rules for members in the national plan. But those who opted out, and their insurer will be responsible for the FULL! cost to the national plan for providing your care if you or your private insurer fails to reimburse the provider or the national plan in a timely manor to at least the standards of the national plan.
Including reporting you to credit agencies, withholding of taxes, leans, and garnishment of wages for unpaid medical bills. Just like you have now under private for profit healthcare, and private for profit health insurance.
Further, people who opted out will be required to provide proof of financial responsibility for future illness or be required to participate in the national plan. And everyone with children will be required to participate in the national plan. Or provide proof of insurance coverage on each child to the standards of the national plan. It will be against the law to report anyone in the national plan to a credit agency for unpaid medical bills.
Frankly, only a dope would want to opt out of the national plan and opt to keep our current disastrous private for profit medical, and insurance plans. But they will be free to choose. The most important thing is that the vast majority of Americans that want the protection, benefits, and higher quality of a universal national plan have that choice.
You see, one of the most important aspects of a universal healthcare system is easy access, and patient protection. This is accomplished by having a single payer without a conflict of interest in patient care. And by having a payer who has the power to enforce minimum standards of excellence in healthcare delivery for everyone in the plan. This is much of what Medicare does now for senors. “Aeger Primo” (The patient first). Unfortunately in our healthcare system the patient comes last. We are just a peace of meat to them. Cash cows to be slaughtered for profit.
So this is IT! my fellow Americans, My fellow human beings, My fellow World Citizens. And my fellow Cyber Warriors.
The time has come. D day. H hour. HEALTHCARE REFORM THIS YEAR! Let no one stand in our way. Contact your representative and tell them you want “Not For Profit, Tax Payer Supported, Single Payer, Automatic, Free Universal healthcare for all. And tell them you want that choice now. Tell them you want President Obama’s budget passed as is, without delay. President Obama’s budget is brilliant. And exactly what is needed now.
President Obama, and his allies will need all the support you can give them. The healthcare lobby will try to take out his people if they can, like they did with Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer. And they will try to neutralize President Obama’s popularity, and political power. Or they will try to take him down someway. Don’t stand for it. If they attack him. Go after them ten times harder and remove them from office. We had an election. And you the people chose President Obama’s leadership, and change agenda. Let no one in government disrespect the will of the American people and remain in office.
To President Obama, his Cabinet, the Congress of the United States, and the Supreme Court. I have noticed for some time a disturbing tendency for key members of your bodies to come down with illness, or medical problems at critical legislative times. This may just be coincidence. But I can tell you that there are a million subtle ways to medically injure someone just by doing nothing when something needs to be done. Or by doing things to someone when nothing needs to be done except to give them reassurance. I know for a fact that there are those that would have no qualms about hurting any of you to preserve our current disgraceful medical status quo.
So, I recommend as a matter of national security that you enlist the help of a friendly power to regularly review, and oversee the medical care you receive from your local regular healthcare providers. Briton, France and many other countries have excellent medical providers. As well as Canada. Briton, and Canada may be less of a language barrier for Americans.
Let’s get this healthcare reform done now my fellow Americans. This year. Take no prisoners.
God Bless All Of You
Jack Smith — Working Class
http://jacksmithworkingclass.blogspot.com/
(http://jacksmithworkingclass.blogspot.com/)
Posted by jacksmith | March 13, 2009, 6:02 pm