I do not like this at all. Who made elected officials so omnipotent that they should blatantly decide whether or not any citizen that they represent wants those officials to remove the possibility of a public option in health care.
Well, that seems to be one of the options being discussed. There is that darned word ‘options’ again. It sounds like politicians want to exercise their options to prohibit me from exercising my options. Maybe I’m missing something in this but something just doesn’t seem right.
I have no problem with the voters of a state deciding whether or not they wish to have a public health care option available to them. I have a great deal of problem with elected officials making that decision for me or any other citizen.
If the put the public option in and leave the opportunity for states to opt out, that should require a referendum by the public. The VOTERS should be the ones to decide, not elected officials who may or may not be tempted to make a choice based upon pressure from big interest groups.
In fact, since some elected officials seem to be so sure that the American people do not want a public option, maybe it should just be put on a national ballot and simply let people decide.
Some of these arguments against a public OPTION are so stupid that I find it embarrassing to think that the rest of the world is seeing this kind of discussion. Here’s some of the points I feel are important:
- If elected officials are so sure American’s do not want this, why not simply let the option go through, and the failure of people to choose that option will prove their argument?
- If we can trust insurance companies to do the right thing and police themselves, why did this ever come up as an issue? How did we get to this point?
- What is the big idea of trying to stop an OPTION when the Declaration of Independence clearly supports “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.
- Add to #3 that the first line of the Virginia Declaration of Rights reads “That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
There are some central themes here that tell me that it is citizens who should make the choice, not elected officials. Elected officials cannot be expected to get out to talk to every single citizen to ascertain what citizens want. Perhaps, a hundred or more years ago, that would have been possible, but not with today’s populations. In order for elected officials to do their jobs properly, they need to remember that it is simple things like: “freedom” which includes the RIGHT TO CHOOSE; “life” which means to be alive (something that health care seems to be pretty much directly related to); and, happiness (i.e., free from what worries and fears that one can be free of) which seems to be directly related to being healthy, being restored to a state of health, or, at least, being as comfortable as possible with whatever state of ill health with which a person has to live.
Another thing or two elected officials need to remember arethat lies, deception, and misdirection eventually come back to haunt you. We as citizens will watch, we will remember, and we will get out and vote! Just give us the truth and let us make our decisions about our lives. Do not be so out of touch with those you represent that you miss seeing and listening to those for whom the existing health care options are simply NOT financially feasible. We have far too many people in this country who cannot afford to eat, pay for housing, buy clothes, or buy Christmas presents for their children. For those people, being able to come up with the money to provide decent health care in the existing forms available is not an option .
We, as a country as only as strong as the “least among us”. People who cannot afford health care are not asking for money for enhancing body parts, unnecessary plastic surgery, or other such things. The issue is simply basic health care.
It is a crying shame when a country provides Viagra through Medicare, but the woman with an unplanned pregnancy and no insurance could look at being financially devastated, possibly even end up losing custody of any other children she has simply because there was no health care option. If you are against abortion, then think about how the public option could help in cases such as this.
Don’t bother telling me that stuff like that doesn’t happen. I saw it when I was a child abuse investigator. Families devastated by medical bills that ended up unable to provide adequately for their children. I’ve seen children removed from homes and placed in foster care or with other relatives simply because parents could not afford to pay medical bills. I’ve seen families thrust into abject poverty trying to cover those bills, unable to feed and clothe their families DESPITE working one or more jobs where the person working could not afford the family plan. I’ve seen the loss of pride and dignity as people who have worked hard to provide for their children suddenly had their lives crash around them. I’ve seen people resort to illegal activities as a last resort to try to pay those bills and provide for their families.
Come on, all you elected officials, give us a chance to make our own choices. This has gone on for far to long. It is time to quit talking and start doing!
CAMBRIA DEPOT MUSEUM
It is unfortunate that the country’s leaders are taking it upon themselves to decide whether the public option should exist in health reform, but given that the political system requires no more involvement than voting for a horse every few years, it is not surprising that the politicians have free reign in deciding what our options are.
We cannot expect politicians to do what we want unless we are constantly voicing our opinions as loudly as we can. We simply give them too much freedom and are too often wooed by their speech writers than by their policy details.
Opting Out
I listened to the debate between our two candidates for governor and ended up turning off the debate because I was disgusted by Mr. Deeds comment about the public option. While I may or may not agree with the public option, I should have a right to vote on whether or not the state opts in or opts out. No offense to public officials (in both parties), but I really don’t trust you all to vote the interests of your constituents, especially when corporations are funding your campaigns. Personally, I think the folks up in DC should put in a provision to opt out, but require a public referendum to do so. Put it on the ballot and find out what people actually think.
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The “public option” is not an option. We will be in either a free market health care plan or a government controlled plan, period. There is strong evidence that as proposed, if a state opts out the citizens of that state will still be responsible for the funding of states that opt in. States will ultimately have no choice, but to get in to recoup some of the costs they will be forced to contribute. Please understand that this no longer has ANYTHING to do with managing health care costs and everything to do with the power of the federal government. Regardless of party affiliation, if you believe government can efficiently and cost effectively manage and administer 1/5% of the US economy, you are smoking something. They have absolutely ZERO track record of administrative or cost efficiency, much less both. This will cost tax payers greatly and will result in signicant decreases in the quality of currently covered Americans (80%) healthcare. There are better ways to truly address costs and coverage of those that need it. Let’s all pull our heads out of the sand, reprioritze and restate the true goals of healthcare reform and start over. This is too important.
I also need to reply to your four points above.
1. I like this approach if you are talking about a national vote. Let’s do put the public option to a national vote. If 80% are currently covered and relatively happy with that coverage, the public option crowd will get trounced. Why? Because those of us that have healthcare are staring at higher taxes, higher premiums, and less adequate care. Not to mention the inevitable declining spend in innovation, if a public option is passed. If you are referring to putting the public option in a seeing if it works, I don’t want to pay for the experiment financially or with long lines and inferior care. THE PUBLIC OPTION AND/OR HEALTHCARE REFORM AS BEING PROPOSED HAS TO BE PAID FOR BY THE TAXPAYER. OUR GOVERNMENT DOES NOT EARN 1 DIME. THEY TAKE THEIR MONEY FROM INDUSTRY AND THE TAX PAYER, NEED I REMIND YOU. MANY OF US HAVE NO MORE CASH TO GIVE TO GOVERNMENTAL EXPERIMENTS. GOVERNMENT REVENUE GROWS WHEN THE TAX BASE IS HEALTHY, NOT WHEN WASHINGTON IS KIILING WITH INDUSTRY AND THE TAX PAYING INDIVIDUALS WITH HUGE DEFICITS AND TAX INCREASES.
2. I am not pleased or proud of the job the insurance companies have been doing. But next to banking, do you know of an industry that is, or has been, more heavily regulated by the federal government. All that brilliant regulation has led to skyrocketing costs and little competition in the states the insurance companies are allowed to set up shop and practice. This is crazy. Start by reviewing and creating smart legislation that provides an appropriately competitive environment across the country and still protects consumers from unfair practices, such as dropping insured or refusing appropriate treatments.
3. The “pursuit of life, liberty, and hapiness”. This entitles citizens the right to get off their asses, get educated, and get a job or career. If you are a legal citizen, nobody is denying you these rights. If you are mentally or physcially disabled, as a compassionate people, we should help you out. If you are lazy, believe work is beneath you, and would prefer to have your families live off the system generation after generation, you have earned nothing material or monetary required to be provided by other citizens who have pursued their inalienable rights. Healthcare is earned, just as a home, a car, a cell phone, a vacation. There is no depravation of rights to pursue prosperity, enjoyment of life, or individual liberties within the law in the system today, just people with differing priorities in the lives. Prioritze wisely.
All this being said, reform is necessary, but it has to be smart and focused on the real “cost” side of the problem. Doctor’s fees and Insurance company profits are not the major culprits in the crisis. Fraud, legislative limits on competition, and malpractice law are. Fix these first!!!
We will have to agree to disagree on this one. Why let people get sick and or die while waiting to ‘fix’ the issues you’re talking about. If you look at the data, you are right that those who have no source of income are likely to have health care. The mass of people who do not have it are the ones that work but can’t afford it! Not all companies provide health care. Each state has laws that sets restrictions on what/who is covered. Simply moving to another state because of your job could leave you without insurance. There are more loopholes for insurance companies than there are holes in a rat infested swiss cheese factory. Regulating insurance? Since when? They have been allowed to run rampant for decades. The original concept of Insurance was non-profit. Each insurance company has its own forms to fill out and clinics and hospitals are spending huge amounts of money, needlessly, to process a lot of information that isn’t even necessary.
Do you think all of that information about family history, personal medical history, lifestyle, etc. are to treat your cold. Heck no, they are stored away in data banks. Those data banks are mined so that they can decide what rates to charge what people … often based on nothing more than race, sex, and ethnicity.
I’m betting that if it comes to a vote, we’ll cancel each other out:)
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