I'm posting something I wrote last night and shared with my family and friends on facebook. I wrote it because there are members of my family who do drink the FOX news kool-aid and seem to repeat a few of the right-wing talking points. And personally, I don't know how to deal with it because family is family, I don't want to upset the balance of things, but don't like to sit on the sidelines letting them be misinformed (and that is from my point of view, they'd same the same about me I guess).
Anyhow, below the flip is my posting which I'd like to share with you all here.
I'm writing this because I've posted a lot of stuff that has been clearly pro-health care reform and wanted to say why I'm for it and my opinions of those I see at various meeting that are against it. I'm doing this because I want to better understand why some are so against it and share with you why I'm for it. My intentions are not to offend anyone, and I apologize if by some way I do .. politics and friends/family sometimes make an explosive combination.
My opinions here are certainly biased. They are biased by my experiences, where my life is today and where I see it going in the future. I by no means have a crystal ball, so I draw conclusions based on facts and statistics. I find myself in a strange position today. In about 2 weeks my job ends and I have yet to find something else (and it is pretty stressful to be in this situation, and I feel somewhat isolated in my position). Luckily, I'm in good health .. but wonder what would I do if I weren't? I contacted the HR of my company to ask about COBRA. This would continue to cover my family and I under the same very nice health insurance plan we've enjoyed for the last 2 years .. at the small cost of $1161/month. And then add an extra $100/month for dental and vision. That would mean we'd be paying more for health insurance per month than our mortgage!! And I'm not living in the doctor's office! For comparison, the cost of Emmett from conception to birth was $200, and that was onlyA for the hospital room. nd for the record, we used a midwife, something not all plans would cover. So I have to ask myself, if we can't afford COBRA, how can many other people do it? The answer for many, sadly, is that they don't. They go out there on the street, uninsured. Or maybe they have a crappy plan with high deductibles which they might not be able to pay. So what happens when Joe-the-heart-attack-victim has a heart attack? He gets help. Paramedics and doctors don't ask if he wants it, he just gets it. And then he gets a bill. And when he can't pay for it, we all do via our premiums. So I guess we already live in a socialist system. So to me, all these claims of socialism just fly out the window .. we already live in that system.
I guess I should be straight up here and say that I see health care as a human right, not a privilege. Each time I hear a story of someone being denied coverage or being slapped with very high costs because of a preexisting condition, it makes my stomach turn. Why? I'd like to think that if anything, that my catholic school upbringing taught me to be sensitive of others and when someone needs help, you help them (i.e. The Golden Rule: Do unto others as others would do unto you). I might say that I'm lucky that of my 180+ friends/family I have here, I only can think of 4 who had or have cancer, but unfortunately for 1, after treatment ended, his job was terminated. And as many probably know, even after treatment ends, there are still many follow-up tests to make sure it doesn't return. Imagine what the bills would be if you didn't have insurance and realize that some live like this and have to choose between heat for the winter, or gambling with your life.
I also know that this reform does not mean the current system is going away. I don't know how many times I've got to hear President Obama say, "If you like your insurance, you can keep it." There is just going to be another plan to pick from. And this other plan will mean more competition for health insurance companies and prices will be competitive. In the past few years, as prices have increased rapidly, the CEOs of the health insurance companies have made a lot of money (billions!) at the expense of sick people. Maybe I'm being naive when I say that I have a hard time thinking of someone in government that would be making that money if there was a government plan .. does the post master general make billions for delivering the mail? Nope. So if government could give people the same product, but cheaper, then it will be a very competitive product. Prices for all should decrease, or at least stop increasing. And wouldn't that be a good thing?
When I see those people in town hall meetings who are so very upset, and they shout so loudly that a civil conversation can not be made, no one wins. There is no discussion and people do not get the answers they so very want. And while I understand they are upset, I also see they have been fueled with misinformation. This misinformation directly upsets those who are so very anti-government that they hate social security, they don't pay their taxes (because hey see it as illegal according to the constitution), they also seriously think Obama wasn't born in Hawaii and strangely enough, it would seem they don't have health insurance (I'm saying this based on a few interviews I've seen and heard). These are also the same people calling Obama a Nazi. My point is that these people live in a reality which is so hyperbolic to the truth, that I wouldn't know how to deal with someone like that. But fear and anger spreads, trickling down to others and all the while more falsehoods get made up and thrown around, like the so called death panels.
When people at the town halls chant "Read The Bill" I have to seriously ask .. which one? There are at least 5 versions out there from various different committees. Have all of those people read "the bill?" No, I doubt it. But maybe a few have. I've seen a few sections of it, and it isn't the simplest thing to understand because it is in legalese (double and triple negatives), and unless the person who read it is a lawyer or someone familiar with such documents, I would doubt their interpretation of it. It is going to be months before there is one bill to read. When congress gets back next month, the House and the Senate will argue to make one bill for each house. One will be passed in the house, another will be passed in the senate. Then they will go to conference to get the bills to match. Then it will go to the President to sign.
Finally, I'll say that these people don't seem to be too well informed. I believe it was at a town hall in Austin, TX (but I could be wrong, the reports I read do start to sound a like after a while) when the people were asked if they want government health care, they all say no. When asked if they uses medicare, they all said yes. Do they not understand medicare is run by the government? From what I understand people generally like medicare. So is it that those people in that room were the ones who didn't like it? Odds are against that. More likely they are misinformed and they are angry at what they see as the truth.
I'm sure there will be other things I'll think of later and maybe I'll add them.