I have not been very active in the health care debate here, nor have I been inspired to. For me, this has been an embarrassing run of political ridiculousness - the idea that citizens with guns can't be hauled off to jail during an event (as we certainly would have during our anti-war protests the past few years), the threats against our politicians, the manufactured, branded hate we are allowing the right to breed - and on our side, there doesn't seem to even be an "our side." We have neither consensus or clarity - and seem content with complaining about those shyster insurance companies, while continuing to feed them as if we don't believe what we are claiming.
It's been disappointing to say the least, and has brought me to a place of disappointed indifference to the health debate, and in the larger context, our trajectory as a nation.
But today's diary, "Morning Feature: I Fired My Health Insurance, is on to something perhaps (thanks, winterbanyan). I too "fired" the American insurance system some time ago, due to a choice whether to put food on the table or pay $400+ per month minus exhorbitant deductibles in case something happened to my physical body* (*excluding my teeth and eyes and pre-existing conditions and other limitations unknown).
While the right is fomenting hate and violence against fellow Americans, staging the scene for their concocted revolution at these town hall meetings, it turns out we can simply vote with our feet, and "fire" our insurance companies.
After all, are we fighting for health insurance, or health care? Why have we allowed the discussion to be about who administers claims, versus who gets to see a doctor? We are missing the boat, and as usual, we have allowed others to dictate the terms of the discussion. This will not do.
If all of the stories are true (I will admit to believing about 70% of them), health insurance doesn't even come close to equalling health care; horror stories about being killed by policy decisions made by United Health Care or Blue Cross/Blue Shield underscore the fact that the illusion of health care is, and has been, a sad, bilking joke on us. The question is, are we willing to believe it enough just to complain? Or is it time to acknowledge the truth of this and take back millions of our dollars every month away from these corporate con artists?
So - I submit. The insurance, here, is the "cold." The need for HEALTH CARE FOR ALL, is the fever. I simply suggest we do what most of our moms used to say in their passed down rule - starve a cold, feed a fever.