I can not understand why the national conversation about health care does not begin and end with the irrationality of our health care being provided by a for-profit industry whose profits depend upon them not providing it.
I don't blame the insurance companies so much. I don’t think they hold any personal animus toward people who need health care. They're just acting like any for-profit company should act: Take in the money (premiums), hold down costs (by not paying out benefits) and maximize profits for your shareholders. That's what they're supposed to do. Can you imagine the Chairman of CIGNA or Blue Cross/Blue Shield or Kaiser standing up at a shareholders' meeting and saying, "We have a new philosophy going forward: We will not deny or delay the delivery of health care benefits to anyone for any reason. This of course will have an impact on profitability, but we want to meet our responsibilities to our customers."? There's a fellow who would soon be dusting off his resume'.
The fault of the plans now floating around out there is this: Any health care plan involving private insurance companies in any way will never yield a different outcome. Their interests directly conflict with ours!
I believe any National Health Care plan should be premised on the following:
- No one should hear "no" for any reason when they need health care;
- We, all of us (via the government), are the only entity with the resources needed to ensure that all of us will receive the health care which is an entitlement in almost any other advanced society-and we won’t need to divert any of those resources to profits. And most of us are willing to pay the small amount of tax increase (if any, in the end, are necessary) to do it.
I also believe that what we'll save by not paying insurance premiums will more than cover any increase in taxes for individuals and businesses alike. And think of the businesses, large and small, that will be able to employ more people at higher pay, because they no longer pay murderous insurance premiums.
There is so much money going to the insurance industry in the name of health care that could be used elsewhere; why the hell are we giving money to those guys anyway? They're not providers, they're payers. In this 'cash-and-carry' health care system we have now, they are the most necessary of all evils. And yet, their job is to keep the money and give it to the shareholders and executives as bonuses! For God's sake, get them out of the loop!
- Health Care Providers should be making our health care decisions with us, and they should be paid well for it. Doctors shouldn’t have to even think about ordering marginally necessary services to make extra money-they should be paid enough money in the first place (...what your average insurance company executive makes, perhaps?...).
A public option is a start, but it is not and cannot be the end game.
It is like putting that little ‘donut’ on your car where you had a flat tire; it will take you to where you need to go to get the problem permanently fixed.
But as long as there is one party in the health care system whose interests directly conflict with ours, we will not attain a permanent solution to the problem.
Oh-and the next time your kids ask you what a lobbyist does, tell them this:
If you have a lobbyist you can
- Sell a product (insurance) that
- a lot of the time doesn’t do (insure) what your customers paid for it to do, and
- almost all of the time you’ll get to decide how much product your customers get, no matter what they paid you, and
- You can get the government to pass a law that says everyone has to buy it!
Holy Shit!! Where can I get me one of those lobbyists, Boys?
I’m just sayin’......