I think I am more informed than the average American, due to the fact that I am disabled and all I do all day is watch TV mostly news on MSNBC but occasionally CNN, and by reading many papers from the NY Times, Washington Post, The Seattle Times, the LA Times, The Atlanta Journal Constitution The State among the most often read papers.
So I don't think there is a lot I have missed, the 300 million dollar Lousiana Purchase of November 2009, the Joe Lieberman "I was for Medicare/Medicaid in September 2009, before I threatened to kill HCR, over including it in December 2009" should we have a public option, should the public option be killed? How does all of this affect the average American family?
It comes down to who are you getting your news from on what you think about it, or even what you are hearing about it. If you will notice I have not even bothered to include any of the Faux news shows, or any of their talking heads, just thinking about them has the tendency to make my head explode, not a pretty sight, trust me.
I have really led a sheltered life when it comes to health care, during my childhood my father, worked for General Motors in Lansing Michigan, so we had some of the best health care available, Blue Cross of Michigan. My parents divorced in 1971, and my mother was working for the US Post Office, again we were covered thru Blue Cross of California.
Then in 1973 I joined the US Army, they covered everything, when I got married, they covered my wife, then the births of my children. No problems ever, no co-pays perfect utopia. Then when I left the Army in 1982 I was employed by a air craft parts maker named Rohr Industries, in Riverside California, I had Kaiser Permanente family coverage, one of the best plans available in Southern California. In 1984 I was hired by the US Postal Service as a letter Carrier, I kept my Kaiser health care and got an even better deal thru the Postal Service as they paid more of the costs than Rohr had. Most people don't know this but Postal employees due to the union contracts they won back in the 70s, they have the best deal for health care in the Federal Employees Health Plans, members of Congress are allowed to use the same rates Postal Service employees pay, which is cheaper than any other government employees.
So when I hear people complaining about the great coverage Congressmen and Senators and their staffs get, I have to chuckle, if they only knew the whole truth. They get the best deals due to the Postal Service employee unions negotiating them, they just get to jump on our bandwagon.
Then life hit me, my mental health spiraled out of control after many heart attacks, the stroke in 1992 after I came home from Gulf War One. I left the Postal Service due to stress in May 2000. Other problems divorces, open heart surgery, that failed etc, by October 2002 I was no longer covered by any health insurance and not employed, but due to my military service, I could go to the Veterans Administration and due to being category 8, income below the poverty level, they would treat me, with minimal co-pays. I had extensive medical problems and it was determined over time that my mental health problems (PTSD) and Coronary Artery Disease and hypertension were Service connected and the VA would provide health care for me, and a program for veterans would cover my wife and kids called CHAMPVA, they pay 80%, and we pay 20%, a good plan. If my wife orders the meds thru their mail pharmacy then there is no fee, but if she goes to a local drug store she pays 25% on the spot. Still not bad.
So we will NOT be affected by whatever Congress decides to do on health care reform, but I have children and grand kids that will be affected by Congress's decision. So I try to pay attention, so I can have a rational discussion on what is being done.
Right now, from what I see a great idea has been turned into a government mandate that requires all Americans to buy health insurance from insurance companies at prices set by them, with no other options other than which company you choose to become indentured to. If you do not buy the coverage for yourself and your family, you will be fined. Yet no one is telling us what the fines will be and how often they will be assessed, and if we chose not to pay the fine, how long will we go to jail for, will it be a misdemeanor or a felony charge?
How is this going to drive down the cost of health insurance? How will this reduce the price of medications? Will Americans that go to Canada or Mexico to get prescriptions filled, be arrested or have their medications confiscated?
I have listened, and I do NOT see any reform, all I see is Americans becoming indentured servants of Insurance companies, or am I wrong about this?