If you don't what this website is all about, it is basically the same talking points that you have been hearing about at these town hall meetings/shoutings. The stuff that just blows your mind when you hear these people shouting about "socialism" and "Obamacare". Except they promote this agenda and ask their readers to go to these town hall events and make a ruckus to the Democratic representatives and Senators. While we have not heard anything from the Republicans of their own alternative to what the House and Senate committees have drafted so far, the website attempts to come up with their own alternative to what Obama and the Democratic leadership are proposing. What you find out after reading their proposal is that it is not real healthcare reform. Not even close at all.
If you go to their website, you will find what they call the "Sons of Liberty Healthcare Proposal". Here is a list of the following things they would put in their own version of healthcare reform:
1.) REMOVE regulations on health care sales so insurance companies must compete for your dollars.
So deregulating health care sales will cause competition for the insurance companies? Are you kidding me? There is currently little competition with the amount of regulation as it is, so letting the insurance companies do whatever they want is going to increase competition? I don't get this at all. You can't call it "reform" if the insurance companies are held accountable for what they have done (refusing to pay claims for "pre-existing conditions", increasing premiums by whatever amount they can, and rake in huge profits to their CEOs and shareholders). More regulation is needed, not less.
2.) Let people save more money pre-tax into Health Savings Accounts (HSA).
I have a HSA plan from my work and I don't see how "great" it is to have one. You still have co-pays, deductibles, and out of pocket expenses. What is weird about my HSA is that they gave me a "debit card" to use whenever I need to use it. But I have to carry two cards, one for my insurance and the other for my HSA. It really doesn't matter how much money you may have in your HSA if the costs keep going up. Once again, not real reform.
3.) Allow the HSA to apply to all family members, even friends, so people can pool their saved money to help out a relative or dear friend in need.
Sure, that may sound great, yet there is one problem. With a public option or single payer system, you wouldn't need the HSA to apply to all family members or friends. They would be covered without the need to "pool money together".
4.) Allow HSA’s to be passed along tax-free to family members when a person dies. Then the hard work of a family is not lost, and families are encouraged to stick together.
Once again, it first sounds great, but with a public option or single payer system, you wouldn't need to "rollover" HSA funds. Sure it would be great to keep the HSA tax-free to family members in the next generation. But how much is it worth when healthcare costs keep going up? What may seem to be alot of money today may seem like pennies tomorrow.
5.) Train more nurse practitioners. They bill at a cheaper rate than doctors, even though doctors will NEVER let these (mostly) women take on too much responsibility.
Okay, may make sense. However, it will take a bit of time for that to happen. And like I have said before, with a public option or single payer system, you would not need to train as many nurse practitioners because to cut costs.
6.) Encourage Wal-Mart, Costco and other big low-price outlets to partner with pharmaceutical companies to deliver cheaper medications. Let’s figure out what the, say, top 50 or 100 medications are, the ones most needed by old folks and the chronically ill, and make a push to drive down the cost of those medications. Hey, nothing’s for free, people. But maybe we can find a way to drive down the costs on the most-needed medications.
Ok, let me take some time to laugh. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Are you kidding me? There is no way Wal-Mart and Costco would volunteer to deliver cheaper medications. Sure, you could try to cut costs for the top 50 or 100 medications. But what if you or a family member needs a prescription that is not on that list? Well, you would be out of luck and have to pay full price for that medication.
7.) Tort reform. Make it harder for ambulance-chasing scum lawyers to bilk the insurance companies over phony claims. Make them pay a price if they lose a case.
Oh gosh, here we go again with an issue that gets brought by conservative Republicans. Is the current system perfect? No, but I don't think we can just stereotype lawyers as evil and deceiving. Are there phony claims? Yes, but that is same case as in any another type of insurance. Instead of punishing lawyers, there should be accountability for each person who makes a claim to make sure the claim isn't phony. And, if it is real, then the patient should be able to sue the doctor who performed the medical procedure.
8.) Encourage doctors to treat indigent or low-income patients by giving the doctor a tax credit for every such patient he or she treats. If the doctor sees an economic incentive, he’ll book the extra hours.
Another "pie in the sky" idea. Just give doctors tax breaks for each indigent or low-income patient. First off, is that all this group can come up with? Tax cuts? Most doctors make enough money as it is, so giving them tax breaks will motivate the doctor to work longer hours? Shouldn't the point of being a doctor be about healing the sick, not how much $$$ they can make?
9.) Encourage private insurance alliances with big retailers to provide relatively affordable health insurance, but with very high deductibles (as an independent, this is what I have, so I pay for most of my own medical care out of my pocket, but the insurance company will negotiate prices if I have a catastrophe).
Once again, with a public option or single payer system, there would not be a need for private insurance to ally with big retailers. Things be "business as usual" if this was to happen. The insurance companies would still be able to "jack up" the premiums if they wanted to. There would be no accountability at all.
10.) Make out-of-pocket medical expenses fully or partially tax-deductible. Perhaps we set a limit, like anything OVER $5000 or $10,000 can be partially tax-deductible. That way, there’s incentive for people NOT to abuse the medical system with frivolous indulgences, but if the $%&^ really hits the fan, part of the blow can be absorbed via tax deductions.
May sound great, but once again, a public option or single payer system would make it less likely that out of pocket expenses would be of the $5000-10000 variety. And besides, what "frivolous indulgences" would that be? Maybe plastic surgery?
As you can see from the list of 10 things, the WethePeople.org healthcare proposal is not real reform at all. It would make things worse than they are right now. The private insurance companies would still have their way. The pharmaceutical companies will continue to profit at the expense of seniors and younger folks. Sure, your privacy would be secured, but at what cost to you in terms of security? The competition would not be there, because of no accountability. And this is a plan to counter the "socialist, government run Obamacare"? Doesn't make sense to me.