I just got finished watching the video clip of Markos on Meet The Press and am disappointed with his stance on this issue. His basic message was that the only thing the Obama administration has achieved is that healthcare will become a right instead of a privilege. Now, I generally agree with Markos on most issues and I do appreciate this website. However, if he thinks that voting against this bill is a good idea, I have to speak up.
For starters, let's be clear that we don't know exactly what will be in the final bill that Obama signs. For that matter, at this point we can't even be 100% certain that there will be something for Obama to sign. But, assuming a bill passes through reconciliation, we have a general idea of what that bill will look like. And based on that, I want to tell Markos and all the other people out there whom do not support this bill why they are dead wrong.
More after the fold...
"Now, what is important about this is that it actually puts the federal government, puts America on the place to say health care is a right, it’s not a privilege to just those who are—who can afford it or who are lucky enough to have a good job that has good benefits. But as far as reform goes, I think this is a long battle that we have ahead of us."
-Markos
Let's begin with the one thing that Markos acknowledges this bill will accomplish. This bill will make healthcare a right, not a privilege. This was thrown out there as if it were some trivial point. This is not a trivial point. This is a MAJOR part of what was wrong with the American healthcare system. To demonstrate just how important this is, let's make some comparisons with our other rights as Americans:
- The right to vote.
- The right to free speech.
- The right to an attorney.
- The right to habeus corpus.
And, when the final bill passes, we can add "The right to healthcare" to the list. Is there anyone that feels the right to healthcare isn't just as important as any of those other rights? If you're sick and desperately need healthcare, I'd be willing to bet that you'd trade ALL the other rights on that list in order to get the healthcare you need. So, putting this in it's proper perspective, this bill will constitute a MAJOR victory for the American people. It gives us a right we've never had before. That fact alone makes this a true reform bill.
Now, I can already hear many of you saying but, but, but... believe me, I know the arguments. I'll even be so kind as to summarize them for you...
- This bill is a giveaway to the insurance companies because it mandates everyone to buy insurance.
- This bill won't allow abortions to be covered and therefore doesn't give everyone the right to healthcare.
- Just because there is a mandate doesn't mean the insurance you buy will cover much. Junk insurance is NOT healthcare.
- The cost controls are "iffy" at best. There is no guarantee that the insurance will be affordable. We need a public option to guarantee the lowest prices.
Okay, I'm going to take these one at a time:
Regarding #1 - Yes, this bill is a giveaway to the insurance companies. However, if you're sick and don't have health insurance, do you care about whether or not insurance companies are making a lot of money or not? No, of course not. You just want healthcare. Well, this bill gives healthcare to those whom otherwise wouldn't have it. That is a major victory for the middle class. In time, we can work on how much it costs the taxpayers but for right now it is saving the taxpayers lives.
Regarding #2 - This bill doesn't cover abortions for those of us whose insurance premiums are being subsidized by the federal government. So yes, for this narrow group of people, healthcare is not a right. But here's the thing... for starters, we are talking about less than 1/3 of 1% of the population. Right now, those people aren't getting abortions covered anyway. It's not like they are going to lose something so that the rest can gain something. Their situation remains the same regardless of whether the bill passes or not. However, if this bill passes, it helps about 11% of the population get the healthcare they need that they don't have right now. It's a huge net gain for the American people. If we allow the abortion debate to be fought here, we'll lose the right to healthcare. That's the bottom line. For me, that would be an unfortunate reason to lose over.
Regarding #3 - Mandates and junk insurance. Yes, there either needs to be some regulations regarding a minimum standard of insurance benefits to satisfy the mandate or ...people need to read the papers before they sign them. Now, I realize that many people are illiterate and therefore it is unfair to discriminate against their right to healthcare simply because they cannot read. But this is a minor point. Perhaps we can fight to add some kind of fix for this later, but it is not a good reason to scrap the whole plan.
Regarding #4 - I will just say this ...a public option does not guarantee that insurance will be affordable. It only guarantees that the premiums would be as low as they can be. Those are two different things. Many of you whom scream "public option, public option, public option" think it is a magical solution to all the cost problems. It isn't. Even if we had a public option that wasn't subsidized by the Fed there would still be many whom couldn't afford it. Subsidies would still need to be in place for many millions of poor people. Therefore, why scrap the entire plan just because there is no public option? Does it really pain you so much to see insurance companies make profits that you'd be willing to let other people go without healthcare, just to spite the insurance companies? I hate insurance companies too but I'm not going to let my fellow Americans die just because we might be able to get insurance a little cheaper with a public option.
One thing that I have noticed is that those whom have insurance right now seem to be much more willing to criticize Obama and are more willing to try and hold out for a better bill. And, those that are uninsured right now are screaming "Get something passed now! I need healthcare." The difference, of course, is urgency. Those without insurance need the help now. Right now.
In the end, this bill isn't about those whom have and can afford health insurance. It isn't about people whom are healthy and are currently not in danger of being dropped because they are sick. In the end, this bill is about getting healthcare to those that really need it most - the sick and uninsured. This bill does that. It ain't pretty, but it does that.
And so to Markos and all the others that have health insurance and just don't understand the urgency and importance of this bill to people like me whom are unemployed and without health insurance ...if you really wanted to help us, you'd be in favor of this bill. And if that is asking too much, then at least shut up and get out of the way. We need help and you're not helping us get it.