Health care benefits all

Why are folks upset about the Affordable Health Care Act when it benefits everyone? It will make health care accessible to those in need.

One can’t lose coverage because of a pre-existing condition. One cannot be denied coverage. Each state will have health insurance pools to help those in need purchase the required health insurance.

There are many shortsighted governors, Kansas’ included, who have refused millions of dollars to create and operate those pools.

We are required to have car insurance upon purchasing and licensing a car, although many let it lapse and those of us with insurance end up footing the bill. We are required to have homeowners insurance when purchasing a home. The mortgage company will not allow that to lapse. So what’s wrong with requiring folks to purchase health insurance?

The burden is lifted off taxpayers, and insurance companies make more money.

Perhaps it should be called the “Affordable Health Insurance” Act. Maybe then folks would get on board.

We’ve all lost dear ones because they lacked health insurance. If the Affordable Health Care Act saves even one life otherwise lost because of a lack of coverage, it is well worth it.

Charlene Pryor

Overland Park

 

Comments

[LL]

Any of you happen to catch Kathleen Sebelius telling a House panel Thursday that a reduction in the number of human beings born in the United States will compensate employers and insurers for the cost of complying with the new HHS mandate that will require all health-care plans to cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that cause abortions.

Despite the controversy over whether the mandate is constitutional, Sebelius told Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) during the hearing that the administration never sought a legal opinion about the regulation from the Department of Justice.

No wonder everything's in such a mess...with a healthcare plan pushed through without even seeking legal opinions about the legal regulations....

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/sebelius-decrease-human-beings-will-cover-cost-contraception-mandate

Scary that perhaps we could be the next China...with birth rate legalities and abortion so prevalent....

[Bigvarmit]

The problems with the letter are: 1) not all citizens will be covered. 30 million won't be according to the HHS secretary. None of the people in government will be in it. They all opted out. Their staffs and family won't be in it either.
2). Why do we need to hire 17,000 IRS agents in a bill? I am sure they won't be giving anyone health care. I guess there is a reason but I haven't heard it yet. 3) Why take billions out of Medicare and give it to Medicaid? Will this help people on Medicare. The president said he will veto anything that touches Medicare. I guess as long as he does it is ok.
4) There is a death panel in it. Why?
5) It is being touted as a single payer system. Where will the politicians get their insurance?
These are the reasons I am against it. I cannot see why the good stuff was put in and the bad stuff left out. They tried to do to much and many Democrats in Washington don't like it. Many more are leaving congress and the WHite House. I can imagine they don't like it either.

[preservation hall]

Thanks for the sympathy, everyone, but really the loss is yours for never having known her. She was tough, hilarious, friendly to everyone, and always open to new ideas and experiences. Her generosity was humbling - I got an award at a charity ride for largest pledge - it was from her.

I did not bring up her story to make a political point, just to illustrate the fact that lack of insurance, together with a certain foolhardiness, can lead to death sooner rather than later, as we all have an appointment eventually.

[steven klein]

Every time I read one of these conversations it frustrates and saddens me.
The key issue is whether, in the modern world, all citizens of a society should have access to basic levels of healthcare without regard to their ability to pay. Of all the basics of modern existence such as food, shelter, transportation, etc, healthcare represents the biggest challenge. People can buy a Lexus, take abus or walk. They can buy lobsterhamburger, or crackers. But if a person's child needs a vaccine, a heart operation or chemotherapy there are no Lexus vs bus vs walking options. If you have no insurance and little or no money, you are either dead or purely dependent on the whims of others.

As a nation the U.S. spends over 17% of gdp on healthcare and still have almost 50 million outside the system and another 50mm underprotected (i.e. over 10% of discretionary income goes to healthcare). The U.S. has world class institutions and research but the cost is astronomic;families are financially ruined by the system every day;and millions go without the basic preventative care which is crucial for long term health. Germany, France, Sweden, etc spend 10-12% of gdp on healthcare including dental and vision, cover everyone, and there is supplemental coverage available if you want it.

The great defect in the President's approach is that it is trying to bring some level of reform to a system which is flawed beyond repair. The best Republican idea in the last 2 decades was an individual mandate. When the time came to implement it, Republicans rejected it unanimously. I give Bush credit for passing Medicare D but he did it with more support from his opponents than his own party if I recall the vote.

The arguments against a single payer system seem to me far more ideological than rational and are largely of an empty rhetorical nature. But I'm going to pose a question one more time because my own views on this are not ideological at all. I favor a single payer system not because I have some love for Marxism or socialism but because I see no other rational way to provide basic, affordable healthcare for all citizens. For all of you free market true believers out there, give me one example of an existing healthcare system anywhere in the world which embraces a free market approach to healthcare which you would want to be a part of regardless of your specific economic circumstances? At least it would give me something to study more carefully.

[LL]

In my last post, I posted part of the article twice...so it reads pretty strangely....

...just check out the article....

[dave]

preservation hall, sorry to hear about your friend...but what i got out of your post was she decided not to get insurance instead pay for other items. sometimes we make choices in our life that come back to get us. but adding the ACA will not change anyone's outcome as you have described since she didn't want to pay for the insurance. This still isn't going to be free, if you would like to see cost go to Mass. exchange and see what they are charging.

[LL]

Sorry to hear of your friend PH.....People without insurance do sometimes possibly forgo treatment...but, in reality they might have put off treatment anyway, even with with insurance as many, many people do....
- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - --
Another point to ponder:

Obama talked about (his mother) Ann Dunham's death in a 30-second campaign advertisement ("Mother") arguing for health care reform. The ad featured a photograph of Dunham holding a young Obama in her arms as Obama talks about her last days worrying about expensive medical bills. The topic also came up in a 2007 speech in Santa Barbara

A dozen years later, her son turned her ordeal into a campaign pitch for national health care. But the story Obama told, Scott writes, was "abbreviated" -- the abbreviation was to leave out the fact that Ann Dunham had health insurance that paid for her treatment. "Though he often suggested that she was denied health coverage because of a pre-existing condition," Scott writes, "it appears from her correspondence that she was only denied disability coverage."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/07/obamas-health-care-story-under-challenge/1#.T0_6KIcgfm4

[Fanoftravel]

BigDaddy,I have a IPad I can google just haven't figured out to paste something yet.

[David]

"Far be it from me to suggest that you should care about something as grave as this but let's face it....when you are in the middle of a cardiac crisis and your ambulance service is 25 minutes out because Sebelius decided that emergency response was "sufficient for your area" you will care then. Or you are unfortunate enough to contract a tumor and the local board of health determines that based on your age you are not a good candidate for chemotherapy....I would bet you care then." - BD

or we could worry about things that might actually happen like the asteroid that was discussed yesterday.

Read more here: http://blogs.kansascity.com/unfettered_letters/2012/02/health-care-benefits-all.html#comments#storylink=cpy

[Big Daddy]

FoT,

You are not at your computer but somehow managed to google the Ryan plan AND submit a post. Interesting.....

You asked me what the GOP did. I told you. Now it looks like to me you are starting to distill the conversation into a "Neener, Neener, Neener you ain't go no weiner" conversation. No thanks....

Preservation Hall,
Sorry to hear about your friend. Of course, we can all discuss people from our lives who have passed away from a variety of ailments. Some may have been saved with earlier intervention, some not. As I am fortunate enough today to not have to access public health care I don't know the rules that go with it so I will take you at your word. Still, it would appear that you do agree that free care is available regardless of how inefficient or heartless it may be.

[preservation hall]

OK, I'll be the first to say I knew someone who died for lack of insurance. We worked together at a large KC company that went under. She was unable to find another position with coverage. She was also fiercely independent, a single mother who bought a house and was saving money for her daughter's college education. She developed a condition that some people manage to live with, but it progressed. She gambled with her life and lost. If she had had the surgery to correct it, she would have lived, but may have lost her house and savings.

That said, policy shouldn't be based on anecdotes, but on facts. The studies that have been cited here are methodologically sound estimates. There is a problem.

As far as the free care option goes, it's only free if you can't afford to pay. Otherwise, all of your assets will go before it becomes free. And of course, it's not really free. Those with insurance are paying for those without. As costs continue to rise, and health care coverage benefits fall, people are forced into tough choices like my friend.

[Fanoftravel]

BigDaddy I'm not at my computer,but I did google the Ryan plan and the CBO numbers and they are not very favorable for his plan. I'm sure your aware of the hundreds of house passed bills many with bi-partisan support,that never were even allowed to reach the Senate floor because of all the filibustering by sen McConnell,since Obama has been president.

[Big Daddy]

Certainly not my intent Sol. Just sayin' that someone who is as well read as you....I find it surprising that you haven't formed an opinion on this one way or the other. Not outside the realm of possibility....just not very likely is all.

I like Rocky Road....

[solomon]

......that would be you calling me a liar BD

.......and I'm not big on ice cream

[Big Daddy]

The thing is Sol, if we were talking about what flavor of ice cream you wanted for your Birthday I could see your point. Who really cares..right?

But this is about nationalizing health care. This is about how are you going access Doctors and Hospitals for routine care as well as for other specific ailments as they come up.

Far be it from me to suggest that you should care about something as grave as this but let's face it....when you are in the middle of a cardiac crisis and your ambulance service is 25 minutes out because Sebelius decided that emergency response was "sufficient for your area" you will care then. Or you are unfortunate enough to contract a tumor and the local board of health determines that based on your age you are not a good candidate for chemotherapy....I would bet you care then.

Like I said, how wonderful it must be to live care free and not take a position on something as serious as this. My guess is that you do have a position but you are choosing not to share it here.

[Big Daddy]

Sorry FoT, I was conversing with Soloman and simply overlooked your post.

What has the GOP done? Well, there is medicate part D which is an abject failure. Oh sure, Grandpa and Grandma can get their Flintstone Vitamins at a discount but the fact is that Bush didn't pay for it and the GOP didn't have the gonads to say "No".

Now, as it relates to the "affordable health care act" they introduced 177 amendments to the bill that included the right purchase health care across state lines and tort reform. In my opinion (and Bill Clinton's) these are the two biggest changes that would have the most dramatic impact on actually lowering costs, spurring competition among insurers, improving quality of care, and managing utilization. Guess how many of those 177 amendments were allowed to the floor for discussion (never mind voted on as part of the bill)....that's right...ZERO! Ms. Peolosi decided to shut the door on the GOP.

Ok, along comes 2010 and the Democrats were summarily fired by the American Voter. Paul Ryan is now in a position to be heard and he submits a Medicare Reform Bill that projects to ensure Medicare remains solvent for an additional 40 years. It is passed in the house and goes to the Senate. Guess what happened.... Harry Reid killed in committee. Now it would be really cook if Reid put out an alternative bill but he didn't. He just killed Ryan's plan.

So to answer your question which is, "What has the GOP done?" Everything they could....and then some!

[Fanoftravel]

BigDaddy,just wondering why no response to my 1:42 post!!! ?????

[solomon]

......what is the insight you're offering here Ll ? You established early on that there are services that people can utilize, which no one disputes...... Are you saying what is offered is sufficient and that people don't die?.....

[LL]

OK Sol...never mind that I DO have a little more insight into this since I HAVE had contact with poor or minority uninsured people.....

I've tried...evidently you didn't really bother to read any of my posts....Oh, well...

...Enjoy your day!

[solomon]

......what exactly are you getting at LL?

BD stated that my claim based on the study he said was discredited was probably not far off in numbers...

.....JDog stated that everyone knows that there are people who die because of lack of healthcare....

......we've discussed the fact that most of us here would have little contact with poor or minority uninsured people....