Right Wing Lunatic

One of the biggest issues on the minds of people in Southwest Washington is our country’s health care crisis. Nearly 47 million Americans don’t have health insurance, and of those, 9 million are children. Those who do have health insurance worry that if they lose their job, they’ll lose their coverage; or stay in a job simply to make sure they have insurance for themselves and their families. A system in which people’s only access to affordable health care is through their employer is clearly not the right answer for a sustainable health care system.

Maybe true, but we have Washington Basic Health which does provide basic health insurance to poor folks.

In 2006, approximately 61 percent of employers provided health care coverage for their employees, down eight percent from 2000. And yet, over that same time period, premiums have increased 87 percent. In 2006, Americans spent $2.2 trillion on health care.

You expect medical care to be cheap? Doctors have to go to school for several years, get a residency, and get very expensive medical malpractice insurance. On top of that, state of the art medical equipment isn't cheap either. You want a 3 dimensional picture of the human body without having to cut into someone, that costs money.

Despite our country’s leadership in medical fields, we have a health care system that is inaccessible for far too many people; is too expensive to maintain in its current structure; and, doesn’t always deliver the positive results you’d expect.

All of this points to the need now for comprehensive health care reform that guarantees health coverage for all Americans. Congress can act now to change the way we think about health care in this country, and we don’t have to wait on the sidelines until November 2008. I, along with my colleagues Representatives Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), and Jim Cooper (TN-05), have introduced legislation which would dramatically revamp our country’s healthcare system.

The Healthy Americans Act is the first bipartisan, comprehensive health care reform bill in more than a decade to guarantee health care coverage for all Americans.

The Healthy Americans Act would:
• Guarantee affordable, high quality, private health coverage for all Americans that can never be taken away, even if someone loses their job;

Nice in theory, but ripe for abuse and who's going to pay for it?

• Provide coverage equal to that of Members of Congress;

Oh that's going to be expensive. Just you watch.

• Gives incentives for individuals and insurers to focus on prevention, wellness, and disease management;

So we're all getting a free membership to 24 fitness?

• Require new studies and education on the comparative effectiveness of health care items to help ensure quality care at a good value, and;

You're requiring things but all those things cost money.

• Streamline reporting procedures and paperwork.

Streamlining things is nice in theory, but in practice you have to worry about things like patient privacy and not overwhelming the medical community with people who want things for free.

Through a system of tax credits and a variety of options, every American will be able to afford high-quality, private health insurance that is comparable to, or in some instances better, than what Members of Congress have. The bill protects consumers from discrimination based on health status, genetics, or age, and would allow health care plans to use financial incentives to reward beneficiaries who enroll in wellness programs, or pursue healthy lifestyles.

Now we're getting to the meat. But do tell, what's "affordable"? $100 a month? $500 a month? You have to take in account that there are people who simply don't want to put forth the effort to be healthy. That's the wonderful thing about America: It's a blank slate that you can do anything you want with. So now you're giving financial incentives to people who enroll in "wellness programs". Well who's to say that they'll stick to the program? Who's going to pay for those financial incentives?

Under the program, individuals will choose from a variety of plans offered in their state. State-based Health Help Agencies will guide individuals through the enrollment process by providing unbiased information about each health care plan to empower individuals, rather than employers, to pick the plan that best meets their needs and those of their families. For the first four years of the new system, employers who currently provide employee health insurance benefits would be required to convert their health care premiums into higher wages that employees that would then use to buy their own insurance plans.

Sounds like you're creating another bureaucracy. Plus, a lot of employers get deals on health insurance because they enroll dozens or hundreds of people at a time. You think that an individual can get the same deal? Plus, you say that employers must move the premiums towards higher wages. Well say my employer pays $500 a month towards my insurance, what's to prevent them from giving me say $450? Also, instead of giving me $500 a month, I'll be taxed on that $500 a month. So I'll see about $350-$400 of that. So already, you're screwing me out of $100-$150 a month worth of insurance. Addtionally, you add $500 a month to my paycheck, it'll bump me to another tax bracket, so I'll be losing even more money towards taxes.

Competition among health care insurance providers would help ensure low costs and higher quality care and coverage. In addition, by requiring every individual to have health insurance and encouraging healthy behaviors, taxpayers wouldn’t be required to pay the bills for expensive emergency room visits.

You really think competition means higher quality care? Have you been drinking? When you have competition, you'll see people cutting corners to save a few bucks. Plus, requiring people to have health insurance, you're taking a freedom away from them. So, if we're all paying for this new plan, how is it that taxpayers won't be required to pay the emergency room bills? You can bet your ass that you'll see a spike in people in the emergency room with the sniffles. It will be abused, mark my words.

The Healthy Americans Act is about personal responsibility. It provides dependable, affordable and quality care, and reliable service, even if an individual changes a job, loses a job, or becomes too sick to work. This proposal levels the playing field, and puts the power back in the hands of the consumer to influence the marketplace and make informed decisions.

Personal responsibility means providing for yourself. It does NOT mean making everyone else pay for you. If you lose a job, you can still have health coverage under COBRA. And if you are too sick to work, there's disability. This proposal is ripe for abuse and will only complicate matters.

The Healthy Americans Act is gaining tremendous momentum from both business leaders and Congressional representatives. I am confident that in the months ahead we will get closer to the day when every single American will have access to affordable, high quality healthcare.

While I imagine you are well meaning, your lack of details and obvious amounts of abuse that will happen under this program leads me to not want to support it. Sorry Mr. Baird, try again.