ThePoliticalCat

A Blog devoted to progressive politics, environmental issues, LGBT issues, social justice, workers' rights, womens' rights, and, most importantly, Cats.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Health Care: I Ain't Feelin' Too Good Myself, Now

OK, I wasn't till Stephen Colbert did this:

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Health Care Hell-Scare - Die-agnosis: Mur-DR
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorMark Sanford


People, if you don't know or remember what passed for health care 30 years ago, look it up. A few decades ago, employer-provided health care paid for good-quality medical care at no cost to the employee.

Today, we have co-pays ($5-$50 per doctor visit per family member); co-insurance (calculated percentage of total cost of visit and any procedures approved by insurer); Health Savings Accounts (HSAs - only worthwhile if you're young and very healthy because of the huge deductible, meaning insurance only pays a small portion of your costs and you pay the rest out of tax-free savings that you can't afford, because if you had money to save, you'd get yourself a better goddamned policy, wouldn'tcha?); and critical care, which is a hodge-podge of visits to free clinics (increasingly rare these days, and limited in terms of services), nurse hotlines that give free advice but nothing else, and emergency room visits (also increasingly rare as hospitals shut down emergency rooms which see increasing high-maintenance traffic and very little financial return), where you can wait 12 hours or more to see a doctor or even a nurse, unless you're bleeding to death or cyanotic.

Who are the people telling us we don't need universal health care? Our Congresscritters, for one. Well, they have government-provided health care that WE pay for, so why do THEY get to say that WE can't have the same thing? You know all those Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats who say that we don't need universal health care, and the government is a fuckup that couldn't administer its own left foot without help?

Tell them to drop their universal healthcare NOW. Call them up and ask them if they are covered by the government. If they are, then they need to switch to private insurance NOW, because they can afford to. For us working stiffs, private insurance is just too fucking expensive. For them, with their six-figure salaries, it's a tiny little blip in the bank account. Since they think private industry does this shit better than government ever could, it is their fucking DUTY to select a private option. NOW. No excuses. No more waffling, no more bullshit.

If they're not willing to drop their taxpayer-funded health care, then they should shut the fuck up and give us the same healthcare that they get. After all, we're already paying for it. Widen the pool, lower the cost, lower the risk.

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3 Comments:

At 4:55 PM, Blogger Ms. Manitoba said...

Oh, you are so right!!! We should call them up and tell them to drop their "socialized medicine plan" and try to get private insurance. Let them see if they even qualify!

 
At 4:59 PM, Blogger ThePoliticalCat said...

Damn right, and you know what? There is no way on God's Green Earth that they will get private insurance because they're all old and have "pre-existing conditions." If those fuckers had to pay for private insurance, they'd be, like me, paying $1300-$2000 per month for minimum coverage.

 
At 7:59 AM, Blogger themom said...

Did ya hear Michelle Bachmann (loser) and Re. Foxx? "No one in America is without health care!" Duh!! Of course anyone can get health CARE - but hardly any of us can afford health INSURANCE. I have only 80% major medical, as part of my pension. No eye, dental, office visits, Rx's, or a plethora of other necessities! Excellent post.

 

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