So keep that in mind, Democrats, and don’t come crying to me afterward: I won’t dry your tears.
Not then, nor when you buy the next thing down the road.
Why is this so difficult? Let me buy my own coverage. Don’t give people a break when they go through their employers. The more choice we have, the better off we are.
Visit the doctor’s offices, clinics, and labs, and give them letter grades like we do restaurants, so we’ll know whether they are clean and follow best practices for avoiding contamination. Then let the market figure out how much we want to pay for our care.
If we must use Federal money to “help” people, hire a few objective counselors to help people choose health plans and healthcare providers so they can make informed decisions–have number-crunchers on hand to assist those who are allergic to their calculators.
But that is not the Democrat way, is it?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m opposed to the govt getting too much more into the health care business.
Two points:
1. By the “break people get when they go through their employers” are yor referring to the the way their payroll deductions are handled in a pre-tax method? That is employees are taxed on the gross earnings minus their medical/dental deductions. We have to be politically reasonable, the general public won’t go for that, and the health/dental insurers would be the first to lobby for the status quo. About the status quo, should those self employed get to deduct, in order to arrive at their Adjusted Gross Income (that which is the calculated figure at the bottom of page 1 of the Form 1040) their health insurance premiums? That is, premium expenses before other deductions, including medical ones, or business expenses are considered? Under your proposed policy, would those not self-employed get to deduct their medical/dental premiums in a similar way?
What ever your answer is, it would speak to the public policy you want to see in place. We have determined, rightly or wrongly, that we should encourage medical insurance.
2. About “letter grades,” in my county, for food establishments; those grade are given by the county. Who would give those grades under what you envision? Are you looking for an “Angie List” approach?
If they break/buy health care, then how does the corporate ‘we’ move off the reef upon which they’ll stack up the ship of state?
The only ways to reduce health care costs are:
increase supply, and/or decrease cost of delivery.
Obama has a plan for neither. His plan will produce rationing and shortages. Health services will be prioritized to younger workers who will be able to pay more taxes over their lifetime… It is just an economic decision.
A huge number of primary care physicians are retiring in the next five years, exacerbating the current shortage and the lawyers are discouraging new students from deciding to enter medical practice. Lawyers (and the unions) own the Democrat party, so they will be no help. Remove punitive damages from award cases, and you’ll significantly decrease the cost of running a practice. You’ll also start to encourage students to be physicians. Lawyers are the evil core of the problem.
Obama’s only alternative then is a HUGE tax through inflation on all Americans. You never know how expensive something is until you start giving it away. This is going to be horrible.
Richard: I just want to make sure that health care is portable; I’d love to see the connection between it and employment weakened or severed, since more and more people are freelancing and/or working from home.
We get our insurance through my husband’s production company, but we pay a fortune to keep THAT going in order to keep our insurance.
I don’t want a single-payer system; I want lots of information available so that we have the maximum number of choices and can each make the best decisions.
And, yes–I want to see litigation sharply curtailed through tort reform.
And, as your reply to my previous post makes clear, you have not the first hint of a clue as to what the objections are. So long as you (and others) are content to allow the Left to cast it as tolerance vs. prudishness, or freedom vs. Xtianist controllers, the Perez Hiltons of the world will grin happily and continue.
Regards,
Ric
Ric,
I’m confused: what does this have to do with health care? I’ll see if I can rejoin you down the page.
If you’re talking about gay marriage, I DO know what the objections are, since I followed Dennis Prager down that road for two years. I finally couldn’t keep it up: I don’t believe gay marriage is a threat, deep down. BUT I don’t want you, Darrell, Richard, Darleen, et al.–or any religious person–to be forced to use that word WRT a same-sex union.
I do not believe that churches will be forced to sanction gay unions.
I do not believe that birthmothers will be forced to place their kids with gay couples.
I DO think we need to extend Federal benefits to same-sex partnerships, even if we call them something else.
LMA:
” I just want to make sure that health care is portable.”
It pretty much is. That is why we have the COBRA system – not perfect mind you.
…”husband’s production company, but we pay a fortune to keep THAT going in order to keep our insurance”
How much should it cost? just asking. I’m assuming that he is an employee, if so, you 2 get your tax benefits by him having that much less taxable per the Adj Gross Income (AGI). If he is self employed, you 2 get to take off all paid for insurance to arrive at your AGI. The “How much should it cost?” is probably the nub of discussions about free market economics.
“And, yes–I want to see litigation sharply curtailed through tort reform.”
That might happen. If so, such policy making would use as precedents other “litigation reduction.” I can’t think of one off hand.
I have to wonder what will happen to my TriCare coverage that I EARNED after 20 years of Service to the Republic? Is it going to be more regulated than it currently is?
If anybody has an answer, I would appreciate it.