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Post by Kata Samoes on Mar 22, 2010 0:35:42 GMT -5
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Post by KG on Mar 23, 2010 18:20:10 GMT -5
Well something had to be done. Is the plan perfect? No, it will have to be tweaked later. I have some trepidation and see many pitfalls ahead, but at the same time, something has to be done, and this was the best plan our leaders could come up with.
Many politicians protested, saying that insurance is 1/6th of our economy... and my response is that it really shouldn't be. Insurance is not for the purpose of making enormous profits. Insurance is merely a pool of money that should be used to pay doctors in the event they are needed. CEOs and Stockholders have no right to profiteer. A minimum number of employees should earn a modest sallary from reasonable premiums. IT should not be big business, because it does not produce anything, and actually does very little. They talk about risks but it should not be a risk to them. If they spend responsibly and don't profiteer then they should be able to turn to the government for overages, but that is NOT what we are doing. I do not know if what they are doing is enough.
Why did we need this bill?
Because as much as we value free market economy, tt has become obvious that Insurance and health care costs need to be regulated very strictly, and also that it may have to be subsidised. It is a shame that the industry does not regulate itself, based on supply and demand, but when left to their own devices they abused the privilage, and the behavior of the corporations involved was nothing short of sociaopathic.
If you have ever seen the documentary movie "The Corporation" you know that large corporations tend to be sociopathic. Simply because each corportaion no matter how large or how small is considered the same as an individual human being, under the law. The corporation however is not a human being. Humans do work there, but the rules that they follow, require only that they best serve the corporation's interests, and it relieves them of all moral and ethical responsibility that a normal human being would feel, if it were THEIR name being assigned responsibility. No one person is accountable in most cases, and it's all about profits and losses. As a result CEOs are not being held accountable for real crimes against humanity, nor can they be legally. Until we find a way to jail a corporation, and even execute it, Corporations will continue to be non human, individuals who act without conscience, or and without fear of impunity. Personally I think Corporations who kill should be disolved, and divided into managable smaller companies, where someone does have ultimate responsibility.
IMO these corporations murder every day. They decide who lives and who dies. They decide what dangerous drugs will be put on the market. Who is eligable for a liver transplant. Who will pay the most for insurance coverage. Who will have their policy canciled, and who will simply not get medical attention unless they are able to pay out of pocket... and most people just can't. Those decisions add up to murder from a moral standpoint, but the CEOs are removed from that direct responsibility because they merely represent a corporation, and are not legally liable for the attrocities they commit in the name of profit. They do not know the people they kill, and they do not even always think of the situation in those terms but it is the same result, as if they went into a hospital and shot patients randomly, while robbing the rest of them. Unfortunately in this country murder and robbery by pen, are not punishable in the same way as murder and robbery by gun.
I think the language of this bill should have been stronger, and changes been made more abruptly. I think Insurance and Pharmacutical CEO's should have a higher level of accountability for the atrocities they have signed into being, and I think that people should pay less for health coverage.
This bill does nothing to insure the quality of care from doctors either, but how can one insure quality of care? Most modern doctors are dolts, and while I guess they 'try' to help people, I don't think they really care anymore, nor are they capable of much anyway in most cases. Unfortunately we still occasionally need this science, to cut away non functioning and diseased parts, and to chemically treat our mental and phyaical ills.
I hope though that this does not lead to society's over dependence and over confidence in their skills. When going to the doctor we all have to engage our own common sense. It is nice when going to the doctor, or having surgery, or taking perscription medicine is an option, but it isn't the only option. Overdependence on medicine and overtrust in medication have killed many people. How many people have died seeking treatment for minor ailment that would heal on their own in less than a week, or problems that were so superficial that they could have been completely ignored. People die getting treated for acne, or recieving an innoculation for an illness they aren't likely to get anyway. These problems need to be shored up as well.
I do think though that common sense, checking behind your doctor and reading about your meds and procedures before you just jump in because the doctor says so, are all part of being responsible. I think that dropping all the party politics and doing what is right is also part of being responsible. I also think that keeping the company you work for from producing meds that kill, or killing by refusing care, are also part of being responsible. Therefore if the new laws, and subsequent amendments are followed in a responsible manner this bill will be a great thing. However when in America have the majority of people ever been responsible?
Still this bill is a step towards compassion and just being human again. It is only the begining though, so who knows... we still have a long way to go.
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Post by Kata Samoes on Mar 23, 2010 18:52:47 GMT -5
Corrected my title, Senate has the Bill now for voting and amendments. Already 9 amendments proposed from the GOP. Should be interesting.
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Post by KG on Mar 23, 2010 18:58:04 GMT -5
GOP amendments? Considering their overall take on this, it can't be anything helpful. This is not good, but I know our Senators will continue to fight for our protection.
What did you think about the anti health care protesters using the N word on black Senators? I thought that was really showing the "true colors" of that whole movement. They are all Nazis at heart.
I'd like to add that these people claim they are upset because of the possibility of paying for abortion... trying to seem anti abortion, but what kind of monster will make a fuss over abortion and support denying health care to children once they are born. They don't fool me, they are against paying for ANYTHING and there is nothing moral about that.
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Post by Kata Samoes on Mar 25, 2010 12:11:41 GMT -5
No wait, wrong again. It is law, sorry.
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Post by KG on Mar 25, 2010 14:47:50 GMT -5
Here is a rant I wrote, and now I am looking for places to post it. In the mean time I'll put it here.
Why do the hoplessly poor defend billionare CEO's right to profiteer? I don't get it! The only people who should be upset by this bill are billionares, or at least millionares. I can certainly understand why Insurance company CEO's would fear the loss of income.. not that they NEED that much money, but I'm sure they like getting it. Everyone else should be overjoyed. In general, how could health care and insurance abuses be worse than they are already?
Are they worried about taxes? Most of these folks don't make enough to worry about these taxes since they only impact people who make hundreds of thousands a year. The average joe, who makes between 0 and $80,000 a year will NOT pay more taxes, and he will get assistance on the cost of his insurance.
Are they worried about the national debt? Where were they when Bush declared war on Iraq? That was a huge waste of money. I suppose it makes them feel better to pay to kill people than to pay for someone's medical care.
Are they worried about quality of care, and restrictions on the care their insurance pays for? I'd like to know what doctor they use and what sort of insurance they have, because I already get crappy care, or no care, and I know plenty of people who are now six foot under who got really crappy care. When I had insurance they did not pay for my crappy care, claiming a cold as a pre-existing condition because I had another cold three years before. They canciled the insurance of people who thought they were covered.
Are they afraid of loosing their jobs? That's a real fear but it's already happening. People are getting fired as we speak for using the company insurance too much. Hopefully this plan will make that better.
Are they afraid they won't be able to get an MRI or CAT scan, or a million blood tests? Most of the time the course of treatment at least in my experience is that all doctors say they don't know what is wrong, and need to run tests, Thousands of dollars later, after running a lot of tests, they still don't know, but they still want to be paid. We don't need more tests, we need doctors who can diagnose illness. or at least make a decent guess. IDK what this bill will do to change this, but paying thousands of dollars for tests isn't the answer. It's just a waste of money. Besides the government CAN lay their hands on some money, which is more than you can do right now, what with the economy.... which has been awful for the last 8 years, so don't even try it... so if you need a doctor wouldn't it beat dying?
Are they afraid they won't be able to get their mind ltering drugs for Depression? Half the country is clinically depressed, so I would suggest that being depressed is rational right now. Maybe we need to fix some of the problems that are making us so unhappy, and this bill is a start. Get your senators off his back and stop the protests, and he will do more.
If you want to protest spending, why not protest the war? Why not protest the salaries of politicians, or the rip off that corporate billionares are already robbing from both individuals and governments. Limit CEO salaries to save money.
The bottom line is Obama wants to help you! HE wants to get you a doctor and help you pay him. So why not let him?
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