Letters to the Editor
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It's all about taxes
Until some group of politicos has the guts to level with the American people that universal healthcare will mean raising taxes, nothing is going to change. We're so tax-phobic in this country that we can't even see the huge cost SAVINGS that state healthcare would provide, from improved productivity to reduced fraud.
I can't wait to see Moore's film. I'm sure I'll find it chilling and disturbing, as it should be.
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Not in our lifetimes...
There are too many interest groups that are thriving in the present US health care system for any major changes to occur soon. I have friends who are doctors who have told me that if it were not for the chronically ill they would not be in business. They also told me that almost all of the chronically ill are or were smokers and/or drinkers or obese or all all of these. Most of these chronically ill use a multitude of prescription drugs, enriching both the drug companies and the docs who prescribe them. That's a pretty powerful bunch, who donate lots of money to politicians.
It might be remotely possible for the government to become the insurer of last resort, which would underwrite major med policies for the uninsurable. That would remove a major impediment to getting insurance. The first step is to have a system to prevent people from going into bankruptcy due to their medical problems. A national major med system could do that, and might not be politically unpalatable to the interest groups. I would like a system where the out of pocket max is 5% of your adjusted gross income. That would include insurance premiums.
However, I don't see the federal government doing much of anything. So the states will end up doing various experiments, which is probably a good thing in our diverse country.
BTW, all that stuff about the uninsured is mostly a red herring. Most of the uninsured are young and fairly healthy, and by insuring them the average cost of insurance per capita would drop. Most attempts to do that under the guise of "community pricing" have failed and rightly so.
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MM MM good
I can't wait to see this movie. Thank you, Mr. O'Hehir for the sneak peek. This is just what the doctor ordered - for all of us in the States. Even a flawed attempt to explore this subject -- while reaching a mass audience -- is SO important. The state of healthcare affects us all (or soon will); it's unpredictable and highly dangerous, like a game of Russian roulette. Let the debate begin in earnest! It's WAY overdue! Michael Moore is many things, but he is first and foremost a provocateur. We NEED guys like him, as unsightly, untidy and rude as he may seem to some. Healthcare is not a pretty topic to tackle, but it MUST be. Like the cyst that must be drained, or the tumor that must be cut out, or the bone that must be rebroken before it can be set straight -- a certain amount pain is absolutely essential for things to get better.
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The gitmo example...
is a perfect analogy for why we don't want socialized medicine. To get that you have to give something up. al queda gives up their freedom and the other countries give up their ability to build and create due to taxation and useless burocracy.
Interview some people who have happily left France, Cuba, Canada and happily become American citizens.
They'll tell you the other side of Moores film.
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National Health Care is a matter of national security
I don't know why the issue of a national health care system is still being debated. It is clear as clear can be that it's the only sensible option.
The government is part and parcel of the civil commons. And if the civil commons is dysfunctional or impoverished then the nation’s internal security is compromised at its highest levels. This applies particularly to health care.
A nation with half sick or under-functioning citizens cannot protect itself. A nation that denies paid sick leave leaves open the compromise of healthy citizens and the loss of productivity. A nation with millions of financially dependent and sick oldsters cannot have the resources to move ahead, since young families must now care for the oldsters themselves.
We know and have the evidence that a single payer system is not only feasible but superior to private outfits. For example, Medicare’s administrative costs are less than one-twentieth those of HMOs. Thus, far less money is squandered on paper pushing.
There is no reason a priori that a Medicare-style system can't be implemented nationally, but it will necessitate:
i) repealing every last one of the Bush 2001 tax cuts
ii) Raising taxes across the board on the wealthy, back to 60% marginal level at least - on all those earning $500k or more per year.
In other words, do the same thing the other advanced western economies have done to ensure health care is a basic right.
Do people still have an obligation to take decent care of themselves? What they eat, etc.? Of course! But a civilized (as opposed to barbaric) nation also provides for a safety net to withstand the health vagaries of life. The untimely car accident - perhaps caused by being hit by a drunk, or the untimely and unanticipated illness.
It is time to get back to the injunction in the Preamble to the Constitution to "promote the general welfare".
As Adam Smith himself pointed out in his “Wealth of Nations’,
“that which benefits the lesser half can never be an inconvenience to the whole”
Bravo to Michael Moore for once again placing a critical issue on the front burner.
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It'll still be cheaper than private health insurance
Where do all those lovely skyscrapers come from that the health insurance companies keep building? Who pays their salaries and the nice fat bonuses their CEO's are getting?
I'd much rather pay more taxes that actually go to pay my healthcare than pay the ridiculously huge premiums I'm paying now - which are, by the way, completely worthless as far as getting actual health care goes (I'm self-employed, so my health insurance is not the nice corporate package that corporate employees get). Last time I actually needed a doctor, I had to pay 100% of his fee out of pocket. I do not know why I keep paying these health insurance premiums - for all intents and purposes, I'm uninsured.
Mind you, such a government-funded system already exists in the US. My parents have it; they are both over 65 and eligible for Medicare. Unlike me, they are not afraid that one visit to the doctor will bankrupt them. They are getting excellent health care, and see their doctors whenever they need it.
Me? I'm eating healthy, exercising a lot, and reading medical textbooks when something hurts.