How Do We Pay for the Damn Thing?

easy (0.00 / 0)

fire the insurance companies and the money we insured folks are all wasting to pay profit cheating charlatans and inefficient billing would go a long ways to help help fund a single payer universal system that covers our health care costs without fear of bankruptcy, turn-downs, exclusions and foreclosures....adding more complicated machinery to a rube goldberg contraption that doesn't work is a waste of money and time. just more bells and whistles but less health care for us and more profits for the cheaters....don't believe in rewarding bad behavior. the health insurance industry has been abusing us for years. do they really think we don't remember how they have treated us the past 20 years???

the documents you cite are more evidence that the committee can't win us over with an honest argument so they are going to bury us in bullshit. won't work. and
the desperate arguments the right wing republicants are using in alliance with the health insurers don't hold water with folks who have had to deal with their health insurers- we know a snake when we see them.

no sale max! nice try though. think simpler...much simpler!

United we stand, divided we fall.

power to the polite people!

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by: wolverine6 @ Mon May 18, 2009 at 21:45:49 PM UTC

Easy. (0.00 / 0)

Kill the fatted beast!  The Defense Dept!  It's time.  We alREADY spend more than ALL the other countries in the world combined for defense.  It's time.  It's time to ask if this is really necessary!  I think most  folks would agree that their own personal economic security means MUCH more than a new bomber or war!

Ax Max.  Or should I say Ax MAD max!  He's part of the problem.  You see, I'd pull a Wanda Sykes about now and say that I hope his kidneys fail, but that wouldn't be a problem for Mini, 'cause he's got insurance out the wazzoo!  Mini apparently doesn't understand that over HALF  the bankruptcies in this  country are a result of medical catastrophes!  The ONLY way we'll get Mini on board is if his plan covers nut and brain transplants!  Then, maybe Mini will do the right thing!

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by: Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers! @ Mon May 18, 2009 at 23:49:05 PM UTC

HOw do we pay for a private plan? (0.00 / 0)

We don't. Absolutely not.

How do we pay for a public plan? First we realize that every penny that needs to be spent reduces America's rationing of health care. If we have true universality, then our options increase.

You need to ask Americans how they want to afford reducing the current system of rationing we already have--afterall, that's what the private insurance industry, and the various government plans do: ration health care to accepted demographic groups, covering less than 85% of the populace. You need to ask the right questions, not the same conservative "How we going to pay for it?" deflection. The minute you put it in those terms, you have a constituency somewhere that will deem it inequitable, and fight against it.

I hate to say it, but single payer solves all of the problems of how to pay for it:

total medical expenses/number of people: per capita expense.

As Social security solved the problem of how to create an equitable system of incomes and outflows for retirement and Medicare, so should our health care system reform similarly solve the problem of inequity in funding mechanisms.

Unfortunately, Baucus' preferred plan of raising taxes and collecting fines for noncompliance to pay for the private health insurance industry to extend some benefits to some currently uninsured peoples is a guaranteed method that will generate maximum push-back. It is doomed to fail.

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by: JC @ Tue May 19, 2009 at 00:19:15 AM UTC

learning about HR 676 (0.00 / 0)

   It's easy to spot the Capitalists in the house.

      IT'S SOCIALISM Matt ! The same method that pays for your entire Judicial System will pay for National Guaranteed Health Care. The same means that we pay the Fire Dept, Rescue, Police and Garbage systems is how we will pay for Single Payer, and other means of taxation and bonds...there'd be alot of funds available if your Capitalist Pigs in the Dirty House hadn't attacked a soverign nation illegally had destroyed our Capitalist Economy only to beg for life from the Socialist coffers.
  This is where you need to examine the in's and out's for yourself. Those of us on the side of the People had to do that because there was NO PAID EXPERTS coming around dishing out their robo-insurance agent tripe like HCAN and SEIU. We had to become self educated on the in's and out's -
    We who are behind, and with the people of America, acknowledge the importance of our Social Democracy tools and mechanisms and acknowledge the evil, divisive and virulent face of Capitalism in our Health Care System or prison system or Trade for that matter.
    Your interrogative is such a givaway and basically you can't imagine the ha ha ha and the oh how sad message bubbles move through our heads when we hear you crying about your poor poor "Public Option" = a waaaah wahhh waaaaah. NO BODY CARES! ... it's nothing but an insurance industry ruse!!!! for gawd sake wake up and stop stewing in your own juices!
     MATT    If they are getting paid to push an agenda they are into health care for profit !
     

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by: Darwin26 @ Wed May 20, 2009 at 03:40:38 AM UTC