Mandates w/out public option = disaster

well jed... (0.00 / 0)

i'm just a dumb old bear but seems to me that using employment numbers won't work because there are a LOT of  employed folks who do not have health insurance.

other than that, i can't help you much but my bear sense ciphers that this figure of 40-50 million is under the actual number by at least half. i think it is closer to 75-80 million.

the situation is a lot graver than the govt reports, that's for sure.

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by: problembear @ Mon Aug 24, 2009 at 01:55:32 AM UTC

of course... (0.00 / 0)

this only speaks about the uninsured. over half of the insured in america have insurance policies that do not cover them adequately in the event of a truly debilitating disease or accident. in fact the coverage limits for health insurers have been shrinking on average over 2% per year while our  premium payments have been rising over 8% per year.

in my mind the underinsured population (which is most of us) is headed for disaster unless we tame this beast.

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by: problembear @ Mon Aug 24, 2009 at 02:12:56 AM UTC

Jay, whan you say "a public option" what do you mean by that phrase? Are you referring (0.00 / 0)

to what is rather loosely being called a public option in  HR3200 or in the HELP committee bill? Or are you taking about a theoretical "public option" that hasn't been introduced in congress yet?

There has been a lot of smoke and mirrors out there about the phrase, and i'm wondering exactly what you mean?

I find it inexcusable that the biggest promoters of the public option, folks like Howard Dean, SEIU, HCAN and others (you know who you are) haven't provided any in depth analysis of what the so-called public options in HR3200 or the help bill actually do, how many people will be covered through them, who can access them, how they contain costs, and why they are important to Americans.

The only in depth analysis i've seen is through PNHP and the CBO who agrees with all the main points of PNHP. PNHP's  understandable, thorough, well written and informative analysis is that as written those so-called public options are a sick joke on Americans wanting real change.

If that's true, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, then how do you suggest we are going to get a decent public option? Who will introduce it? How will it be included in the legislation? Any ideas?

And if nothing is changed and what's currently in it stays as now, do you believe that Howard Dean, SEIU, HCAN, the Democratic Party are going to tell people about what the state of affairs are? Or are they just going to keep their mouths shut and pretend we got a public option?

What do you think?

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by: Steve W. @ Mon Aug 24, 2009 at 02:54:12 AM UTC