Did anyone else turn green about Kerry's health care plan?(AFL/CIO)

[revcarol]

Must admit I am totally unfamiliar with the details of Kerry's "health care plan."

BUT, I know what I saw last night. Kerry proposes to give a person a voucher for $1000 to help pay for health care.Since the cost for an individual is more than $6000 per year in most states, what good would $1000($83.33 per month)do? And he didn't mention any cost-reduction or plan to control premiums.

So, I thought, this will help temporarily until the INSURANCE COMPANIES RAISE THEIR RATES on those WHO ALREADY HAVE INSURANCE.(Anyone else think that the insurance companies will not take advantage of getting an extra $1000 per person in their greedy gotta-make-a-profit mindset?)

How many NEW people will be able to afford insurance with this plan?

AND I TURNED GREEN!!

How many of the other candidates are just going to be subsidizing the insurance companies, with no requirements on the companies to control premiums?

[tpub]

1. that's only a small part

I'm no health-care expert, but I did hear him talk last night about making sure premiums would not be raised based on catastrophic cases.

Kerry would take back the tax cut on the wealthy to create a fund to pay for catastrophic cases. I believe that's what he said. That, also, is only part of his plan. He mentioned allowing people to buy into the same plan Congress has, which I personally don't know anything about...

[sangha]

6. revcarol's description is misleadingly incomplete

.

[robbedvoter]

2. No turning green, but rescinding taxes is new to Kerry

Last year he told Ruslut he'd do another tax cut - on capital gains. Ted Kennedy was the only Dem I knew of who used the "R" vote about tax cuts - all the others were pissing in their pants at being called "tax and spend". All in all, I am glad they switched.

[MUAD_DIB]

3. I am self employed, ad I pay for my own HC.

I am sick about hearing about voucher this and voucher that.

What are the gross profits for the Insurance industry last year?

Anybody?

I'm sure that the made a killing.


It's time to fix the damn system: more accountability, less vouchers!

[sam sarrha]

7. after paying my HC insurance, i have $300 a month left of my unemployment

[Mel]

4. My take on Vouchers

I agree with you the insurance companies are seeing $$$$$ signs in their eyes on this idea. I don't think it will work and I don't want it! It would be nothing more than a payout to the very corporations that gouge us and deny health care procedures for their bottom lines by telling our Doctors if they can or can't treat us. As long as we have a system that puts profits over people it will only get worse for the poor and the middle class the only ones who will be able to afford health care at the rate we are going is the rich.



That's why I'm supporting Kucinich he wants Universal Health Care for all.
Here's a link too his idea for Universal Health Care
http://www.kucinich.us/issues/issue_universalhealth.htm

So for now I don't have to vote Green. I have a choice that I like and that's DK.


Here's the link I found for John Kerry's Health Care Plan
http://www.johnkerry.com/site/PageServer?JServSessionIdr009=4ft6cyno4i.app7a&pagename=hca_main

[sangha]

5. You were right! You're totally unfamiliar with the issue

I find that strange. Seeing you around DU for so long, I had assumed you were bright enough to find Kerry's website and learn about the details yourself. Instead, you chose post an incredibly misleading account of Kerry's health care plan, leaving out nearly every single detail but one.

And then, based on your own admitted "total ignorance" of Kerry's position, you "TURNED GREEN"? Why do I suspect it wasn't much of a change for you?

How many of the other candidates are just going to be subsidizing the insurance companies, with no requirements on the companies to control premiums?

This is a lie, pure and simple. For someone who claims to be in "total ignorance" you also seem to think you're qualified to accurately describe Kerry's plan in detail. Unfortunately, there are people who know enough to put the lie to your assertions.

Kerry plans to regulate the premiums, lower the premeiums by having the Fed cover catastrophic illness, making the Fed govts own health care plan available to all of the uninsured, and requiring health care corps to reveal what they spend on lobbying, advertising, research, etc...

[revcarol]

8. I'm glad to find this out.

I still see the horrors of voucher plans looming in front of my eyes, though. If the voucher plans are really going to be effective in enforcing premiums of thousands of individual companies' plans, whether or not they are one of the MANY Congressional plans available, you STILL have the problem of our tax $$ feeding the 20-25% that these plans take in "administration!!"

PREFER the 3% that Medicare takes in administration over 20-25% in salaries for fat-cat CEO's and those bureaucrats who sit there figuring out if your medical procedure is "covered" and denying about 80% of disputed claims.SHARPTON AND KUCINICH WERE BOTH ALL OVER THIS ISSUE, to their credit.

Kerry wants to sweep this under the rug.

[sangha]

9. You're still wrong

I strongly recommend that educate yourself *BEFORE* you form your opinion.

Kerry's plan has a number of policies that will discourage outrageous profit-taking by the insurance corps, and reduce their premiums. Furthermore, his plan to have the Feds take over catastrohic care, and to have the Feds plan available to the uninsured, goes a long way to achieving exactly what you say you'd like to see.

Kerry wants to sweep this under the rug.

That's a strange statement for someone who claims to be ignorant concerning Kerry's health plan. In order to say Kerry has ignored this, you'd first have to review his plan in full and determine that it doesn't include anything about this issue, something you say you haven't done.

So how did you conclude that Kerry is ignoring this issue if you're not familiar with Kerry's plan?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

10. revcarol wants to sweep Kerry under the rug

:)