Healthcare Overhaul Is Quietly Underway (Bush tries to end "insurance")

[papau]

Actions by government, insurers, employers and individuals are already underway to destroy health care as a shared risk - Clinton's "Portability" via all employers chipping chip in for universal health insurance is replaced by Bush as the "Portability" of "it's your own problem" (besides Bush would give income tax breaks to low-income families - of course only on the FIT they do not pay - and not on the payroll tax that they do pay).



http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-health31jan31,1,3062069.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Healthcare Overhaul Is Quietly Underway
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
Times Staff Writer

January 31, 2005

WASHINGTON — Emboldened by their success at the polls, the Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress believe they have a new opportunity to move the nation away from the system of employer-provided health insurance that has covered most working Americans for the last half-century.

In its place, they want to erect a system in which workers — instead of looking to employers for health insurance — would take personal responsibility for protecting themselves and their families: They would buy high-deductible "catastrophic" insurance policies to cover major medical needs, then pay routine costs with money set aside in tax-sheltered health savings accounts.

Elements of that approach have been on the conservative agenda for years, but what has suddenly put it on the fast track is GOP confidence that the political balance of power has changed.<snip>


A study released Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports research on healthcare policy, found that people with high-deductible policies were more likely to have trouble paying medical bills than those in traditional insurance plans. They were also more likely to skip care because of cost.<snip>

[DBoon]

1. US lifespan is already falling behind

30 years ago, we had the longest average lifespan in the world. We are now somewhere near Costa Rica, and far behind other advanced countries.

If this passes, we can expect the US average lifespan to start declining in absolute terms as well.

[papau]

2. Funny how 3rd worlders OWN their health care and retirement

The Bush vision fact that the media never comments on.

[illflem]

11. It's part of Stingy's plan

Shorten the average lifespan so you don't have to pay them SS

[mhr]

3. Hmm - So It's OK For Bush And Congress To Have Socialized Health

Insurance provided by the government, but the rest of us can take a hike when it comes to realistic health care coverage.

I think the NLP reframers ought to have a field day with this one.

[ima_sinnic]

6. excellent point! I'm going to write to all these greed-head politicians

and tell them to set an example by dropping their own socialized health benefits.

[Warpy]

17. Fabulous idea!

I'm going to write a scorcher to Heartless Heather Wilson and send it snail mail, which is the way to get it to pack the maximum wallop.

I'm gonna use all my initials in the sig, too.

[sam sarrha]

4. I fear a NEW group of Terrorists, Terminally ill fucked over poor workers.

with nothing to lose and a lot to get even for... taking out those who they feel are are causing the suffering and profiting from it before, and getting even on the way out..

stay away from the DMV too..

[Sugarbleus]

16. Unfortunately, you have this idea right!

People in real need can only take just so much. You push ANYONE up against the wall hard enough and long enough and they are going to REACT.

I could easily come unglued--we are under that much pressure. :grr:

[ima_sinnic]

5. these people just don't quit with the scams du jour

... can't wait to see what's next.

an end to the system of free public roads? toll booths every few miles on every road?

one day they're going to make it illegal to breathe "their" air without a license.

their greed is monumental and impossible to understand or relate to.

[nono]

7. We the people pay for

The best Insurance to be had for these people. They should all lose theirs too, also they should not have a free ride on the amount of PAY RAISE they vote for themselves.

[sam sarrha]

10. all Elected and appointed officials should work for Minimum Wage,be forced

to use only Public Transportation, have to use food stamps, Live in Public Housing, their Kids Go To Public Schools... and have to use their state welfare medical service... only it just got canceled here in Tennessee to balance the budget after the tax cuts to the richest 2% F'd every thing up.

[sam sarrha]

8. back in 2001 Boeing had an account you put money directly out of your

check for medical use.. only if you didn't use it before the end of the year they kept it.. You Lost It.. they Kept it!!!! what a deal!

we about laughed them out of the meeting.. they were really embarrassed , F'n Assholes

[fairfaxvadem]

9. my old company had the same thing

presumably it was supposed to work well for repaying yourself your deductible or for families who knew much they spent in a year, generally, on healthcare, and could reimburse themselves before the year's end.

But somehow, that old trick of "use it or lose it" kept me away from that particular benefit.

I can't say how other employees found it to be.

[DBoon]

12. lots of companies have this

odd how they can call taking money away from you a "benefit"

[CAG]

13. Ignorance is bliss

It is true that the general public, while fuming over a $25 copay for their statin drug, doesn't generally realize that their insurance company just paid $150 to the drug company for the drug. However, the idea that the small amount of cost savings incurred by the individual taking "ownership" and paying for it themselves will somehow offset a shift in premiums from the employer to the employee is ludicrous.

Overall, this is simply cost-shifting. Most people working for large corporations don't realize the huge amount of money the employer is already paying as part of their healthcare insurance. It will only work if the employers increase wages to the workers to pay for the premiums, which won't happen at the same rate that your paying higher insurance premiums.

Economics is much simpler than they want us to believe. If they keep us confused, they win.

[OzarkDem]

14. HSA's only help the wealthy

generally good only for those who are self-employed with very high incomes needing some sort of tax shelter.

[MrSandman]

15. Already there...

move the nation away from the system of employer-provided health insurance

My insurance company will hardly pay a provider, and those they do are discounted so deeply that they are pulling out of the system.

In my EOB, the allowed amount is about one-half the requested amount.

Once the better providers pull out, there will be no options left except the sub-standard providers.