Part of the argument against the public option is that the private insurance companies won't be able to compete and will be driven out of business. My response to that is "GOOD." And CIGNA should be the first to go:
If for just 5 minutes we could get the Republicans to stop saying "No," and the Blue Dog Democrats to stop counting campaign contributions from their insurance company masters, they might be able see what this debate is all about-people's lives are hanging in the balance.
Wishful thinking, I know.
If for just 5 minutes we could get the Republicans to stop saying "No," and the Blue Dog Democrats to stop counting campaign contributions from their insurance company masters, they might be able see what this debate is all about-people's lives are hanging in the balance.
Wishful thinking, I know.
We clearly need to have a barbecue at some point. Does your smoker travel? Mine doesn't, unfortunately.
I can't believe I'm actually writing this, but has anyone seen the preview for Saw VI? (Mind you, I only saw the first movie) I just saw the commericial on Spike, and apparently the serial killer sets up these people on a merry-go-round and makes one guy choose who lives or dies. Meanwhile, the killer is talking about health insurance companies deciding who receives healthcare. I actually thought it was a politial commercial until the decider starting shooting people. How funny is that? What's next, Rob Zombie addresses global warming in his next low budget horror remake?
That's what the classic recipe in the link mentions, pre-cooking the inside bacon chunks to whatever degree of doneness you like.
I've gotten excellent results with Bad Byron's Butt Rub seasons and a sauce called "Bock and [something]" on the inside. I prefer the outside nicely smoked without any sauce because I'm a dry rub kinda guy.
Wouldn't those be improved if you fried up the inside strips of bacon first, so they got good and fat-rendered and crunchy, among all the sausage?
I'm sorry, I thought it was pretty clear that I wasn't casting any aspersions on those who are struggling just to stay afloat. My comments were directed towards people of comfortable means who nevertheless don't keep themselves in reasonable shape, given their circumstances and health. I live in a godforsaken suburb where I see fat white people driving their Hummer down a block for their doughnuts all the time - and they tend to be precisely the same people who are against health reform and against immigrants and against providing more generous unemployment and other benefits in an economic downturn and against taxes in general.
I really gotta move.
Ironic..if the 50% who were depressed exercised every day, that number would plummet.
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Kelly, REALLY depressed people are unable to get up and take a shower some days. It's a disease, and some people need medication to get enough energy to make it to the gym. Once they can, they have to keep it up for at least 21 days to start forming a new neuro-network to sustain them. I've been there, and it's not easy.
Of course, my talk about personal responsibility was not meant to insult those that have legitimate health problems. My talk of choices was more meant for those that are in the situation they are in because of their choices. For me, my anger is aimed at them because they often complain about their problems and that is a direct insult to those that can't help their situation or were dealt a bad hand by fate.
Scott,
I believe that the vast majority of economists are in the progressive tax camp. I can't speak to the political success or failure of a flat tax. I think the prevailing wisdom is that most economies couldn't function without the present tax systems.
I don't know why more people don't use coupons. I could easily afford not to use them, but I do because it's crazy not to.
I'm a very careful food shopper and coupon user, so I'm able to buy really healthy items for a shockingly lower cost. I also usually only buy my produce from farmer's markets or on sale. I agree with some of the comments here that quality grocery stores are hard to find in certain areas, and most people wouldn't or can't drive as far as I do to a farmer's market.
However, I disagree about the cost of fast food versus home-cooked food. If you think it's impossible to feed a family of four at the same price, check out the Coupon Contessa website. That woman is a freak of nature. I'm not that far into it. :-) But it does take some planning, and I think people buy fast food more out of convenience than price.
Mac, ok, if you want to talk about Whataburgers ---my downfall. I only have one every 6 months or so...but God, they are too good. Bad, Carol -- bad....
And thanks -- I am hanging in there and hoping for the best...
Carol, I sincerely hope y'all are doing well and that you're healthly, happy and OK.
I don't think anyone would fault those caught in health problems beyond their control. My posts on health choices are tinted with more than a little bit of shame because of my love of food, especially Bacon Explosions.
Kel, since I had cancer and had to take all of the damn drugs, I gained 30 pounds (still there, thank you so much!!!)
I understand what you are saying, but I am talking about those of us in America that simply don't have a choice about what we eat -- it is just a matter of eating -- period.
I just want all of us to be a little less critical and a little more kind in talking about our fellow man and what they are doing to survive.
Years ago, my husband and I were quite wealthy -- a 5000 sq ft house and more money than we could sneeze at. Then the oil business crashed. We survived quite well for several years, but now, he is 71 and I will be 60 next week and the money is gone. I have lost my health insurance, as you know, and now it is simply survival....
We raise our own beef, chickens, veggies etc, but we are still struggling -- as are some many others...
Carol, as I've struggled with weight, I have a hard time keeping my cool about watching people destroy their bodies out of laziness and gluttony and then complain constantly about their health. I work so hard for the health that I have - and I'm not even close to great shape! So as I'm abstaining from the delicious plate of Mexican or Chinese food with yet another grilled chicken salad or tuna wrap, I do get bitter.
Ironic..if the 50% who were depressed exercised every day, that number would plummet.
Ok, folks -- I have been MIA for a few days because I am planting my fall garden -- healthy stuff, ya know.
All that I am reading today is that "we are all pigs and don't do enough to live a healthier lifestyle", and to some extent, I agree with that.
However, we are losing sight of the bigger picture here - there are people who are struggling every freakin' day just to put food on the table for their family -- not "healthy" food -- just FOOD! So let's get off of the bandwagon here and think that maybe, just maybe, they are doing the best that they can.
In a perfect world (please God, in my lifetime) manna will rain down from the heavens and we will all be able to make the right choices about food, drink, lifestyles et al. But until then, let's just focus on getting freakin' health insurance for everyone. Okay?
Absolutely right, carguy! Why, I just had my kidney replaced the other day, just for the hell of it. And I'm getting a cholecystectomy later this week, as a preemptive measure. Heck, why keep that pesky gallbladder in when it might cause pain later? Maybe I'll get knee surgery next week, just to say I did. And the pills - _someone's_ gotta keep Sanofi-Pasteur's and Eli Lilly's executives rolling in champagne and fourth and fifth vacation homes! I'd might as well contribute to the effort.
This all seems a bit fatalistic. I agree there are some things beyond our control, but there are some things that aren't. I hate to pick on my wife's relatives, but in just short visits I've seen them eat well beyond their means. That's a choice. So, while I put forth that time and space are issues that are hard to overcome, if we were being honest, there are things we do to keep ourselves unhealthy.
For instance, I drink way too many cokes during a day (probably 60 ounces on average daily). That's a choice I've made. I've tried to quit and it doesn't take. I compensate in other ways. Similarly, others make their own choices. I think documentaries like "Supersize Me" have forced McDonalds to offer healthy options. Now, it's on us to pick them.
FantasyLand wrote: I pay roughly $300 dollars a month for health insurance. My deductible is $2500. Most doctor visits don't cost $2500. So in essence I am paying nearly $4,000 a year for insurance that is useless to me. I shell out thousands a year for something I can't even use.
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Health insurance is like car insurance. If you don't have a wreck or some other claim once every 3-4 years, you're getting hosed. That's why you MUST motivate yourself and get a new fender, or new windshield, maybe a new set of wheels and tires to replace the worn ones that were "stolen". That's just common sense.
More "bang for your buck" from BC/BS??? Everyone, I mean everyone, has some body part or organ that could use repair or replacement. Baby boomers, I'm pretty sure you have a clogged artery, somewhere. Live in Houston, chronic sinusitis makes you eligible for sinus surgery called a "turbinate reduction." Makes breathing easier. You don't need an appendix anyway. Gimpy knee... let's be creative people and get our money's worth. I'm on a "first name basis" at Methodist Hospital. Lipoma, hernia, sinus surgery (as mentioned above), cardiac angioplaasty. That doesn't even count accidental and sports injuries. My philospohy, don;t go to an "All you can Eat Dinner Buffet" on a diet Or after a big lunch. :-)
OK folks. The excuse that it is a problem of choice is lame. I didn't choose that chemical factory to cause cancer in people. I didn't choose that lethal drug to pass the FDA. I didn't choose to inhale fumes from gas guzzling monstrosities.
Hell! who actually wants to exercise? Half the country has been found to be chronically depressed. We are lucky some even get out of bed in the morning...
It is easier to be holier than thou when daddy and mommy left you millions, or you happen to be a scam artist and are proficient at screwing people over. You can just put on airs, sit back in your $10,000 chair and make assumptions. Then maybe check your $50,000 watch and see if it is time for your daily message.
Who's bad choices are we talking about? The choice to cut back on scientific and medical research, but increase military spending by 300 billion dollars?
Fuck the rich, I got their choices right here...
If you are rich you can afford fitness trainers, nutrition experts, weigh room in your house, take off work to exercise, the most healthiest and finest foods.
When poor you are lucky to grab a burger on your way to your 10 hour shift at the sweatshop...
There absolutely is no argument for healthy living when our society is designed to be unhealthy.
Preventative health care is the only true solution to reducing health care cost. It cost so damn much right now because we have an emergency room health care system.
Absolutely on all those counts. Add in dodgy neighborhoods, making exercise difficult, and no money (or time) for that gym membership, and things start becoming pretty difficult. It's easier to put _all_ the blame on poor choices, though, and ignore the structural problems.
But then you've got the people higher up on the food chain, who do live in the 'burbs and have cars and only work one job (or are stay at home people and don't work ANY job, other than taking care of the kids when they're home from school) and do have money for a gym membership or can exercise in their neighborhood, and they DON'T, and they eat crappy, processed food, and they're overweight and have health problems (or problems on the way). For them, I've got very little sympathy, and will happily and smugly blame away.
When you consider wellness you have to consider a couple of important factors.
1) Time
Those on the bottom of the food chain financially (pardon the pun) usually end up working 60 or so hours a week. So, when are they going to have the energy to cook much less exercise? Suddenly, the McDonalds of the world become more and more appealing because of the time involved.
2) Space
For those that live in the suburbs like myself, it is incredibly surprising to see how far one would have to travel to see an actual to god grocery store in the inner city. Here in Galveston I've seen one or two grocery stores where I have four of five in a 3-5 mile radius in Clear Lake. So, where are they supposed to find these raw materials to make these meals of which they speak?
Furthermore, these ingredients add up in cost and end up costing the same as a processed meal. So why make the effort (or so they think)? You add kids to the equation and becomes more difficult.
Sure - wellness programs are becoming more widespread, and I suspect you're right about "obesity surcharges" (though when the boss or primary executives are fat, I suspect that becomes far less likely).
You gotta wonder, though, what factors are really at play when far more of the wealthier people eat a healthy, balanced diet and get enough exercise, whereas lower-income people eat poorly and exercise less. It's not just a matter of good versus bad choices. And as such, I doubt that pressures from employers and insurers directly on people will be sufficient to substantially alleviate the problem.
I pay roughly $300 dollars a month for health insurance. My deductible is $2500. Most doctor visits don't cost $2500. So in essence I am paying nearly $4,000 a year for insurance that is useless to me. I shell out thousands a year for something I can't even use.
Personally I could careless about these rich people's problems. They have created a system that exploits people and kills them. These are not entrepreneurs, these are murders. Killing people for monetary gain is what? MURDER for profit. Just like mercenaries, but worse. At least a mercenary shoots at you, and puts himself at risk. A health insurance CEO hides behind red tape and mountains of money.
Think about the cycle that has been happening. Corporations pollute the earth, create health problems, obstruct ecological solutions, and deny people coverage of health insurance. Seems to me they are trying to kill us.
Doesn't take a great leap of logic to see what they have been doing for decades.
I'm sure everyone remembers the flat tax movement in 1996. Steve Forbes was huge on it and nearly all of the Republican candidates wanted it. Even though they lost, the Republicans still controlled Congress and could have driven it through. Yes, it had universal Democratic opposition, but they had the majority. Why did it fail? It failed for the same reason that health care reform is struggling now: corporate interest.
A system like single payer would kill a multi-billion dollar industry just like the flat tax would put people like H&R Block out of business. So, while corporate interests are a part of it, there are some practical concerns as well. If health insurance companies are no more then how many unemployed people are we talking about? No matter how much conservatives were committed to ridding themselves of the progressive income tax, they couldn't bear to put that many workers out on the street.
The way we are currently doing it, insurance companies will shrink, but they won't die. Heck, my parents are both Medicare eligible and they both have private insurance in addition to the Medicare. Lots of other seniors do as well. The entrepaneural spirit dictates that they should and will adapt. Private schools did not go away with public education. They just changed and improved.
I hate those bastards.
BCBS is provided by my employer. But the doctor who actually keeps me healthy is out-of-network because if he's in-network for BCBS, they only pay him if he uses the lab they specify, and if he prescribes the meds the specify. (It's a minor point that those meds don't work all that well for me.)
SO I have one of those flexible spending accounts, the kind you have deducted from your salary pre-tax, then you submit requests for reimbursement of medical expenses, using receipts, etc. It provides a tax advantage and is based on medical expenses as defined by IRS pub 502. That's right, the IRS.
Try to imagine talking about an IRS document with a health insurance rep. Boggles.
In August 2009 I finally full reimbursement for my January 2008 visit to that doc. Sometimes I got so tired of making phone calls and sending emails, I would just have to take a couple of weeks off to refresh myself.
If I had been seeking approval for surgery or a cancer treatment, taking time off from struggling with the insurance company would have been an unaffordable luxury.
The whole situation infuriates me.
And sorry if this is a repeat. It's anger talking.
From a business perspective, it makes perfect sense for insurers and employers to encourage healthier living. I remember the hue & cry over employers imposing higher health care costs on employees who smoke; disincentives for obesity cannot be far behind, if not here already.
At what point will everyone see these monsters for what they are? PARASITES
Pollan's piece was pretty interesting. Talk about a battle of the titans: AHIP vs. Big Agribusiness.
It's truly sad, though, that that's what it might take to get people to live "more healthily" (I dread what that might mean to various corporate interests).
Every time I think of the way so many people in this country live, I just get depressed. What happened to making your own meals out of unprocessed or minimally-processed ingredients? You'd think it would just be part of normal existence, but apparently it's not. You'd also think that people would keep themselves fit enough to climb a few flights of stairs without risking a minor heart attack. But a majority of Americans don't.
Here's a good read about one under-discussed aspect of health care: diet.
The article points out that once teh plan goes into effect, insurers will have a strong incentive to get their clientele to follow a healthier lifestyle, and by extension the food production system will have to change with it.It goes on to list other possible downstream changes due to health care reform.
(h/t Loren Steffy)
Agreed. Public financing of elections and elimination of private campaign money would cause a seismic shift in politics. Don't hold your breath, though.
As I've said before in several different contexts, we need to change to 100% public financing of election campaigns (and/or, perhaps even better yet, a denial that money = speech for First Amendment purposes) before we're going to see any real change here.