Why is the private system so great?

We've had a private insurance health care system in the US for over 40 years with cost increases of 2-3 times the rate of inflation for every one of those 40 years. We've had a public system in place for those over 65 for about 45 years, that cost has increased at about 50% of the rate of inflation over those same years. Can someone tell me why? And don't give me any of that malpractice crap, it's already been shown time and again that that is less than 1 percent of overall health costs.

Personal Health Care Experience

Wow, my last post created quite a discussion, so I thought I would chime in with my own personal experience with our "wonderful" health care system.

My previous wife past away almost 2 years ago from a long-term illness she had been battling for over 10 years. During that 10 years I was fully employed and had employer provided insurance (and it was pretty decent coverage on the surface). However over the course of that 10 years I had paid out of pocket expenses totaling over... wait for it, it's a big one... $200,000! That's right, enough to pay for a nice modest house, and that's with insurance! The bulk of that was paid during the last 4 years. How is the average American expected to deal with that?

I had to fight my insurance provider every step of the way with their pre-authorization requests, and other tactics. They would deny procedures and treatment based on all kinds of reasons that are too long to go into here. The point is, they were in control, not me, not my wife, and not our doctors! What are you supposed to do when the insurance company denies coverage of a procedure, forgo the procedure? We are talking about a person's life here! Most of the time I didn't even have that option, I usually found out they weren't going to pay for something after it was billed by the doctor/hospital. They put every effort into trying to prevent giving you the very coverage you are paying for. So those of you who are afraid of a public health plan because you think the government is going to take control over you and your doctor, I have news for you, you're not in control now. It wouldn't matter if the US did have the most advanced medicine in the world since damn few people can ever get it, even if they have "great" health "insurance".

So my question for those who are opposed to any type of government run plan, are you prepared to outlay the same type of expenses for yourself or family member that I did? What do you do if you lose your job, as millions of Americans have in the past several months, can you afford the COBRA costs with your unemployment check? Don't be naive and think it can't happen to you.

WE NEED HEALTH CARE REFORM NOW! WE NEED A PUBLIC OPTION NOW!

Hate Mongering

Watch the following clip of Shepard Smith.



Nice insight into the minds of, as Sarah Palin would call them, "real Americans" out there. This crap started during the election and has continued to grow ever since, and guys like Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Glenn Beck have been fanning the flames of this craziness. If you think I'm wrong, just do what Shepard Smith's guest suggested and spend some time on the blogs. As a matter of fact, start with Sean Hannity's own forum on his site where this kind of rhetoric is a daily occurance, or look back on last summer's campaign trail.

The difference between John McCain and Sarah Palin became clearest in the middle of the campaign last summer.

At a town hall meeting, McCain was confronted by an elderly woman who told McCain that she was a supporter of his because Obama was "an Arab." McCain was clearly uncomfortable, and it was patently obvious why. It had nothing to do with McCain's feelings about Arabs. It had to do with an old-school Republican accidentally moving the rock, and coming face to face with what actually lived beneath it. He recognized that the woman was making an unambiguously racist statement about his opponent, and he was mortified to be asked to answer it.

The Republican party has been hijacked by racists and religious fanatics who deride education and achievement as "elitist." Sure, they might only be a small portion of the party, but they certainly are among the loudest!

Sarah "Screw the Political Correctness" Palin, on the other hand, seemed right at home. She marched into those same crowds grinning and winking, and "Yoo betcha-ing" like she was onstage at the Miss Alaska pageant. While her supporters waved watermelon slices and stuffed monkeys, Palin talked about who the "real Americans" were, and who was "palling around with terrorists." She refused to address the blatant racism of her fans, or address the obvious exploitation of Obama's middle name, Hussein, and the implication she herself was making with her "terrorist" comments.

One can almost appreciate the horrible honesty of the racists among the McCain-Palin supporters who were able to admit what the others obfuscated: that they didn't want a black man in the White House. Certain videos from their rallies are deeply disturbing. They showcase the seething racism and hate of her most ardent followers.

Obama's citizenship was reportedly also something of an obsession for James W. Von Brunn, and likely very much on his mind when he walked into the museum and opened fire to make a statement about what "his" America ought to look like. It's not hard to conclude which radio stations he listened to, or which pundits best represented his baseline political ideology.

I think the scariest part of the video above was the tail end which gets caught in the audio fade. Smith says, "More and more it seems people are taking the extra step and getting the gun out."