story of the day....health care circus....

Somehow the Democratic party, even though having a majority in Congress and a President clearly elected for a forwarding-thinking agenda, has been caught totally bewildered in a consistent approach to the contentious (made so by the media and Republicans) issue of health care. Even though a plan has not been released by the administration yet, mere speculation has been sending people into a tizzy, with notions of socialization of health care and freedom of one's choice in medicine. As regards to socialization, what is the difference between that and the government subsidy of farms? I don't see much of that being complained about, or is it just because that's about red-staters getting free money? And in my opinion, why can't health care be socialized? Since we're doing so dismally now, and people who cannot afford health insurance (or get it through their employer) mostly get sicker until they show up at the hospital emergency room, and who pays for that? Us! Just because Sarah Palin, cunt that she is, would prefer to hide her giant head (and weave) under a rock, doesn't mean we're not shelling out money that is totally misappropriated in the first place! And as long as the trade is regulated (and with something this important to this society, it damn well should be heavily regulated), the savings from that will be more immediate than any other stimulus you can get.

And as for freedom of choice? Do you really think you have more decision-making ability than your insurance company? Really? Between being funneled into certain doctors, being denied procedures for "cost-control", and arcane "pre-existing condition" traps can't certainly be better than a program made to support the people, not push a stock higher on the Dow.

The critics are saying that a public option would simply put private insurers out of business (like unfair competition from Wal-Mart and the like ever mattered to these free-market clowns). If anything it would get them to step up and reform themselves, because Lord knows nothing else will.

The best breakdown of the options in this debate are put out by Washington Post columnist and genuine smart-guy Ezra Klein. His article is worth a complete read to get a good handle for the laymen on the topic..(hat tip to Jon at Americablog.com)

The private insurance market is a mess. It's supposed to cover the sick and instead competes to insure the well. It employs platoons of adjusters whose sole job is to get out of paying for needed health care services that members thought were covered.

...If you can't replace them, convert them. If the public plan works, then private insurance will work better as well. In this telling, the simple existence of the public plan forces a more honest insurance market: Private insurers need to offer premiums closer to their marginal cost, and they have to cut administrative costs, and they have to work on their reputation for cruelty and capriciousness. The existence of another option changes the market. Individuals will have access to private insurers, but they'll no longer be stuck with them.

Lastly, whoever is pushing the idea of taxing pre-existing health care benefits from employers? KICK THEM IN THE NUTS. HARD. Way to go triangulating the public against you, dickwads. Are you just trying to commit hari-kari on the health plan to appease your insurance company donor overlords?