Insurance Discussion

By Richard Cords

I am all for Healthcare reform. I have been trying to keep up with the details of the two bills before Congress, but it seems to get more confusing by the day. The Senate version has now passed the vote. As I read about the provisions in the bills, I can’t help but wonder how this is all going to come together in a new national healthcare plan that isn’t a gumball. 

I think the tax code is a mess, and I think the final Healthcare Reform Bill that emerges as a joint product of the House and Senate and finds its way to President Obama’s desk is going be a bigger mess; a costly one at that and I seriously doubt there will be any improvement in medical services. In fact, I see Medicare and Medicaid benefits being robbed; sort of like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

It seems to me, our government is very good at complicating just about everything it undertakes. Our government has allowed brazen corruption to fly under the radar in every dirty corner or out-building of its bureaucracy; i.e., Acorn, Freddie, Fannie, etc.

Healthcare Reform really could be quite simple. By just leaving the current system alone with a couple of exceptions; allow open market interstate medical insurance competition, reform tort laws and cap lawyers’ fees and percentages of awards in malpractice suits with a fixed maximum amount payable to the attorneys. Provide an affordable, but publicly subsidized Public Option with a 2% national sales tax. And, mandate free and open market enterprise in pharmaceuticals. Persons with pre-existing conditions would be guaranteed coverage under the Public Option. There would be no need to fine anyone without one form of coverage or other; only a surtax to be imposed if they cannot provide proof of coverage at tax time. Kind of like providing proof of auto insurance when registering your automobile. A surtax is more palatable than a fine. It’s semantics, but what the hell.

I think the real shame here is not that our politicians are trying to reform our healthcare system. I’m in agreement there with them. The travesty brewing in Washington is the fact that this is a political chess match with the acclaim for the victors perceived (by them and not too many outside of Capitol Hill) as a self-aggrandizing… see what we did… boasting like, who the hell was smarter? The Russians with Boris Spassky or, the Americans with Bobby Fischer? Back then, it wasn’t about Spassky or Fischer. It was about America v. the Soviet Union. This healthcare reform isn’t about what is right or what really should be the very well, diligently thought out, best approach for improvement to our healthcare system. It’s about stomping on the other political party. It’s bullying at its ugliest and there are a handful of ugly faces leading the bullying.  And the clowns representing us in Washington are stuffing nickels in the gumball machine to see who can get the most out of it before America has had enough to chew. 

I think it’s really too bad that this whole issue of healthcare reform has become a bully-banter. So far, the Democrats have shown they have the weight to throw around. Maybe the Republican line is bulking up for the November, 2010 play. I think so, but what do I know.

Tags: Healthcare, Medicaid benefits, Obama’s desk, Republican, Senate version, stuffing nickels, Washington

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 10:45 am and is filed under Health Insurance, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.