This thread is in response to the fringe fear mongering. If you are informed and against health care reform, I would love to hear why (YACHT I appreciate your response in the other thread). I'm not trying to change anyone's mind, just debunk some myths and rant a bit. This proposed bill does not have all the answers, but I believe it is a step in the right direction that would be very wise to take. Unfortunately a bill required us to take sides, either for or against, regarding issues that are rarely ever black and white.
THE ACTUAL BILL THAT IS BEING DEBATED CAN BE FOUND HERE IN PDF FORMAT:
docs.house.gov/edlabor/AAHCA-BillText-071409.pdf
I realize legal lingo is rediculous to wade through, but before you think you're informed because you can repeat any pundits talking point, I encourage you to actually look up the legislation and read parts that are important to you.
Read this article for a quick overview of why the system as it is, is not working:
http://allcountries.org/health/usa_health_care_2008_nyt.html
STATEMENT:: "I don't want government run health care, I don't want socialized medicine, stay away from my insurance plan and medicare!"
REALITY: The government is not taking over health care. They are providing an alternate plan for the millions of people who are unable to afford health insurance as it is now or who are unhappy with the plan they are recieving with their insurer. After reading the bill, as I understand it, If you want to, you can keep your insurance plan as it is now, you can keep the doctor you have. No one is trying to take those away from you. If you like what you have, you can keep it. The government will not interfere with that.
MEDICAID and MEDICARE are forms of SOCIALIZED MEDECINE by the way.
MYTH: "This alternate plan will cost more than the country can afford and more than how health care is now. It will make the economy even worse!"
REALITY: This is completely false. As health care is now we cannot afford it. Health insurance and health care reform is crucial to strengthening to economy. Rising health care costs are threatening basic industries, and now consume over 16% of the national economic output which is the highest it's ever been.
If we continue on this path we are doomed for an even worse economy than what we see now. The reform is meant to cut costs and elimate waste in an effort to reduce the nations health care bill.
MYTH: "The government is trying to kill my grandmother! they want to take away her medicare!"
REALITY: No one is even discussing about elimating or reducing medicare benefits. It's not mentioned anywhere in the bill. People seem to like the benefits as it is now and the only change in medicare will be to eliminate some of the waste that is being paid for out of the medicare trust fund which can be used more effectively to cover more people. Quality of care will not be diminished and it is the goal of health care reform to improve the medicare benefits by paying less for drugs and giving them a wider range of doctors to choose from.
MYTH: "there will be rationing of care with this new plan"
REALITY: RATIONING OCCURES NOW. Insurance companies choose what services you can and can't get, not based on what treatment you need, but based on what you can pay. They have "denial quotas" in which they must deny people coverage no matter how sick or near death they may be. Insurance companies discrimate people with pre-existing conditions, charger higher copays, and can opt to not cover a specific medical condition. With the reform, people who have pre-existing medical conditions will not be denied coverage and will have more options. Insurance companies are making huge amounts of money and that is their focus when it should be helping people pay for their neccessary treatment in a resonable fashion.
MYTH: "The reform will hurt small businesses"
REALITY: The current health care system does not work well for small businesses. A small business pays 18% more for similar coverage for its workers than a larger firm. This puts them at a competitive disadvantage. They either have to have lower profits, or their workers get lower take home wages. This means that currently small businesses are providing health insurance less often than larger businesses. Health care reformed is aimed at relieving these burdens. The alternate plans will have a tax credit for small businesses if they provide health coverage. A business with fewer than 25 employess will be exempt from employer responsibililty requirements (if they dont provide health insurance there is a penality). Small businesses are a crucial sector of our economy and the health reform is designed to help them thrive.
MYTH: "This bill will force euthanansia on seniors!"
REALITY: I can't beleive people actually think this is true. The section of the bill that is being misinterpreted is section 1233. It has been misinterpreted as "mandatory end of life care and every 5 years you will be told how you will die." The actual text in the bill is
"‘‘Advance Care Planning Consultation
‘‘(hhh)(1) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the
term ‘advance care planning consultation’ means a con-
sultation between the individual and a practitioner de-
scribed in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning,
if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has
not had such a consultation within the last 5 years."
Medicare, for the first time, will now cover consultation about end of life care, but they will not pay for it more than once every five years. It is not mandatory. People can now access information about a living will and be able to have a conversation with their doctors. Medicare will also reimberse doctors if they have these discussions. This isnt about killing old people. Its about giving them the power to create and informed and smart will so their wishes may be respected.
IN CONCLUSION....(not exactly cliffnotes, but read this if nothing else)
The media frenzy surrounding this is absolutely absurd. The story is no longer about the actual reforms that are proposed, the story is about what peoples opinions about the reforms are. Opinions are not fact, opinions are based on fact. Before you can form an opinion about whether you support the proposed health insurance bill or not, you should have some actual facts to support it, not pundits opinions.
This issue doesn't need to be reduced down into another democrat vs republican or liberal vs conservative debate. The health care reform issue is about improving our nations health care system for everyone. We have the worst quality of health care of any developed nations. America should be embarassed by this and demanding change, but instead all I seem to hear is pundit fueled distortions and fear.
