I'm sick of hearing about insurance (health care) for the children.

[raccoon]

Yes, children need health care. Seniors need health care.

And adults who aren't yet old enough to qualify for Medicare need health care too, dammit.

[cornfedyank]

1. we want the same health care as our Representatives.

why not?

[Epiphany4z]

2. children need

healthy parents....a healthy family

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

3. If you're over the age of 25...

you should just 'effing die and be quiet about it...

[Giant Robot]

4. Then who will work in our service industry jobs

And toil in our mines

And sweat and bleed in our (declining) factories?

Edit for clarification: This was really meant just as snarky as your post. I wasn't sure how it came across when I re-read it.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

9. Snarky is as snarky does...

I have no idea what that means, but I get your point.

I think...

[bullimiami]

5. right on. everyone needs health care. anything less is bullshit.

[GreenArrow]

6. I'm sick of it too

It's cheap emotional grandstanding.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

7. And how great is it for children whose parents get sick and die because their parents

can't afford decent/or any health care at all? I agree! Universal Free Profit-free health care for all!!!

[OzarkDem]

8. Real health care reform, not political gamesmanship

Insuring children is both comparatively cheap and appeals to emotions of the public. Focusing only on coverage for kids is nothing more than a political stunt, not a serious effort.

We won't bring health care costs under control until everyone is covered, regardless of age or medical history.

I work in the field of health care reform and I can tell you that Congressional Dems have changed direction on their approach to health care reform, choosing to go for the cheap fixes that give them good PR. Many long term supporters of single payer health care have backed down and now support an "incremental" approach, which I fear is going to include a lot of garbage like giving government subsidies to private insurance companies to provide crappy coverage to the uninsured.

This is an area where we really have to put pressure on Dems for meaningful reform. Lots of calls, meetings and letters.

[China_cat]

10. Yes, everybody needs health care and a way to pay for it.

However, we have more of a chance of getting it for the kids than we do for anyone else so they can grow up to be healthy cannon fodder.

:sarcasm:

[NotGivingUp]

11. I agree wholeheartedly. n/t

[Katherine Brengle]

12. In fairness, children are helpless.

That's why they need more protection in some cases.

They can't fight for themselves, so we have to fight for them.

Edited to add: But I do agree with you - healthcare should be available to everyone, all the time, and paid for from public funds as a public service for the greater good of EVERYONE!

[Wcross]

13. Would a tax credit for health insurance work?

Do you think a tax credit for health insurance is the way to go? If you are employed at a job with health benefits the money your employer pays for your health care would be taxable as income. The tax credit would be set at the average cost of health insurance. The credits would be based on family size, enough to cover the cost of health insurance. You would only receive the credit if you bought health insurance. Of course if you did not earn enough to owe taxes the tax credit would come to you in the form of a check with which you would have to use to buy a policy.

[raccoon]

14. Here's where I strongly disagree,

"with which you would have to use to buy a policy."

I assume you mean private insurance here. They can, and do, exclude pre-existing conditions you have. Which means they are never, never going to pay jack for treatment for those conditions.

Makes you wonder just how much individual policies are worth.

[Wcross]

15. Something would have to be done about pre-existing conditions .

If EVERYBODY had health insurance the costs associated with pre-existing conditions could be absorbed by the entire pool. It would raise the rates for everybody but everyone would be able to get insurance.

[Sir Jeffrey]

16. No, it won't work in the long term...

the major problem with the health care industry is that it is profit-driven. If you start introducing massive tax credits to subsidize the purchase of private, for-profit health insurance, you will give the insurance companies greater incentive to raise prices. There will be more money floating around in the system, so they will raise prices to whatever they want to charge.

Then, after they raise prices, in order to keep the program going you will have to keep raising taxes or reduce benefits. After a decade or so it will be like the college financial aid programs...in other words, prices for health care will rise like college tuition has in the past decade. Then we're riight back to square one, only this time with a massive entitlement program on the verge of collapse.

And of course there is the added problem that a tax credit is worthless for the unemployed, the students, the children, the retired, etc.

I don't know why people want to focus on tax credits and incremental solutions. There are several highly successful models of universal health care we can choose from. They spend far less per capita than we do on delivery of care, and they cover everyone.