At least it has people talking..
http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2009/01/01/opinion/doc495d426911647280308142.txtLetter: ‘On H.R. 676’
Published: Thursday, January 1, 2009 4:28 PM CST
To the Editor,
Thirteen billion dollars. This is the sum profits for the top 13 health insurers in the U.S. in 2007. Despite this, the United States ranks 19th in the world for deaths by preventable diseases. The United States spends roughly $7,126 per capita in heath costs, and yet has one of the poorest performance in the organized world. This can be attributed to several things. Private insurers waste up to one-third of their costs on things that have nothing to do with healthcare: overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay. Doctors and hospitals must maintain huge staffs to deal with this bureaucracy. Combined, this needless administration consumes one-third of America’s healthcare dollars. Add to that the fact that 47 million Americans are uninsured (with that number sure to grow), and you have a crisis.
H.R. 676 is a bill that is before the House that offers a viable solution to this crisis. Some of the benefits of H.R. 676 are:
• Every resident of the US will be covered from birth to death.
• No more pre-existing conditions to be excluded from coverage.
• No more expensive deductibles or co-pays.
• All prescription medications will be covered.
• All dental and eye care will be included.
• Mental health and substance abuse care will be fully covered.
• Long-term and nursing home services will be included.
• You will always choose your own doctors and hospitals.
• Costs of coverage will be assessed on a sliding scale basis.
• Tremendously simplified system of medical administration
• Total portability — your coverage not tied to any job or location.
• Existing Medicare benefits for those over 65 will remain the same or be vastly improved in many cases.
• No corporate bureaucrat will ever come between you and your doctor to deny your care
This bill is endorsed by Physicians for a National Health Plan, an evergrowing group of doctors who have seen first-hand the effects of our poor health system on their patients.
Sadly, only three Texas Congressmen have co-sponored this. If you believe this should be the future of our healthcare, please write or call Congressman Joe Barton and ask that he support this legislation.
Beth Dawson,
Red Oak
Remembering Brother Raney
Article Rating
Current Rating: 3.7 of 28 votes! Rate File: Select Rating: * ** *** ****
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of thedailylight.com.
salvorhardin wrote on Jan 2, 2009 9:23 AM:
" Ms. Dawson thoroughly outlines the need for universal health care. That the U.S. is the only industrialized country without such a plan is shameful. However, I think one more point needs to be made.
Universal health care is the *best* way of improving our economy. Insuring employees is one of the single largest costs for many employers. A cost that most small businesses can't afford. And yet, when their employees are ill or forgo prophylactic exams and needed treatments businesses suffer from decreased productivity and lowered quality. Just as businesses benefit from public roads, fire and police departments they will benefit from the passage of H.R. 676. To put it quite simply, universal health care *is* the insurance our businesses need to successfully compete in the 21st. century. "
Marybeth wrote on Jan 2, 2009 11:38 AM:
" Our country can't afford NOT to do this. Because so many people lack healthcare, (and go bankrupt,etc. because of it) we are #37 (37th place!) in healthcare quality world-wide. Would the USA accept being #37 in the Olympics? I think not!
Lack of single-payer healthcare the USA is a terrible unseen tax on our businesses. It is one of the main reasons we can no longer compete with foreign manufacturers from countries that DO cover their citizens. $1000 of the cost of every American-made car goes to pay the health insurance for the people who made it. Other countries can put that $1000 back into improving the quality of the actual cars they sell.
Yes, lack of single-payer healthcare is one of the biggest reasons our factories are failing and our jobs are going overseas. We HAVE to get this done, and catch up with the rest of the world. The most expensive, dangerous, and un-American choice we can make is to do nothing. "
Vicki wrote on Jan 2, 2009 4:47 PM:
" Bravo! If we can afford the billions we've been throwing at the bankers, we can afford this. "
Kay Lucas wrote on Jan 2, 2009 7:10 PM:
" Our congress and senators should be shamed at the deplorable health care system for U.S. citizens while they enjoy the best coverage to be had - paid by our tax dollars.
We, as citizens, should be shamed that we continue to allow this situation to continue without flooding our representatives mailboxes demanding they act on H.R. 676.
Thanks to Ms. Dawson for such an informative and articulate letter. "
Linda wrote on Jan 2, 2009 7:31 PM:
" Thank you so much for writing this important commentary. There are literally lives at stake here. It is time for our public servants to stand up and become the government we deserve. After all the money wasted in Iraq, given away to rich cronies in the bailout, it is time to do something good for We the people! And if the Government will not do what is right, it is time to replace them all. They work for US, and they can be fired. "
ADNK wrote on Jan 2, 2009 7:40 PM:
" There are so many reasons to adopt this plan. It would take the burden off small businesses. It would make it possible for entrepreneurs to make that leap to a start-up. It would free people from jobs that they hate. It would make it possible for women to leave abusive realtionships without the additional fear of losing healthcare. HR 676 is a very good start. "
Insurance-Less wrote on Jan 2, 2009 8:01 PM:
" Yes! I don't know why people aren't shouting this from the rooftops! The US health care system is shameful and all Americans should be contacting their representatives and demanding this basic right for all citizens. "
Tim wrote on Jan 2, 2009 8:02 PM:
" Every day, more than 273 people die due to lack of healthcare; that's 100,000 deaths per year in the United States. For the public overall welfare, we have single-payer police departments (no insurance cos. needed, as they'd turn down your request in a 911 call), single-payer fire departments (no insurance cos. needed to turn down your request for a fireman when your house is burning), and single-payer roads that we drive on, in addition to schooling up to grade 12. We need to transition to single-payer healthcare. With single-payer, you can choose your own doctor, as opposed to our current HMO/PPO system.
Links:
Deaths per year
Single-payer facts "
rickaustin wrote on Jan 2, 2009 8:21 PM:
" I to am in favor of a one payor health system, but with restrictions which would include.
No life style medications such as birth
control or Viagra.
Eye care limited to exams, glasses and
necessary surgery, no contacts or laser
surgery just to avoid glasses.
No cosmetic surgery except to repair
injury or birth defects "
Jayne wrote on Jan 3, 2009 7:30 AM:
" Excellent letter. We need to be sure Medicare covers seniors adequately. Currently, most seniors need to buy expensive supplemental insurance or risk the same bankruptcy everyone else faces if serious illness hits. The U.S. has a shameful infant mortality rate and is far down the list for longevity. If we can afford trillion dollar wars, we can afford to keep America healthy. "
Scott Crouch wrote on Jan 3, 2009 3:42 PM:
" And a little pixie dust and we can all fly. The costs of this wish list will make the national debt look like pocket change. Also, check with these countries that have this wonderful free health care and see how great it is. The grass is not greener on the other side. If everything is so much better everywhere else and so bad here, why are people leaving the other countries to come here and not many are leaving here to go other places? We need to check into details before we yell " Federal Government, come take care of me!". "
houstonh wrote on Jan 3, 2009 7:03 PM:
" Questions: Once we socialize our medical treatment, what will be the next to go? Maybe our groceries or perhaps our auto maintenance, huh? Would it not be interesting to know what fruitful comments that Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin might have yielded on this topic?
Do we pledge allegiance to this republic, this democracy, or this whatever?
houstonh "
texpat wrote on Jan 4, 2009 12:50 AM:
" I agree with everyone on this heathcare plan, however many people don't,due to the heatlhcare plan in Canada. There are many nightmarish stories of people dying while waiting months to see a doctor, or have needed surgery. Most fear we would have the same. The similarities and differences should be addressed so more people would back it. "
txteacher7 wrote on Jan 4, 2009 9:19 PM:
" I have a question - actually several questions. Where is the government going to get the money to pay for health care for 300 million U.S. residents? From birth to death? What about the millions of illegals that are here? Do they get covered also? Who pays for that? How much will our taxes (mine and yours) go up to pay for all of this? I pay enough as it is, thank you very much. Here's something else to ponder - do you smoke? Drink alcohol? Eat a high fat diet and not exercise? If so, you should change that and see how fast your health care expenses drop. With no help from the government even. (by the way, in the interest of full disclosure, I do not smoke or drink, I do exercise - although not as much as I should, and I am pretty careful about what I eat although I do love pizza and french fries. Just so you know) "
gregbell wrote on Jan 5, 2009 9:10 AM:
" And the socialism begins..... "
corbeka wrote on Jan 5, 2009 11:13 AM:
" Ms Dawson, thanks for getting such an interesting conversation going. I imagine this is how the issue will be dealt with in D.C. Lets hear it from all sides and maybe we can solve the problem for the politicians. But lets just get something done SOON. "
jj wrote on Jan 5, 2009 3:35 PM:
" Insurance-Less:
You stated that healthcare is a "basic right".
Under the American system you have a right to health care if you can pay for it, i.e., if you can earn it by your own action and effort. But nobody has the right to the services of any professional individual or group simply because he wants them and desperately needs them. The very fact that he needs these services so desperately is the proof that he had better respect the freedom, the integrity, and the rights of the people who provide them.
You have a right to work, not to rob others of the fruits of their work, not to turn others into sacrificial, rightless animals laboring to fulfill your needs. "
leto wrote on Jan 5, 2009 5:14 PM:
" o.k. for all of the naysayers please turn on your internet and go to Frontline.com. The reporter goes to Britain, Germany and Sweden then come back and tell us what you think. Canada should be excluded, they are not doing it right.
If Socialism is what it takes to get everyone health care then So Be It. Think back to FDR integrating Social Security. Where would people be without SS. "
ohtobesonaive wrote on Jan 5, 2009 10:10 PM:
" Amen to the last few people who have written against socialized medicine.
Ms. Dawson, you do realize that's what you're describing, don't you? Have you ever lived in a country with socialized medicine? Just curious. Because I have, and, as a spoiled rotten American (and I include myself in that category), you would be appalled at a healthcare system that you describe here. "Free" healthcare to all isn't free, and "healthcare" doesn't necessarily mean GOOD, or even decent, healthcare.
When I lived in the UK, we paid an exhorbitant amount of money in taxes for the "free" healthcare--Much more money, in fact, than if we had purchased our own private healthcare insurance. On top of that, the care one would receive was the absolute pits. The little girl who lived next door to us suffered all winter long because she needed a simply tonsilectomy, and she had been on the NHS waiting list for over six months. And a friend of mine literally carried her own cleaning supplies with her to the hospital when she gave birth because the hospitals there are so filthy.
Do a little investigation on the quality and cost of care under a socialized medicine scheme, Ms. Dawson. It's not all rosy and peachy keen, I can assure you.
And I second the person who suggested that Americans get it in gear and start taking responsibility for their own health. I couldn't have said it better myself. At some point, we need to begin to focus on preventative healthcare--It's so much cheaper and less painful! "
txteacher7 wrote on Jan 6, 2009 9:50 PM:
" leto - are you sure about that website? I typed in frontline.com and got to some flea medicine. "
grisbane wrote on Jan 7, 2009 9:55 AM:
" The biggest problem with our current health care system is that it is not competitive because it is tied to our employer. Only large companies can afford health care insurance for their employees at anything close to a reasonable price. And even that is not very reasonable. Small companies or people who are self employed have very few choices.
Why can’t I choose my health care coverage like I choose my Auto, Life and Home policies? How much money would be saved by employers if they didn’t have to deal with this issu? How much more would my salary be if my employer gave me the money they spend on health care? How much better and more efficient would the Health Insurance companies be if they actually had to compete with each other?
This is the United States, right? Where is my freedom of choice.
And remember, we already do have “National Health Care”. Think of all the Public hospitals that lose millions every year treating all of the people who have no insurance and can’t pay their bills?
Here’s an idea. Set up preventative medicine clinics for those who don’t have insurance so they don’t have to make expensive trips to hospitals at tax payer expense. Yes, it would still be tax payer dollars, but it would cost considerably less than hospital emergency rooms.
Let those who want better health insurance buy exactly what we want from competing insurance companies with our own money.
Give us the Freedom to choose! "
grisbane wrote on Jan 7, 2009 10:00 AM:
" Leto -
If it we were investing our money for retirement rather than paying it to Social Security, we'd all be better off. Even with the economic turmoil we are currently in, our returns would be far greater.
If Social Security is your example of how National Healthcare should be run, count me OUT!!!
But then, what do you expect when the government runs things... "
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
