pjinca

I can agree with you on all points, but the bills is a start, I don;t think it is the solution yet. It is, however, a step in the right direction. I don;t think Obama is the savior, but he hasn;t had a chance to focus much on his agenda given that he was given a shit storm to start with.

skelevirus

hmmm good points guys, honestly id like to be swayed in one direction or another, i'd like to hear how the chain comes full circle and doesn't just end up w we as the rich don't wanna be apart of this cuz its gonna affect their $bottom line. is it really just all about money in the simplest of terms if it is i can understand that, im a rational person, no one wants to pay more. but then why pretend its not?

aretardedorange

+1

Krozi

This thread will be very entertaining in the near future.

pipper

i'll agree to disgree with you on that. i personally think that a person who makes more money has a moral obligation to pay more taxes. to me, its just the right thing to do. i pay more taxes than my neighbor and i have no problem with that. heck, even the richest person in the USA (warren buffet) has the same view. but without going in too much details, he has a way of saying one thing and doing another. im waiting for the "higher taxes for rich folks impedes a persons desire to want to make more money" arguement now....

like you said before ALL politicians are whores to lobbyists. lobbyists accomplished what they wanted...to destroy the public option in this bill. thats what they were terrified about...God knows they dont want to compete with the govt. no wonder healthcare stocks all rallied on wall street after the bill was passed. this bill is a start, yes, but if what has happened this past year is any indication, a public option is something you or i wont see in this lifetime. same goes for the finance reform bill..sure we'll get SOME reform...eventually, after lobbyists pay their way to get the more important parts stripped away from the bill.

ahhh, democracy, gotta love it!!

Richard in NC

I have not read any details on the exact bill that just passed but if it contains any of the scary information I've read about in the past, we are screwed.

Some items could be:
1. No new private policies can be written.
2. If you want to switch, you are forced into the government plan.
3. Certain changes to existing policies can't be done.
4. Small companies may be forced to provide the government plan at a certain cost, or large penalties will be issued.
5. The government policy forces use of certain doctors/practices, etc. I work for a hospital. Will be forced to use a competitor?
6. Coverage of non-generic drugs will be limited.
7. The elderly will be likely denied coverage on procedures they may be able to get now.
8. Instead, the elderly will be given "end-of-life" counseling. "Sorry, you can't have that liver transplant. But we'll help ease your families pain when you pass."
9. The government WILL dictate what procedures will be covered for any diagnosis. And you think insurance companies deny claims?? Just wait.

Better yet, this link is still available: Scary stuff...
Healthcare Bill

Krozi

kscarrol

Let me preface this by saying that my youngest son has Type 1 diabetes so we rely heavily on our insurance plan and despite that plan we pay roughly $300 a month OUT OF POCKET for prescriptions and supplies. I don't know whether this move will force small private companies to drop insurance and move people to the government plan but even the smallest threat is not an option I can support.

While I agree that some form of universal health care is needed, I am not in favor of this bill. This is not universal health care, there are plenty of folks left behind.

I also take issue with the way this was rushed through with no consensus and frankly I doubt most members of congress read the roughly 2,000 page bill, much less really understand the long-term implications. It was railroaded through. And what happened to Obama's promise to give the public five days to review any bill on his desk?

My final problem is this bill gets government even more deeply involved in our lives. This is the same bureaucracy that has run social security, medicare and medicaid into the ground. And now we're supposed to trust them with even more control. I understand that the demographics (aging of population) are a big part of those problems but these folks have refused to deal with those issues and now we are supposed to trust them to deal with this. I think not... Just my $0.02!

pipper

happiest counties in the world....

1. denmark
6. finland
7. sweden
.
.
.
16. USA

see something wrong with that? wanna compare health grades too?

Gene

^preach....