HEALTH CARE REFORM - WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

I don’t trust the government (Congress/Senate) or private health insurance companies to help design quality, affordable universal health care.

I’m suspicious that, no matter what they do, the average worker will not be able to afford health care.

Why?

The President is trying to create balance in the system, but Congress/Senate, Big Business and Health Insurance companies are creating road blocks.

As long as you have greedy management, greedy Wall Street, laws that allow businesses to pollute the air/water/earth, to screw the employee and not give them a fair wage, the average working American will still not be able to afford health care.

I’ve covered the fair wage topic in previous posts. I talked a lot about housing costs. I don’t need to even go into grocery, auto/home insurance, transportation costs, because housing costs will bankrupt you alone. Without credit cards and refinance [crush the life out of you/never get out of] debt, the average middle working individual/family cannot afford to live, much less afford health care. Period!

Congress/Senate must fight for higher wages, lower cost, clean renewable energy, low rent/lower interest rate mortgages, and if you have to have a few credit cards, make them fight for lower finance charges on those cards. In addition, businesses should not be able to lobby to influence legislation that impacts negatively on the average American [such as lobbying against the Employee Free Choice Act].

What are we finding? We are finding collusion between Big Business/Health Insurance companies and Congress/Senate.

In other words, the average American will not get quality, affordable universal health care. What you will see is some watered-down hybrid health care system that makes health insurance companies (management, stockholders) richer; as well as those people who designed the system.

You can forget Republican support for a fair system, because they’re out to make themselves and private insurers richer off the backs of the average American.

If we’re using tax payer money, design a single-payer government health care system. Make sure pre-existing conditions will be allowed and rates should be on a sliding scale, based on income minus housing costs (up to a maximum). Get rid of collusion and corruption by putting safeguards in place, and designing regulation that prevents abuses by business and officials in government.

I want to add one more issue. Republicans consistently use the following talking point to scare people regarding public health insurance:
They say government will be in your business, trying to tell you what procedures you can and cannot have, and using your private information for some nefarious plot. BULL!

There is more denial of treatment and non-payment for procedures from health insurance companies than government sponsored health insurance. Private insurers can also raise your rates whenever they want; and the people who administer and make the decisions regarding purchase of insurance and claims can share information even though it is private information. For instance when you go to purchase life or health insurance, that information is shared with the Medical Information Bureau (MIB) which acts as an information exchange on behalf of its members. If you apply to another Member company for life or health insurance coverage, or a claim for benefits is submitted to such a company, the MIB, upon request will supply such company with information it its files.

Please write your representatives to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, Cap and Trade (so people don’t get sicker), significant minimum wage increases, and support the President’s plan to overhaul the tax system (especially for wealthy individuals and Big Businesses that pay no or almost no tax because of tax havens and loopholes).

Punish the representatives who oppose the above by not re-electing them. That means especially watching almost all the Republican Senators and between 7-11 Democratic (blue dog type) Senators on how they vote on issues and legislation. Also watch what issues they bring up, legislation they propose and amendments they try to slip in.

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Medical Insurance Bureau
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Stand With Dr. Dean - Emergency Briefing, May 4, 2009

WORDS DESIGNED TO KILL HEALTH CARE REFORM
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KEY TO AFFORDABLE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IS MEDICARE-FOR-ALL SAYS INSURANCE EXPERT
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FROM A PHYSICIAN WHO IS NOW A LONG TERM PATIENT (in answer to a question from a Brit)
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Another Dissatisfied Worker
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The Magnitude of Corruption is Mind Blowing!

I find it interesting that Citigroup and other financial institutions, got bailed out by their buddy Paulson (who worked for Goldman Sachs for 15 years and whose 5 yr compensation w GS was over $45Mil and his current net worth over $700Mil).

Wonder why those financial institutions got bailed out?

Remember the Enron scandal? About 11 institutions were sued.

Among those sued: JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup who were the last to settle this year and Alliance Capital Mgmt.

There are even more scandals, lawsuits and SEC fines involving these financial institutions. AIG will probably be uncovered as a scandal that is bigger than Citigroup.

Now get this … a lot of these institutions have turned themselves into bank holding companies that benefit from the bailout; and, JPMorgan Chase (the biggest bank holding company and whose current CEO, Jamie Dimon [who was a key executive and supposed CEO heir to Citigroup before his falling out with Sandy Weill]), is buying up failed financial institution’s assets.

So it would seem to me that the American taxpayer, the honest shareholder’s of Enron stock [and shareholders of other failed company stock] and the honest employees who lost their pensions in the Enron scam, bailed out a bunch of companies that were involved in the fall of Enron; and bailed out organizations involved in other scandals.

Corruption is everywhere … from state Governors, Congress, the Senate, the President, domestic and international financial institutions, attorneys, accountants, etc., etc.

That’s why nothing is ever resolved regarding Wall Street or anything for that matter. Most Americans know that this corruption exists, but feel powerless to do anything about it. You President-elect have to chip away at this mess. Good luck.


See:
LAST MAN STANDING .. When a Banking Feud Got Physical by Duff McDonald, Sept. 18, 2009 [Sandy Weill, Jamie Dimon, John Reed]

http://www.socialismtoday.org/63/enron.html

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/aug2003/enrn-a05.shtml

http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/white-collar-crimes/securities-fraud/lawsuits/enron

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040711/news_lz1e11fields.html

http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/criminal-law/white-collar-crimes/securities-fraud/lawsuits/jp-morgan/

BERNARD MADOFF: REPUBLICANS LINK MADOFF WITH DEMOCRATS

This is going to be interesting. Right now, Republicans are trying to smear Democrats with the fact that Bernard Madoff, the philanthropist, gave campaign contributions to Democrats and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

We say... that his philanthropy was the most redeeming quality he had and the fact that he considered the Democratic Party as being "the kinder, gentler" party is a testament to the party.

But, to be fair, Bernard and his wife Emily, also gave to Republicans. [smile]

According to the "New York Times",

"For Bernard L. Madoff, there was also his multimillion-dollar private foundation that doled out money to hospitals and theaters. Indeed, through his charity work at places like the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation or his public service at institutions like Yeshiva University, where he served on the board, Mr. Madoff seemed to have created a stainless persona of integrity and trust.

From the start, in fact, a motto of his business captured this image of simplicity and directness: "The owner's name is on the door."

and also from that article - called: "Standing Accused: A Pillar of Finance and Charity" By ALAN FEUER and CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY December 12, 2008, they write:

"He was thought of as a great philanthropist, a pillar of the community, the chairman of Nasdaq--all of that stuff," said one hedge fund executive who knew him. " ...

"As Mr. Madoff's success increased, so too did his interest in philanthropy, which was often handled, much like his business itself, as a family enterprise. He sits on the board of trustees for Yeshiva, whose officials issued a statement on Friday saying they were "shocked" at the news of Mr. Madoff's arrest. And with his wife, Ruth, he runs the Madoff Family Foundation, a $19 million operation that last year gave money to Kav Lachayim, a volunteer group that works in Israeli schools and hospitals, and to the Public Theater in New York. '

'It is perhaps a testament to the family's importance in Jewish philanthropic circles that when a nephew of Mr. Madoff's, Roger Madoff, died of leukemia in April 2006, paid death notices appeared in newspapers from charitable organizations ranging from the Gurwin Jewish Geriatric Center to the Lauri Strauss Leukemia Foundation to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum."


Let us not also forget, he defrauded people from both parties.


Read article about Madoff at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/nyregion/13madoff.html?_r=1
Regarding Madoff's campaign contributions, go to:
http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/donor_lookup.php?name=madoff