I have heard from several sources that the reason Obama is seeming to moderate on some issues is because he is saving his "chips" for the Big Thing that he wants to do: nationalized health care.
Great. So the rest of us can now look forward to sharing in the experience of my poor mother, who 16 months after her car accident is still waiting for resolution on some of her medical expenses. (Several months ago, she had the experience of paying one small bill that she knew she didn't owe--it should have been paid by Medicare--but she was tired of being harassed about it for the past year; not long after, she received a refund from the creditor saying "never mind"--she had been billed in error. This is just one of many stories I could tell you.)
One question, though: why are the Canadians and Europeans so in love with a guy who's going to turn our health care system into a carbon copy of theirs, removing the last place on earth they can go to get something better than what they have at home?
I think a lot of people are going to wake up in a few years with a massive Obama hangover, and those of us who didn't drink the Kool-Aid had better be prepared with a healthy yet palatable grown-up alternative to offer to our countrymen who are ready to leave the sugary stuff behind.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Question
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
An "Obama hangover" - I love it.
Where do I get in line for my socialized, rationed aspirin?
I think people on the whole are enamored with socialized medicine because there seems to be little choice.
Here is an example from our life... We broke down and took state medical for my dd because she needed surgery and we were unable to obtain private medical (pre-existing conditions). We are now on an employer medical plan that has a deductible and pays 70% of the costs. She needs a follow-up procedure by the surgeon to make sure everything is fine. With our current medical plan this 5 minute out-patient procedure will cost us $2200 out of pocket (the total cost is $6000) and the hospital will not take payments for our portion. It's times like these that I don't know if there is any other option for our country. The number of employers offering full coverage options is shrinking. It's not as easy as it once was to get private coverage if you have any kind of condition and the monthly premiums has sky-rocketed. I think people are frightened so they are willing to try just about anything.
In theory I'm against the government getting involved in providing medical to people, when faced with the decision I caved because I couldn't provide the care my child needed.
In Kim's example, we see the result of the hybrid program we have. Part of the reason costs are so high is *because* of government involvement and horrendous malpractice premiums.
Now that we've wondered part way into the morass of socialized health care, it would be hard to ever get back to a market based system. (But I sure wish we'd try!)
And I fully believe Obama is not unhappy about the condition of the economy, because it is only going to help get national health care passed. As Kim said--and she's not alone--even though she is not, intellectually, in favor of government being involved, in her vocation as mother she did what she needed to do for her child. As unemployment rises and people get more and more worried about the economy, having someone else take care of this will look more and more attractive to people.
Post a Comment