Georgia can’t afford its share of ObamaCare
Back in July, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen warned that his fellow Democrats’ health proposals would not only come with a trillion-dollar federal price tag. They would also represent “the mother of all unfunded mandates” for the states.
Now that the House has passed one health bill and the Senate Finance Committee another, Georgia’s number crunchers have estimated just how unfunded it would be for our state.
The answer: as much as $2.6 billion before 2020.
Two-point-six billion dollars, and in only five full years of spending. That’s under the bill passed in the House. The annual sum under that legislation would exceed half a billion dollars by 2019. (These and all other figures in this column, unless otherwise noted, come from the Department of Community Health.)
The Senate Finance Committee’s version would be little better: just over $2 billion cumulatively, and more than $400 million a year by 2019.
These figures represent only the state’s share of adding as many as 756,000 Georgians to Medicaid, which already serves one million state residents. Federal taxes would cover the vast majority of the new expenses.
Trillion may be the new billion in Washington, but down here even a measly million still means something. Georgia’s health-related budget for this fiscal year is already $3.5 billion, or one in five dollars the state government spends. So we’re talking about increasing health spending by at least 10 percent — or else cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from other health programs.
In absolute terms, we’re talking about adding about as much in health spending over five years as the state cut from last year’s total budget due to the recession. Another $900 million has been sliced from this year’s budget. The cuts would have been worse if not for federal stimulus money, which will run out long before a new Medicaid mandate hits.
All of this includes only those changes related to expanding Medicaid. New health laws could cost the state in ways that are less measurable for now, from increased insurance premiums for its own employees to the expense of running a new federally mandated insurance exchange.
Keep in mind, too, this phrase from DCH’s overview of the impact of expanding Medicaid: Both health proposals now before Congress “offer states a higher federal match at least initially to help pay for the medical costs of the newly eligible” people (emphasis added).
Translation: As Washington’s costs explode, Congress may try to shift more of the financial burden onto the states. As things stand, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the House bill would cost state governments $34 billion in new Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) spending (see footnote “c” on page 12 of the linked PDF).
All in all, this presents a significant, perhaps impossible, challenge for Georgia.
And it gets worse. Congress is also contemplating some people-shuffling which would cost Georgia even more money. The House bill would move kids in poor families out of SCHIP and into Medicaid. Because the feds reimburse states for those programs at different rates, Georgia could lose up to $48 million a year in federal matching funds if that switch takes place.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it now: We need to change our health-care system. The status quo works for many people. But even we, the relatively comfortable, have only tenuous security.
The “solutions” which Congress is now debating, however, fail on every level of logic, and for every level of government — and, by extension, taxpayer.
We can’t afford these plans. Scrap ’em. Start over.
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119 comments Add your comment
jt
November 20th, 2009
8:14 pm
Tenth Amendment: reserves to the states respectively, or to the people, any powers the Constitution did not delegate to the United States, nor prohibit the states from exercising.
The American People
November 20th, 2009
8:28 pm
Write an article about the SEIU 1000 members beating up Ken Hamidi for trying to exercising his right to free speech at their public meeting.
otis
November 20th, 2009
9:36 pm
Anyway to get the African-american female out of there? Your boss? Sad stuff for your career. Wooten was at least logical. Try hard man, do not make the bLACKS mad, and good luck, Otis.
bill
November 20th, 2009
9:41 pm
If Georgia can pay its water lawyer $855/hr; it has plenty of money to pay for health care.
JDW
November 20th, 2009
9:47 pm
I don’t think for a second that the plans on the table are the best we can do but they are something. Since the Republicans trashed Clinton’s effort in the 90’s we have had no effort of any substance put towards this issue. Fact is we MUST do something about health care. Those of use with health care pay far too much ($2 for every $1 spent by the rest of the industrialized world) and on top of it we have to pay the staggering costs of providing emergency care, free of charge in most cases, to those that are unisured. I am tired of the posturing and BS by the Right. Get off the dime, shut up or add something to the debate. This article adds nothing . Where is your alternative?
otis
November 20th, 2009
9:57 pm
Enter your comments here
rachel
November 20th, 2009
11:20 pm
Isn’t this America, land of the free? Wake up people before we start having a statue and a new red square. We cannot afford to pay for the health care of every American, let alone the millions of illegals living here. I’m all for some kind of reform, but a socialized medical plan is not the answer. The Founding Fathers are probably rolling in their graves.
Oxymoronic Indulgence
November 21st, 2009
12:08 am
‘I’m all for some kind of reform, but a socialized medical plan is not the answer. The Founding Fathers are probably rolling in their graves.
Honestly, you need to learn what the word “socialized” means before you go spouting off about it. Neither House nor Senate plan in any way remotely resembles “socialized” medicine.
vuduchld
November 21st, 2009
12:19 am
What planet are you from? Certainly not earth because there can’t be more humans dumber than you. Georgia can’t afford toilet paper at this moment let alone so-called “Obama-care”. Why? Because of idiots like you living in the state voting the same nincompoops in office every election cycle. The people of Georgia need only look into the mirror at themselves for the sorry predicament they’re in. Don’t blame President Obama. You wanted “conservative principles”, well, you’ve got them so live with the consquences of your stupid, silly voting choices!!
jstrick
November 21st, 2009
2:56 am
wow otis, what in the world are you talking about?
Kyle, would you like medicare repealed? You don’t mention it at all in this article. If you have a problem with any type of government healthcare, please include in your articles a call to repeal medicare, otherwise it doesn’t seem that you are writing anything worthwhile in the healthcare debate.
Real American
November 21st, 2009
7:36 am
No jstrick, Kyle doesn’t have a problem with medicare because that would tick off the tea party birthers all around rural GAWGA that rely on medicare – that “socialist gubment healthcare”. Go to any Wal-mart and you’ll see plenty of gubment healthcare in action as its wheeling around shopping for the low low prices of Chinese goods. Kyle won’t mention that, he knows who he is pandering too.
joel partain
November 21st, 2009
7:37 am
Crunch your numbers till the cows come home and you’ll never get a cost anywhere near the real cost of a cruel, ridiculous system like ours.
How can every other developed country afford to do what you say is impossible?They love their systems, too, and are healthier than we are.
Let’s be honest, the republicans would not approve a penny in taxes if it saved a million lives.And don’t forget that a solid majority of Americans IN EVERY STATE support reform so any representative or senator who is categorically against reform is thwarting his constituents in favor of insurance lobby money.
JImNATL
November 21st, 2009
7:52 am
Still waiting for the benefit side of your cost benefit analysis. Oh, I’m sorry, you’re a conservative, and hence only concerned with cost, not the benefit to those millions of Georgians who might be saved by having access to preventative care. Not to mention the savings the state will enjoy in treating citizens before their medical conditions become very expensive critical case.
Parpatco
November 21st, 2009
8:25 am
So America alone among the developed countries of the world cannot afford to assure that all its citizens have access to health care?
mike
November 21st, 2009
8:34 am
JImNATL –
“Still waiting for the benefit side of your cost benefit analysis.”
All of your mindless partisanship asides, doing a cost-benefit analysis is pointless if there is no way to fund the “cost”.
For example, if I am a struggling hardware store facing bankruptcy, I can do a cost benefit analysis on a new big sign for my parking lot, but if I have no money to pay for it, it is a wasted exercise.
Government does not magically create money. Instead of telling us what conservatives do, maybe you should tell us where Georgia is supposed to come up with an additional 2.6 billion dollars in the next five years.
mike
November 21st, 2009
8:36 am
Parpatco –
“So America alone among the developed countries of the world cannot afford to assure that all its citizens have access to health care?”
Obviously you disagree. Where does the additional money come from for this? In case nobody told you, America is operating on a massive deficit already.
Skip
November 21st, 2009
8:46 am
Mike, how bout we stop the wars? Maybe keep our troops in our country? Spend “our money” on us.
jconservative
November 21st, 2009
8:52 am
From Medicare/Medicaid (CMS) FY 2010 budget – “In FY 2010, benefit costs are expected to total $803.1 billion.”…”Our programs will touch the lives of over 98 million Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries in FY 2010.”
No one in Congress, the White House or any advocacy group has said a single word about the fact that this will double in a few years & triple by 2020. In FY 2020 we will spend $2.4 trillion on these programs. I trust everyone does remember that the baby boomers will start going on Medicare/ Medicaid in 2011.
And apparently I am the only guy in the nation who cares. I write my congressman and the 2 senators (2 jokes). The congressman agrees on the problem but has no workable ideas (in my opinion). The 2 senators thank me for my letters & talk about the democrats.
jekyllover
November 21st, 2009
9:26 am
Are you suggesting we abolish Medicare, Medicaid, public health care for the military and for veterans, public health care for all elected officials, and public health care for many handicapped persons? If so, I’d head out of town quickly because most Georgians are not that conservative. You also neglect to explain the far greater costs to all of us if we DO NOT provide public option health care plans. Insurance companies will continue to steal us blind.
WAW
November 21st, 2009
10:01 am
Don’t sit in church on Sunday a pray for the sick and vote Republican. If you do you are wasting your dime (tithe). If you vote Republican you just want them to die quick so you don’t have any responsibility for anyone other than your sorry self.
katz
November 21st, 2009
10:03 am
Uninsured does not = denied health care.
………………………………………………………………….
Rats eat cheese. Cats eat rats. Do cats eat cheese?
Donovan
November 21st, 2009
10:13 am
What you see is what you get. When you voters elect liberals to run a government you elect space cadets who never grew up from the hippie days. Government run programs have a history of failure. Government run health programs will never succeed. There is no way to adequately fund a health care system that covers everyone. To do so invariably bankrupts an economy and lowers the quality of medical services. To completly destroy a system that works for many so as to provide services for the few is absolute lunacy. Such a noble cause brings the price of charity to a whole new meaning. We have seen the results of liberal governance. Never has any congressional body spent as much money in such a short time as this group running the country now. Our debt has tripled in less than 9 months. Our unemployment has topped 10% when the maximum ceiling predicted by this liberal leadership was forcast to only reach 8%. The principles of the free market system have been handicapped and taken away by this elected leadership. Entitlement systems of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid put in place by liberal crusaders have never functioned properly and have been on life support year after year. Now we have to suffer the ideological wants and ravings of another liberal agenda which has the consequences of destroying this country in short fashion. We have already seen the fast-track weekend midnight voting in Congress to achieve passage of legislative bills by the Democrats. We have seen the 1,000 + page bills no one has read nor understood passed by the Democrats. We have heard of the pending health care legislation that will ration, tax, and penalize our citizens. Wake up people! You who support or who have supported this liberal crusade are living in Disney World. Kill the proposed health care bill and figure out another way to insure the few that don’t have insurance.
TechLover
November 21st, 2009
10:27 am
hatz; For starters, yes our cats eat cheese. Hospitals are required to perform emergency care, of course they will bill you for it. Show up in DKA or in a hypertensive crisis, they will get you over the hump then send you home. Without follow up or proper medications you’ll just be back again and again running up higher and higher bills to the point there’s no way you’ll be able to pay for it. File bankruptcy, the hospital eats the bill, then passes the cost to you, me, and others who have insurance or can afford to pay. We either pay up front, and have healthier more productive people (and at a lesser cost in the long run), or we pay later.
TechLover
November 21st, 2009
10:33 am
Donovan: Thanks for refusing Social Security and Medicare. If all the good conservatives like you did so, the funding should last a lot longer.
rachel
November 21st, 2009
10:42 am
hey all you people who think I’m dumb…I was raised a democrat. I do not agree with socialized healthcare and it is socialized. The government will control what procedures we can have. Haven’t you been watching? Or perhaps, you want to have bunches of babies running around or more abortions because teens will not be able to go on the pill without a pap smear. Oh, and if I can’t have a mammogram until I’m 50, I sure hope I don’t find a lump in my breast for at least 12 more years. I like my plan, don’t force me to have the government let my doctors know how to treat me. You need to grow a brain.
Del
November 21st, 2009
10:44 am
Medicare was created to address the healthcare needs of the elderly. It’s close to bankruptcy largely due to waste and fraud. How can Medicare be held up as proof that the government is capable of managing this monster that the Democrats are trying to ram through congress.We’re talking about 6% of our economy and here we have those that want to pass something purely for ideological motives. The issues that have been raised with our current system are fixable if we could only get the politics out of it.
Jess
November 21st, 2009
10:51 am
In order to pay for this, both proposals include new taxes on every segment of the health care industry, from doctors to insurance companies to health products manufacturers. This will increase medical costs across the board, thus increasing insurance cost. This is the only conclusion a reasonable person can come to. At the same time cost estimates are based on cutting $400 to $500 billion out of health care cost. Once again, any reasonable person can see the folly in this plan.
Del
November 21st, 2009
11:00 am
A USA Today poll as of today shows 71% against the Senate healthcare proposal and 26% for it. As most everyone knows the USA Today readership isn’t dominated by right wing conservatives.
TechLover
November 21st, 2009
11:08 am
rachel; We don’t have to think it anymore. You just proved it. The mammogram and pap smmear guidelines are just that, guidelines. It’s not a government mandate. Tune out the idiots on talk radio and start thinking for yourself if possible, although judging by your post, just thinking in general might be a bit of a stretch.
Jess
November 21st, 2009
11:09 am
Contrary to the Georgia bashers, we are in much better financial condition than many states. The reason we can’t afford this is because this is a hugh new burden which is being put on the states with no input from the states. This entire thing, if passed, will be an economy killer. The additional taxes and cost on small businesses which generate up to 70% of all new jobs in this country almost assures either an economic crash, or at best, a chronic economic illness much like much of Europe has experienced for years. China, our banker, knows this and has warned Obama that he can’t afford this and all his other new programs. When the banker speaks, it would be wise to listen.
Donovan
November 21st, 2009
11:10 am
In brief reply to TechLover, I have refused unemployment compensation when I used to be furloughed for 3 months at a time earlier in my working career. It was not right to take the free money when I had the capability to work elsewhere. Secondly, I intend to refuse Social Security and Medicare when the time comes, based on the fact that I have created wealth for myself and do not need to suck on the system when I don’t have to.
Algonquin J. Calhoun
November 21st, 2009
11:17 am
The issues that have been raised with our current system are fixable if we could only get the politics out of it.
The insurance industry has spent millions upon millions to defeat health care reform. They’ve bought many a Refublican, including Addison Graves Wilson who called the president a liar. Health care has to be fixed. We can’t afford for it not to be. The United States spends billions and billions on weapons every year and we have two wars going right now. It’s time to spend money on life and not so much on death!
TechLover
November 21st, 2009
11:28 am
Donovan; Go for it. I know quite a few folks who work their *sses off and don’t have that option. I have no problem with part of my tax money being used to help those in need. You see a lot of their employers are only concerned with creating wealth for themselves and then b*tch when people like their employees can’t afford insurance or medicines and someone hints at programs that help them out.
Del
November 21st, 2009
11:30 am
The insurance industry has spent millions of dollars to defeat health care reform.
That implies the American people are stupid and can be swayed by the insurance industry. No way, attempts at dumbing down Americans has been the hard-left strategy to push its ideological agenda. It eventually backfires as evidenced by what’s happening now. Go read the recent polls.
Snafu
November 21st, 2009
11:47 am
vuduchild, you hit the nail on the head. When are we going to get all of these old politician out of office. These people are clearly out of touch with time.
And for those who are crying this is “socialized medicine” you can stop any day now, its old, just like the old politrickans you keep voting into office. The waste fraud and abuse of medicare is done by those on medicare and I will bet if you threaten to take away the benefits of these tea party goers they will shut up real quick.
The American people have done this country and injustice by continuing to vote old tired incompetent bastards back into office time and time again. Now all they are doing is trying to create fear on this health care bill and many others. What really needs to happen is there needs to be a civil debate on this health care bill and that means that these stupid men/women in office need to take each page and go through it until it is over. This notion of rushing this bill through is ridiculous.
As far as Georgia is concerned lawd! Let me not get started on this backwards ass state. Perdue is one reason why you don’t have money and remember its the rural politrickans that are creating all this mess. Now why is that? When you want to commit fraud and crimes come to GEORGIA!!!
Snafu
November 21st, 2009
11:51 am
Donovan,..you can stop your liberal Bullshytt any day now. Its about ineffective government because you have both parties that need an overhaul. Its amazing how doofus party loyalist will blame one or the other when its the fact that the AMERICAN PEOPLE have caused this problem just as much as these incompetent politirickans by voting for these morons over and over again, like there are not other people more qualified to do this job. ITS TIME FOR GOVERNMENT OVERHAUL AND THAT IS TO VOTE ALL THESE BAS.TARDS OUT.
Snafu
November 21st, 2009
11:55 am
The insurance industry has ran amok here in GEORGIA thanks to these politrickans now imagine what they have been doing in the DC. To give you an idea of the corruption in GEORGIA , just take a look at your INSURANCE COMMISSION, OXENDINE.. this fool has given the Insurance companies the green light. The people of Georgia are so backwards they are too scared to fight government who are stealing them blind yet they are talking about a healthcare bill that will cost milllions. Geezzz. Kyle why are you not telling the good ol’ people from GA how they are getting screwed now. Tell GEORGIA how the insurance companies and the state legislators have stuck it to them via car insurance and home insurance so why bring up the Healthcare?
Snafu
November 21st, 2009
12:00 pm
Kyle, why don’t you tell these GEORGIAN that it was the State Legislators who made it law for the insurance companies to make a profit by running credit for auto insurance and thereby raising premiums based upon BAD CREDIT. Now you are talking about they cannot afford the healthcare bill. That is because these insurance companies are tied to these State legislators. How many legislators own insurance companies? Ahh..won’t report on that but you will make up the BS on what GA cannot afford. Wait, why dont you report on the waste fraud and abuse of these politrickans and the misappropriation of funds. Where is the money PERDUE held that was suppose to got to GRADY? Come on Kyle, the real reason why you brought up healthcare is because you know if there is a healtcare bill these corrupt politrickans in GA would loose lobbyist money.
Algonquin J. Calhoun
November 21st, 2009
12:07 pm
Del, the Refublicans are naziesque in that they tell the big lie over and over but the re-telling of a lie will never make it the truth. Looks like you bought it.
Jess
November 21st, 2009
12:30 pm
Lot of insurance bashing going on. Pelosi calls them evil and bemoans their immoral profits, and her legions follow in lock step. You’d think with all their power and sway, they would be rolling in cash. Let’s take a reality check.
Average profits of all insurance companies in 2008….2.2%
Average profits on health insurance companies in 2008…under 4%
Douglas O
November 21st, 2009
12:51 pm
I am 50 yrs old and self employed. I now pay $200 monthly for health insurance (high deductible, catastrophic coverage) for myself. I pay for any medical expenses below my $2500 deductible out of pocket. I want to be covered for major illness or surgery. So I spend $2400 annually for insurance coverage.
Under the health care bills under consideration now I will not have the option to continue with a plan
similar to my current plan. I will be required to purchase one of the plans offered in the exchange that cover almost everything regardless of whether I want coverage for everything or not. From what I can tell the policy will cost me $6,000 to $8,000. as opposed to the $2,400 I pay now!!!! I don’t need nor want the extra coverage. Why should I be forced to come up with the extra $5,000 for something I don’t want. Where is that extra money going? This is unbelievable.
Snafu
November 21st, 2009
1:23 pm
Oh yeah Jess, let’s just bash the poor insurance companies for making a 2% profit. Get real. you are looking at the average..Let’s take each company individually and you will see these number are incorrect Here is one far ya.
Chattanooga’s largest private employer earned $172.8 million in 2007, up 53 percent over the prior year. That’s just off a high of $176.8 million it drew in 2005, according to the insurer.
“We’re proud of our performance and the strength the company has,” said BlueCross spokeswoman Mary Thompson.
BlueCross reported a $101.5 million gain from investment income, up from $35.6 million in the prior year.
“We were fortunate to rebalance our portfolio at the height of the value of the equity market,” Ms. Thompson said.
Premium income also rose last year, up 8.8 percent to $2.7 billion, according to the insurer. Total revenue swelled to over $3.2 billion, the company reported.
The issue is not about bashing insurance companies because they make a profit but its how they are making the profits. Insurance industry is out to make profit no one will dispute that is partly why they are in business, its the method of denying medical procedures, high premiums, and collusion on part with the hospital and doctors where heatlh care for many is not affordable.
Snafu
November 21st, 2009
1:27 pm
What many people have failed to realize that the way these politrickans are going about health care reform is ridiculous. First in order to have a sound health care bill you first have to ask why healthcare is not affordable. Its because of premiums and high cost that the doctors and hospitals charge. If more people would be able to afford the premiums this would not be an issue. The bottom line is why should anyone have to get a 10,000 deductible just to get lower premiums for major medical? Medicaid and Medicare have so much fraud on the part of these organizations is pathetic and yes people you are paying for it whether you like it or not.
Jess
November 21st, 2009
2:01 pm
Snafu,
The numbers you quote are meaningless without a referance to earnings. If the company whose net profits were $172 million made this on earnings of $17 billion, their profit would be 1%. Not exactly an immoral excess.
This is why anyone who has a need to look at the performance of a company looks at profit margin.
Jess
November 21st, 2009
2:07 pm
Douglas O.
The extra money is going to fund coverage for someone else. This is the world we live in now. If you are dependant and needy, you are rewarded. If you are independant and productive, you are penalized.
Del
November 21st, 2009
2:24 pm
AJC,
I only buy into facts not political parties Republican or Democrat. Do we need Health insurance portability? We have that now. Do we need greater protection for preexisting conditions? We have a good bit now, however, that can be tightened up further. Not a major fix requiring government run health care. Do we need bigger net for the uninsured? We can expand the medicare net. There isn’t any issue that can’t be improved that requires government taking over 6% of our economy. No what the dumocrats are doing is all about politics and ideology of the far-left flavor. I guess you buy into it.
Del
November 21st, 2009
2:37 pm
AJC,
Correction on my last: Do we need a bigger net for the uninsured? We can expand the Medicaid net.
Audrey in Georgia
November 21st, 2009
2:44 pm
Prepare for the CHANGE people. Health care reform will happen. Remember when the
majority in Georgia did not want integration? It happened anyway because it was the
right thing to do. Health care for every person in America is the right thing to do.
Joan
November 21st, 2009
2:53 pm
I can’t figure out where to go so that the government won’t find me. I want to drop out of this insanity. We can’t have a recovery until we have jobs, and we can’t have jobs until we have manufacturing again and make products, and balance trade–so how in the heck does Congress expect us ever to be able to pay for all their idiocy??? About health care for everyone–well as the ant said to the grasshopper–you should have worked and saved. Too bad.
Algonquin J. Calhoun
November 21st, 2009
4:24 pm
Del
November 21st, 2009
2:37 pm
AJC,
Correction on my last: Do we need a bigger net for the uninsured? We can expand the Medicaid net.
It should have been presented asw an extension of medicaid and medicare from the beginning. The insurance companies are soaking the public and government has to step in. The insurance companies have had it their way for a long time. They could have changed at any time but they didn’t. Now they are spending a mint to keep their ability to fleece people and not give them good care. The insurance companies thought they could prevail, since they own the Refublicans, but I don’t think they will. Their grip upon American health care is gonna be busted today!
somewhereinga
November 21st, 2009
4:40 pm
I’m 62. I’m slef employeed. When I hit 60 my insurance doubled to $700.00 a month. Now at 62 it’s $1000.00 a month. I just got a letter of the increase that begins in January. $1230.00 a month. That’s the straw that’s breaking my back. I’m going to have to drop my health insurance and hope that I can make it to 65 without a major medical emergency. My doctor says I’m in “fairly good” shape. I plan to put the $1000 that I have been paying in “escrow” just in case something happens (an MRI or something like that).
I’ve got insurance on myself. I’ve got insurance on my car. I’ve got insurance on my business. I’ve got insurnace on my house. I’m going insurance BROKE!
somewhereinga
November 21st, 2009
4:42 pm
I’m also “self” employeed!
Limbaugh Voted For Hillary
November 21st, 2009
4:56 pm
Georgia couldn’t afford BushWars either. But that didn’t stop you blathering fools from supporting them. Maybe if we wrapped up universal health care in an American flag and used codewords like “patriotism”, “God”, or “freedom”, you lemmings would opt in too.
Linda
November 21st, 2009
5:08 pm
The objectives of health care insurance reform were:
1. to bring down the overall costs of h.c.
2. to make hc more accessible to those who can’t afford it, &
3. to make hc more affordable
Last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported that he Senate h.c. bill will INCREASE the overall costs of h.c. & that the public plan would be HIGHER than private plans. I was not surprised. Any idiot can figure out you can’t add millions more insured people for nothing & you can’t add 53 more govt agencies for free. So what’s the other 2073 pages for?
What I was surprised at (for a moment) was why the DC Dems did not act like the CBO hadn’t just poured spaghetti on their heads. This proves that the DC Dems never had any intentions of solving the problems with our system. This bill proves they never CARED about our HEALTH nor ever intended to REFORM our INSURANCE system.
The polls have shown that most Americans don’t want nationalized health care, but they don’t care about us. The fed govt has shown us how inept they are in running the P.O., Amtrak, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the SEC & now the Corps of Engineers. They promised the flu vaccine by the end of Oct. It’s the end of Nov. & we’ve gotten 20%. If we can’t get one medicine on time, imagine what they will do with our health care. They claim they are going to crack down on the Medicare fraud & corruption. What color was the kettle? If they could, they already would. They’re going to multiply it by 10.
This week, I learned that a Senate vote costs $100 M, a govt task force is already trying to cut back on preventative care, & the AARP, who endorsed the bill, received $18 M from the economic stimulus bill & didn’t add any jobs, same as everyone else.
The poor have Medicaid. The elderly have Medicare. Veterans & the military have VA. Many people who work have their employers to thank. Children have SCHIP. There’s millions of Americans who qualify & haven’t applied for public plans, as well as Americans who can afford but who choose not to buy insurance. Don’t assume the uninsured don’t pay for health care. I paid about $20,000 cash for my son 25 yrs ago. We need to focus on the uninsurable, not the uninsured. The only Americans we need to insure are those who have pre-existing conditions & those who are UNEMPLOYED!!!!! If the DC bunch concentrated on JOBS, half of our problem would be solved.
This bill RAISES taxes & will cause small businesses to lay off. There’s no way in Heaven they can take on any more burdens. Raising the minimum wage during the worst economic recession & with the highest unemployment in decades was stupid. Cap & trade tax, already passed by the House, will devastate employers & employees. They have done nothing to promote jobs in the private sector & have made unemployment worse.
The taxes for this bill will be in effect for 3 or 4 yrs before the benefits click in. Would you pay for car insurance for 3 or 4 yrs before you could drive the car? The Health Care Insurance Reform taxes & fines will go into the same account with the Social Security & Medicare Trust Funds, which DON’T EXIST! The govt spends every dollar they tax, what they can’t tax, they borrow, & what they can’t borrow, they print.
We can’t afford this bill. Obama said he wouldn’t sign a bill that will add to the deficit. It adds to the deficit. If it passes, I’ll bet my son, who I own free & clear, that Obama will sign it.
We’ll never have reform without tort reform. We’ll never have tort reform as long as lawyers are running the show in DC. As long as new mommies can sue their OBGYN’s for stretch marks, we’ll be paying exorbitant health costs.
My free & clear son has written a hc bill which actually reforms hc. It’s one page & saves $. Took him an hour. You’d like it.
Linda
November 21st, 2009
5:12 pm
Somewhereinga, Check out a health savings plan if you haven’t already. Unfortunately, the current hc bills will disallow them.
Linda
November 21st, 2009
5:29 pm
Limbaugh, They weren’t Bush Wars. We finally went after radical Islamic terrorists who had been killing Americans in dozens of countries all over Asia, Europe & in the US for almost 30 yrs. A president can not declare war without congressional approval. The Afghanistan War was approved in the Senate 98-0 & in the House 420-1.
The 8-yr war in Afghanistan & 7-yr war in Iraq have cost us $900,000,000,000 during these 15 total yrs. What an amazing coincidence that this is about the same amt of money the DC Dems spent less than 3 wks after the inauguration on an emergency Economic Stimulus Bill, unread, passed in a couple of hours, promising to keep unemployment which was 7.6% from exceeding 8% which is now 10.2%. What another amazing coincidence that this is also minimally the same amount of our national debt that we owe China.
ohmy
November 21st, 2009
5:32 pm
we can’t afford national health-care; but we can sure can afford to overeat down here
rachel
November 21st, 2009
5:51 pm
hey techlover that’s funny i didn’t know nerds could date. rachel is my wife and i can tell you she can more than think for herself maybe if you looked in the mirror and say yes i’m stupid because i voted for a commie loving idiot named the big O and you know that deep deep down inside you are saying to yourself “WHAT WAS I THINKING” but then again you were one of the sheepeople who fell in love with this guy and he thrilled you the bottom of your pocket protector with the big catch word CHANGE well slick you got change all right i hope you remember that when you fianlly get that big diploma and in two years your still looking for a “JOB” hopefully obama will be there to hand you a big check.
Del
November 21st, 2009
7:35 pm
AJC,
No it’s not going to be busted today. It will only go into debate after our astute dumocrat controlled congress returns from their Thanksgiving holiday break. This turkey is far from done. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Parpatco
November 21st, 2009
8:25 pm
Mike,
“Obviously you disagree. Where does the additional money come from for this? In case nobody told you, America is operating on a massive deficit already.”
Mike, personally I think this is a matter of social and political priorities. The money is there. Every other developed nation can find it. I am not wedded to any particular solution — either left or right, but I do want to see it solved.
We pay the costs regardless. As others on this forum have pointed out, when someone goes into an emergency room (the most expensive care there is) and is treated for a condition that could have been treated cheaply with preventive services earlier, the health case system externalizes those costs to us. When people can’t work, or die prematurely because of untreated conditions, we pay the cost in decreased productivity. Either way we pay.
Deficits come and deficits go. The health care problem will remain
Del
November 21st, 2009
8:49 pm
Parpatco,
The money may be there but it’s not here. You’re correct on half of one point “political priorities” Obama and the Democrats desperately want to create another entitlement to hook the American public into. BTW…there is no other developed country that’s created a stellar government controlled health care system that rivals what we have in ours.
Fat Mary Rules
November 22nd, 2009
2:08 am
Perhaps our senators should’ve held out for a $300 million bride of TAXPAYER MONEY like that porker from LA. Truth, Honor, Duty – mere words in DC. Hope Fat Mary enjoys the reputation she has earned as a fat huckster.
Parpatco
November 22nd, 2009
5:57 am
If only people could afford it Del. As long as people cannot get affordable insurance, and the cost of uninsured and untreated people is externalized to the general public, we will continue to cover that care in the most expensive way possible. Do you think there is a more efficient way to do this?
Michael H. Smith
November 22nd, 2009
7:25 am
The country in its entirety cannot afford ObamaCare, Kyle. One sane look at Medicare, Medicaid and all the other big government socialist – so-called public option – healthcare entitlement programs should convince anyone of that fact. The entitlements presently face trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities.
Get ready for the newly transformed Obama third world Banana Republic of the United Socialist States of American, Comrades.
JD
November 22nd, 2009
8:16 am
And how do you propose for the people of Georgia to pay for health care without the legislation?
Left wing management
November 22nd, 2009
9:43 am
“Congress may try to shift more of the financial burden onto the states.”
The people who are the beneficiaries live in the states, so why shouldn’t the “burden” be in part supported by them too?
I find your argument unconvincing. It amounts to so many rationalizations as arguments contra that are cobbled together after the fact. And of course, they merely reproduce conservative talking points (unfunded mandates, etc.) step for step. Yep. In short, I’m thoroughly unconvinced and hope it passes, as is, and WITH the public option (an ambitious hope, as I’m well aware).
TechLover
November 22nd, 2009
9:51 am
Rachel(or Rachel’s hubby): Please note the screen name is TechLover, not Tech student. Actually I already have a job. My BSN has allowed me to find jobs without any difficulty whenever I have decided it was time for a change. Years of ICU, CCU, open heart recovery, ACLS instructor, etc. experience means I’m pretty much in demand. Maybe you should instruct the wife to do a little research and learn the definition of guideline vs requirement before she posts blatantly false info.
M Lassiter
November 22nd, 2009
9:56 am
If Sarah Palin were President she would have solved the crisis in health care by now.
PalinCare is the answer.
fitzgerald
November 22nd, 2009
10:28 am
Hard decisions will not take place regarding our health care unless we all sacrifice; such as reducing the amount of ALL government programs. And we know that this is not going to happen. So, let’s all line up and go to prison because we can no longer afford this stuff. Perhaps while in prison we can be “trusted” to go outside the wire and keep the grounds clean.
metoo
November 22nd, 2009
11:10 am
And the republican sollution is: lower taxes on the rich so they can create more jobs over seas!
MrLiberty
November 22nd, 2009
11:10 am
Do as other states are doing with other federal laws – declare them null and void. Stand up for the state’s 10th amendment rights and tell the feds we will not enforce their laws. If that doesn’t work, begin the secession process.
We aren’t going to get our freedoms back by politely asking for them back. Washinton DC does not care about the constitution or the rights of the citizens. That should be obvious to everyone by now.
Chris Broe
November 22nd, 2009
11:12 am
The best example of why blog-meister Keith Rightwindfield is totally wrong is to look at what happened to the poor sot Cheney shot: Cheney’s victim was taken by ambulance ($5K) to an emergency room ($1k), where he was xrayed ($4K) and then operated on ($69K) and then he was taken to a private room for a couple days of observation and aspirins ($379K).
Then he was given a new face ($2 mill).
Nobody cant afford diddle dang squiddle poo. Healthcare is already too expensive, so if Keith’s only objection is cost, then his argument is circular and thus stupid, misleading, and probably stolen word for word from Mein Kampf.
Nobody can afford a doctor as healthcare exists today without reform, so what have we got to lose?
Vote yay on healthcare reform and maybe Keith will be able to afford his own new face. Look at his hair. and that shirt!
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
11:32 am
Left Wing @ 9:43, Why do you hope it passes? The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has already said that it’s more expensive that what we have.
therese persaud
November 22nd, 2009
11:36 am
Face it ..those of you against a humanistic approach to health care… you just can’t bear to tolerate equal treatment for those who even though they work hard in important jobs to keep America afloat just don’t have the finances to access necessary health care!! Not only are you elitist , you support a policy that is not beneficial to society as a whole . You can knock nations like England and Canada all you want but the GLARING fact is that they have great health care for all their citizens .. I KNOW !
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
11:48 am
The objective of hc reform was to insure more of the uninsurables to bring down the cost of hc. The hc bill does insure more people but it INCREASE the overall cost of hc. What am I missing?
Jess
November 22nd, 2009
12:00 pm
therese,
I worked in England for three years. I didn’t have to use National Health care since my employer provided private health insurance. Most large companies do. I did have friends on the National system, and it worked ok for day to day problems, or for emergencies. However it was horrible for those who needed surgery which wasn’t life threatening. My neighbor waited 29 months to have a torn ligament in her knee repaired.
Canada, in my opinion was worse. They did not have the option of paying for private care without leaving the country. This was done regularly by Canadians who lived close to the border. Even the Canadian minister of health says the system is broken. On the surface it may seem to work fine, but it is under great strain.
So I think that saying these countries have great health care is stretching it a bit.
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
12:03 pm
Therese@11:36, Who doesn’t have access to hc? It’s illegal in the US to deny hc.
If Canada has such great hc, why does it rank 26th out of 28 developed countries in the ratio of doctors to the population? In Canada, the time to see a specialist after receiving a referral was 9.3 wks in ‘93, 11.7 wks in ‘07 & 17.3 wks (over 4 mts.) now. Why are there no weekend & evening procedures allowed? There’s an 8-mt wait for a colonoscopy. There’s a 25% higher incidence of colon cancer than in the US. Leading drugs the US routinely use to treat colon cancer are banned in Canada because of the costs. 42% of Canadians die with colon cancer. 32% of Americans die with colon cancer. Cancer deaths are 16% higher in Canada than in the US.
I’ve been on some blogs like this in Canada recently. Canadians are laughing at us for even considering overhauling our system.
It appears that the current hc bills make our system worse rather than better.
Jess
November 22nd, 2009
12:19 pm
Have to agree with Linda, Canadians do not want the US to change their current health care system. Many of them have come to rely on it. I think the Republican plan, which is getting no press, makes a lot more sense. Instead of a hugh bill to reform the entire system, take the major problems one at a time and solve them. Come up with one bill to address the uninsured. If the govt. can take almost $500 billion from current govt. plans, [which I doubt] then do it. Our system has produced some of the best and most innovative care in the world. The problem is accessability, and cost. Fix these problems. Don’t blow up the entire system.
Michael H. Smith
November 22nd, 2009
12:20 pm
I’ve yet to hear one single credible argument from the socialist left that convinces me a government ran healthcare system is the right solution to making healthcare accessible, affordable and portable exclusively universal for every individual U.S. Citizen.
And JD, I have proposed what would likely work to achieve accessible, affordable and portable basic and catastrophic healthcare “exclusively universal for every individual U.S”. Citizen, which the individual owns and controls, not the government or business.
But JD, neither the socialist Democrats or the laissez-faire Republicans want anything do to with serving the vested interests of the people who comprise the common citizenry of this country. Sadly, both sides are protecting special interest groups and their special political agendas, despite the very obvious fiscal failures of Medicare, Medicaid and all the other government owned and ran socialist healthcare entitlement programs, in combination with a no less problematic private system currently controlled by businesses.
No wonder the largest voter base in this country today identifies themselves as Independents.
MH Brown
November 22nd, 2009
12:35 pm
What a useless article. Yet another mealy-mouthed, vacuous voice spitting out meaningless numbers like a stock ticker. This writer throws out costs to citizens as if they are increases and not relative values. This is what I mean. In simple terms, if I am to pay $1000 a year for insurance under the new Public Option that does not mean I’m $1000 out of pocket every year. It is only relevant if I know what I was paying BEFORE. If I was paying $100 before, it’s a problem; if I was paying $999 before, I see if I want to buy it; if I was paying $2000 before, I’m there. This writer does not give us the points of reference, so his article is stupid, useless and unprofessional. Lastly, I have to say that I have had it with anyone who criticizes this plan without proposing an alternative. If you don’t have another idea, shut up!
Mike Fairbanks
November 22nd, 2009
12:50 pm
Well, to me the mother of all unfunded mandates was No Child Left Behind. What a disaster that is. It’s a completely unrealistic program (100% of third graders will read at grade level by 2014), and it’s unfunded. Unfortunately, Georgia bought into it hook, line and sinker.
Our federal government is too powerful, but why is it that only half the nation at a time thinks this?
When Bush was in office, conservatives were perfectly happy with a powerful, pushy and expensive federal government. Now they’re against it. But guess who supports the powerful federal government now? Yep, Democrats.
Maybe if we ALL could agree that a strong federal government (regardless of who runs the Whitehouse) is bad for our nation, we might be alright.
Let each state decide on 90% of the issues like abortion, health care, education, etc., and let each citizen choose whether to live in those states.
We need a federal military to protect our nation (but not other nations–let them take care of themselves) and a common currency. That’s is the role of the federal government.
Mike Fairbanks
November 22nd, 2009
12:51 pm
MH Brown: Telling others to “shut your mouth” is quite immature for a grown adult.
Del
November 22nd, 2009
1:00 pm
MH Brown,
We the citizen tax payers elect people to congress who we then pay to design and propose legislation. If we the majority of people feel that the legislation being proposed by congress isn’t acceptable we have the right to criticize and ask that it be re-thought and re-drafted. That is precisely what we are seeing now with the two versions of proposed health care bills coming out of the House and Senate. What’s at issue is that the congress doesn’t appear to be listening to the majority (check the recent polls) What part of that don’t you get?
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
1:39 pm
MH Brown, Here’s some alternative ideas:
*reform Medicare & Medicaid. Remove the corruption & fraud. Now. No bills needed. Then close them down.
*pass tort reform. Take the lawyers out of our hc system. (As long as new mommies can sue OBGYN’s for stretch marks, we will continue to pay for outrageous malpractice insurance & unnecessary tests.)
*set up arbitration boards
*allow more medical procedures to be performed by personnel other than doctors
*no exclusions for pre-existing conditions or illnesses
*allow interstate commerce
*allow portability
*disallow third party payees (no employer paid policies)
*close the VA Hospitals
*require co-pays to be a percentage of all costs (procedures, tests, stays, drugs) rather than a fixed amt
*doctor visits paid in cash by everyone
*negotiate group rates with insurance companies for American citizens with guaranteed care, with the cost of policies based on coverage, from Cadillac to castastrophic policies
*allow insurance companies to discriminate based on lifestyle (obesity, smokers, etc.)
*get rid of all govt insurance
*no coverage on cosmetic surgery & unnecessary procedures, including abortions
*use $ from social security deductions/payments to provide policies from private insurance companies for the elderly
*deduct taxes to pay for/subsidize private policies for the poor, disabled & vets
*illegalize non-emergency ER visits
*require social security deductions/payments to go into a secure fund
*require proof of health insurance to obtain a driver’s license, a job, tax refund, VISA, etc.
P.S. We all have the same right to speak as you do.
Algonquin J. Calhoun
November 22nd, 2009
2:18 pm
Del, it needs to happen and it’s going to. Every citizen of this nation needs to have the benefit of of good, affordable medical care. It is the right thing and the necessary thing! Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
greg
November 22nd, 2009
2:58 pm
Let’s not forget the right to Govt daycare as well. And a living wage. Also need free housing-transportation, and internet access. And cell phones. Free stuff is good.
artatlarge
November 22nd, 2009
3:03 pm
Money. That’s what it’s all about, Mr. Wingfield?
You say that the only reason there is concern about global warming is so that a small group of people can make money.
Yet here you are, willing to consign millions to misery, and tens of thousands to death each year, all because of…money.
I’d like to see you go for years without health insurance, proper medical care, proper preventive care, and no options in sight. Maybe if you had to choose between paying for an office visit, plus any tests and medicines, you would change your dollar-centric knee-jerk mantra. Maybe you would have a medical emergency, where it was go to the hospital and have an operation or die, and spend day after day there. You would end up with a bill that racks you for tens of thousands of dollars…maybe then you’d think twice about saying that we should remain the only industrialized nation that does not provide universal care to its citizens. Or maybe you would watch a family member or close friend struggling with the same problem…could you tell them to their faces that they have to go through that because other people don’t think them worth the additional cost?
Let’s face it, people. We should all pay more taxes to achieve this level of care, to keep 44,000 people a year alive who would otherwise die; to provide care for a child who will never be able to eat solid food, ever, unless he receives a medical treatment that costs less than some cars; to keep those with chronic conditions from suffering for years in the face of ever-rising medical costs; to prevent some of these chronic conditions in the first place; and to provide end-of-life counseling so that no one is hooked up to machine after machine, alive but vegetative, and running up expenses of thousands of dollars a DAY.
Yes, if the shoe were on the other foot, perhaps you’d agree that we are doing it wrong. You might agree that costs are out of control with no end in sight. You might even agree that the insurance companies have made it necessary to have a government-run option that takes absolutely obscene profit out of the picture, which the poor and disadvantaged have no way to pay for, except with their lives.
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
3:56 pm
Algonquin, One of us is missing something. What is good about the bill, better than what we already have? What is affordable about it, cheaper than what we have:
Did you miss the report from the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office last week, the group the Senate Dems presented the bill to for their review? Or are you dismissing it for some reason? On what are you basing your opinions?
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
4:38 pm
Artatlarge, Have you ever looked at the National Debt clock? The US is in deep financial trouble.
For yrs., I have paid for my own health insurance. I pay cash for every visit, test, procedure & drug. So what? I happen to know what health care costs. I price shop. My insurance is catastrophic only. I was uninsured when our son was born 25 yrs. ago. Cost $20,000. So what? Even tho I have insurance, I don’t have the best medical or preventative care. No one can force me to go to the doctor.
No one is saying we shouldn’t have health care reform & insurance for all citizens.
I don’t know if you live off the govt or work. If you work, I don’t know if you work for a co. or for yourself. Regardless someone had to make a profit for you to have what you have today. Health, life, auto & hazard insurance companies are in business to make a profit, just like the grocery stores, clothing stores, home builders, even tho they supply food, clothing & shelter, the real essentials.
Reread the article you were referring to where you claim 44,000 people die every yr due to having no insurance. Only 900 people were studied. It’ rhetoric, not scientific.
It would be cheaper for the fed govt just to buy everyone an insurance policy than to pass any of these bills. What we have now isn’t perfect but it’s Heavens better than what we would have with the fed govt. If you thinks costs are out of control with no end in sight, you are absolutely right, but just wait til the govt gets more involved. If you want fraud, corruption & waste & see the US go bankrupt, keep hoping it’s passed.
Have you ever hired anyone? You look at experience, their record, reliability, etc. Look at the govt’s resume. Can you think of anything the fed govt has touched that wasn’t a disaster, that didn’t cost at least 10 times more than they predicted?
Trudy
November 22nd, 2009
4:47 pm
http://costofwar.com/ Georgia has paid $20+ trillion in war support since 2001.
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
5:08 pm
Trudy, No, Georgia has paid $27 billion, not trillion. The entire national debt is $12 trillion.
The money did not go from the GA treasury to the fed govt. It’s money you & I paid directly in our fed taxes.
Please read my comment above on 11/21 at 5:29 PM.
Jess
November 22nd, 2009
5:11 pm
Trudy, sorry dear, but Georgia has not collected even a fraction of $20 trillion dollars since it’s founding as a state.
Mom
November 22nd, 2009
5:14 pm
What government run program has lowered costs? The problem is the government.
Ummm. We are already experiencing Hilarycare.
http://www.jpands.org/hacienda/article10.html
artatlarge
November 22nd, 2009
6:04 pm
Linda…
If you want to talk about the national budget deficit, perhaps you should have spoken up while George Bush was in office, not vetoing a single spending bill sent to him by the republican House. He took a budget surplus and turned it into a record deficit, and then began 2 different wars, and cut taxes at the same time. President Obama is having to fix the mess that W. left (a recurring theme in the life of George Bush, Jr.), and government spending in such a situation is the only solution, since the private sector did not have the money.
For you information, I am a disabled person who is not on the government dole, even though I would qualify for S.S. disability, medicare (or medicaid: at the moment I forget which one it would be) and maybe even subsidized housing. There is no cure for what I have, but I am trying to make a living as a self-employed artist, since that is my most marketable skill since becoming unable to work in my previous profession.
And I am here to tell you that I am now unable to get health insurance unless I am willing to pay almost $800/month for a private policy, with a high deductible and limited coverage, as well as a waiting period of 2-3 YEARS before there would be any benefits paid for my pre-existing condition.
I can also tell you that I never heard republicans talk about governmental waste, fraud, and excess while George Bush Jr. was spending our money like he was a drunken sailor in Singapore. But now, since we have a Democrat in office, every other word is about how “government isn’t the solution, it’s the problem” and “we must regain fiscal responsibility.”
Nor is there much concern among the right about the kind of profits that let health-insurance companies pay the CEO $102,000 PER HOUR, while denying coverage for procedures that would save lives and eliminate decades of unrequited suffering.
You are right about one thing…from the year 2000 until 2009, I never saw anything that the government did that wasn’t an expensive dismal failure…but no Bush is gone. He is retired, drawing a pension (I would imagine) and living free of any responsibility for having driven this country off a cliff.
Saveadime
November 22nd, 2009
6:50 pm
Start public clinics staffed by Government Docs. at County Health Departments That’s where you go if you cant afford or WON’T BUY private health insurance and can’t private pay. Send those who use these to designated public hosptials if further care is needed. Emergency rooms are for emergencies only..stop their use as public primary care units.
That’s a start…
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
7:51 pm
Artatlarge, I did not talk about the national budget deficit. I specifically said the national debt. They are 2 very different problems, both critical.
I did speak up when Bush was in office. It does not matter WHO runs up our deficits & debts, Dems or Reps. It has to stop. The tea parties, marches & outrage at town hall meetings are bipartisan.
There was never a budget surplus when Clinton was in office. Every president has added to the national debt. I can give you specific amounts or direct you to websites.
Bush did not start 2 wars. War must be approved by Congress. The vote on going to Afghanistan was 98-0 in the Senate & 420-1 in the House. We went to war because radical Islamic terrorists had been killing Americans for 30 yrs. in dozens of countries in Asia, Europe & the US. Dems tend to appease & it’s never worked. I can go in to further detail if you have time.
By referring to the “mess” Bush left, I assume you are referring to the economic crisis. There is plenty of blame to go around, both Dems & Reps, but the very last person to blame is Bush. I had a front row seat in the industry for 25 yrs. & knew in the ’90’s it would happen. You can blame Bush for many mistakes but not for the world-wide economic depression. I can prove it.
Spending $ we don’t have for stuff we don’t need has & will never solve problems. It creates more. After the trillions we’ve spent in the last yr., name one improvement.
My heart goes out to any disabled person. My father never walked a step in his life (polio) & lived until he was 80. He was paralyzed & deformed. He was 1 of 8 children, was lifted, carried, pulled in a little wagon, scooted around Indian-style on the floor until he bought his 1st wheelchair when he was 40, drove a car with a rusty bicycle pump & bought an equipped van in his ’60’s. He sold door-to-door until he opened his own store, which he ran 7 days a week, 14 hrs a day. He married, had children & put them thru college. He had strokes, a bleeding ulcer, a hyena hernia, scoliosis & cancer. He was robbed at gunpoint by a murderer. He provided credit, work, food, clothing & housing to the needy & drove patients to see specialists in Atlanta. He donated to the church & performed music at every charity event he was asked to. He pinched every penny, sacrificed & saved every dime, paid cash for everything & was able to buy rental houses. He never met a person less deserving than he was & everyone who met him was inspired. There’s a street named for him & an event dedicated in his memory. He never received any special assistance from the govt. because he was “lucky.” I am who I am because of my parents. I admire you for your determination & talent & will pray for you.
We pay over $1000 per mt for our private insurance policy that covers only catastrophic problems. We pay cash for all visits, procedures, tests & drugs.
It should be irrelevant what companies take in & pay out. That’s the free enterprise system our country has always endorsed, until recently. Nowadays, if they make too much of a profit or pay their executives top dollar, they’re greedy. If they don’t make enough profit, have poor management & fail, it’s our job to bail them out. What sense does that make? Why pick on health insurance companies? What about the auto, life & hazard insurance companies? What about all the companies in America that provide jobs?
Cutty
November 22nd, 2009
8:47 pm
Georgia doesn’t have money for anything but boat ramps nowadays.
rachel
November 22nd, 2009
9:27 pm
techlover,
I used to be blinded to all things democrat just like you. As I aged, I grew a brain. The government should not control the medical care. I worked many jobs to get my B.A. and through my experience I realized just how easy it was to get a job with benefits. Even McDonalds offers benefits if you work full time. The jobs are out there, people just like to make excuses. As I am now a housewife due to necessity, I don’t feel that our hard earned dollars should pay for lazy people who refuse to try. Thinking that we should give everyone a hand, is going to throw us into a tailspin. Or, pardon me just make our president print more money like it actually grows on trees. I have also been uninsured at one time, and let me assure all of you out there, when I needed to take out my gallbladder, I had no trouble finding a surgeon willing to do just that. The reason that healthcare is so expensive is that the hospitals charge $18 for one pill. I had to take my son to the emergency room lately because he had stuck a bead up his nose. The doctors and nurses could not even extract it, and we still had to pay $5000 for their time. Luckily, I have insurance, but I ask you, who is the crook here?
Linda
November 22nd, 2009
9:57 pm
Rachel, My parents were Dems. I was raised as a Dem, & I’m still a registered Dem. Yrs ago we didn’t have these radical left-wing ideologists. I wised up like you did. You had a goal & showed the determination of how to achieve it. I don’t know you but I’m proud of you. You are a great American. May God bless you & yours.
Peter
November 23rd, 2009
9:14 am
Hey Kyle, what if we took the excesses out of cost plus contracts, and used it for American’s ?
Repukes and DummyCrats are ALL Scum
November 23rd, 2009
9:30 am
RoyTheCrookBarnes GAVE 100 million Medicaid dollars to an out of state law firm in exchange for telling the State how to cheat the Feds out of the State’s cost share of Medicaid. The scam involved taxing all health care providers, but raising reimbursement rates for health care providers to cover the additional costs. Since the state only pays ~30% as their cost share, the state got back three dollars for each additional dollar raised via taxes, so they could afford to kickback one third to the providers. The key was to make the tax broad based to pass the stinking feds sniff test. For this small amount of information, which the state Medicaid people already knew, RoyTheCrook paid his out of state stinking lawyer cronies a 100 million dollar contingency fee. No federal state partnership can withstand the scheming of lying, cheating, scumbag lawyers. Put Roy in Federal prison for life, and maybe I will believe their is some justice in America, but until then I will oppose any and all DummyCrat proposals, including those supported by lying repukes. Hang all the GawdDamned Lawyers, hang em high, let the crows eat their eyes, that is my nightly prayer to Gawd.
Your morning jolt: Ground and air attacks in the ATL race for mayor | Political Insider
November 23rd, 2009
10:00 am
[...] Some opinion: Kyle Wingfield says Georgia can’t afford its share of ObamaCare. [...]
David Axelfraud
November 23rd, 2009
10:05 am
“It is true that democracy undermines freedom when voters believe they can live off of others’ productivity, when they modify the commandment: ‘Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.’ The politics of plunder is no doubt destructive of both morality and the division of labor.” -Gary North
“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.” -Dr. Adrian Rogers
Fix-It
November 23rd, 2009
10:52 am
Anybody who thinks that our government can run anything needs to be in a mental hospital. Any loser who believes that our “free healthcare” is free needs to put the bong down and get a job. All you losers who “think” government health care would be a good deal please feel free to go to any Euro Trash country and see why the citizens would rather be here. And for those who are so delusional that they believe this is even about healthcare, wake up idiots! This has nothing to do with healthcare and all to do with a power grab by the people who are drunk with power. If these government bureaucrats wanted to help people they would be concentrating on creating jobs, tort reform, gee has one dimacrat even uttered that word, and letting insurance carry across state lines to create completion. By the way didn’t Obozo say he would NOT sign any bill that is not revenue neutral, and no more earmarks, except for the 300 million dollar bride to get a dimacrat vote from Mississippi…? When are liberals going to wake up to ALL THE OBOZO LIES?
Libraryjim
November 23rd, 2009
10:58 am
Why do we need to overhaul the entire Health Insurance system in America, to cover 12 – 17 million (adjusting for those who can afford it choose not to have it, and those here illegally who were counted in the original numbers) who don’t have health insurance? Shouldn’t the reform just address doing that instead of meddling with a system in which 85% of those with insurance are satisfied with their coverage?
Marcos
November 23rd, 2009
12:19 pm
Well now we know how much a life costs to Republicans. We are 1st in the world in health care costs and 37th in quality of care. But I guess as long as you’ve got yours Kyle, uninsured Americans can do without. I wonder what you would do if you lost your insurance from the AJC. I wonder how much it would cost you to pay the insurance industry to over you and your family.
Gregg
November 23rd, 2009
12:24 pm
@ Kyle, you said “In absolute terms, we’re talking about adding about as much in health spending over five years as the state cut from last year’s total budget due to the recession. Another $900 million has been sliced from this year’s budget”.
Do you mean the for 5 years we can vover each and every LEGAL georgia resident just from what the state eliminated from JUST 1 years budget? So if the state can do without it, as it is proving, then why not funnel that money to cover the people who cannot afford it.
Gregg
November 23rd, 2009
12:29 pm
To any and everybody that talks about the Government can run anything, chew on this. Prostitution is not the oldest career, the Government actual is. I beg you to find anyother the company that has been around as long as the government. You belittle the government, yet you turn to them first and say that is why you pay taxes. Just becuase you don’t need them everyday, trust me they are there. They patrol your neighborhood while you sleep, they run into your house when it is on fire, the make corporations stop taking advantage of you and they do this with pennies from you. Let a private firm do what the government does and see how much you pay. Then and only then do you talk about capitalistic free market is better than government.
VV
November 23rd, 2009
12:37 pm
Gregg:
You hit the nail on the head.
Dearie Smith
November 23rd, 2009
1:08 pm
To MH Brown (12:35 pm), I would like to comment on the challenge you issed in your post ~ “This writer (Kyle) does not give us the points of reference, so his article is stupid, useless and unprofessional. Lastly, I have to say that I have had it with anyone who criticizes this plan without proposing an alternative. If you don’t have another idea, shut up!”.
Mr. Brown, I have yet to hear your response to Linda’s (1:39 pm) well thought out, logical alternatives that you challenges someone to produce. Linda’s postscript to you “P.S. We all have the same right to speak as you do.” was too gracious for me ~ I prefer ~ “Possibly you should be the one to “shut up”.
Keep up the good work Linda. I enjoy reading your posts.
Linda
November 23rd, 2009
3:07 pm
Gregg, the Government is not the Government.
The govt that “patrol your neighborhood…run into your house when it is on fire…” is our state & local govts. It’s the FEDERAL govt. that’s the prostitute. This is the whole point. We want our state & local govts to continue the great jobs they do & more power given to them & more power taken from DC, as outlined in the Constitution.
You said the fed govt makes “corporations stop taking advantage of you.” What the fed govt did was use your tax $ to bail out at least 20 large corporations that had failed, many of which congress members had stakes in. It’s corporate cronyism. One company bailed out was AIG which in turn bailed out other companies with your tax $. The fed govt decided who the winners & losers were. They decided that big corporations were more important than small businesses which employ over 70% of Americans. They bailed out the unions rather than non-union employees. Cutting executive pay for a few top executives was a smoke screen. As a matter of fact, someone added a stipulation in the economic stimulus bill passed in Feb. that allowed those exorbitant executive bonuses. Sen Chris Dodd originally lied about it before he finally admitted he was aware of it but still denies adding it.
The fed govt is full of corruption, fraud & waste. Ever looked at debtclock.com? They spend ever dime they tax, borrow what they can’t tax & print what they can’t borrow. All the $ you’ve paid in social security & Medicare is gone.
Name one think the fed govt has done that was efficient & effective & that didn’t cost 5 to 10 times more than they estimated.
Linda
November 23rd, 2009
3:08 pm
Dearie, I’m humbled by your statement.
dewstarpath
November 23rd, 2009
3:12 pm
- VV –
12:37 pm
– I second that (Gregg’s statement on government).
People like Fix-it need to fix themselves first. Get
their OWN house in order before they criticize
someone else (with so much bias it’s like a comedy
routine).
dewstarpath
November 23rd, 2009
3:13 pm
- VV –
12:37 pm
– I second that motion (Gregg’s post on government).
dewstarpath
November 23rd, 2009
3:16 pm
- People like Fix-it need to fix themselves first.
Get their OWN house in order before they criticize
others (with so much bias it’s like a comedy routine).
No partisanship here. Just quick and absolute
judgement.
Robert
November 24th, 2009
7:28 pm
Has anyone noticed how the democrats like to imply that if you don’t go along with their idea of healthcare reform, then you must be against reform? They try to portray those with different opinions as someone who doesn’t believe healthcare should be for for everyone. It’s funny to me how their plans would result in 96% coverage for all (including illegal aliens). When did 96% coverage equate to healthcare for ALL? It must be that fuzzy math again.
Dave
December 26th, 2009
7:01 pm
Rachel, the bill was $5000 because you had insurance. The hospital reams the insurance company to offset the cost of treating all those people in the emergency room that don’t have insurance because the FedGov says they have to treat them, but provides no money for it, so they get the money where they can….your insurance company, hence, the $20 Tylenol.
Obamacare is just another welfare program for the same class of loafers that every other program is for (and the AJC’s core reader group, the gimme gimme crowd), nothing more. Certain Cynthia Tuckers never seem to mention that the ObamaCare taxes start immediately, but there are no benefits “paid” for 4 years! You mark my words, by the time ObamaCare kicks in, the Democrats in congress will have spent that money on something else and surely equally ridiculous, and ObamaCare will START in the red, and they will want to raise taxes again for “the poor”.
“The poor” are getting tiresome. Maybe just once, the “poor” can get off their butts and do something productive. You can’t even get them to pick up trash or clean up in their “communities” in exchange for their benefits, they refuse because they have no pride, because they don’t own anything or earn anything, and many of them have never earned anything in their entire lives, it is always given to them with nothing given in exchange. It will be bad for them soon, there is no more juice that can be squeezed from the taxpayer turnip.
I’m sure they will blame racism when it happens.
furloughed
December 27th, 2009
6:54 am
I know who will pay for this ObamaCare — all of us State employees who are already paying with furlough days. The State is cutting everywhere it can and then the Democrats add this for State employees to fund with their paychecks. I don’t like the idea of my paycheck being cut to fund healthcare, but where else is it going to come from? I just hope I can retire when I’m eligible. But then the Democrats will probably want to cut our retirement benefits in order to pay for it. I just can’t win.
Laila
December 27th, 2009
8:37 am
Ummm, screw the constitution’s 10th amendment, screw the left vs right debate …. this is about LIFE!! If we used the 10th amendment to justify everything, how about we opt out of paying federal taxes!! Or receiving federal Medicaid funding at all, therefore NOONE GETS IT? It’s too expensive right, so it’d only be fair if no-one got it. Umm, NO! Because G-MA,
THERE IS NO VALUE THAT CAN BE PUT ON LIFE!! People are so selfish. Tell Sonny to add on an extra penny to the sales tax & get over it!