OK, I'll fess up. I was an annoyingly vocal Obama supporter before the election.
But I'm disappointed.
I don't like the Obama health care reform bill.
Don't get me wrong! I still support President Obama and I think the health care bill is a step forward. It's just a very, very small step forward that is incredibly complicated and full of pork and compromises.
The best thing about it is the ultimate elimination of the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. That's huge.
But my biggest complaint is that the reform isn't big enough, isn't bold enough and doesn't go far enough.
Here is what I wanted to see.
Cherry pick the best benefits and features of the 36 health care systems in the world that are ranked above us by the World Health Organization, roll them into 1 single provider/single payer system, get the 60 votes, pass the fucking bill and be done with it.
Then they could tell the Republicans to choke on a fucking dick knowing that they had actually solved the problem once and for all instead of compromising themselves into an impotent, bureaucratic clusterfuck.
Here's the fucking deal.
People worry that a "public option" would drive private insurance companies out of business and force everyone into the government run system because premiums would be less.
GOOD! About fucking time!
They worry that the quality of care would decrease because the payments to health care providers under a public option would be less than the cost of the procedures.
There are a couple of bullshit assumptions here.
The first assumption is that the cost of health care procedures is fixed and fair. It precludes the idea that doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies charge WAY THE FUCK MORE than they should be charging for those procedures!
Doctors are rich. Pharmaceutical companies are OBSCENELY rich. How many not-for-profit, charitable hospitals exist in your community? If you have any at all, I bet you can count them on one finger.
The health care industry in this country is INSANELY profitable. Even the insurance companies who pay for the bulk of the health care are INSANELY profitable. They are all in cahoots (technical term) with each other. That's why they can afford so many lobbyists.
Let's be clear. The American model of health care is built around making doctors, surgeons, hospitals, drug manufacturers and insurance companies filthy rich from the pain, suffering and terminal illnesses of you, me and your family. They make the most money when your back is against the wall of mortality and you have no choice but to find a way to pay or die.
I think a public option would force insurance companies to pay less in order to compete, which would force providers to charge less, which would reduce profits for the health care vultures.
Maybe the cost of health care would be driven back down to reality.
I should not be able to grow wealthy by driving you into bankruptcy because you got sick.
Think about the last time you were in the hospital.
Who did you see most often?
Who exhibited more concern and care for you?
Who fed you, gave you meds, brought you blankets and pillows, fed you ice chips and generally made you comfortable and cared for you?
It wasn't your primary care physician, your surgeon, your surgeon's pharmaceutical rep, your pharmaceutical company's lobbyist, or the CEO and Board of Directors of the Hospital.
It was your nurse.
Nurses bust their asses working long shifts for little pay.
Nurses have a different motivation than the rest of the industry. They know they will work long, hard hours. They know they will be inserting catheters, changing diapers, emptying bed pans, giving showers and tolerating INCREDIBLY WHINY ABUSE from pussified patients like you and me.
But they are willing to put up with all of that because they genuinely care, they have empathy and they aren't looking to get rich. They just want to do what they love and earn a decent living.
With absolutely no research to back my claim, I believe we could reduce health care costs in this country by 80% if doctors, surgeons, medical schools, pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies had the same work ethic and motivation as nurses.
I want my care givers compensation to be based on the quality of care they provided, not the amount of revenue they generated.
Fix it.
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