I’m voting for Obama, but I’m not that happy with either Obama or McCain’s health care policies. Why not? Trudy Lieberman shows us why neither plan’s particularly great for Americans in her series called “Health Care on the Mississippi” for Columbia Journalism Review’s blog, Campaign Desk (via BlogHer).
The objective of Trudy’s series is outlined in her first post: To show how Obama and McCain’s policies will affect real Americans in a way that both the mainstream media and blogosphere have failed to illustrate(in her opinion). And in subsequent posts, Trudy does just that — and shows that McCain’s policy basically totally sucks, while Obama’s could suck — though due to its vagueness, it’s unclear how much, exactly, Obama’s could suck (here’s a short breakdown of the plans from NPR). The examples:
>> A father with high blood pressure works 2 jobs but, due to financial constraints, can’t afford to include even his wife under his insurance plan — and his diabetic son has no health insurance and is in very ill health. Her conclusion: “Neither father nor son would fare well under McCain’s proposals,” while under Obama’s plan, “Too much is unknown,” though “Bell the younger has a shot at getting the consistent, ongoing care so necessary for diabetics.”
>> For a woman with major health problem who gets disability checks, McCain’s policy wouldn’t do much good since she’s unlikely to qualify for a private program — and even if she did, McCain’s tax credit wouldn’t give her the financial means to pay the rest of the premium. Under Obama’s plan? “Most likely, Murph and her disabled-and-waiting counterparts won’t get much relief.”
>> A more “regular” family is an underinsured one in America. And under McCain, “The under-insurance problem would not disappear, and down the road, there are other risks of switching.” The alternative: “Because Obama’s proposals are so vague, it’s hard to say whether the Smiths would benefit.”
>> For an uninsured, diabetic woman working at Subway: “McCain’s proposals, which embrace a laissez faire health insurance market, would do little for Hernandez and her daughter.” With Obama, it all depends: “How much money Congress is willing to spend on subsidies for those with low—even very low—incomes is the great unknown.”
These stories showcase exactly what NPR points out in “Health Care for All: In Western Europe, It’s a Reality.” In this series, NPR compares patients in Western European countries with those with similar health issues in the US. The stories differ widely: Those in European countries can generally get the help they need on a timely basis with only relatively minor inconveniences, while those in the US get caught up in insurance companies’ bureaucratic tape and outright refusals to cover basic medical necessities.
Which is why I want the single-payer system many European countries have — which is why I really, really want Schwarzenegger to sign SB 840, Senator Kuehl’s California Universal Health Care Act which proposes full, universal healthcare for ALL Californians, replacing the thousands of health plans out there with one nonprofit healthcare plan.
Tell Schwarzenegger you want universal health care for Californians now — The bill’s on his desk! Call him, like I did, at 916.445.2841. You can also email or fax the governor, donate money to OneCareNow, and urge others to get involved.
Thank you so much for posting this information as it is near and dear to my heart. My parents were divorced after 25 years of marriage…and my mom is having a difficult time finding health insurance as she has high blood pressure, and gerd (gastrointestinal reflux) and nobody wants to insure her. It’s terrifying to me that if my mom became ill she would lose everything in order to pay her medical expenses. Is this not an important issue to our lawmakers? Something needs to be done, and it’s hard to fathom that nobody is really stepping up to the plate this November. Thank you for the link, I signed the petition and forwarded it as well!
Comment by Candi- Teal Chic — September 14, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
I hope you don’t mind but I posted a link to your blog post as I think what you posted is wonderful. Thank you for this!
Comment by Candi- Teal Chic — September 14, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
Haha It’s ALL ova, America. Obama gon make yo bitches BLEEEED! They NUUTHIN yo can do about it now an yo no IT, america! Ain’t NO stoppin him NOW, america! NUTHIN!
OBAMA GON MAKE YO MUDAZ BLEEEED!
AMERICA DIES IN 2008!
OBAMA 08!
Comment by aZ_aJ — September 14, 2008 @ 2:24 pm
Thanks Candi — I’m having trouble finding health insurance myself.
Let’s all ignore the troll who left the third comment.
Comment by Siel — September 14, 2008 @ 10:17 pm
Did you see the Bunk study stating 2/3 of doctors in America want National Health Care. The doctors who did this study also conducted one in 2002 and found that the majority of doctors did not want national health care, the problem with this is that the 2 question surveys drastically differ in there 2nd question. I found this article, 60% of Physicians Surveyed Oppose Switching to a National Health Care Plan, It’s worth a read.
Comment by Matt — September 15, 2008 @ 12:18 am
I’m 48 and use the local SeaMar community clinic, since I earn about $15,000 a year from self-employment. Each appointment is $20. I’m in favor of LOW-COST BASIC health care obviously. Yet, I have benefited greatly from medicine; my dad is a retired orthopedist, and both my moms were nurses. I’ve seen both sides of the issue.
I don’t know if our whole country is ready for an immediate radical shift. I’ve suggested more community care clinics for BASIC HEALTH CARE. Grant funded pilot projects could be started in many small towns… because… government employees would be the first to shift from private health insurance to BASIC HEALTH CARE. With bigger paychecks, they can also purchase “premium” coverage for non-basic health care and/or invest the difference for future health care if needed.
Efficient electronic and internet records keeping improve emergency decision making and ‘portability’ of records.
“Everything is connected to everything else”. Though I forget who coined that, a BASIC HEALTH CARE PLAN benefits from other social changes. Namely, A GAS TAX (of 25 cents to a $1 per gallon) to fund it. A society who drives less is overall healthier.
Second, state “Labor and Industries” cases will be minimized. Injuries to wage workers and the self employed are treated similarly. Employer negligence is a separate claim.
This BASIC HEALTH CARE plan won’t cover extremely costly care/benefit cases, such as chronic criminals and addicts, hypochondriacs, unresponsive or uncooperative clients, nor end of life extension care. Each clinic will prioritize care, basically, on each doctors recommendations as part of a community effort. And those doctors are ‘evaluated’ for performance and quality of care given. Doctors and clinics are also safeguarded from costly malpractice worries, or they lose their contract.
With this plan we can have a trillion dollars of health care for 1/2 trillion dollars.
Comment by Bill Thomas — October 1, 2008 @ 11:35 am