Protesting health care reform
I’ve been watching some videos of people getting very agitated while attending health care reform forums. In some cases, legislators have resorted to locking people out entirely, such as this:
To ease the tensions surrounding the issue, Obama’s staff have vowed to “punch back twice as hard“. And of course, some Democrats are accusing Republicans, or anti-health care people of being Nazis. I assume it’s just Democrats accusing what they think are strictly Republicans for the very simple reason no Republicans are supporting it. Which, this is all fine and good. I can’t really play either side right now. For years here, I have advocated health care reform. Now, do note, I have advocated reform, not universal coverage. So, calling this whole thing health care reform dismays me. From what I have seen, all the reform we are hearing about is simply expanding Medicare to whoever basically wants it, and making employers pay for it. That’s not reform. That’s just inefficient and politically expedient socialism.
But, my biggest curiosity about the whole thing to date is both sides are fighting mad. And, I do mean fighting. People are actually hitting each other and you know, fighting. And, where I’m getting sort of a chuckle, is neither side even has a clue what they are fighting for, or against. Sure, they have ideas of what they want this health care reform to be, but that’s not what is going on here. What’s going on here is the legislation has not been finalized. There is no reform at this point. There is no universal coverage, there is no employer option, there is nothing. Everything today is exactly as it was before. What we do have is a bunch of bills offering different ideas of what they want. And, none are what the president says they are.
- I’m going to start with HR 643, in which Parker Griffith expects people to read the legislation. “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that any major health care reform bill considered on the floor should be available for viewing.” To date, that has not been voted on. Even if it were, I doubt it would pass. No one wants to read this thing. They just want to fight over it.
- In HR 683, Cathy Rogers wants to just skip the entire legislative process, “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the House should move forward with health care reform legislation, and costs can be contained through prevention and wellness initiatives that empower parents, families, and communities toward better health.“ So, right off the bat, you’ve contradicting points of view. One wants people to read it, the other just wants to pass anything and hope people don’t need it by empowering families and communities. Yeah, right.
- In HR 1296, James Clyburn wants to “To achieve access to comprehensive primary health care services for all Americans and to reform the organization of primary care delivery through an expansion of the Community Health Center and National Health Service Corps programs.“ I”m not sure what organization he’s referring to. But, I do favor expansion of Community Health Centers. However, I oppose expanding National Health Services Corps. What to do? Find someone who opposes Community Health Centers and favors National Health Services Corps and punch them twice as hard I suppose.
- In HR 1468, Michael Burgess intends to “To provide health care liability reform, and for other purposes.“ Tort reform. I’m all for that. However, there is no realistic punishment for bad or unethical medical practitioners. What is the liability in those situations? Burgess doesn’t address that. I guess the crooks get off as well.
- In HR 1495, Ron Paul is being, well, Ron Paul, “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make health care coverage more accessible and affordable“. Sounds wonderful, simply ignore everything that is wrong and give people a tax break. Won’t work in the long run. For that matter, won’t work in the short run. In a business environment, premiums are tax deductible.
- In HR 3158, John Sarbannes’ solution is “To reform health care delivery by providing incentives for place-based health care, which seeks to bring health services to the patient by locating community health centers, federally qualified health centers, and community integrated health centers in or near settings that already serve a particular target population, such as schools, workplaces, and senior services facilities.” Back to the community health center idea, except for some bizarre reason he feels it would work better if it were conveniently located at a school or something. Which school would make it most convenient? I’m kinda lost on the logic there obviously. And, I oppose direct federal services, so I need to punch him.
- In HR 3372, Tom Price wants ”To establish Medicare performance-based quality measures, to establish an affirmative defense in medical malpractice actions based on compliance with best practices guidelines, and to provide grants to States for administrative health care tribunals.“ He’s going to have to help me that. I don’t have a practical clue what he’s talking about. However, federally compelled “tribunals” scare me. I have to punch him as well. Getting my picture? If it’s federal, it’s toast.
- In S 496, ( the “S” means it’s a Senate bill ), Bernie Sanders wants “A bill to achieve access to comprehensive primary health care services for all Americans and to reform the organization of primary care delivery through an expansion of the Community Health Center and National Health Service Corps programs.“ That’s the partner for Jim Clyburn’s bill. Same rules apply here as it did for Jim.
- In S 698, Russ Feingold proposes ”A bill to ensure the provision of high-quality health care coverage for uninsured individuals through State health care coverage pilot projects that expand coverage and access and improve quality and efficiency in the health care system.“ No idea how he intends the approximately 50 financially broke states to do this. I guess the bugger’s in the details. However, I’m more in favor of states doing this than the feds. So, it’s got some potential. If he only knew how to fund this I’d be happy.
- In S 1240, Jim DeMint proposes “A bill to provide for the reform of health care, the Social Security system, the tax code for individuals and business, and the budget process.“ Now we’re talking. Finally, someone recognizes that a person’s well-being is inter-twined. Now, this one’s got a ton of detail. I don’t feel like reading it all. Just punch him too.
There you have it folks. That’s what all the fighting’s over. If you want to be more exact in understanding Obama’s health care reform, that The White House is now enlisting snitches on people spreading lies about, start by reading every bill I just listed. What no one in DC seems to want people to know is that it doesn’t matter whatsoever what Obama promises or wants. The only thing that matters is what’s actually IN the legislation that passes. Now, if you want to know EXACTLY what’s going to happen, this is all you have to do. As I said, start by reading every one of those bills. They all have some impact on what it is. Then, put them together with one bill left out. Then do it with two, etc. etc. THEN, start with the second bill and do the same. Repeat until the last bill is finished. By my count, and assuming I’ve most likely missed a bill or two, there are at the very least, 122 different possibilities this bill might become. One of those of course, is nothing.
Oh wait, that’s just health care provision, I forgot all about insurance reform. You know, the thing that will compete against the private sector but not destroy the private sector so we can have our cake and eat it too. Do that search at Thomas, you’ll get over 200 ( that’s TWO hundred ), results. Remember, this thing will be a mix of any of those down to none of those.
If you’re like me, that’s an amazing amount of reading dull facts. It’s just too much to comprehend. It’s so much easier to just go shout and punch people.
