Below is something I posted on my facebook page.
Random thought: how are any republicans who vote against the upcoming health care bill going to look (and feel) if a few democrats actually put the nation's best interests ahead of their own and get it passed? Hmmm ... ?
A not-so-random thought ... it's crossed my mind that really all they have to do for the time being, since apparently they aren't going to just flat repeal the ACA (oath-breakers!), is to make it not mandatory and let the people of the United States do what they do - clarify the situation to the expensive health care providers and insurance folks.
A couple of hundred million Voices can speak without having to say a word simply by opting out and opting back in by throwing their weight behind the providers and insurers that provide the best services, premiums, and deductibles.
If the ACA is so great, let those who love it keep it - but don't tie everyone else to it. Let it stay and finish dying on its own; but don't make the people of our nation go down with it unless they choose to of their own volition.
Am I naive? Of course. I've always been. I just do NOT see that this has to be such a terribly complicated thing, though.
I remember hearing an infamous line: 'If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.' Something to that effect. The difference between that and saying 'If you like the ACA you can keep the ACA' is that this time you KNOW the program is in its death throes and that you'll likely go down with the ship if you stay aboard. You can jeer at the ones who head for the lifeboats but those are the folks who will be watching from shore as your ship goes belly-up with you on it. They'll probably pray for you, though.
Again, my naivete is showing. A few of the career politicians in Washington are not going to let any such thing happen.
A nod to the cynicism that's been keeping my naivete company of late ... the demand for the repeal (not replacement) of the ACA and the election of a non-career-politician are symbolic of our rejection of being dictated to, railroaded ... a notice to those who act against the collective will of the American People ... we cannot repeal you at the Washington level, but we can replace you in due time. I speak as an Independent who voted a mixed ticket so perhaps my Voice is meaningless to you. It is nevertheless mine own Voice and this is still mine own nation, which is still a Constitutional Republic (which you ought to bear in mind maybe a bit more thoughtfully than apparently you have been).
That having been said, there are more than a few ways that the People of the United States of America can, if they choose, take into their own hands the reins to their own health care needs. I've yammered about some of those things elsewhere in this blog so won't reiterate them here and now.
The point is that nobody's going to put our vulnerable, our elders, or our young at risk. Anybody who implies otherwise is full of baloney. They are why we have Medicaid and Medicare in the first place, if you recall. The rest of us can (and should) be maybe a lot more pro-active about tending to our own needs before we go yiping about somebody else doing it for us. Again, I've done my own yiping and griping about the issue elsewhere and don't feel like repeating myself any more than I have to. There are things people can do as individuals, as families, as communities, as counties, as states ... that would make an enormous difference - if we want to make that difference.
"The average adult male and female in the United States has a BMI of around 26.5, according to the National Health and Nutrition Survey. A BMI of 18.4 to 24.9 is considered healthy, while 25 to 29.9 is described as overweight. A BMI of 30 or above falls in the obese category. The average American having a BMI of 26.5 is overweight and needs to implement dietary changes and exercise to drop down to a healthy weight range."
Our athletes aside, because they tend to be more muscle than fat (and muscle weighs more), IF/WHEN the citizens of the United States of America can prove themselves smart enough and determined enough to get the average BMI down to say 20, and learn some basics about taking care of ourselves - THEN most of us can kiss anything except catastrophic coverage goodbye.
Getting off my soap box now as I've got a shift to fill tonight.
One other thought before I go. I read recently that a certain item costs one dollar but the patient is billed fifty bucks for it. What does that say about mark-up? 0% would be a buck. 10% would be $1.10 ... 100% would be two dollars (double). What does that make fifty bucks for a one dollar item?
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