Health Care Reform: Issues for All Sides
The Facts Are There, Few Try to Find Them
The New York Times captured the Obama's message as told in June: "If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what."
The reality of the situation is that Republicans fear the implications involved with a public insurance plan and private insurance plans. They think the public plans will drive the private insurance companies out of business, that would lead to full socialized health care. Democrats refute this with a dual concept of public and private plans.
Public insurance is still conceptual, where details have not been finalized. An alternative to a public plan is a private non-profit agency to compete with private firms. What seems to be brushed aside by Republicans is the corruption of private insurance companies and the CEOs.
The Fortune 500 list of corporations in 2008 notes UnitedHealth Group as 71 largest company worldwide, and position 25 in America. The next question is how much money did the CEO make?
In 2005 Forbes magazine reported William McGuire, the third highest paid CEO, earned $124.8 Million. His pay alone could cover the insurance premiums of about 34,000 Americans. Roughly about $700 from each individual premium went to pay McGuire. UnitedHealth Group's revenue that year was $71 Billion. Furthermore, in 2005 McGuire was reported by AFL-CIO to have $1,776,547,635 in unexercised stock options at retirement. According to CNN, McGuire resigned from his position as CEO in 2006 after a stock option backdating lawsuit was brought up. He was forced to pay back $618 Million as a settlement. UnitedHealth Groups is also facing a $1.3 Billion fine in failing to pay claims at its PacifiCare unit. In addition, they were forced to restate their earnings by $1.5 Billion.
What are the Republicans complaining about? They smooth over the ability of private insurers to survive against public plans. They undermine mass corporate greed, as helpless victims of illness die each due to insurance gaps, poor treatment, and exceedingly high costs. In 2006, the U.S. Census Burial records private insurers supplied insurance to 67.9 percent of people, the government supplied 20.7 percent, the remaining 15.8 percent were left without insurance. It's about 44,334,080 uninsured people that year.
Public insurance plans would bring about a swift change that we could all appreciate. Private plans would have to compete with the government. Private insurers would have to offer lower prices with more coverage. There would become an industry where the main focus is not making money, but serving and providing for the people, something we have always expected, though not well received. Efficiency would become key to survival in this industry. As an American, it is something I would like to see. In knowing Fortune 500 companies are not contributing to the portion of wrongful deaths each year, there should be a sense of security, reliability, and trust knowing you are cared for. Currently the American people are secondary to the income in profit and revenue received by CEOs.
If I were McGuire, I would be incredibly shameful at the whole insurance industry and myself. How can people be so selfish? Why does the capitalist mentality of self-sufficiency, still act as a viable reason for Wall Street corruption to keep money in the hands of the rich, disregarding the right for life of all people? This day in age I find it extremely nauseating to see that no one cares about each other, that most people are materialistic and have such narrow self-interest that they would rather read People Magazine than give two dimes nor a mere thought to help the anyone in need.
Increasing population and rising health care costs do not help the situation for the uninsured. The New York Times reports the proposed budget plan would be "deficit neutral", as the $1 Trillion spent would be offset in the next 10 years with other taxes or reduction in other spending. The federal net deficit will continue rising to $239 Billion. Democrats expect future savings that support this reform as being beneficial. Republicans question the actual savings. At this point there is no correct answer to the issue as to much information unknown.
It is disgusting the amount money poured into a business that pays for its CEO to not do its job. Where did mutual respect, sympathy, and care for the people go? Or yet, was it even there? The average American would agree that government is to support and help its people. When the attempts to follow through with necessary changes are shot down by fiscal conservatives, backed with extreme power, how can any kind of change happen?
The people are blaming Obama for not doing enough to make this reform happen, but that is only one part of the problem. An article in The Nation quotes FDR, in saying he needed people's activism to influence the bureaucracy, "You have convinced me, now go out and make me do it." Sadly, the initiative and momentum of the American people has decreased greatly since the start of this country in 1776. Although, it is not completely the people's fault either. Media focuses on what brings in good ratings for the money, resulting in the lack of coverage of the real issues. How much information was surfaced and viewed by the public during UnitedHealth Group's corruption scandals?
However, the people are reluctant to go about bringing on change. It's true they have a lot at stake, and the environment we have created up until this point is not welcoming of great movements, as experienced in the Bush era. People are willing to risk a lot less than they would have before. The old saying, "no risk, no reward," has more importance than its attributed. How much more pain and suffering needs to go on before we realize this health care reform, and other much needed reforms can take place? How many more people need to die for change to happen?
Robert Pear and David M. Herszenhorn
A Primer on the Details of Health Care Reform
New York Times
Global 500: Global 1-100 - Fortune on CNNMoney.com
Fortune on CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2009/full_list/
Fortune 500 2008: Fortune 1000 1-100
Fortune on CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/full_list/
United Health CEO earned $124.8 million in 2005
Healthcare Economist
http://healthcare-economist.com/2006/02/14/united-health-ceo-earned-1248-million-in-2005/
UnitedHealth Group Case Study
AFL-CIO
http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/retirementsecurity/case_unitedhealth.cfm
Fortune 500 2008: UnitedHealth Group - UNH
Fortune on CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/snapshots/3147.html
Gretchen Morgenson
Sharper Claws for Recovering Executive Pay
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/business/09gret.html
Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in United States: 2007
U.S. Census Burial
http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf
Population Estimates
U.S. Census Burial
http://www.census.gov/popest/states/NST-ann-est.html
Peter Dreier
We Need More Protests To Make Reform Possible
The Nation
Published by M
- President Obama Addresses Health Care ReformPresident Obama Addressed the nation about Health care in a speech tonight in the White House at 8pm est.
- Health Care Reform and the Definition of InsanityHow the basic backyard bird feeder (as well as the Congressional Budget Office) should cause serious pause for pols rushing to reform American health care.
- Making Health Care Reform Sexy With 45 million uninsured and a new national narrative on health care reform, will President Obama reign in profitable industry snake-oil salesmen to support universal health care? Will we have an honest debate about...
- Health Care Reform vs. the Iraq WarEveryone has different views about what is important come election time. Certainly, health care reform and the Iraq war top most of these lists. Which of these two issues should you consider the most important when e...
- Hillary Clinton's Health Care Reform PlanSenator Clinton's health care reform plan resembles that of Barak Obama. There are, however a couple of key differences. This article details her proposed reform plan and why she feels her plan is superior to that of...
- Health Care Reform: Why We Need a Public Option
- Obama's Health Care Reform
- Health Care Reform: Left Vs Center
- Mental Health, like Other Illnesses, Is an Important Component to Be Considered in...
- The Importance of Health Care Reform by Voters and How Reform Could Be Made Simpler
- Health Care Reform for America
- Proposed Health Care Reform Bill Has Price Cut
1 Comments
Post a CommentAs an old-timer who has seen myriad programs sponsored by the government%2C I see all this talk about reform as another program that helps the freeloaders and sticks it to the honest hard-working middle class taxpayer. Doesn%27t anyone reemember %22The Little Red Hen%22%3F