The Last Big Socialist Health Care Debate

MEDICARE: This was passed in 1965 but debate over the program actually began two decades earlier when President Harry S. Truman sent a message to Congress asking for legislation establishing a national health insurance plan. At that time, vocal opponents warned of the dangers of "socialized medicine." As a matter of fact when the administration of John F. Kennedy discussed a plan for government health care that would cover people of Social Security age, the American Medical Association fought back, along with the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, with a well-funded campaign--complete with a commercial featuring actor Ronald Reagan, who was determined to talk to America about an "imminent threat":

So yes folks we have heard the debate before and they used the same keyword to try to beat it down and that is "Socialism". Okay all of you over 65 lets give up that socialized medicare and if you are approaching the age refuse it. But seriously, listen to "The Great Communicator", to see if you recognize any words being used today. I hear the very same words almost on a daily basis. As is written; "There is nothing new under the sun".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRdLpem-AAs

People are talking about this and that being a part of the health care bill and upon researching my own insurance coverage I would ask that someone anyone find one thing that goes outside of what insurance companies do already okay? Did you know that the average salary of an insurance CEO is $10 Million a year? And premiums have risen 40% in the past 5 years. Hmmmm? Far be it from me to deny these individuals their millions but it made me think about something.

Multiply the average salary by about 30 CEOs and it works out to about $300,000,000. Yep, 300 million dollars.
This is just salary. These guys also get stock as part of their compensation, and that ranges from roughly one million dollars worth of stock up to a high of over 800 million dollars of stock. Say that each of these 30 CEOs gets an average of 10 million dollars worth of stock, (we are not counting the dividends that get paid out to these CEOs from all these stocks, which most of us could live on that alone), that works out to about another 300 million dollars.

Since the entire population of the United States is somewhat over 300 million people, and say that the average family is 4 people, making an average of about 75 million families in the U.S., if we take one year's average salary and the average stock value these CEOs own, that is 10 million dollars times 10 million dollars, times 30 CEOs. This equals 3 quadrillion dollars. That is, $3,000,000,000,000,000 and no cents. That's 40 million dollars per family. That would cover health insurance premiums for the rest of those people's entire lives. And then some.

And that is just the CEOs of 30 insurance companies. We are not even talking about the rest of upper management, the vice presidents and so on, whose salaries and benefits will most likely be an average of 1/3 to 2/3s of the CEO. But there will also be more of them. If they have only three other people in upper management (a bit unrealistic) Their combined income for one year would be equal to or greater than that of the CEOs. But we don't even need to consider them. We get rid of just one person at 30 insurance companies and we can pay everyone's health insurance premiums. For a long, long time. We wouldn't even need to tax anyone for them. And it doesn't even come out of the insurance companies reserves. They are still solvent because they have to maintain a certain amount of reserves by law in case of a disaster and a run on their company.

There I just fixed health care in America!

Did you hear the actor Ronald Reagan? Now has any of his scary words came true? And remember he was commissioned by the insurance companies to make that tape. What I'm getting is that Americans don't want government running their health care and I understand that. What I don't understand is being okay with insurance companies running it.

We don't know these people from a hole in the ground and they don't have our best interest at heart either. They are about their bottom line which is the making of as much money as they can. I take special interest in the pre existing conditions aspect of insurance. They won't insure you with a private policy and have even began screening employees of a group plan.

The other thing that concerns me is the false information being passed around. I simply believe that if you have a good argument you don't have a need to embellish. The cost of this bill is the only thing I can say is of concern because I have been comparing the bill to my coverage and there is very little which differs. I have been attempting to cross reference each item and the ones I found has little to no difference. My carrier provides counselling on aged care including hospice, Advance Directives (which opponents have deemed End Of Life Counselling) which is not mandatory from my insurance or the bill.

And the debate regarding putting insurance companies out of business does not add up to me. They won't go out of business if the average CEO of an insurance company does not make $10 Million a year with stock options worth millions a year on top of that. As I've said before, God knows I'm not against capitalism, but not at my expense. The average profits of middle level insurance companies were $1- 3 Billion, with a B, per year. The following makes me not understand how middle class Americans are duped into supporting these entities;

"From 2000 to 2007, profits at the country's 10 largest publicly traded health insurance companies rose 428 percent, according to a report by the advocacy group Health Care for America Now! The report relied on filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Health insurance profits during that period grew from $2.4 billion to $12.9 billion annually, according to HCAN. And those companies were generous with their top brass. "In 2007 alone," according to the report, "the chief executive officers at these companies collected combined total compensation of $118 million - an aver-age of $11.9 million each."
One of the reasons health insurance is such a lucrative business is the limited competition in the market. "In the past 13 years more than 400 corporate mergers have involved health insurers," the report says, "and a small number of companies now dominate local markets." Though these companies argue the mergers have led to efficiencies, HCAN asserts that numbers suggest the contrary. "Premiums have skyrocketed, increasing more than 87 percent, on average, over the past six years," according to the report."

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/111733.html

Come on! Capitalism is one thing but 428 percent rise in profits in 7 years? Where do you think those profits came from? That's right they raised premiums to gain those profits. And what research and development did they spend it on I wonder? Especially since most won't cover what they call "experimental treatment" even though it has been used with great success elsewhere for years.

So no I'm not falling for the "Its Socialism" bait and switch technique of the insurance companies and pharmaceuticals. My research tells me that they just don't want their cash cow dried up and they want to milk it for all its worth out of the pockets of the middle class. Who they have conned into supporting them! Even if your head is not in the sand you can't afford to give these people a blind eye. Both eyes must be open so that you can examine their motives. I have BC/BS and do I think they give a damn about me? Hell No! And from what I have cost them over these 5 years I bet I would not be popular at a board meeting. Again just see who hired Reagan to help them fight Medicare. Was it "Socialism" they were fighting or was it a part of their profit margin?

And you know the only thing that keeps the Washington establishment from doing the same? Politics, Politicians and Special Interest. Look at what has happened with the so-called townhall health care debate. It has been lost in the yelling screaming crowds, the half truths and outright lies. And the funny thing is that this is not even the bill that will or will not get signed. Even those on the Right have admitted it but I guess no one heard through the yelling and screaming.

People seems to forget that the President, no President actually runs the country. By definition President means the highest executive officer appointed or elected to preside over an organized body of persons. In English, this means the President presides over other officials who preside over many other officers....and so on. Laws have to be passed and signed by all, not just the President. And so many are showing up just to oppose Obama. Think about that.

And we can come together under that tree because we are not yelling and screaming and cussing at one another. For instance, if we met in person and had a disagreement about something and I began yelling at you, would you focus on what I'm yelling about or the fact that I'm yelling at you? If you're anything like me after the first sentence being yelled I no longer get your point or want to. At this point what I want is for you to stop yelling and if you continue I am going to ignore you, today since I have evolved, but back in the day I would start yelling and cussing and God knows where this would end. But definitely not under the same umbrella of understanding.