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Be afraid, be very, very afraid is not going to work Lindsey.
"The last thing in the world I think Democrats and Republicans are going to do at the end of the day is create a government run health care system where you’ve got a bureaucrat standing in between the patient and the doctor. We’ve tried this model — people have tried this model in other countries. The first thing that happens — you have to wait for your care. And in socialized health care models, people have to wait longer to get care and the government begins to cut back on what’s available because of the cost explosion."
Americans, you know your employer, are all ready facing rationing of health care by private insurers. Policy limits are are not being raised while health care costs are rising, meanwhile coverage is being denied while the private sector rakes in profits. That’s real fear, not the political boogeyman hiding in the closet like your statement above.
Oh, and right now there’s an insurance company standing between patient and doctor, while collecting fees and making profit.
Perhaps you missed that average citizens are going bankrupt due to medical expenses while having medical insurance. Has this happened to any Senator or Congressperson?
Bankruptcies due to medical bills increased by nearly 50% in a six-year period, from 46% in 2001 to 62% in 2007, and most of those who filed for bankruptcy were middle-class, well-educated homeowners, according to a report that will be published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
Since 1984, Lindsey Graham has been a member of the Air Force, the Air Force reserves, a Congressman and a Senator. There was a four year stretch form 1988-1992 where he worked in the private sector. He was elected to House of Representatives in 1994, and elected to the Senate in 2002. He still serves in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
His biography from his Senate Web site is here.
It’s a distinguished career in public service. I respect Graham’s service in the Air Force and Air Force Reserves, and in Congress. Those who serve this country should have great health insurance. And those who are in a position of power to allow the same access to all citizens to the same level of health care should not stand in the way.
Funny that Graham uses the fear of government rationing health care make his case, yet with hypocrites like him standing in the way of a public option, he’s doing exactly that. Do as I say not as I do. That is what I have a serious problem with.
I find it appalling to see elected officials say I can’t have the access to health care like they do. Employees in the private sector have no say in the health care policies of their employer. Self-insured people are in the same situation. So why should employees of the people like Graham and his fellow Heath Care Hypocrites in Congress tell me, their employer, that I can’t have the same access that they do?
In the same interview quoted above, Graham blows off the NYT/CBS poll where 72% of the people of this country, his employer, support a government administrated health plan.
The national telephone survey, which was conducted from June 12 to 16, found that 72 percent of those questioned supported a government-administered insurance plan — something like Medicare for those under 65 — that would compete for customers with private insurers. Twenty percent said they were opposed.
Follow the money as the say goes. So lets see who Graham is serving.
According to Open Secrets, for the 2008 campaign cycle, Graham has received $179,782.00 from the Insurance industry, $165,871.00 from the Heath Professionals, and $91,620.00 from the Pharmaceuticals/Health Products industry.
If you look at the same campaign cycle, according to Open Secrets, Blue Cross and Blue Shield is his fifth largest contributor with $31,500.00, with GenPhar, a gen biopharmacy company being number 14 on the list, with $20, 270.00.
I have no fear of a government run public option insurance plan. I have no fear of disease. What I do have a fear of is financial ruin due to lack of health insurance in the name of profit and hypocrisy by the people elected to serve the public, not lobbyists.
Graphic by Millineryman.
Tags: Health care, hypocrite, Lindsey Graham, public option
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About The Seminal
I’ve had three parishioners come to me this past week with exactly these kinds of stories, and I’m sure there are more that I just haven’t heard.
“My doctor said that I need X, but the bean counters at the insurance company won’t pay for it. We’ve been fighting for two weeks, and I can’t wait much longer for the appeals process to play out. If we can’t get it approved soon, I’ll have to have Y which the doctor says will be less effective, have more side effects, and is only temporary. Thus, it will end up costing more in the long run. Go figure.”
It’s tragic when facing decisions like that. There is no excuse to deny coverage. Thanks for adding your experience, and I hope the best for your parishioners.
As you point out, economic logic drives insurance companies – once mere administrators of health insurance plans – into denying coverage and putting in place procedural roadblocks to the care a physician determines is correct and necessary. To “control costs” is what they say, when controlling their profits is what they mean.
They are also famous for canceling coverage when it is most needed, when it has been paid for years in expectation of just such a need. It is like an auto or life carrier canceling your policy precisely because the anticipated event it insures comes about. That’s a racket that should violate RICO and result in criminal penalties.
Health care itself is irrelevant to these companies, like energy was to Enron. It’s only a means to a profitable end. But they most assuredly are tougher and more resistant to the plain language of their insurance contracts and the prescriptions of health care providers than any government bureaucrat. That makes Graham’s argument as false as his claims that he’s against torture as US Government policy.
Thank you for this wonderful continuing series.
That would be an interesting investigation. I’d be curious to see the trend lines of coverage being canceled when it was most needed.
SINGLE PAYER! Period We all deserve the same coverage as our elected officials and for the same price… free.. -
You’re welcome Teddy, I appreciate your support.
I would love to see that happen. I do think the country would need a cultural shift also for that to happen. Having an honest conversation is a great way to start.
In response to the ongoing situation in Iran, this clown has been jumping up and down touting democracy. Three quarters of the american people want a government option. Is he a hypocrit, delusional or both.
I’ll stick with hypocrite for now. Amazing when you juxtapose the two what gets exposed.
A wonderful series you are doing here, MM, and I do like your graphics :)
Thanks Elliot, can you tell how much I despise hypocrites? It’s new technique for me with the graphics.
Great post, hat guy. Hope you’ll keep a running list of links to each one of these at the bottom. They’ll be a terrific resource.
Who’s next?
I suppose Conrad will be next. That’s a good idea about the links I’ll start doing that.
especially since it’s our taxes that have been paying for their good healthcare!
great series. thanks millineryman!
The Example Dictionary
A Nelly:
see Lindsey Graham
Bingo.
thanks selise.
Excellent post, Millineryman. Thanks!
Great Post and Graphic art. When I heard “Five Dollar Persian Rug” make that statement on teevee, I about choked. Hard to find a bigger liar this side of Joe Lieberman, but there he is.
And very well done Thanks