The Awful Truth about Healthcare Reform: Part 1-Your Coverage.

As the healthcare debate in Washington grows in intensity with each passing day, we citizens are left to simply stand by and wait until Congress and the Obama Administration determine the fate of our healthcare. And not just ours either. This reform will dramatically affect the cost and quality of healthcare for every single American citizen that will live in this country from now until the end of time.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the plan, I just want to point out a couple of things for you to note when you hear President Obama or members of Congress talk about healthcare in this country. You will hear this phrase, or a close facsimile of it, uttered repeatedly…

“45 million people in America are without healthcare.”

In those eight little words there is one blatant lie and three other, clever misdirections.

First, the misdirections.

“45 million people in America”. Notice anything about statement? Note that it doesn’t say “45 million Americans”; it says “45 million people in America”. That’s because illegal immigrants are included in that estimate! A sneaky and terribly underhanded approach to presenting healthcare figures.

The statement also implies that there are currently 45 million people in this country without healthcare coverage. Another fabrication. People that have been without insurance at any time over the past year are included in that estimate. So if you switched jobs and had a two-week lapse in medical coverage, you’re in that 45 million estimate.

Thirdly, this statement implies that the people that do not have health insurance want health insurance. That is clearly not always the case. A large number of wealthy people forgo health insurance because they can afford to pay for procedures or doctor visits as they come up. Another group of people that opt not to have insurance is young workers, especially those in the 18-24 age group. They see the amount of money that goes towards healthcare coming out of their checks on a weekly basis and, due to economic reasons; they decide that that money is needed for other parts of their budget.

And what if you are in the group of people that for whatever reason choose not to have health insurance? Well if you file a tax return, you have to have it under Senator Kennedy’s plan. If you don’t, the IRS and a newly expanded federal office on electronic medical records will find you and fine you.

How much? No one knows for sure as it will be determined by the secretary of health and human services. It will be enough, however, to persuade you to join the program.

Now for the big lie. Can you find it in the statement?

It’s claiming 45 million people in this country do not have healthcare.

Everyone has healthcare. For example, if you are uninsured and get into a car accident, by law, you will be cared for. Yet this comment makes it seem that 45 million people do not have access to any medical care. This is just another subtle way of making our current healthcare system seem in worse shape than it really is and therefore making the public option more attractive.

So what about this public option that we keep hearing so much about? Democrats claim that it will not only allow you to keep your current coverage if you like it, but it will also bring honesty to the insurance industry.

Both are false.

Sure, you can keep your current insurance plan…for now. What do you think is going to happen when the governmental behemoth that is the public option enters the market? It’s going to crowd out a vast number of smaller carriers as they will not be able to compete with the public option.

And really, how could they?

With the government acting as healthcare regulators, they are certainly not going to play fair as they can stack the deck anyway they see fit to get more and more Americans on their plan. In fact, one independent study has already concluded that 119 million Americans will end up leaving their private plans for the public plan.

Above that, the public option will be able to raid the coffers of the federal budget for more and more money whenever they want. Running low on money? Simple, just raise taxes! How can a private insurer compete with that?

Obviously, they cannot.

Additionally, when Obama says that the public option will “keep the industry honest”; I cannot help but chuckle to myself. When has Washington had the moral high ground to lecture anyone about honesty? But even beyond that, honesty is already in the industry in the form of competition. With over 1500 carriers, companies have no choice but to be honest or else they run the serious risk of losing customers to the myriad of other insurance options available to them.

By the way, should we really trust these people with running the healthcare industry? Don’t forget that these are the same people that, according to Vice President Biden, so badly misjudged the economy that they think we need a second stimulus plan.

So if massive healthcare reform does pass, get ready for a drastic change in, not only your insurance coverage, but also the quality of care that you receive.

How much change in the quality of care? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Let me warn you though, it will be very, very depressing.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John