Health Reform Truth Oozes Out: And It Is Not Just

[Better Believe It]

Health Reform Truth Oozes Out: And It Is Not Just
by Donna Smith
March 4, 2010

Donna Smith is a community organizer for National Nurses United (the new national arm of the California Nurses Association) and National Co-Chair for the Progressive Democrats of America Healthcare Not Warfare campaign.


Even the staging of the hand-picked doctors in starched white coats could not keep the truth of the healthcare reform process from oozing out of President Obama during Wednesday's press event.

So, who is listed first and foremost as the beneficiaries of this reform? The insurance companies. Ah, let the truth roll down. It will set you free.

It is an aside, an afterthought, if any of the provisions of the current reform bills actually relieve the concerns patients have about being the widgets of the healthcare business and not human beings with a basic human right to care when sick. The first priority has been to make things better for those in power in this system - those who control the profits.

Health insurance companies will enjoy new pools of customers the likes of which they've never enjoyed before. They'll have to insure all (wink, wink) and they'll have to stop rescissions unless fraud is at work (wink, wink), but they'll be able to charge a lot for their coverage and deny claims - patients will still have to fight them or die. And many, many will still die. Many will still go broke.

Justice for all was never really discussed or vetted as the priority in health reform. This started out being about protecting the money interests and that is where it will end. So what will result? Whether it's through reconciliation or not, this reform will miss the mark for healthcare justice by a long shot. It's not just at all.

Read the full article at:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/04

[dkf]

1. Yup. Justice from insurance companies is not adequately addressed.

The bill simply requires them to have a process regarding denied claims. Weak.

It touches upon only obviously egregious behavior that states have done nothing to curtail and thus have demonstrated they are in no position to do a good job regulating.

[depakid]

4. ERISA preemption isn't addressed, either

leaving health insurers with a perverse incentive to deny claims or delay or deny treatment or crucial portions of treatment- and many patients will still have no effective recourse.

It'll be interesting to see the reaction as the cases keep coming down the pipeline. My guess is that they'll get a LOT more attention after the legislation becomes law.

[dkf]

6. Yes because people think it has been fixed.

When it hasn't been. Democrats will own it all. Every bad experience.

I'm interested in your observations on Erisa. How does that work exactly?

[NJmaverick]

2. Completely false article, no facts just unsupported and wrong opinions

[mike_c]

5. to which you added ZERO except for your own unsupported opinion....

The OP beats your refutation hands down-- you didn't even bother to offer any evidence. Just drive-by spin and message control. Are you on the insurance industry payroll or something?

[NJmaverick]

7. Just proves to me some people will only see what they want to see

[mike_c]

8. only what I want to see-- I'm looking at both your responses, and they are EMPTY....

No-- what I want to see is reasoned argument, not unsupported assertions. "Only what I want to see?" There's nothing there to see. That was my point. Same old unsupported spin and message control, no substance, just a subject line with no supporting data.

Empty.

[Better Believe It]

9. I had to put that person on ignore because of that behavior.

[daleanime]

3. If you think that your tried of talking about health care...

I feel for you. Really I do, because this isn't going away. Nothing I've heard or seen about the current legislation solves the problem. Are there improvements? Yes. Do these improvements change a fundamentally evil system, No!


Health care will topic #1 in the fall of 2010, 2012, etc... Until we get it right.