Top 10 health care fact over fear talking points -

[geckosfeet]

Saw this posted in another thread by abumbyanyothername and just had to post in a thread of its own.

TOP 10 FAQ: FACT over FEAR

Fear: We can't afford the public health insurance option.
Fact #1: Since it will have national bargaining power and lower costs, the public option will force private insurers to compete on cost. That will SAVE money. It is self-sustaining based on premiums. Administrative cost for private insurance is 15% compared to only 3% for Medicare, a public plan. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office says it will SAVE $150 billion out of the total cost of health care reform.



Fear: I don't want to pay for 50 million uninsured Americans' health care.
Fact #2: We're pay ing to take care of the uninsured now. Hospitals charge more from patients with insurance to help make up for those who can't pay their bills. We're all paying more in taxes to cover payments by the governments to hospitals that take care of uninsured patients.



Fear: Some government bureaucrat will come between me and my doctor.
Fact #3: Private insurance comes between you and your doctor now. Insurers decide which doctors you can see and what drugs you can take. They require hours of paperwork before approving a treatment. Health care reform would standardize claim procedures and reduce administrative waste.



Fear: The government will ration care.
Fact #4: Private insurers ration care for the first 64 years of life, which increases costs in the long term - 80% of overall health care costs are incurred in the last year of life for care of chronic conditions, many of which are preventable. They ration based on your ability to pay. That's what we're trying to fix.



Fear: The public option will be unfair to private insurers.
Fact #5: The public option will be required to follow the same rules as private insurers. Americans will need to pay premiums for the public option just like for private plans. The difference is the plan will be affordable and focused on your health, not on profits or stock value the insurer.



Fear: I'm happy with my employer insurance. The government will force me to give it up.
Fact #6: Obama and Democratic members of Congress have said repeatedly that people who are happy with their insurance won't have to change it. Employers who don't offer insurance would contribute to a fund that helps employees buy it on their own. Small businesses would be eligible for subsidies. Everyone will have standard and comprehensive benefits similar to what a member of Congress h as.



Fear: Health reform means a government takeover of medicine as in England and Canada.
Fact #7: It will look nothing like those in England and Canada. Obama supports a uniquely American reform that would build on the current employer-based insurance while ensuring affordable comprehensive coverage for those who lack it. Obama wants to fix what's broken and build what works.



Fear: Comparing the effectiveness of treatments and drugs will lead to rationing.
Fact #8: Comparative effectiveness research evaluates which treatments work best for different medical conditions and different patients. That's information based on science, not drug-company advertising. It helps your doctor and you decide what's right. That's not rationing. It's just being smart.



Fear: The public option means socialized medicine.
Fact #9: No one will be forced into the public option - period. Like FedEx and the Post Office, you have the choice. This is not socialism, where the government runs the doctors and the hospitals.



Fear: The U.S. has the best health care in the world
Fact #10: The U.S. health care system ranks 37th overall in the world. In fact, there is a growing field called medical tourism, where Americans travel overseas for medical procedures that they can't afford at home.


Thanks for the original post abum!