For Healthcare reform to be of any value
- Every legal American citizen and resident must be covered.
- Everyone capable of paying premiums must do so. Those legitimately unable to pay should be subsidized.
- Preferably a non-profit government run insurance should pay for healthcare but at minimum a robust public insurance option must be included that channel all healthcare dollars to healthcare.
The aforementioned requirements are simple but extremely difficult to implement for one specific reason; many large corporations make exorbitant profits from the current inefficiency of our system and have thus far successfully lobbied Congress to write Healthcare Reform to insure their exorbitant profits remain. The reality is the only way to reduce our healthcare cost is to remove profits from areas where no real innovation is required, specifically private insurance companies that take 30% of your premiums simply to pay your bill.
Let’s be clear. If healthcare reform does not occur now, it will likely not occur for some time and will be more costly to solve going forward. If healthcare reform does not occur now, many employers will drop health insurance, all premiums will be increased immediately, those with pre-existing conditions will likely remain uninsurable, and private insurance companies will continue to rescind policies, select procedures you may have, select medicines your doctor may prescribe, select the hospital you are able to get care from, and select your doctor in order to maximize their profits.
Those concerned that illegal aliens may get medical care should insist that the healthcare reform ensure ones nationality for care except for communicable diseases which could affect us all irrespective of nationality.
Healthcare reform should be paid for by everyone based on one’s ability to pay. While it is true that this will put a heavier burden on the wealthy, said burden is justified given the nature of wealth in this country being unevenly distributed to the top 5% and 1%, not because they are more productive or produce anything of lasting value to society, but because of the structural design of our capitalist society rewarding capital manipulation more so than producing goods and services of societal value. With 1% of the population owning 34% of the wealth of our nation, 5% owning 58.9%, 10% owning 71%, 20% owning 85%, and the lower 40% owning less than 1% of the wealth, as well as income similarly distributed, the societal gain from marginally taxing those of us who benefited from a country rewarding the skills that allowed us to flourish, should be seen as a responsibility to maintain a viable society.
One should note that most working people pay taxes on most of their income while the very rich whose monies are tied to stocks and investments will generally pay a maximum indexed tax to 28%. One should also note that most working people pay social security taxes on all their income while the more well off stop paying social security taxes on income over $106,000.
The argument then that asking the rich to pay a bit more in taxes for healthcare reform is unfair or would affect the economy is at best a scare tactic or at worst selfish and evil. If one stands by facts and understand income and wealth distribution in the country and the real reasons for such inequity, the population at large will be able to force politicians to pass healthcare reform specifically and better laws that inhibits the unsustainable transfer of wealth our current healthcare system and financial structures continue to allow.
Pertinent Links:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-294775
http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/hodgson/Courses/so11/stratification/income&wealth.htm
