Health Care Repeal Bill (why do I want to pronouce that "beal" with repeal?"):No one saw this coming, right? There may have been several good inclusions to the President's Health Care Bill, but the fact of the matter is that it doesn't have the beneficial effect of lowering health insurance premiums. It did provide the inability for health insurance companies to deny coverage to children-something we have experienced personally, but in the grand scheme of things, those children could get covered under the Medicare saftey net. Not that I would want to take my chances with that.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again....the only real fix to the high cost of health insurance premiums and health care costs is if we do away with employer provided health insurance. It creates an environment in which insurance costs can quickly rise for businesses due to one employee's health issues and makes independant insurance coverage an almost impossible expense because there is no "pool" in which costs are spread. Your employer doesn't pay for your auto insurance does he? Get it out of the workplace and watch what that will do for stimulating the economy. Health insurance premiums are the biggest drag on business today-surely smart conservatives understand this!
As I was listening to the debate over the repeal bill something clicked with me today that shamefully I had never considered. The discussion was around the republicans' counter-proposal and its inclusion of language prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortions; the counter argument was made that the President's bill put more restrictions on abortions because those wanting to have the procedure would have to take out a separate insurance policy.....at which time the reporter said that roughly 87% of health insurance companies cover abortion procedures.
Wait a minute.....I have Anthem BCBS, one of the largest insurance companies in the country and virtually holding a monopoly in Indiana. Do they cover abortions? So, if they do, then my exorbitant premiums I am paying each month are no doubt going to pay for abortions? My gosh, do you realize this is 10x worse than taxpayer-funded abortions? Not that I am making an argument for federal funding of abortions, but IF tax dollars were going to abortions (which they are not) then as a percentage of what I pay into that may equal 1/1000 of a percent, if that? Compare that to what I pay in in health insurance premiums-the percentage would be much higher because of the nature of it only covering health costs (and the fact I pay more than double for health insurance than I do in taxes!)-so what are we talking here, maybe a full 1%? Ask my wife, I already have huge issues with allowing our money to be used in stocks or other investment methods, or spent at WalMart, because of some pretty conservative beliefs running contrary to the harm it could do. Crap-my insurance premiums are funding abortions! And I already believe Anthem is the devil! The unfortunate thing is that we're stuck with Anthem because of insurance companies' ability to deny coverage to children.
That was a rude awakening for a Friday morning. Makes me wonder why Christians and other pro-life groups aren't out picketing in front of insurance offices.
No comments:
Post a Comment