OT: Re: Health Care clarifications from Moveon.org

[Guest guest]

sorry if you felt 'nut' comment was directed at a post of yours. It was

not but I should have chosen better words, so I will tamp down my comments. I

didn't direct comment to any particular person and wouldn't have. I am angered

in general because the tactics of health insurers to stop health care reform

seem to be working and as one person who has gone without insurance because I

couldn't afford it, then another time denied it because I had a prexisting

condition- only 2 years out of my 20's-, I am angered that we cannot get reform

because every time government tries to address this, the health insurance

companies throw out ridiculous acusations. Right now that it is proposing

'death camps', because he recommended everyone make a Living Will. This is

because many people are kept alive on artificial means, even my great aunt at

the age of 98, because they didn't have one and forgot to put a

do-not-recusicate. Result was she lived hooked up to a machine, couldn't even

turn herself over, from age 98 to 100. She asked me why doesn't God want her.

He did. She was being kept alive artificially, as ridiculous as that sounds

because I didn't know I needed a " medical power of attorney' to say anything. I

had Durable Power of Attorney that mentioned if she couldnt' speak for herself,

but my state required " medical power of attorney " . The bills were HUGE and she

was depressed from the moment she realized she was hooked up to something and

couldn't go anywhere without aid. For the first 86 years of her life she never

even went to the doctor. She just did her home remedies. She didn't want to

stay at nursing home. She wanted to stay at home and if that wasn't possible,

she was ready. I took care of her for ten years at home, but this small

difference: Durable power of attorney with 'health care clause' versus of

'medical power of attorney' made the difference. It was for her to decide on

when she could speak for herself, but she didn't know. She thought she had

everything in order and had told me what she wanted and the legal papers for me

to decide, so President's comment to have older people informed of their legal

rights if they become sick is smart, wise, now made into a charge of 'wanting

old people to die'.

There has been no call for government to decide the fate of older Americans, but

their tactic is to tell a lie and repeat it over and over again, until people

figure it must be right because they hear it everywhere.

People say they want health care reform, but when government tries to address,

it, these tactics of insurance companies. Anything to preserve their monopoly

and their high premiums. Illness causes too many people to become bankrupt,

because everything is so expensive. Most people can't even afford the premiums

and the care isn't too hot either.

It shouldn't be that way. You shouldn't work all your life and then become

broke because of something you couldn't help. People have fundraisers now to

raise money for life saving medical treatments. I had cousins who live in CA

travel to MI to be present for a fundraiser for a family member who has cancer.

So we need to stop and think, 'what do I want done?, and who will/can do it? and

decide for ourselves. Think it through. How would you/or I solve it ourselves?

I see only two options: government impose regulations on health insurance

companies that already exist, demanding they address these issues, which then

'anti reform groups' will charge is ***'government interference in a private

industry', OR government offer their own option. To me, government offering

their own option is the least 'invasive' of our freedoms, adding an additional

option to the ones we already have, rather than supervising or imposing

regulations on existing insurance programs.

The only thing in dispute as I see it, is if uninsured people have to buy in.

This is going to be an important debate. Obama says if all uninsured have to buy

in, the cost will be low, because so many heathy people will be in system..like

young people, so in case they are in auto accident, or get early cancer or

something, they are covered too. Freq these are people who go without, gambling

so to speak, that due to their age, their chance of needing health care is low,

and then being in a jam if they guessed wrong. This may be something that isn't

in current bill. He talked about it on campaign trail and may have been changed

in Congress. Mandatory insurance, as in auto insurance. You have to be covered

by SOME insurance, to protect others. In auto accident, people you hit. In

health care, to protect taxpayers who now pay the bill for people who end up in

ER without health insurance of which represents a large percentage of the

population right now.

If we have PURELY 'free enterprise' system, we get big business taking advantage

of the public. We are NEVER safe in a totally FREE system, where ANYTHING

goes, like we had with banks recently. There are things that will always need

to be regulated for our safety.