| EMAIL TO WEBSITE:
"..... are you trying to turn America into a Socialist\Marxist country? Just
look to any country that has "government" health care; they're going broke,
although not just because of the health care. The single payer plan would
soon run out of money, just like Social Security and Medicaid. Sorry, health
care is NOT a right, and you should not advertise it on your site, because
that is actionable, and a lie. You do not have a right to health care; an
education; a car; a house, etc. Badger Care is bad enough, and yet you want
to create another huge government-run institution. Could one of you show
me where in the Bill of Rights it says that when I turn a certain age, I
can steal money from my neighbor to pay for my drugs and health care? I'd
really like to see it. Damn Comunists"
EMAIL RESPONSE:
Dec 18, 2003
Thank you for your interest in the Coalition for Wisconsin Health. In a
socialist/marxist society, very likely the hospitals, clinics, and equipment
would be government owned. We are certainly not advocating that type of system.
We are, however, talking about "socialized" insurance. Right now there are
people who can afford health insurance in this country but are not allowed
to purchase it because they have a pre-existing condition. Denial of insurance
coverage is about the last legal form of discrimination we allow in this
country.
Health care is a fundamental right because the framer's identified life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as the basis of American democracy.
If a poor person, or a person with a pre-existing condition, or a person
on Badger Care cannot obtain the same high quality health care that is available
to the well-insured then we are identifying a class of individuals who are
not entitled to live as long as the fortunate. In fact, Canada, Sweden, Germany,
France and a host of other countries with national health systems have better
infant mortality rates and longer life expectancy than we have in the United
States. The patients in Beverly Hills hospitals are certainly not to blame
for our system's poor performance.
Our plan is not interested in creating any government run institution. We
would create a Health Care Trust Fund, pool all the money that individuals
and government currently spend on health care (government already pays 60%
of the annual tab in this country). Administration of this fund would be
bid out to the major health underwriters. The GAO conservatively estimates
that we could save 20% in overhead costs by creating such a single source
of payment to doctors, hospitals, and clinics (which would all continue to
be privately owned).
We could use the size and strength of our insurance pool, all Wisconsin residents
(or all United States residents in a national plan), to negotiate for better
rates, less expensive prescription medications, and preventative care. Many
of the programs you seem unhappy about such as Badger Care, Medicare and
Medicaid were created by the government to help individuals that insurance
companies were eliminating for obvious reasons. You make more profit by insuring
healthy people. The real purpose of insurance is to spread risk so that a
loss or a claim is not devastating to any member of the group. If we are
going to insist that government pay for all the sickest individuals in our
health system, why not include all the healthy individuals as well and create
the largest possible risk sharing pool?
I honestly believe that we deserve the best health system in the world. We
are already paying for it. The Coalition for Wisconsin Health believes that
if we administer the system responsibly we can cover everyone for what we
already pay. I also run a small business and in the last 10 years my postage
costs have risen about 8 or 9 %, my rent has stayed about the same because
I can negotiate and find good deals. Printing has actually gone down because
new technology has made it quicker, easier and less expensive. Our health
insurance premiums are up over 140% in that same ten year period. Double
digit increases are the norm. I would not tolerate price increases like this
in any other area of business, yet if I want health coverage for my employees
I have to pay. I don't know about you, but the vast majority of business
people in this country can not tolerate these spiraling costs much longer.
As you will see from the news item I have attached, the insurers that will
thrive in the future are the ones that will position themselves favorably
for the changes that are inevitable.
I visited with a Wisconsin Congressman in Washington a few years ago. He
told me that everyone in Washington knows we will have a national system
of health care by 2025. By that time the baby-boomers will have aged and
the programs you have criticized will be obsolete and unable to keep pace
with demand. Washington knows that you don't get elected and you don't stay
elected unless the great majority have access to the American dream of life,
liberty and consumer satisfaction. The Coalition for Wisconsin Health wants
to fix a costly, inefficient and unfair system sooner rather than later.
It's time to stop paying the price for having uninsured Americans.
Sincerely,
Art Taggart
Co-chair Coalition for Wisconsin Health |
Insurance Company CEO Predicts U.S. Turning to National Health
Insurance
Highmark exec positioning company to capitalize on the "inevitable"
Source(s): Pamela Gaynor, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Dec. 11)
Kenneth Melani, CEO of Highmark Inc., the nation's eleventh largest health
insurer, said that he believes the U.S. "will inevitably move toward a national
health insurance plan." Speaking at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate
School of Public Health, Melani said that soaring medical costs due to greater
demand for health services by an aging population, new technology, labor
costs and litigation are "pushing insurance premiums beyond affordability
for businesses and individuals," but without "corresponding gains in life
expectancy." Melani predicts "a backlash" from voters, but said he is not
"necessarily opposed" to national health insurance and is positioning his
company to capitalize on it if it happens. |
