The Republican Party assault on Obama Care is a heartless attack on life itself, as estimates are that destruction of our health care system will cause 25,000 to 50,000 deaths per year of people who have survived and thrived precisely because they had health care insurance and coverage for the first time in their lives. This is 137 people per day, about 6 per hour, and when one looks at those numbers, it is sobering that we have such lack of concern about the unnecessary loss of life.
Millions of people, many of them children and adults with serious diseases and health conditions, have been able to wake up daily knowing they had the ability to gain health care, without having to choose between that and eating.
And the argument that the wealthy are being taxed for this, the answer is that so what, they have such tremendous advantages, and it is part of their social responsibility to contribute without anger to the well being of their fellow Americans.
The obsession with hatred of taxes is a communicable disease which has, and will continue to have, a deleterious effect on America’s future, as those who are wealthy do not need more money, but rather compassion and empathy.
Also, one cannot claim to be “religious”, no matter what faith, and claim that the goal of life is to enrich himself or herself at the expense of others, but rather follow the teachings of the prophets and be willing to support the needs of those less fortunate.
Lawrence O’Donnell showed this Fox News poll on his show last night. 54% are unimpressed with Trumpcare.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-one-third-of-voters-approve-of-gop-health-care-plan/
Professor, Can you cite where those numbers came from?
President Obama cited a 50,000 decrease in defending the ACA in late 2015.
However, preventable deaths were already on a downward spiral in the decade before (2000-2010), falling 61,000 in the time.
This is in no way defending the Ryan/Trump middle finger coverage plan, but I don’t think know how you can cite those numbers based on unknowable factors.
Paul, I heard those estimates on MSNBC, do not recall who said it.
The point is that to say that 6 people per hour die from lack of health insurance and care does not, in my mind, seem unreasonable.
But even if two people per hour die from lack of health care, that is two people per hour too many!
The New England Journal of Medicine estimated 43,000 deaths per year, as published in the Washington Post in January.
I found this by googling the issue, Paul.
33,000 people died from opiod overdoses in 2015. By all accounts, that will increase dramatically in 2016.
The main cause of this epidemic is ” the health industry” aka Big Pharma who lulled doctors into ” studies” that there was no possible way for people to become addicted.
The root causes of disease is both economic and educational. It’s a vicious circle and as Trump claimed ” nobody knew how complicated health care could be” is somewhat true at its core. There is no magic bullet as regardless if the ACA or Ryan/Trump Care, people and the industry will find holes in any law and abuse the hell out of it.
My point is that the proposed new health law sure isn’t the answer. I still think Pogo had the true answer when he said in the 70’s, ” we have met the enemy and it is us”.
As to “social responsibility”, we all have to contribute regardless of economic status. Nobody gets a pass if we expect any semblance of finding an answer.
It’s a self fulfilling prophecy that the middle class family who pay thousands each year with large deductibles will forego going to see a doctor and get caught in the eddy of a symptom turning into a serious disease. That is de facto “no insurance with insurance” coverage also.
Professor, I just read that WP article and there was some controversy contained in it. Another WP writer gave Bernie Sanders claim about 36,000 deaths –4 Pinocchios.
A big factor on the downfall with the ACA is that millions of young, healthy individuals have eschewed participating inACA coverage and opting to pay the IRS penalty, which was one of the biggest avenues to cover older and the more vulnerable population.
There should be as much hue and cry about that shirking of “social responsibility” also.
I totally agree, Paul, but there are many people, particularly younger, who feel no social responsibility, and instead promote selfishness and “Me Myself and I” mentality.
They do not care about Grandmas, disabled, people with serious health conditions, because in their lives, none of this relates.
We have promoted selfishness, greed, and lack of concern for others, a la Donald Trump!
I was at HealthCare.gov.
I entered information for being 27 years old (I’m 45), an income of $15,000 (at best for work while maybe or maybe not in college; but not with an income that is particularly strong), and the results are interesting.
The low end, in my area and for an estimated monthly cost, is $170. That a cable-television bill with premium-movie programming as part of one’s subscription.
The deductible, for an individual, is at least $5,000. Go up to an insurance which costs $194, and the deductible is $2,400.
Doing some math: The monthly $170 plan, plus the deductible, costs $7,040 for a given year. (This is prior to calculating additional costs like doctor visits and prescriptions co-pays.) The $194 plan, plus the deductible, costs $4,728 for a given year. (And this has nothing to do with talking about a quality insurance program among these I found on the list.)
Taken on a monthly basis, and having to use the deductible, the $7,040 annual plan averages $586.66 per month. The $4,728 annual plan averages $394 per month.
When mentioning “young” people, I think of how I follow elections and take notice of the crosstabs from exit polls. Typically, the breakdown are four voting-age groups: 18–29 (in presidential primaries, 17–29); 30–44; 45–64; 65+. Many people in the oldest age group would still count 30–44 as young. I was in that group when I voted in the 2016 Michigan Democratic presidential primary. I moved up to the next-to-oldest group with the general election. So, I’m counting the youngest age group here. And, when I was in that group, I was not making as much money as, say, those between 30–44. And I am sure that it is also the case with most.
I can see why people find it unaffordable. According to a report in January 2016 from “Esquire” @ http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a41147/half-of-americans-less-than-1000/ : “In a recent survey, 56 percent of Americans said they have less than $1,000 in their checking and savings accounts combined, [‘Forbes’] reports. Nearly a quarter (24.8 percent) have less than $100 to their name….”
This has come in from CNN.com:
Kochs pledge millions to GOPers in 2018 — if they vote no on health care bill
By Theodore Schleifer | March 23, 2017
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/kochs-reserve-fund-health-care/index.html
In a last-minute effort to sink the Republican health care bill, a powerful network of conservative donors said Wednesday [March 22, 2017] it would create a new fund for Republican 2018 reelection races — but they’ll only open it up to GOPers who vote against the bill.
The advocacy groups helmed by Charles and David Koch have unveiled a new pool of money for advertisements, field programs and mailings that would exclude those who vote for the health care bill they oppose on Thursday [March 23, 2017]. The effort, which they described as worth millions of dollars, is an explicit warning to on-the-fence Republicans from one of the most influential players in electoral politics not to cross them.
The Koch-aligned networks oppose the bill because they think it does not do enough to scale back former President Barack Obama’s health care policies.
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