Government Health Care - Too Expensive - Too Controlling - Too Important. Part Two

The US Government in the Health Insurance business? The arguments, when you can get down to those that are A) Real and B) Relevant, are varied. I've had a bit of difficulty drilling down to this list but think I've come to the gist of it. In part one we discussed the costs, in this entry we will review the 'Too Controlling' issue.


It will be too controlling! I don't want GOVERNMENT in charge of my body! They can't be trusted with anything.


I could take this more seriously if we were living in Iran or Burma, where 'President for Life' is no joke. But we're not. We get to elect our government. If we don't like the job they do, we don't vote for them. What control do you think you have over CEOs of the corporation that own YOUR health insurance company? You'd need to hold or at least have influence over 51% or more of the corporate stock to have any say at all. A government run program designed and overseen by people YOU elect, or a corporate entity who's stated purpose and legal obligation is to secure profits?

But lets take a look around, just to be sure:


U.S. Health Care Puts Profit Over People
Modern medicine has morphed from a healing profession into a business where the primacy of profit takes precedence over greater human needs. Trusting relationships with medical professionals have taken a back seat to efficiency standards as patients are rushed through doctors’ offices. Physicians for a Seattle P.I. 2007


Harvard Researchers Say Insurers Put Profits Over Health
More than a decade after Harvard researchers first revealed that life and health insurance companies were major investors in tobacco stocks - prompting calls upon them to divest - the insurance industry has yet to kick the habit, they say. Medical News Today 2009


McConnell Puts Profits Over People Yet Again
Fifty million people are one tragedy away from bankruptcy because of the greed and excess of the insurance companies and who does McConnell side with?? The insurance companies of course. I mean, he has his taxpayer funded coverage, so why should he care about the taxpayer?? He can not even respect us enough to make a dental appointment. Hillbilly Report 2009


Blue Cross Praised Employees who Dropped Sick Policyholders, Lawmaker Says
The state's largest for-profit health insurer told The Times 18 months ago that it did not tie employee performance evaluations to rescission activity. And executives with Blue Cross parent company WellPoint Inc. reiterated that position today. But documents obtained by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and released today show that the company's employee performance evaluation program did include a review of rescission activity. Los Angeles Times 2009

The Journal - Profits Over People
Bill Moyer hosts former insurance insider Wendell Potter on Health Care Reform.






And now for a sub-category of 'It's too controlling' -


It's Un-American Socialism! Private opportunity and and the free market are the American Way!

So, you're a 'Free Marketer', are you? Well so am I. But this country hasn't seen a "Free Market" in decades. When corporations with profits larger than that of most countries employ media companies, lawyers and lobbyists that outspend local efforts $15-1, utilize psychologically designed media, file frivolous lawsuits and make bribes to government officials, there is no "Free Market" only a "for sale to the highest bidder" market. If we were still a developing country, I might find that the proposed "gist" of the reform legislation and it's costs would be too much to bear. But we are not. The only thing we spend more on in America than health care is military, and we outspend every other country on the planet 20 times over for our military. However our military dominates the world, our health care does not.