Republicans and some
Democrats are insisting that we give heath insurance companies another
chance. I understand that there is concern for the people currently
employed in the health insurance industry but,
forcing Americans to buy private, for-profit health insurance is not the solution.
Health insurance companies are just middle men. We don’t want health
insurance, we want health care. The business of health insurance
companies is to make money for their investors, not to provide health
care. In fact, the less health care they provide, the more money they
make. They employ whole departments of people whose job it is to deny
health care. The more health care they can deny, the more sick people
they can keep off of their rolls, the more people they can cancel when
they become ill, the more money they make for their investors.
The more money they make for their investors, the more they can pay themselves.
That is a poor system for providing health care.
Why do they deserve a second chance? They have had years to do right
by the American people and in fact, it has gotten worse, not better.
Their only argument seems to be that we do not want bureaucrats coming
between us and our doctors.
But what are insurance companies but private, for-profit, highly paid bureaucrats?
We want options. We want good health care at affordable prices. A
vast majority of us are willing to pay a fair price, and even agree to a
small tax increase in order to get health care for everyone in America.
We don’t want to pay health insurance premiums to companies whose
executives pay themselves millions of dollars a year. We don’t want to
pay premiums to companies who deny care, drop us when we are sick and
force us into bankruptcy even when we have insurance. We don’t want
health insurance CEO’s and lobbyists controlling the health care agenda
and policies for our nation.
According to Webster’s dictionary, what we have here is an oligarchy.
- A government by the few
- A government in which a small group exercises control, especially for corrupt and selfish purposes
- An organization under oligarchic control
It seems that the Congress is under the control of a health insurance oligarchy.
An oligarchy that claims it cannot survive with a public option and a level playing field.
So what is Congress’ solution?
Instead of leveling the playing field,
instead of giving us a choice, will they simply require us all to buy
insurance from these very same oligarchs. The insurance companies will
make billions, Senators and Representatives will continue to get their
campaign donations, all Americans will have health insurance under
threat of prosecution or fines and they can claim the problem solved.
If, in their arrogance, they believe we are not watching, if they
believe our memories are short, if they believe that we don’t know who
is looking out for us and not who is looking out for themselves and
their campaign contributors, they should think again. The American
people are not naive. This debate has gone on for decades. We’ve heard
it all before. The same old excuses are no longer working.
We are tired and we are sick in America.
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