Take a look at this video.
Obviously it is edited and staged but that's not the real reason why this is bad PR for the Democrats. Where's the bile, fear, anger, and hatred? It's a feel good story with a happy ending and many Americans in 2010 simply don't like that.
One would think this is something that Democrats could point to and tout as a success. I certainly think it is and I point to it as a chief reason why I voted for Barack Obama. He said he would bring affordable health care to people like this woman and he did it. Under the old law, her family would've gone bankrupt and died. It's just that simple.
Sadly, many of us thrive on the WWE like circus. This is why the folks at MSNBC will never cover a story like this. It's bad for ratings. Chris Matthews laments the Tea Party and their insanity but is actually one of their biggest helpers along with everyone else on that network. Stories like the one above don't fit into the media meme of "Obama sucks, Dems are Gonna Lose Big" so they won't be seen.
And this would be why they fail.
15 comments:
Democrats aren't pointing to it because that is the exception, not the norm.
You really think the medias meme is "Obama sucks"?
To answer for Mark (hope he doesn't mind)
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/09/24/obama.approval.poll/index.html
On all day today on CNN as well. Just one of a million examples.
could someone tell us why they didnt have insurance before March 2010?
Maybe it was because they couldn't afford it. That would be silly, though, right? What kind of a person can't afford health insurance?
It is a feel good story...with little practical application in reality - and that's why dems won't tout this as a success.
(On paper) All insurance pools risk, and has the insured pay into a pool to cover the expenses of all the members that pay into that pool of money. The folks in this video didn't contribute anything to the pot of money they are now getting withdrawls from. That's not insurance, that a free bill paying mechanism. Hell, why should any of us pay for insurance now...I'll just wait till I get sick, sign up, and then have someone else pay my bills.
Well, they are touting it as a success as it was put out on President Obama's FB page.
Remember, too, that this woman was simply asking for the right to buy insurance with a pre-existing condition. She is paying for all of this..make no mistake about it. She was paying out of pocket and dipping into her retirement fund to pay for treatment.
It's also complete crap to paint these people as freeloaders. They obviously worked hard enough in their lives to have a retirement fund.
Buying insurance is a right we all have? That's a funny definition of a "right".
I didn't call them freeloaders and I never said they didn't work hard their whole lives...must be those voices in your head again. I was just checking to see if any of you see no problem with somebody taking $$ out of a pool of money they did not contribute to while they were healthy. Is the guy who contrubuted to that pool of money for 30 years supposed to just say lay back and take it? What about his rights?
Actually, the guy who has been contributing for 30 years should see his rates stabilize or go down because the pool of risk has increased. I don't know about you but I'd be creaming in my jeans if I was running a business and I just got 30 million new customers.
It is a right considering how the system is set up. In order to survive, she has to be Warren Buffett? Fuck that crap. Health care costs are too high because it's a for profit business and it shouldn't be. It never should've gotten to this point but that's what happens when you have a government that pats the back of the financial sector and falls asleep with regulation.
You may have not directly said that they were freeloaders but you certainly intimated it. You speak of the free market. Wouldn't it be nice if one company she went to refused her and then she could just go to another one? What is she supposed to do if they ALL do?
Health care costs are too high because it's a for profit business and it shouldn't be.
So what's your alternative? Slavery? Donations only? You keep referring to "health care" as if it's a product, and it's not, it's a service. In other words, it's the time, labor and knowledge of those working in the field, and that's really all it is.
So when you say,
Health care costs are too high because it's a for profit business and it shouldn't be.
...what you're actually saying is that people in the medical field should not be allowed to glean all the value from their labor that the market will bear. Unlike everyone else in the country.
They'll never post their alternative and if they do, it's just broad generalizations with no instructions on how to implement it.
Where the heck did I speak of the free market in this thread?
I didn't ask about the guys insurance rates. I asked if you had no problem with that scenario I put forth (which is an accurate representation of what happened) and you didn't answer my question and veered off into how things "should be" instead of sticking with how things happened in this couples situation.
I'd like the system changed too and I've put forth many ideas on this blog about my ideas already...many more ideas than the people who are smarter than me.
Health insurance is not a right and if this couples situation becomes the norm, then a large majority of people will forego paying for insurance and will just sign up for it when they get sick.
This would be why we have the mandate. Everyone is going to have to have insurance and won't be allowed to sign up when they get sick. Everyone is going to have to pay in to the pool.
It's similar to what we have right now with car insurance. Everyone who drives a car has to have it. The insurance companies still seem to be making a profit and have spun off a variety of other products to sell. I have every confidence that they will find ways to make a profit under the new health care law.
saj,
How many auto insurance claims have you filed in the last year? The last 10 years?
How many health insurance claims have you filed in the last year?
Are your claims patterns normal?
Do you suppose the amount of money paid out in claims has some impact on how high the insurance rates are?
Saj, you better talk to markadelphia. Profit making is bad in health insurance. Remember that your Mandate may be unconstitutional. You can't regulate somebody for NOT having health insurance - you have to be engaged in commerce for them to regulate you.
I have filed two auto claims in the last ten years and one health claim. I'm still fairly young (28) so I'm sure that will change.
I don't think that health insurance should be not for profit. Clearly, with all these new customers coming into the pool, profits are likely to go up. Emphasis on "may be" regarding the Constitution. The general welfare of our population was poor under the old system. Generally speaking, our economy would have continued to degrade with more and more people unable to afford to pay for anything with mounting health costs.
This would be why we have the mandate. Everyone is going to have to have insurance and won't be allowed to sign up when they get sick. Everyone is going to have to pay in to the pool.
It's similar to what we have right now with car insurance. Everyone who drives a car has to have it.
And if you can't afford your car insurance premium, there are ways to get by without driving.
So is that the deal? If you want to be alive, you have to buy health insurance? Of course, you can opt out of being alive if you can't afford the premiums?
Change indeed.
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