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12/7/2010
Enough already on the health coverage shtick
As noted by The Hill, Mike Tate is the most recent Dem to call on Wisconsin’s newly elected Republican congressmen to abandon their employer-provided health insurance.
Newly elected Wisconsin Reps. Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble and Sen.-elect Ron Johnson were singled out by Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Mike Tate during a conference call with reporters Monday morning. Tate called on them to “go to the insurance giants that run our healthcare system at a great profit to themselves, and higher premiums for the rest of us, and see what kind of deal they can get themselves while they deny healthcare coverage to sick Wisconsinites.”
It’s a good opportunity to reprint a paragraph or two that Jeremy Shown wrote for FoxPolitics two weeks ago.
… Zach Wisniewski at Blogging Blue argu[ed] that because Ron Johnson opposed the health reform, he should not accept the health plan extended to him as a member of the U.S. Senate. I guess to someone who hasn't really thought about the way we get health insurance in this country this sounds like a good point, but the majority of Americans still get their health insurance through their employer. When President Obama and the Democrats in congress had the opportunity to reform health care they didn't end this practice, at least not on purpose, so they must think it's a good way to get insurance. If so, why then wouldn't Johnson accept the insurance that is part of his Senate compensation? Yes, it a government plan, but in this case the relevant characteristic is that it is insurance tied to employment.
If our friends on the left really think people ought to be able to refuse health coverage on principle, they might want to start working on their friend of the court briefs. The individual mandate to purchase insurance was part of the reform that became law, remember?
Again, the relevant issue – for now, Obamacare ties health insurance to employment. I would add that if our friends on the left really want to be constructive, they might consider lobbying to make the federal health plans (and similar premium participation rates and co-pays) available to Wisconsin’s public employees – saving Wisconsin taxpayers a whole heap of cash.
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
Ah, typical hogwash from someone who obviously has coverage from an employer... at the moment.
Jack Lohman (Tue Dec 07 08:36:51 2010)
More class warfare rhetoric from DPW Chairman Mike Tate. This is what you can expect from the DPW in 2011 as they are dealing with a smaller candidate bench for 2012 along with the possibility Obama may not carry Midwest states including Wisconsin in 2012. When you hear rhetoric like this from Mike Tate and the Wisconsin Dems, it shows that they are more concerned about in engaging in class warfare over coming to the table with real solutions.
Kyle Maichle (Tue Dec 07 09:42:05 2010)
It would be far more constuctive if single-payer health care were enacted.
Dean Weichmann (Tue Dec 07 09:47:34 2010)
And what precisely does the health plan for Congress entail? Coverage, premiums, deductibles, co-pays?
Dennis (Tue Dec 07 10:03:27 2010)
I don't agree with perpetuating employer-provided health insurance coverage. We individuals and families must assume more of that responsibility; fiscal and market mechanisms must be developed to allow us to best do that. Nevertheless Jack, do you deny that Obamacare is built around employers providing insurance for their employees?
Jo (Tue Dec 07 10:24:24 2010)
Jo, I think Obamacare sucks and should be repealed... and replaced with the single-payer system that Dean suggests.
That would totally remove from the employer the need to shop policies and track employee's health problems, and be the best bailout EVER for US employers that employ US workers.
We'd pay for it through our national infrastructure (taxes) rather than adding the costs regressively to product prices. We'd pay for actual services rather than actuary-projected-cost-speculations, and we'd eliminate the layers of bureaucratic waste.
But then, the for-profit insurers wouldn't like this a bit.
Jack Lohman (Tue Dec 07 10:36:58 2010)
Jack, here's the point for today... Obamacare is employer-based. It's unfortunate our elected officials have been criticized for signing up for their employer-provided health insurance.
Jo (Tue Dec 07 10:52:54 2010)
The nerve of asking elected officials to live up to what they campaigned on. How dare they!
Proud progressive (Tue Dec 07 11:16:41 2010)
Jo, ObamaCare is built around RomneyCare, and yes it is based on employer-care (for those who have employers) and a giant, ineffective, inefficient, costly system for those who do not have employers.
Is that ALL you want to discuss? Not what is the best of our country?
Jack Lohman (Tue Dec 07 11:19:05 2010)
Jack, if you desperately want to discuss Obamacare, we can do that. The simple point (again) that I'm trying to make today is that folks are wrong to say that a congressmen isn't living by his campaign promises simply because he signs up for his employer-provided health care plan.
Jo (Tue Dec 07 14:09:10 2010)
Proud Progressive: The Federal Employee Health Benefits Program is not Obamacare. Employer-provided health care is not what most GOP candidates campaigned against.
Jo (Tue Dec 07 14:13:21 2010)
A stated desire to change a public policy does not mean the individual should not avail oneself of any benefits to which they are entitled under the current policy.
The liberals want the Bush tax rates to expire on January 1st. If those rates are kept in place, are all the liberals going to self-assess themselves taxes at the pre-Bush tax rates, and send that money to the Treasury? Of course not, and there is nothing different about those who wish to change health care policy availing themselves of the current policy until it is changed.
Just because someone thinks the Cash for Clunkers policy was wrong-headed, doesn't mean they are not entitled to participate in the program.
This is not about a legitimate issue, this is just political bombthrowing. And, as usual, Mike Tate just needs to grow-up.
Tom (Tue Dec 07 15:39:41 2010)
I don't think it is wrong for new reps to sign up for their taxpayer-funded gold-plated healthcare policy, unless they then oppose the same thing for other taxpayers and the unemployed. So we'll see how these newbies carry forward.
Jack Lohman (Tue Dec 07 16:43:47 2010)
jo,
did you see ron johnson asking for handouts to help pay his campain debt
joe (Tue Dec 07 19:14:16 2010)
Joe, what would you have Senator-elect Johnson do?
Jo (Tue Dec 07 20:43:43 2010)
You are correct what ROJO and his ilk will be taking is not "obamacare" it is a single payer taxpayer funded health care system. I am sure they will all be aggressively pursuing that so that all Americans will be covered just like they are.
"obamacare" per say is strictly health insurance reform. Imagine the horror of not being able to drop Americans who are sick.
Proud progressive (Wed Dec 08 08:48:05 2010)
Hey, Progressive, if you don't like what we have here, try living where I did, and see first-hand how the single payer system drops sick people!
My mom-in-law had undiagnosed terminal cancer; she was so weak she simply collapsed when she tried to stand (at bro-in-law's house) They took her to a dr, who said "she was just getting old" and refused to do any tests whatsoever; not even an orthostatic blood pressure which costs NO money at all, and about ONE MINUTE of time! After FOUR unsuccessful visits bro-in-law finally got her in to see a dr who took private insurance, which bro has.
Then she was finally diagnosed with cancer, and she was dead within 4 months. It's true our drs miss diagnoses also, but if a US dr tried dismissing someone without ANY tests, they'd be struck from the state's registry--and believe me, that's almost impossible to do.
The fix for our "system" would be to pay drs the same way you'd pay any other tradesman--NO MIDDLEMAN. Prices would automatically decrease, people would be more responsible with deciding whether really they should go to ER with a mere cold, and drs would actually have to compete. Major medical or MSAs could cover the catastrophic events. I know folks who eschew insurance, pay their dr for office visits, have a MSA and major medical, and they save a lot of money.
emily matthews (Wed Dec 08 12:01:08 2010)
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