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Of all the outrages this country perpetrates against its citizens in the name of free market capitalism, this hideous, murderous scam of a for-profit health care disaster is at the top of my personal list of stupid American tricks. And the sick truth of the situation is that this system is incapable of functioning any other way. By which I mean...
First off, we're not really talking about medical insurance; it's protection money extorted by an organized crime syndicate to keep medical providers from stealing your house, cars, bank accounts and anything else that isn't fused to the earth's core in case something serious (i.e., expensive and maybe requiring hospitalization) happens to you.
The US is unique in the world in its child-like belief in corporate good citizenship and the intrinsic benevolence of a medical system based solely on profits. This is not only naive, it can't happen under US law and SEC regulations that demand a publicly owned, for-profit corporation base its entire business model on achieving one single objective: maximizing shareholder equity.
Anything that bumps the stock price is good, and anything that lowers it is bad. So paying claims is bad because it sucks money from the bottom line, while not paying claims is great because it saves money that contributes to corporate profitability, which ultimately helps raise the price of the stock, keeps the investors happy and keeps the SEC off the CFO's back for another quarter.
In short, it's literally impossible for a US for-profit publicly held medical insurer to live up to its opposing obligations to both its subscribers and shareholders at the same time. And, as is ever the case, if somebody has to get screwed, it's going to be the peasants.
Other than that, I'm just jumping for joy over this lethal hoax. If HR 676 or something like it ever makes it out of committee, I'll be so blown away I'll have to have my jaw reset -- for which the bastards will probably deny coverage.
After listening to the PR and scare tactics from the industry's shills, and then watching the American public dutifully regurgitate those same talking points and express their horror of "socialized medicine," -- which single-payer ain't at all, btw -- I really think they deserve every shitty thing the for-profit system can throw at them.
Too bad the non-brain-dead among us have to suffer the consequences of their blind stupidity right along with them.
wp
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