Bush on Health Care

[antigop]

Run time: 08:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rGnENTv-9A   Posted on YouTube: July 10, 2007 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: July 11, 2007 By DU Member: antigop Views on DU: 2132

 
Ok, George, I'll believe private insurance and HSAs are a good idea, when YOU AND THE CONGRESS DECIDE TO GET RID OF YOUR GOLD-PLATED HEALTH PLAN AND GO TO PRIVATE INSURANCE AND HSAs.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. Kick, kick, kick, Thanks for posting, VERY IMPORTANT to see Bush respond to Sicko.

Check out his adjusted meds and his captive Cleveland Clinic medical worker audience.

:kick: :kick: :kick: MKJ

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

2. "People have access to health care ...

... in America, after all just go to an emergency room."

Did he really say that? I'll listen again ... yes, he really said that.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

3. Yes, he said that anyone can go to an ER. And, he talked up the privatization of health care.

It's hard to watch, but needs to be seen. MKJ

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

5. He's just absolutely incredible -- how can this man be our president?

... He introduces some new stupidicism every time he speaks, and nothing comes of it -- MSM always right there to give him a complete pass. When will this nightmare end?

[Cant trust em]

16. Has GWB ever made a Dr.'s appointment?

What kind of idiot can think that the best care only comes when something has already gone wrong? If I want to keep my car in great condition I have to get the oil changed every 3,000 miles and get regularly scheduled tuneups. It's a lot cheaper and better for my car than letting the entire engine explode and then trying to bring it to a mechanic.

If I have a heartattack I can go to the ER and they'll operate on me right there, according to GWB. But wouldn't it be better if I went to the doctor once a year before that and he could tell me that even though I look thin my cholesterol is through the roof and I have high blood pressure? Many of these traits are genetic after all.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

22. Couldn't agree more. nt.

[harun]

29. That one caught me too

Like anyone can just walk into an emergency room with no coverage, get taken care of, and head on home without worrying about the cost. The cost of doing that with no coverage is TERROR to people. TERROR to people who are already scared and sick.

[slipslidingaway]

4. Bush speaking about accoutability lol, thanks for posting. n/t

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

6. Kick, I can't R again.

:kick: MKJ

[Danieljay]

7. Holy crap. I just agree with George effing Bush. Americans have a responsibility

to eat right and exercise, and to stop smoking.

I can't argue with that.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

10. ROFL. Bush lecturing people on exercising when he has all the accouterments of physical fitness at

his disposal.

Personal trainer, state of the art equipment, dietician, chef and all the fucking time in the world.

MKJ

[thereismore]

8. Good God! What a muddle. Is this guy a perfect parody of himself or what!? nt

[Hand]

9. K&R nt

[JDPriestly]

11. Hey! I want my doctor to decide what healthcare I need,

not my pocketbook. What Bush is suggesting is just insane. He seems to think we should buy healthcare the way we buy cars. I can only afford to spend $500 on a car, so I buy a beat up old jalopy. That rich guy over there can afford to spend $80,000 on his car, so he buys a Ferrari. That works for cars, but it does not work for healthcare. The person with $500 may die if he only gets $500 in healthcare. I guess Bush doesn't care about people who have only $500 to spend on their healthcare.

You know what the worst thing about our healthcare system is? When Americans are young and healthy, they work, and their employers buy their insurance. They hit 50, lose their jobs or get sick, can't buy insurance and they cannot afford healthcare. Either they or their employer has paid for their health insurance for years and years. The insurance companies kept the money, the person who was insured is out the money and has nothing to show for it. It's criminal. When you don't need it, you have health insurance. When you do need it, you don't have it. Talk about an irrational healthcare program.

Putting the responsibility on Americans to provide themselves with private healthcare is no plan at all -- not at the rates the insurance companies are charging these days, and not with all the huge deductibles and co-pays they charge.

Bush's suggestion about health savings plans is just stupid. People in this country do not save, period. If people don't save for other things, what makes Bush think people will save for health care? = Health savings plans are less likely to succeed than 401(K)s and just ask anyone who is getting close to 60 how their 401(K) is doing. If you are lucky, you are almost keeping up with inflation. But the 10% of the income you made 20 years ago is nothing in terms of today's prices. Will you have enough to retire soon? Probably not. Health savings accoungts are a red herring.

You can only put a certain percentage of what you earn into savings. It is highly impractical for people earning average salaries to save enough both for healthcare and for their retirement -- oh, and then there is you kids' education. You are supposed to save for that too. Maybe if you save half what you earn, you can realistically save enough for all the things you are supposed to be saving for. But if you do that, you probably can't both pay your mortgage and eat since the roof over your head most likely takes at least a third of your earnings.

Bush's scheme is absurdly unworkable. The most likely result of enacting his plan is that it will put doctors out of work or have force them to accept reduced pay. People won't be able to afford them at all if health savings plans replace the few failing employer-paid insurance plans that still exist. Bush's approach to healthcare shows how out of touch he is with the problems of ordinary Americans.

Republicans know there are serious problems with their plan for providing health care access. They have no solution. All they have is garbled talk and threats about the boogie man government interfering in your healthcare. Ridiculous.

We need a single payer system paid out of higher taxes (especially for the wealthy). The Europeans have high value added (sales) taxes. Food is generally not taxed. That is a fair plan. Those who consume more luxuries (presumably the wealthy or those who like to live a wealthy lifestyle) pay more into the fund from which the costs of healthcare are paid. That system actually results in more saving because it rewards people who save. If you don't spend a lot of money, you don't pay as high a share of the taxes. That would be very good for the American economy.

The Republicans will lose big on this issue. Maybe in 2008, maybe later. But, Bush's "speech" shows they have no clue as to what to do on it. Democrats need to be very aggressive about introducing a single payer plan or at least allowing Americans to opt for a government administered plan at any age.

[Cant trust em]

15. Thank you for that excellent post

I love reading the posts that are longer than two sentences. His health savings plan, retirement savings plan, and the rest of these privatization schemes are ridiculous. You're totally right. Americans don't save. In fact the country on a whole has a negative savings rate currently, meaning we are going in debt faster than we are saving.

[cynthia]

23. on health care savings accounts

I have one at my place of work. It covers the out of pocket expenses and deductibles that my insurance doesn't cover (for which I pay $600/ month!) I have to plan how much to save at the beginning of the year and they divide that amount by the number of paychecks and take out that amount each time pre-tax.

Then I have to save all the paperwork showing what I have paid for deductibles and out-of pocket expenses (an enormous bookkeeping task as they do not accept a canceled check, I have to have an "explanation of benefits" from the insurance company showing what they refused to pay, etc).

Then I fill out a cover sheet form detailing all of the paperwork I am about to submit (and photocopy everything before I mail it - one time I didn't and they lost it all, making it near impossible to replicate!).

Here's the tricky part, if the amount in my Medical Savings Account has not accumulated to a high enough amount to cover the out of pocket expenses I am claiming for reimbursement, then they deny my claim and I have to resubmit those claims again in a few months when the HSA has a balance to cover it. Of course it would be nice if they ever told me my balance remaining, so I could keep track of this, but that would make too much sense.

The worst part of this, if I guess wrong and opt to save too much money, and don't end up using that much, then I lose it. The company that manages the HSA gets to keep my unused money in my savings account.

I had a friend who was scrambling to get new eye glasses and dental work done in December so she could use up her HSA because she had calculated too high.

Health Savings Accounts are NOT the answer to the health care crisis we have in our country today. Universal Single-Payer is the only system that makes sense: Medicare for all. I believe such a system could have pro-rated contributions (rich people pay more than middle class who pay more than poor who pay nothing) which is another way of saying that we pay for it with our income taxes.

That would be assuming that wealthy Americans pay any taxes, but I know most of them don't.

[JDPriestly]

24. I used to have a health savings account through my employer.

It was very difficult to estimate how much you might spend on healthcare costs in the coming year. The concept requires the participant to gamble on how much money the participant will have to spend in the coming year. It does not promote the rational and responsible use of healthcare.

[antigop]

27. You probably had a flex account, not an HSA -- see post below n/t

[Cant trust em]

25. hence the ridiculous overhead costs

Holy frijoles that's a lot of paperwork! I thought that republicans were supposed to hate big, unwieldy bureaucracies.

[antigop]

26. Cynthia, you have a flex account, not an HSA

http://www.kiplinger.com/features/archives/2004/02/hsa.html

>>
What's the difference between the new HSAs and the flexible-spending accounts? It seems they are for the same purpose.

The tax benefits of both plans are quite similar, but there are several differences. The biggest and most important difference is that your HSA balances can roll over from year to year and continue to grow tax-deferred.

Money in your flex plan must be spent by the end of the plan year or you lose it. That may sound like a big negative, but flex plans can save you a lot of money even if you don't spend every nickel. Also, you can open a flexible-spending account only if the plan is offered by your employer, and you don't need to have a high-deductible health insurance policy.

Legislation passed by Congres December 9, 2006, will let you make a one-time transfer of funds tax free from a flexible-spending account to an HSA. Changes to the law also will allow individuals to make a one-time tax-free direct transfer of funds from an IRA to an HSA (up to the HSA annual contribution limit).

>>

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

12. Morning kick. Michael Moore should include this footage in Sicko.

It stands on its own as satire. MKJ

[Kokonoe]

13. OMFG Did you hear around the 7 minute mark his veiled

but in your face I WANT TO TAX COMPANY BENEFITS.

[Vilis Veritas]

14. I tried to watch...really.

I just couldn't make it past 2 minutes.

What a turd.

Peace.

[Cant trust em]

17. What kills one woman every minute of every day?

If you guessed dying in child birth, you are correct! Countries with the most widely available health services have the lowest mortality rates. In Sweden, for example, childbirth is so safe that only one woman dies for every 30,000 births, says Nancy Terreri, senior adviser for maternal and child health for UNICEF. (In this country, it's one in 2,500.)

I guess the president is OK with this statistic. Everything about US health care is wonderful!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19389326/site/newsweek/

[Dollface]

18. In his judgment it would lead to worse healthcare? How much worse can it get than none?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

19. Why is this video stuck at 4 recs?

:shrug: MKJ

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

20. Godamnit.

MKJ

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

21. Bush responds VERY clearly to Sicko and it doesn't get 5 recs.

:shrug:

"What's going on, I'll tell you what's going on..." Marvin Gaye. MKJ

[Ishoutandscream2]

28. How can those people in the audiece keep a straight face?

The man is a fucking idiot. The only thing I can guess is that they are just as stupid.