Just to be clear for those who oppose reading, this bill isn't universal health care. So if you like coming off as having some semblance of a clue about what you are speaking of, ditch that notion.
I feel that many people who sling around words like socialist have zero clue what that term actually means and more importantly, what socialist goods and services we use every day here in the good ole US of A. So for those of you who are in the dark, here's a list of socialist goods and services that every American enjoys. If you are against socialism, put your money where your big mouth is and go ahead and
STOP taking advantage of these socialist services:
-Social Security
-Medicare/Medicaid
-State Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
-Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
-US Postal Service
-Roads and Highways
-Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
-US railway system
-Public subways and metro systems
-Public bus and lightrail systems
-Rest areas on highways
-sidewalks
-All government funded local and state projects
-public water and sewer services (goodbye socialist toilet, socialist shower, socialist dishwasher, socialist kitchen sink, socialist outdoor hose)
-public and state universities and colleges
-public primary and secondary schools
-Sesame Street (all of PBS in fact)
-publicly funded anti-drug use education
-public museums
-libraries
-public parks and beaches
-state and national parks
-public zoos
-unemployment insurance
-municipal garbage and recycling services
-treatment at any hospital or clinic that ever received funding from local, state, or the federal government (pretty much all of them)
-medical services and medications that were created or derived from any government grant or research funding (pretty much all of them)
-socialist byproducts of government institutions such as duct tape and velcro (you know, inventions of that Nazi-esque organization called NASA)
-Use of the internet, email, and networked computers (the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for computer networking. Go ahead and cancel your Android Forums account because by participating in this thread, you are enjoying the fruits of socialist services).
-foodstuffs, meats, produce, and crops that were grown with, fed with, raised with, or that contain inputs from crops grown with government subsidies.
-clothing made from crops (cotton) that were grown with or that contain inputs from government subsidies. You know, like that "Made in the USA" t-shirt you're probably wearing with OBAMANATION printed on it. You hypocrite.
-All anti-socialist veterans of the government run socialist military must forego their VA benefits and insist on paying for their own medical care.
-touring government buildings such as the Capitol.
In addition, those who denounce socialism should never visit the following “socialist” locations:
-Smithsonian museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History.,
-the socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments.
-the government operated Statue of Liberty.
-the grand canyon
-the socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorial
-the government run socialist propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
Also, in keeping with an anti-socialism rhetoric, I would require you to protest the government funded and therefore socialist military of the United States.
What I want to know is where all you "fiscal conservatives" were when Bush passed his tax cuts for the rich and wealthy which cost this country 2
TRILLION dollars. This health care plan is a drop in the bucket compared to that. Republicans spend 2 trillion on a tax break for the rich, spend over 1 trillion on 2 wars (billions of which have been siphoned off to the private contractors who contribute to Republican campaigns) and another trillion give or take a few bucks on a prescription drug bill that has served to basically enrich the pharmaceutical companies.
And
NOW Republicans decide to tighten the pocketbook? Give me a break. Any outcrying about this HC bill from the right is completely disingenuous. The Republican spending I outlined above makes the cost of this healthcare bill look like petty cash. So spare me the outrage.
Look. Medical expenses are the #1 cause of personal bankruptcy in this country. This policy goes a long way to counter that. That means those of you who have or have loved ones who have cancer, will no longer accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses to keep you alive. And your insurance provider will have to commit a criminal act to drop you from their plan. I don't know about any of you but as a responsible husband and parent, part of my financial plan included having at least $20,000 in savings designated specifically for medical emergencies. Guess what? I can now (well after this bill goes into effect in 4 years) use that money to improve my house, buy a new car, take a much needed vacation, or put into my sons' college fund.
This bill will eliminate pre-existing conditions for children. That means those of you who are parents, no longer have to worry about your insurance provider denying coverage to your child who had asthma from birth.
This bill will also give access to insurance to Americans who are uninsured because of pre-existing conditions through a temporary high-risk pool. MSG me if you are unclear what this means.
This bill will prohibit insurance companies from dropping people when they get sick in all individual plans.
This bill will counter Bush's horrible Prescription Drug Bill by lowering the costs of prescription drugs for seniors.
This bill will offer tax credits to small businesses who purchase health coverage.
This bill will eliminate lifetime coverage limits and annual coverage limits on ALL insurance plans. This means you can get sick more than once or twice and not worry about having to pay out of pocket if you get sick more than the amount the insurance companies say you can get sick.
This bill will allow coverage of an insured's child until 26. This means that 23-year-old of yours who will be hit one day by a drunk driver and spend six months recovering in the hospital will now not go bankrupt because you will be able to keep him on your insurance policy.
This bill will require new plans to cover preventative services and immunizations without cost-sharing. Meaning the insurance companies can't bump up everyone's premiums to offer this.
This bill will ensure consumers have access to an effective internal and external appeals process to appeal new insurance plan decisions. This means there will no longer be that feeling of helplessness when the insurance company bounces you around from one service agent to the next and keeps prolonging your case and denying the payout of claims.
This bill will require premium rebates to enrollees from insurers with high administrative expenditures and require public disclosure of the percent of premiums applied to overhead costs. This means that if the insurance company is performing inefficiently, hiring more workers than it needs to handle the paperwork, they cannot pass their overhead onto you via your premium. They have to disclose how much of your premium is due to their overhead.
Do you understand that insurance companies are FOR PROFIT companies? Do you REALLY understand what that means? That if it's a choice between you and a dollar, the dollar will win? Is that what you're fighting for?
This bill will give people the peace of mind that if they lose their job, a very likely scenario in this recession, that they will still be able to obtain medical care.
32 million of our brothers and sisters who would not have have health care coverage will have it because of this bill.
150,000 people who would have died will live because of this bill.
Our deficit will be reduced by $138 billion over the next decade because of this bill, offsetting some of the damage Bush & Co. did.
Republicans have been consistently wrong about the effects of social programs and economic programs proposed by Democrats. Wrong on Social Security, wrong on Medicare, and wrong on Clinton's economic plans which resulted in the biggest surplus in American history which Bush, in 8 years, turned into the biggest deficit in American history.
Today is a great day for America.
