[Peace-discuss] why a substantive change in health care isunlikely

[Laurie Solomon]

If you ask or poll a vast majority of Amerikans and even the insurance and pharmaceutical companies in Amerika, you will find that many if not most think and believe that all citizens 65 and older are entitled automatically to Social Security and to Medicare and can get it.  However, this is not true; I can tell you from personal experience that one needs to meet certain employment and other criteria before one is eligible - even if one is older than 65.  If you are 65 and older and are not eligible for Medicare, you can buy into the Part A (hospitalization) and Part B (physician's fees) coverages.  Last, I checked two years ago; the buy in for Part A was close to $4,000 a year and Part B was around $1250 per year with prescription drug coverage being additional.  Thus, to buy in for full coverage at that time would have been over $5,250 per year for basic level coverage; to get more complete coverage, one would have to purchase from private insurance companies supplemental medicare policies at an additional cost.  So even if they are doing it right, the programs leave a lot of persons in the over 65 age group uncovered or inadequately covers for living expenses and for medical expenses.


From: unionyes 
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 7:04 PM
To: Peace-discuss List 
Subject: Fw: [Peace-discuss] why a substantive change in health care isunlikely



----- Original Message ----- 
From: unionyes 
To: E.Wayne Johnson 
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 7:04 PM
Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] why a substantive change in health care is unlikely


Well Wayne,

If you look at any poll, you will find the vast majority of Americans believe that Social Security and Medicare are two things that the U.S. government does right.

Of course there are politicians that have tried to underfund and eliminate ( privatize ) both over the years, against the will of the majority.

David J.


David J.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: E.Wayne Johnson 
  To: unionyes 
  Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 8:09 AM
  Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] why a substantive change in health care is unlikely


  I agree that Rasmussen is not asking the right questions.

  The follow-on question to yours is if they think that the Federal government can be
  credibly trusted to provide such a program.



  ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: unionyes 
    To: E.Wayne Johnson 
    Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 6:56 AM
    Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] why a substantive change in health care is unlikely


    It would be interesting to conduct the same poll, except instead of asking if they support the Obama / Dem plan, ask if they support a healthcare plan that would provide Medicare for all, if the individual and employer expense for 100% medical coverage would be less ( which it would ) than what people and employers currently pay for private health insurance.

    David J.

      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: E.Wayne Johnson 
      To: peace-discuss 
      Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 2:15 AM
      Subject: [Peace-discuss] why a substantive change in health care is unlikely


      I really think that the reason that we are not going to get substantive change in health care is that the limited debate has not included the necessary questions.  I think the health care system in the US is very bad indeed, but change will be slow in coming.

      Whether Rasmussen is right or not, the health care reform project lacks support and is likely to incite significant resistance.


      *********

      ...47% trust the private sector more than government to keep health care costs down and the quality of care up. Two-thirds (66%) say an increase in free market competition will do more than government regulation to reduce health care costs.  ... 71% of voters nationwide say they're at least somewhat angry about the current policies of the federal government. That's up five points from September. The overall figure includes 46% who are Very Angry. 

      Rasmussen Poll - Health Care Reform
      40% Support Health Care Plan, 56% Oppose It
      Monday, December 14, 2009


      Fifty-six percent (56%) of U.S. voters now oppose the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That's the highest level of opposition found - reached three times before - in six months of polling.

      The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 40% of voters favor the health care plan.

      Perhaps more significantly, 46% now Strongly Oppose the plan, compared to 19% who Strongly Favor it.

      Overall support for the health care plan fell to 38%, its lowest point ever, just before Thanksgiving. This is the fourth straight week with support at 41% or less. With the exception of a few days following nationally televised presidential appeals for the legislation, the number of voters opposed to the plan has always exceeded the number who favor it.

      "The most significant detail in the data is that 63% of senior citizens oppose the plan, including 52% who strongly oppose it," says Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. "Seniors are significant in this debate both because they use the health care system more than anyone else and because they vote more than younger voters."

      Rasmussen Reports is continuing to track public opinion on the health care plan on a weekly basis, with updated findings released each Monday morning.

      Democrats, whose legislators control both the House and Senate, continue to be the big supporters of the health care plan. Seventy-one percent (71%) of those in the president's party favor it. Eighty-one percent (81%) of Republicans and 69% of voters not affiliated with either party oppose the plan.

      But again the emotion is on the side of the opponents: Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Democrats strongly support the plan, but 74% of GOP voters and 57% of unaffiliateds strongly oppose it.

      Democrats consistently have rated health care reform as the most important of the priorities listed by the president early in his term. Republicans and unaffiliateds say cutting the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term is the president's highest priority.

      Voters appear to becoming more skeptical about the plan's chances for passage this year. Forty-eight percent (48%) still say it's at least somewhat likely the plan will become law this year, with 13% who say it's very likely. But 41% think that's unlikely, including 28% who say it's not very likely and 13% who feel it's not at all likely to happen.

      Only 21% of voters say the quality of health care in the country will get better if the plan passes. Fifty-four percent (54%) say quality will get worse, while 18% expect it to stay about the same.

      Fifty-seven percent (57%) say health care costs will go up if the plan passes. Seventeen percent (17%) say costs will go down, as the authors of the plan contend. Twenty percent (20%) say health care costs will remain about the same if the legislation becomes law.

      Obama was elected president in November 2008 in part because of his ability to carry traditionally Republican states like Virginia. But 54% of Virginia voters now oppose the president's health care plan.

      The congressional mid-term elections are still nearly a year away, but the health care bill seems to be taking an early toll on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's chances for reelection. The Nevada Democrat, one of the leading supporters of the health care plan, was reelected in 2004 with 61% of the vote, but now he trails three potential GOP challengers in a state when opposition to the plan is stronger than in other parts of the country.

      Although most Americans oppose the health care legislation working its way through Congress, 42% of voters say the federal government should be addressing health care reform. Twenty-three percent (23%) prefer to see reforms at the state government level, while 17% want both the state and federal government to get into the act.

      Still, 47% trust the private sector more than government to keep health care costs down and the quality of care up. Two-thirds (66%) say an increase in free market competition will do more than government regulation to reduce health care costs.

      Forty-seven percent (47%) also believe that restricting jury awards for medical malpractice lawsuits will significantly reduce the cost of health care in the United States, but the plan working its way through Congress does not include limits on such lawsuits.

      Differences like these help explain the sizable opposition to the health care plan. Plus 71% of voters nationwide say they're at least somewhat angry about the current policies of the federal government. That's up five points from September. The overall figure includes 46% who are Very Angry. 


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