McCain proposes to deregulate Health Insurance---just like the Banking industry
By John Amato Friday Sep 19, 2008 11:00am
How well did that work out the first time?
Here's what McCain has to say about the wonders of market-based health reform:
Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.
So McCain, who now poses as the scourge of Wall Street, was praising financial deregulation like 10 seconds ago - and promising that if we marketize health care, it will perform as well as the financial industry!
Mr Deregulator would destroy what's left of our health care system. For those who have it at this point and can barely afford it, that is.
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Oy vey.
Does he want the Gilded age again?
McSame '08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXRlG_6Bk-8
I like the picture of McCain demonstrating how the doctor checked his prostate.......on the government dole.
Keep this at the forefront of your blog until the mainstream media picks it up.
General Pavel Rennenkampf Xocoyotzin @ 1:
Nope.
Too much regulation, and taht damned Freedom of the Press, which really fucked things up, later.
They won't be happy til they restore "The Age of Kings, Vassals, and Peasants."
(1) Deregulate Health Care just like the Banking/Financial Industry
(2) Rich get obscenely richer selling "Health Insurance Financial Instruments" to the rest of us
(3) Health Care Bubble Bursts as people "get sick" and try to use their "Health Insurance Financial Instruments"
(4) Government intervenes in resulting crisis for trillions
(5) Socialized National Health Care (for trillions more than if we'd done it in the first friggin' place)
...
(6) Rich get to keep the trillions they "earned"
The Free Market Rocks!
Can somebody explain why Obama isn't up by 50 points? McCain is a soulless moron and obviously so.
The writer pointing out that McCranky's health care is subsidized by the public is point on. We need to abolish all publicly subsidized health care. No more golden insurance policies for senators or congressmen! THAT would get the politicians to do something about this crisis.
Every blog everywhere needs to be singing this one until it starts getting reported. Bet Rachel Maddow will be all over this.
Isn't this guy a POW?
woody, tokin librul @ 5:
The age of Andrew Carnegie and J. Pierpont Morgan had too much regulation?
O.o
The VA is a socialized medical program. And it works fine. Just like the medical programs all of the politicians receive.
When I hear people say taking from the rich and giving to the poor is socialism, I have to think about all the financial bailouts recently and in the last 25 years. That was the working class bailing out the rich.period. they can spin this all they want, but the fact remains tax payers are bailing out the rich.
I just clipped this fro a Norwegian Newspaper, thought you might all enjoy a look at how much of the World Views the USA:::
"God as denial of responsibility"
When God is on your team, the world can be dangerously simple. Arbitrary references to the Bible is a form of intellectual terrorism.
The United States has a talent for producing thought-simplifying politicians. Especially when they claim to represent God's march on earth. Already 160 years ago Alexis de Tocqueville noticed the low level of American ecclesiasticy. At the same time he admired their civic commitment and ability to unite freedom and equality.
For the past eight years, secularised Europe has been watching with increasing astonishment a president who for the most part is guided by religion; who has had a very difficult relationship with the English language; who has systematically prioritised loyalty over competence, and who seems to be without any intellectual curiosity.
The United States has the world's leading universities and scientific institutions. But as historian Richard Hofstadter ascertained in the 1950s: This country also has a tradition of anti-intellectualism at the very spine of its culture. One should not be overheard speaking French if one wants to be president – something John Kerry learned.
Senator McCain enjoys the government health care he keeps attacking. He has coverage through the Veterans Administration, which is government run, socialized medicine. He’s covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefit System, which is government paid for, regulated private insurance. And as a senior citizen, Senator McCain is eligible for Medicare which is government health insurance. All these allow McCain to “see [his] doctor fairly frequently” as he told reporters in March.
Obama needs to pound McCain on this over and over. McCain is well insured and he could care less about anyone else.
Another thing Obama needs to get out there is that McCain wants to privatize Social Security; letting the stock brokers handle it. This should really scare all the senior citizens out there along with the fact that McCain is enjoying such great insurance coverage at taxpayer expense. Too many senior citizens favor McCain because he is one of them! He is NOT one of them. The average senior citizen is a whole lot smarter than McCain.
The American citizens cannot afford to let McCain get his hands on health insurance and Social Security. Obama needs to stress this now til November 4th. Hopefully even some of the die-hard McCain supporters will see what McCain is trying to do and stop him.
General Pavel Rennenkampf Xocoyotzin @ 1:
Of course, it's the neocon dream. No rules, no regulations, no taxes, just the unimpeded ability to make and keep your money and spend it on yourself.
We are witnessing how the Bush administration has fleeced and continues to fleece the American taxpayer. Who has made billions during this administration? The oil industry, defense and banking. We are witnessing the losses of corporate America be socialized while their profits are always privatized.
The individuals responsible for the mess our economy is in are driving away in cheauffer driven black sedans. They are being driven home to multi million possibly billion dollar homes. This has nothing to do with being a Democrat or Republican.
DEMAND INVESTIGATIONS OF THE CEO'S OF BEAR STEARNS, FANNIE, FREDDIE, LEHMAN BROTHERS, AIG. DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY NOW! NOT LATER.
LET'S NOT ALLOW EITHER REPUBLICANS OR DEMOCRATS GET AWAY WITH SAYING WE NEED TO "MOVE FORWARD" "TURN THE PAGE" "DEAL WITH THE PRESENT" YADA YADA. THIS CAN NOT BECOME THEIR BI PARTISAN THEME SONG
ACCOUNTABILITY NOW!
My wife has periodic reviews of her work provided health care benefits.
They are shrinking.
Fewer providers accept it.
She was told that the industry is moving away from provoding health care coverage so she is lucky.
SHE WORKS AT A HOSPITAL!!!!
It is amazing to watch this guy jump off the cross of conservatism he built... too bad the rest of us will just slowly bleed.
The only "regulation" they want is the bailout when their "free market" collapses.
The notion that ANY market should be free from regulation is bankrupt.
The very concepts of "ownership" and "property rights" ARE regulation.
"You can't take my stuff without due process or you will suffer the consequences," IS regulation.
Without "regulation" anyone could start living in John McCain's houses. He would have no recourse short of brute force, and if they threw him out he'd be living on the street.
At the DNC in Denver (I had the good fortune to be there) the big focus in the Senior's caucus was the efforts that John McCain will continue to make to privatize Social Security. This needs to get out there in the MSM. Demand that they talk about this issue. Demand that they start covering what is going on in Iraq. The MSM has not covered what is going on in Iraq for over a year and a half. It has been pigs, lipstick, pitbulls, and Obama's preacher.
Hell if the Bush administration had not lied to the American public and invaded Iraq based on fale intelligence there would be plenty of money to deal with any shortfalls in social security in the future. We know where that surplus went. To destroy another nation so that we can control their oil resources in the future.
This should be the next Obama ad. It is so telling void of anything commentary. Truly stunning.
Kathleen @ 16:
Criminal charges should be brought against the CEOs.
Their hundred million dollar "golden parachutes" should be returned to the US Treasury.
And the CEOs should be in prison.
With the War Criminals.
It will happen because this Election is already over. All that is left is the Illusion that
we still live in a Democracy, the whole election is now about Media Ratings and
giving the People some feeling that they are involved even though they are not.
For those who have it at this point and can barely afford it, that is.
Ummm...yeah. My company just started taking out my benefits yesterday. $260/every two weeks from my paycheck just for medical coverage. Add in dental and it's another $30. On an $8/hour wage (should be a min. of $10 for the type of work we do) I'll be lucky to bring home $300 every two weeks.
Definitely time to hit the job listings.
Straight Shooter hits own foot again!
McBush: The gift that keeps on giving.
He just wants to make everything collapse in on itself, doesn't he?
r @ 10:
Let me go back and do some research on this. I'll get back to you.
Captain Bitter Angry Kangaroo @ 28:
Yup.
Human beings simply cannot conduct their daily lives without "regulation" in matters of political or financial "power". It equates to atavistic lawlessness. Apply the principle of "deregulation" to daily life and see what happens to our benefit.
If deregulation is such a good idea, why don't we "deregulate" traffic flows? If deregulation is such a a good idea, all traffic will be a self-correcting phenomenon -- no more traffic laws, signs, or lights, and traffic will be a well-ordered phenomenon.
Or water flows? No more dams, levees, seawalls, or bulkheads. No more flood controls. All to our "benefit".
Or criminal acts? People may be murderous, violent, or thieving, but according to the deregulation principle, it'll all come out in the wash to the benefit of all.
In the end, why not do away with the Constitutional protections for Americans and just live in a state of anarchy, reverting to the most primitive dog-eat-dog existence possible?
Who does McCain think he's fooling?
I'm a dual citizen. American/Italian. I live in the European Union where I have free healthcare on the national healthcare system. In other words, socialized medicine. I can tell you right now that this is the ONLY way to go and a similar plan for all Americans is what is needed in the USA! Better late than never. Healthcare is a basic human right. It's NOT an option.
anney @ 30:
Law makers regulate industries to fix problems. Take away the regulations; the problems will return.
CafeenMan @ 7:
Because he is black.
This country is headed straight down the sh*tter because people can't get past their racism. I hope people are smart enough to vote with their wallets this election instead of their hate.
As long as the A.M.A. has a monopoly on health care in this country costs will continue to skyrocket. There is no competition.
mccain is doomed.
and, i hate to say it, but obama is also doomed (i.e. when he takes office).
poor guy.
When this election season is over, if there's a God in Heaven, we won't have to listen to this senile old fart or his white trash running 'soul mate' anymore.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS?
I will explain: I am from California. I am very very sick and I am disabled from my illness. I am forced to have treatments that cost $52,000.00 a year and if I miss the treatments, I will be bedridden until I eventually die.
California's health care system is broken due to lack of regulation. They take people that are NOT PROFITABLE to their company and DUMP THEM ON SKID ROW TO DIE. Skid Row is the junkie road where predators come out at night like a nightmare from a science fiction movie.
So what to do?
Well my husband gave up a lucrative career for which he had invested years of college and training, and we moved to the area I live now. Why? Because the state I now live in REGULATED THE HEALTH CARE INSURANCE CAREFULLY (and our Health Care Commissioner is a Republican doing a fine job; so this is NOT a partisan story.)
I pay $1200 a month in premiums and costs that override my treatment. That is why my mortgage is not paid off yet... a mortgage we could not get in California at 12% interest and 20% down in a market that STARTED at $500,000.00 for a tiny shack.
So.
If health care is deregulated, NOBODY CAN GET HELP AND WE ALL DIE.
That's it.
We have the HUMAN RIGHT TO LIVE. That is in the U.N. Charter.
Why isn't it in our Constitution?
Have I said how much I hate McCain? I do.
What's health insurance?
If we have the best health care system in the world (Republican Talking Point)
Why isn't the rest of the world trying to copy it?............Because it isn't
What good is the best health care system in the world to someone who can't afford it? ...............Not worth a Sh*t!
Centrocitta @ 31:
The bottom line is that the Repubs just don't want us to have access to a free national healthcare system. It is unbelievable that people who support these politicians feel the same way. The Repubs keep pointing out all the "problems" with such systems, but you cannot tell me that these problems cannot be solved.
No, but we'll give billions of free aid to Iraqis to help them rebuild their country which we helped destroy, and expect nothing in return.
General Pavel Rennenkampf Xocoyotzin @ 11:
Too much regulation for the Neocon/Economic Libertarian movement to stomach.
Unless corporations can sell rotten food with cheap, unprotective packaging without nutritional value sheets at monopolized prices through the use of child labor in hazardous working conditions for 15 cents an hour - Its still "too much regulation" for these assholes.
Well...except access to their oil.
JE$U$! What a F # # # I N G idiot!
Hold on! That's an insult to idiots.
If this Inbev $$ receiving hack gets
any dumber he'll need remedial education
from the Sea Cucumber Re-education
Institute.
pacioccone @ 33:
This is the most aggravating part of this election. We have a bunch of racist bastards who are bringing our nation to it's knees. How long do we sit here politely and allow for it?
THIS CAN NOT BE FOUGHT ON THE AIR OR ON THE INTERNET ALONE.
We have to OSTRACIZE all racists from our lives, even if they are members of our families. We need to tell them to their faces that they are RUINING OUR LIVES. Then we need to leave them in their loneliness to die... and hope it's soon.... and tell them so.
I blame it on his frontal lobotomy.
isitjustme? Says:
"As long as the A.M.A. has a monopoly on health care in this country costs will continue to skyrocket. There is no competition."
Actually, the healthcare industry is controlled by the insurance industry.
John McCain
Stupid.
Stupid.
Stupid.
He looks Stupid.
He sounds Stupid.
He acts Stupid.
I'll bet he smells Stupid.
If he gets elected, we are doomed.
Zlad! @ 6:
Heh, I wish you were kidding, but that might actually be the way we end up with universal health care here.
What with the bailouts and nationalization --- Nationalization, for crying out loud! --- of companies like AIG, health insurance is practically the only insurance left that isn't run by the government.
Yellowbird @ 44:
Yeah, that'll work. LOL!
It worked when the Jews were ostracized and black people and etc. ad nauseum.
No, seeking revenge or simple pain is not the real answer and if you stop and think about it for a moment you will realize i am correct.
The real problem is barriers between people which is perpetrated by those in power to keep us divided so they can control us.
Reinforcing those barriers or creating new barriers cripples us.
Forget it.
We are witnessing another colossal Bush swindle.
Here is Glenn Greenwald's latest.
Corporate Socialism.
Kathleen @ 16:
Republicans are counting on stupid voters and there are enough of them to win/steal the election. To take a line from Down with Tyranny regarding voters--------"they would need a 50 point IQ bump to qualify as morons".
You've got the voters who have no job, no money and no brains but they will vote (if they vote) against Obama because he's black.
You've got the older voters who's only source of information is 30 minutes MSM news, otherwise its Wheel of Fortune or Are you smarter than a fifth grader.
How do you fight that?
I'm pretty sure doctors did well enough without the insurance industry.
before malpractice insurance became legally mandatory.
before health insurance guaranteed low rates for care charged by doctors.
isitjustme? @ 34:
Yeah, it's just you. The AMA? What?
sherrill @ 51:
and they've been quite successful.
In a moment of seriousness, for five-and-a-half years, John McCain didn't have the opportunity to deregulate anything. He was in a prison cell.
Karen @ 53:
it's apparently like a trade union for doctors in that idjit's POV.
Andrew @ 55:
POW
One of the biggest arguments against so-called socialized medicine is that people will have to stand in line for health care. Well I say, I would bet there are millions of US citizens who would be thrilled to have a line to stand in! What good are all these wonderful medical advancements if a large percentage of the population has no chance of actually taking advantage of these, because the cost is simply not within reach?
there is no money left to do jack --- has anyone here been watching the news; Hillary gave a speech from the well of the Senate with the only sensible plan out of this clusterfucky mess/meltdown. She is way ahead of both candidates; but obama better quick take it as his own, because it smart. But as to healthcare -- there is no money left. Maybe if you actually had oversight on military contracts, you could squeeze a billion or two........but enough for universal healthcare? NO -- Greed and lack of congressional oversight has left the taxpayer paying for their wallstreet theft. There is no focus on this giantic financial shift by either candidate. So bash away at McCain/Palin; but broke we are and the second shoe has not hit the floor yet. This is worse than THE SKY IS FALLING. somebody out there -- please tell me that you get how fucking serious this is!
r @ 10:
For five and a half years, he didn't have health insurance.
Watch Out for McCain's Economy!
And when Bush leaves office he's gonna replenish his coffers (that's a laugh, nobody will want him) but for now, he's filling his coffins. He's a coward and an idiot and I predict the world won't see hide nor hair of him after he slinks away into the night.
Except, of course, to get new crayons for his George W Bush presidential Liebrary.
miss skeptic @ 58:
Heh, yeah, we'd have to stand in line; we wouldn't have a choice of doctors; care itself would suffer.
I have health insurance. I pay a hefty out-of-pocket sum for it. When it works as designed, I stand in lines, I have to choose doctors only from a list set by the insurance company, and I have to fight every step of the way to get care.
When it doesn't work, which is about half of the time, because the insurance company refuses to pay for the services, I have to fight them while my credit suffers.
If I have to go to the emergency room, I have to stand in massive lines with all the people whose only health care is received in the emergency room.
Everything they say will happen under universal health care is already happening, and will be fixed by universal health care. Costs will go down. We'll choose the doctors we want. We'll get preventative care no one can afford right now. Doctors will be free to give the care they deem medically necessary instead of the care the insurance company will let them. Etc.
Oh, and you know what else? There will be a lot less people on welfare! There are plenty of people who would rather work, but who know full well that by getting a job, they'll lose their health care under the welfare system.
Health care in this country is a giant scam.
douglas in oklahoma @ 59:
From right here in OKC, Doug, I get it.
Oh great mind! NO MONEY, NO PROBLEM. Go Away! That will be fifty-percent of you! Me, I am in a recession proof job keeping criminals and would be criminals honest.
CoIntelPro for Pronktastic Victory Over SCLM, DIEBOLD, ESS and SEQUOIA! @ 57:
And I am sorry that he ended up in a prison cell being tortured. But lets not forget that the war in Vietnam and the brutal genocide that took place there at the hands of our military was not moral or necessary. You can be sure John McCain has slaughtered innocent Vietnamese people.
On top of this he came home from Vietnam and soon after starting having affairs one of those affairs ended up breaking up his marriage with his handicapped wife. Cindy McCain was a homebreaker, John is an adulterer...so please do not dare tell me that these people in any way reflect family values. No WAY No McPalin
Where has John McCain been during the the last eight years. Standing, Voting with the Bush administration
Never mind. McCain will be for regulation tomorrow. Then he'll change his mind again. That way everybody can agree with him at one time or another.
sherrill @ 51:
You left out younger voters who think American Idol is must see and middle-aged voters who gush over last night's Dancing with the Stars. I think you covered the pro-football and NASCAR crowd with the no brains group.
Bill Maher was correct when he said American voters are stupid. He was speaking of the vast majority who have the political knowledge of a third grader and the attention span of an MTV viewer. Unfortunately, you can't disenfranchise stupid people without ending up withe a dictatorship.
TakeOurCountryBack @ 39:
You have the best Healthcare Professionals and Facilities in the world. What the rest of the world has removed is that brick wall between you and those facilities. Suggesting to copy the HMO system is political suicide for any politician outside of the USA.
.......I’m a dual citizen. American/Italian. I live in the European Union where I have free healthcare on the national healthcare system. In other words, socialized medicine. I can tell you right now that this is the ONLY way to go and a similar plan for all Americans is what is needed in the USA! Better late than never. Healthcare is a basic human right. It’s NOT an option........
I don't know if you all are aware of this in the USA, but to it's international audience, instead of commercials every five minutes, Fox News shows Fox News Extra's. And they are all about the latest hospital/medical procedure, doctor scam happening in the US.
Here in Europe, I've been buying Retin A over the counter for seven years instead of paying outrageous fees for Laser treatments, chemical peels, Botox injections, etc., etc., ad nauseum, that greedy US doctors want you to have. And that's why Retin A is not available over the counter in the US. It really works -- so Americans arn't allowed to have it, unless, of course, they pay the doctor for a prescription. Anyway you look at it, the greedy in America are picking your pocket.
With a statement like this coming almost every other day anymore from Senator McCain, Obama should be able to hand him his ass at the debate Friday. With Palin's constant claims about "opposing the bridge to nowhere" and such, Biden should be ready to knock her out in their debate.
Pointing out someone lies or just blatant ignorance on what their talking about isn't being negative and Obama and Biden, and for that matter all Democrats and liberals, need to stop letting Republicans and the press echo chamber framing it as such. The debates, to their opponents face, is the perfect place and time to do that.
MountainMan23 @ 22:
as far as the 1999 law states, they did not break the law. and the government bailout is a choice of politicians, not the populace.
Do you enjoy the way the airlines treat you when you fly?
Thank deregulation!
DHavok @ 71:
racism and DIEBOLD, as well as MSM, will work against Obama, as they have worked against every Democrat since the noxin days.
DHavok @ 71:
That's a theoretical possibility, but not very likely.
The debates are just joint press conferences, negotiated at length beforehand and tightly scripted.
pacioccone @ 33:
Yahoo this morning.
http://news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-obama-race
It's one thing to be inconsistent in your positions.
It's altogether another to be aggressively adversarial toward the health and well-being of the American citizenry.
After everything that's happened this week, revealing the feebleness of "unregulated free market economics," a statement like this should render McCain unqualified to serve in the position he seeks.
I don't suppose there is even an itsy-bitsy chance that the "natural" forces at work in "opening up a market" will result in a handful of winners enforcing a virtual monopoly at high prices? Naw, that would never happen in the real world. It goes against their rationalization -- oops, I mean "ideology".
MSNBC just reported that Obama used this today at a rally. Of course. THis is mana from heaven. Thanks McCain!
Yellowbird @ 37:
Yellowbird,
Considering your medical condition, if you have the means, I really and honestly suggest you move to another country.
As evidenced by the person living in Italy, there ARE places that do provide decent health care. Apparently, Italy is one of those places. As is Japan. I love the health care here.
Including prescription drugs, a trip to the doctor normally runs me less than $20 U.S.
Not only that, but, in Japan, big hospitals are not the norm. There are still many neighborhood clinics. I live i