Health care

To the people who say that we only need to fix “a little bit” the roof in terms of healthcare hopefully with Anthem Blue Cross' 30 to 39 percent rate hike in California this will become a rude awakening of what the reality is, and why we need to overhaul the whole system, and why we need either single payer or at least a public option.
We should also mention that Anthem Blue Cross made a 2.7 billion in the last quarter of 2009. I suppose that the increase is to recover the millions that they spent derailing the possible bills in both houses and funding the demonstrations to stop those bills and hearings.
Insurance companies increased their premiums 78% from 2000 to 2006, while the inflation had been less than 3% a year.
I can imagine that conservatives still believe that insurance companies will voluntarily start reducing their rate of increases, or better still, that costs will come under control by addressing the lawsuits that push costs higher. Unfortunately for them, lawsuits only represent 2% of the costs. In other words, that will not do the trick. The other option that conservatives say that will help bring down costs is buy buying insurance across state lines. I remember my next door neighbor was telling me once a story about Mutual of Omaha. My neighbor was offered insurance by this company for his mother. Everything was fine until she got sick and had to be hospitalized. He never got a penny out of them, and ended up having to pick up the tab himself. That option is another mirage, unless we have some organization looking over insurance companies, and enforcing whatever they commit themselves to cover.
While the opposition has only offered sand castle alternatives that in reality will end up making matters worse, the cost of healthcare keeps rising and more people will run out of coverage.
Their idea of the market taking care of itself is what caused the meltdown of 2008 and the bailout of the banks of 1989. Total lack of control.
The republicans believe that it is my way or the highway, even though they are the minority party.
It is unfortunate that this party, that represents only the interests of the haves, and is always on the wrong side of the issues, such as with the Civil Rights Act, lacks any message with the exception of “no”.
It is probably time to address the filibuster in the senate.
I will discuss that in a future blog.