I heard this week that a women in Carmel, Indiana has filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota because she is afraid to drive her Prius it might go out of control. This may be the first case in history of somebody suing for what might happen and not what actually did happen. On the upside this may open up a whole new door of income opportunities for those of us on the bottom of the economic totem pole.
I have already started compiling my list of those I can sue. I think it is time to reopen the case against McDonald's and their hot coffee because each time I go in there I am scared someone else will spill it on me and I will get burned. There is an endless list of drivers who pass me each time I want to cross a busy street and am frozen with fear they might swerve onto the sidewalk and make me tomorrow's road kill. And as summer approaches I am agonized every day in anticipation of the distress to be caused by the ice cream headache I am sure to get with my next Blizzard from DQ.
Seriously this case should be dismissed before the ink dries and the lawyer should be taken outside and summarily shot on the town hall lawn.
While we are talking about stupidity, this is it. President Obama has called for an up or down vote on the biggest entitlement legislation in American History before the end of the week. First he wasn't going to delay his trip to Asia and now he is. All so he can help politic to wreck the world's greatest health care system. Yes, I feel extremely sorry for those whose insurance is expensive or whose medical bills are out of control. Being self employed I know insurance is outrageous. We just had to switch ours and to get something affordable we had to settle for a ten thousand dollar deductible. As long as we don't have any problems this will be great as we were able to settle in at just over four hundred dollars a month for a family of 4.
However, blaming insurance companies for making less then a 4% profit is not the answer. Most people who have IRA, Mutual Funds or other retirement packages have some investment in these companies. They just probably don't know it. Would you be willing to accept less then a 4% return on your investment if you owned a business? I don't think so. Instead we need to be looking at why health care is so expensive.
We prohibited drug companies from sending promotional items to doctors but let them advertise unlimited amounts on TV. How much less expensive do you think Viagra would be if they didn't spend millions on commercials and print advertising just so we would go to our doctors and demand our little blue pills.
Additionally, any doctor will tell you the biggest over head expense they have is malpractice insurance in case they accidentally put 6 stitches in instead of 5 and the lady from Carmel sues them for emotional distress because her scar is too big. They also have to perform 4 times the number of tests to cover there rear in case somebody sues. Yes I do think gross negligence should be punished. A drunk doctor should lose his license and the people he damages should get justice. However, in this sue crazy country we are feeding injury lawyers more then we are helping people. Do you think Doc Baker in Walnut Grove had to worry about malpractice insurance? Just watch TV any night and you will see the lawyers advertising for people who have had "complications" from any number of drugs and sometimes they even combine 5 or 6 drugs into the same commercial.
Do you want healthcare reform? Then lets stop blaming insurance and trying to get the Government involved in providing it and instead lets attack the areas that actual cost money.
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Hi Kirby, Agree on attacking the problem with cost, and we do have great healthcare...for those with access. You are a good friend, and this is a topic that not only politicians, but the American Public is divided on, and has been for years. The 30-40 million people without healthcare would disagree about the quality of care in our country...because of access.
ReplyDeleteHere is where I respectfully disagree. We are the only developed nation to not have some form of nationalized care unless high cost/no prevention emergency room care is considered access? Have we reached this level of national pride that is so high that we think every other developed nation is wrong?
Additionally, I have looked back at the debates over Medicare before it was in place, and the arguments were the exact same? I have not heard one politician approach doing away with medicare. No doubt it has needed and continues to need changes, but no one has suggested doing away with Medicare.
For many, the boundary is cost...and healthcare (or lack of) should never be something that bankrupts anyone. Now, your point on cost would help make this more affordable for some of those 30-40 million, but access for everyone is part of helping drive this down.
Additionally, the preexisting condition thing is keeping many away. I have a self employed friend that cannot get coverage b/c they went in to meet with a fertility specialist only for a consult. Then good old mother nature worked so they didn't access any outside assistance, so now they have no access? I think all will agree that this is absurd.
So, how can this be approached with bi-partisan support. Congress is so divided, and repub's really do want this to be Obama's Waterloo...with one honest enough to even say it. To be fair, Democrat's play the same game when roles were reversed. I don't know if there is a bi-partisan solution on this one, as toxic as congress has become. If the Republican leadership would acknowledge that they too would like to make sure everyone has coverage, we should all insist both sides cooperate. The divide here, is they do not share this goal.
My final argument is that we are paying for this at an alarmingly increasing rate now. This is too often ignored. Those that "have", are paying for those that "have not" in increasing premiums, hospital expenses, prescription payments, because in the end, everyone adjusts the rates to make up for those that cannot pay. All this in an inefficient, higher cost with the "have nots" only access through the emergency room, non-prevention health care system with fewer and fewer sharing the higher cost.
In addition, the democrat party's #1 goal is that everyone has access to insurance. If the Republican party would be willing to agree that everyone should have health insurance in this country, there would be a starting point for compromise. The crossing state-lines and tort reform solution does not get to the core of the problem of providing access for all American's.
Now, if only our politicians could address this together, as differing views on the same team. You and I can disagree, and likely will not change each others mind, but we remain friends. Let's at least agree to ask our brothers in sisters in congress to approach their differences the same. Blessings to you. I enjoy your blog. Rob