I was just reading a story in the New York Times how Republican lawmakers are universally against Barack Obama’s plans for a government-run health insurance.
Personally, I find this laughable.
I am a self-employed journalist with a wife and two kids. The absolute best deal I was able to find for health coverage came via the Freelancers Union, to which I pay approximately $1,200 per month. My expensive coverage includes a $30 co-pay to a general phsyician and a $50 co-pay to any specialists. It goes without saying that I have a very high deductible; that prescriptions cost an arm and a leg (I know … I know—cliche); that you never know who’s going to accept your insurance and who won’t.
Hence, my message to the Republicans: Go f^%$ yourselves.
Sorry for the crassness, but I mean it. I really mean it. I am so sick and tired of hearing Republicans compare Obama’s plan to socialism; of lines like, “If the government runs health insurance, it’ll ruin … everything!!!!!”
First off, the amount of money the health insurers are donating to politicians—especially the Republicans—is astronomical. The stance isn’t one of principle, but of finances. Republicans are backing key donors, period. Second, American senators and congressmen receive fantastic health benefits. Of course they think the current system is great—for them, it is.
For Jeff Pearlman and millions of other Americans, however, it’s a nightmare. I know people who simply can’t afford health care; who go without and, when disaster strikes, show up at the hospital and give a fake name. Yes, it’s dishonest and wrong and unethical. But do ethics count when health insurers have priced many of us out of the one thing we need most—medical stability? No.
