Thursday, February 16, 2012

Is it time to end employer sponsored medical insurance?

It has been more than a little hard to follow the politics of the healthcare reform "debate" over the last few years. Sponsors of reform have been treated to accusations of death panels, the President has been portrayed as a Nazi and republicans have uncharacteristically complained that money saving measures were an attempt by President Obama to "gut Medicare". Now, the strangest twist of all may be the new proposal from Sen. Roy Blunt (R) Missouri. Simply stated, the "Blunt Amendment" would allow employers who provide insurance coverage and insurance companies themselves to refuse coverage of any health care service required under the new health care law if they feel it violates their “religious beliefs or moral convictions.”  Wow. 
Unfortunately, this phenomenon is uniquely American
Coverage of contraception services, for example, has been a settled issue in the majority of our states, supported by both democrats and republican legislators for almost 40 years. Other countries, even predominantly Roman Catholic nations such as Spain and Italy, also provide contraception coverage, and they do not have the conservatively devout trying to end the coverage! The difference is that our way of doing things revolves around the unique way that medical insurance is sponsored in the United States, and that is our reliance on employers to sponsor private insurance options for their employers. 
As I witness this debate, I can't escape the feeling that the only way to end this kind of messy politics may well be to end our dependance the private insurance system itself. We can't have it both ways. If private employers and plans can pick and choose conditions and services to pay for, then the rights of those covered to follow their own conscience and make their own choice is impossible. Diseases felt to be due to an unhealthy lifestyle, for example, might join contraception as prohibited items to cover. The result would be chaos and anything but a just and equitable situation.
It would be ironic in the extreme if the immoderate rhetoric used by the extreme right to oppose efforts to improve our system actually led us to a true national health insurance system such as Medicare for all. President Obama's efforts to compromise on this issue for the passage of the Affordable Care Act may still lead us to a government plan. 

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

buy valium valium dosage half life - valium high like

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol overnight delivery tramadol online no prescription - buy tramadol cash on delivery

Anonymous said...

tramadol 50 tramadol 50mg - generic tramadol

Anonymous said...

where to buy tramadol buy tramadol hcl - buy tramadol overnight

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online order tramadol overnight - cheap tramadolonline

Anonymous said...

http://www.achildsplace.org/banners/tramadolonline/#7488 order tramadol no prescription - cheap tramadol no prescription

Anonymous said...

buy misoprostol online ireland - buy cytotec in dubai - buy misoprostol in philippines

Anonymous said...

generic of cytotec - buy cytotec online malaysia - order misoprostol cytotec

Anonymous said...

cytotec 200 mg dosage - how to buy cytotec online - cytotec buy online

Anonymous said...

cytotec 200 mg pour avortement - buy generic misoprostol - buy misoprostol abortion pill

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol onlineno prescription cheap best buy tramadol - cheap tramadol online

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online cheap tramadol no prescription - buy tramadolultram

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol medication buy tramadol with paypal - buy tramadol online no prescription overnight

Anonymous said...

order ambien online with no prescription how to buy ambien legally online - where can you buy ambien online

Anonymous said...

buy discount ambien buy ambien online overnight - buy ambien pills online

Anonymous said...

Buy Priligy Online buy priligy pills - buy priligy australia

Anonymous said...

Incredible points. Sound arguments. Keep up the great spirit.


Also visit my web site: Anxiety panic Disorder

Anonymous said...

Paragraph writing is also a fun, if you be familiar with after that
you can write if not it is complex to write.


my web page anxiety Disorder help

Anonymous said...

At this time it appears like Drupal is the top blogging
platform available right now. (from what I've read) Is that what you are using on your blog?

Feel free to surf to my web blog - get rid of Acne

Anonymous said...

buy levitra super force without a prescription [url=http://prograf505.pen.io/#buy-Prograf-online-with-a-check-mastercard-at-KY-Rockport]cheap prograf saturday delivery[/url] buy suprax no rx needed levitra professional sales in canada buy prograf ups cod http://flavors.me/hhf2nccj/#cipro-floxacin buy levitra super force 10mg

Anonymous said...

I just couldn't go away your website prior to suggesting that I actually enjoyed the standard info an individual supply for your visitors? Is gonna be back continuously in order to inspect new posts

Feel free to visit my web blog: benefits of juicing

Anonymous said...

Hi there, You have done a fantastic job. I will definitely digg it and
personally suggest to my friends. I am sure
they'll be benefited from this site.

Review my blog: juicing for health (http://video.littleorangecat.com)