Like many Americans, I was hoping that with the new year our country would be able to join the ranks of those who had comprehensive health care reform that would benefit the multitude of Americans who did not have reliable health care, or no health care at all. Unfortunately, it appears that we have only been suckered yet again.
The GOP, under Bush, appeared to be selling out for the sake of “big business” and corporate greed. Democrats now seem to be doing the same. Ironic that Republicans across this country are complaining over the very same things that they did to us for more than eight years, but it does not make it any easier to swallow.
In order to get the health care reform passed, the Democrat majority has bent over the couch for a small few that are more than willing to hold the taxpayers hostage for personal interest.
Concessions were made that reduce the effectiveness and viability of the reform being sought for health care in America and that causes all of us to pay for the whims of a few. A handful of these concessions benefit more than a select group of people but at least one of these Senators needs to be reminded of what his obligations are, not only to Nebraska but to the rest of us as well.
Sen. Lindsey Graham ® has stated “‘Change you can believe in,’ after this health care bill debacle, has now becoming an empty slogan. And it’s really been replaced by seedy Chicago politics, when you think about it, backroom deals that amount to bribes” according to an article on CNN. Of course, he has forgotten that his behavior during the Bush years was not much better, if at all. Graham claims the bill to be unconstitutional and raises the possibility of bringing it to the front burner as such.
Unlike Bernie Sanders, who got concessions of $10 billion for his “pet project” (community health centers nationwide) that would benefit people throughout America, Sen. Nelson from Nebraska insisted on more corporate welfare for at least two insurance giants and that the taxpayers of America pick up the full cost of Nebraska’s Medicaid expense for his state.
Every taxpaying citizen of the United States of America will be required to help pay for everything that is charged to Nebraska’s Medicaid system. I don’t know about you but I do not want to pay for state healthcare for someone in Nebraska. It’s not acceptable that those of us who pay taxes and can not afford health care see our tax dollars paying for what we can not afford for ourselves. If our tax dollars were helping to pay a little for everyone across the nation, that could be reconciled with, but when it only accounts for one (1) state…what about the other 49 states?
Mr. Nelson does not seem to mind that it does look like he has been bought and paid for. The top five (5) industries that contribute to Mr. Nelson’s campaign are;
Lawyers/Law Firms,
INSURANCE,
Securities/Investment,
LOBBYISTS,
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS.
There seems to be a severe pattern here and apparently Nelson doesn’t see the writing on the wall…or maybe he can’t read.
According to various reports Nelson insisted on letting Mutual of Omaha and Blue Cross/Blue Shield off the hook for taxes and other obligations that every other insurance company has to be responsible for. There is a good article on the subject on kmtv.com.
Mutual of Omaha has been involved in their fair share of impropriety. They settled with the State of Connecticut over bribery, illegal cancellation of policies, unfair limits on long term care for the disabled, class action suits for denial of claims and a boatload of other legal incidents. Mutual of Omaha has, by appearance, put profit margin ahead of policyholders’ need so why is Nelson being allowed to hold health care reform hostage to pad their bottom line even more?
Both Mutual of Omaha and Blue Cross/Blue Shield have been accused of discrimination.
Blue Cross/Blue Shield has also done business unbefitting an American giant. The denial of ER coverage for a woman who ended up having a miscarriage was bad enough but BC/BS denied the claim by calling the woman’s miscarriage an elective abortion. That borders on sadism.
BC/BS has also apparently had a tendency to host elaborate spending of their own by using the premium payments from policy holders to foot the bill. If you are going to spend someone’s premium for an elaborate lifestyle, you should send them a “thank you” gift or at least an invitation to the party they are paying for.
BC/BS has also been working behind the scenes to fall in with the likes of Lindsey Graham by using the “unconstitutional” card on the health care reform bill. I have to wonder if they will continue down that road now that Nelson has secured them a “corporate welfare” ride.
American insurers spent billions each year on lobbyists to secure their goals from Congress and the Senate. The Heath Care Insurance Index (as of today) shows that the Insurance companies of America are benefiting like bandits over the issues of health care reform. Profit margins have soared for the insurance industry since the “public Option” and “Health Care Exchange” ideas were defeated because it was widely known that either option would drive prices down.
The corporate machine is free and clear to make huge profits now that measures to lower consumer cost have been thrown out. The NYSE Healthcare Index is a testament to bigger profits. Insurance companies are playing both sides of the fence right now for the simple reason that with health care reform comes an end to their practice of huge profit for substandard services. It is more beneficial for the insurance industries to block any real reform on health care because they would not be able to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, it would be quite a bit more difficult to deny coverage for fabricated reasons or technicalities and insurers could not drop coverage at a whim.
Many people believe in capitalism to the point that nothing else will work for us. Capitalism was the primary cause of the Great Depression in the late 20’s and capitalism will not get us out of the mess we are in now because that’s how we got here this time.
It took a bit of deficit spending last time and that’s what we are going to have to do now. Spending for the personal gain of a handful of Wall Street Elites isn’t the answer either. The taxpayers bailed out the banks to keep us from another depression and they spent the majority of it to “acquire” more capital and get richer (not to mention exorbitant bonuses and “retention” pay). They now are trying to pay everything back really fast so they do not have to abide by the regulations that go with the loans. It does not seem to bother them in the least that the purpose of the loans was not only to give them capital but that they use some of that capital to make loans for small businesses and the rest of us.
Now the insurance industry is making a killing because of Nelson from Nebraska and the GOP that is determined to leave us hanging for the sake of the wealthy in America. Taxation without representation…sound familiar?
It does not matter what party you are registered as. What matters is that our representatives represent us all and not just the wealthy and corporate.
I voted for the best choice for my country. I did not vote for ideology, corporate welfare, trickle down economics or forced poverty for the majority. It is past time for our government to step up and leave the self interest, special interest and party affiliation at the door.
America is waiting…
