Comments on: Mr. Baucus, Mr. Conrad, care to respond to this grief-stricken family?

By: soopercali

soopercali — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:43:55 +0000

She lived in California. It was a day trip.

But how very kind of you to degrudge her a day with her child.

By: Bassface

Bassface — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:27:55 +0000

A friend of my mother-in-law had a baby,recently, born with ’spinal brifida’ and their insurance co will not cover the baby because the parents knew about the condition before the birth.
The wingnuts are in hysterics about ‘forced abortions’ when it sounds to me the insurance co is puinshing these parents for NOT getting one.

By: regulararmyfool

regulararmyfool — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:06:27 +0000

You got off easy. I spent 18 hours in a Phoenix AZ hospital with an operation for a burst appendix. When I called the hospital, the billing clerk told me all she had was the bill for the room - 39,000+. No doctor fee, no surgeon’s fee, no medications fee, just the damn room.

Of course, this modern hospital is run by an order of nuns, who, despite charges like this, are totally tax free.

The american medical system has become as obscene as the banks, the insurance companies, the Wall Street people and unfortunately the members of congress and the senate as well as a lying do-nothing president.

I almost choked when Obama told the clerics that this was a moral thing, while his administration is totally of, by and for the rich.

President he may be, but like the majority of the washington, dc gang definitely not a christian in the meaning of the new testament.

By: tabbiesrus

tabbiesrus — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:03:04 +0000

I really think that showing that ordinary citizens getting screwed by their insurance company will frame the argument very well. It will remind others that this may happen to them at some point in their life. Show the public that these people have paid and paid and paid into their healthcare system just to be denied or dropped from their carrier.

I also think we need to emphasize the fact that we don’t have healthcare, we have employee driven health insurance. If you lose your job, there goes your health insurance. I’m sure many out of work people have tried to get health insurance but it’s just about impossible to get it if you don’t have your employer to help with the premiums.

I do believe that framing the argument as a self interest one is a good idea, but I also believe that there are still Americans who do care for their neighbors. Maybe I’m naive, but I still want to believe that. At least if you show the public just how many people have been screwed over by their insurance companies, they will start to think maybe I’m next.

By: PlaneCrazy

PlaneCrazy — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:21:36 +0000

Has anyone done any kind of attempt to determine the cost to society and the economy from people like this who are lost productivity, if you don’t want to think about lost lives? What about the significant number of people who go bankrupt from medical bills? That’s a loss to the economy. There there’s the opportunity loss from people who might be willing to go out on their own and start their own business but are afraid because health care costs too much.

We can make all the impassioned and humane arguments we want, but we can also make economic arguments that support the compassionate inclinations we have. We keep hearing about the costs of the solution, what about the costs of the problem? I’ve not seen any study yet that addresses this in any detail.

Plane Crazy

By: flexoff

flexoff — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:17:50 +0000

I have on my cars rear window, “:WWJD”, in small letters,
and directly below, in giant letters,” Single Payer” ( and a small heart)

This is painted on my window with a window paint dabber.
I got the idea to spread a message everywhere I drive, (much like when
high school kids graduate, and decorate their cars), and want everyone
to know.

I have gotten a lot of smiles, and a lot of thumbs up, and a few folks have
asked me what that means….so I explain.

It is inhuman to allow our brothers and sisters to suffer and die for lack of
health care.
Are we not the wealthiest country? A christian nation?
Then we need to force our government to mandate a “Single Payer”, not for
profit health care system…the best in the world!
Yes, we can!

By: tygzbg1

tygzbg1 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:57:40 +0000

I think more people should be sharing their stories, at 2:30 pm I was watching this lady on MSNBC reading personal stories people left on her facebook page.

She seemed shocked that care was being rationed by the insurance companies.

Keep sharing stories, maybe send copies of your denial letters to your congressmen and senators, letting them know your conditions.

By: Bluetoe2

Bluetoe2 — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:55:38 +0000

Sambot, your’e and[Edited by Moderator. Please do not direct personal insults towards other commenters.].

By: Sambot

Sambot — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:04:07 +0000

So why is Obama proposing a 1000 page “solution” when we can just open Medicare?

By: beth meacham

beth meacham — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:54:54 +0000

We don’t need to start a massive new entitlement program to insure everyone. Simply open Medicare to every one who wants to buy into it. If you’re under 65 you can join, but you have to pay a premium. Everything we need for that is already in place, and the premiums would go some distance toward improving Medicare’s balance sheets.

And though it may seem cold, please consider that this poor woman potentially infected hundreds of people with H1N1 during the week she did not receive treatment for her fatal infection. When people get all ranty about not wanting to cover “illegals”, I want to ask them why they want people with untreated infectious diseases working around them. I would really rather that the grocery store bagger, or hotel maid, or food processing worker get treatment for the flu, or tuberculosis, or a staph infection, or pneumonia.

It is in the public interest for all infectious diseases to be treated, no matter who has them.