Wednesday, 22 January, 2003

Okay, five minutes later I've already gotten a flame. No, I didn't know they were so expensive. Sue me. Part of the philosophy of weblogs is that we don't mind sharing epiphanies, even if it makes us look stupid, to some. So, why was I so clueless? Because I've had good health insurance and good health, no reason to learn, or be concerned. It's easy to look the other way when it's someone else's problem. I'm just human, no claims of sainthood here. [Scripting News] "ghr" >> the speaker above is Dave Wiener, in his previous post he had expressed some shock at the size of a particular managed care co-payment. And then incredulity when the health practioner informs him what the cost would be without health insurance. He's got his finger on the central issue of the whole health care debate its not clear he realizes how much. Several years ago someone asked Newt Gingrich how much he payed for health care. He didn't know - he had people who took care of little details like that. Certaintly the implication is it wasn't enough in a relative sense to bother the big man about. He had Hillary that (rhymes with witch) and her "healthcare reform" to fight. To the rich and higher reaches of the middle class even high co-payments are just a fumble in the pocket for small change. They don't find themselves drawing their finger down the list of what procedures are covere, flipping the booklet over to the dental plan page, sweating the details of prescriptions co-payments. They disdain the idea of universal comprehensive coverage and push for ever more varieties of privatised insurance plans ever dividing the pool of participants and resources of managed care plans. Also enabling the medical industry to stave off any genuine realignment of its approach to health care in America, any real comittment to preventive health care. It is satisfactory to this nation's elites that this country continue to provide the best medical care that money can buy. 8:24:45 AM    comment [];

© Copyright 2003 Paul Bushmiller. Last update: 2/07/03; 18:39:55.