Steven Allen Adams – Conversations with Myself

The Cato Institute broke down the numbers being used to back up the need for universal health care. Before shooting them down, know that that Cato Institute is libertarian, which means they support drug legalization. Think on that lefties before shooting down their analysis: attacking Cato is attacking legal marijuana.

Now on with the show:

“For the record, according to the latest figures from the Census Bureau, 45.6 million Americans currently lack health insurance. This is actually down slightly from the 47 million that were uninsured in 2006. However, those numbers don’t tell the whole story.For example, roughly one quarter of those counted as uninsured — 12 million people — are eligible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), but haven’t enrolled. This includes 64 percent of all uninsured children, and 29 percent of parents with children. Since these people would be enrolled in those programs automatically if they went to the hospital for care, calling them uninsured is really a smokescreen.

Another 10 million uninsured “Americans” are, at least technically, not Americans. Approximately 5.6 million are illegal immigrants, and another 4.4 million are legal immigrants but not citizens.

The reality is that most people without health insurance are uninsured for a relatively short period of time.

Nor are the uninsured necessarily poor. A new study by June O’Neill, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, found that 43 percent of the uninsured have incomes higher than 250 percent of the poverty level ($55,125 for a family of four). And slightly more than a third have incomes in excess of $66,000. A second study, by Mark Pauly of the University of Pennsylvania and Kate Bundorf of Stanford, concluded that nearly three-quarters of the uninsured could afford coverage but chose not to purchase it.

And most of the uninsured are young and in good health. According to the CBO, roughly 60 percent are under the age of 35, and fully 86 percent report that they are in good or excellent health.” Who Are the Uninsured? | Michael D. Tanner | Cato Institute: Commentary

I’m getting grief from my liberal friends for being unsupportive of Pres. Barack Obama’s ideas for health care reform. One friend told me to f**k myself. Another friend, more reasonably said this:

“…what I would like…is to be able to afford to go to the hospital. And, I’m not some bum on welfare either. I work full-time and I have since I was 15 years old.

Steve, what exactly do you propose to do without gov’t intervention? Trust Big Medicine to straighten up out of compassion for their fellow man? It hasnt happened yet, and I dont think its coming anytime soon. Medicare has its problems, but I sure as hell wouldnt turn it down if it were extended as an option to the general non-65 y.o. population. Its better than the no insurance that I have now.“

Another friend asked of me this:”

“Wait, do you even Have health insurance, Steve?“

You know, I haven’t yet figured out why everyone in the U.S. must have insurance.

If you think I don’t have any sympathy, I do. But I grew up poor, or poor by American standards. We were on welfare for part of my youth, eating macaroni and cheese and various forms of cheap chicken. I couldn’t do Cub Scouts because Dad couldn’t afford it. Mom was unable to work, and while she is on SSI now, she wasn’t while my parents were together. Dad never made more than $6.50 as a small town police dispatcher…yet we had health insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield.

I’ve never made much money on my own. I worked from 2003 to 2005 as a salesman for Show Carnival starting at minimum wage, giving plasma for extra dollars. But I had health insurance that was fairly reasonably priced. From 2005 to 2006 I worked for Applebee’s as a host, making $4 an hour plus tipshare. But I had access to health insurance, choosing not to get it. I never had health insurance during my time in Parkersburg as a journalist, but when I worked for the Tyler Star News from Oct. 2008 to May 2009, I had health insurance.

I always hear how expensive it is, yet I’ve had insurance for several jobs. I know it’s more expensive once you have a family, but it’s achievable.

Now I am no cheerleader for insurance companies. I’ll be frank, I don’t trust insurance companies to have sole say in health care reform…ditto for the government…ditto for doctors…and ditto for regular people. We need to find a way to balance all the needs of these four groups, not simply throw control to one entity or another.

Until we reach a consensus, the health care issue is going to keep tearing us apart. But it’s disingenuous to push a public option, claiming to want insurance companies to compete, when you know businesses and industries will drop their insurance plans and tell their employees to get the government insurance. When that happens “rationing” will happen whether it’s intentional or not.

Why can’t health insurance be like car insurance? You can compare rates with companies like Progressive car insurance; why are we not doing this with health care.

There are solutions out there other than the government picking up the tab. Trust me, you”ll thank us when you understand how much you were going to pay for that health care once employers gave up on private insurance.

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