in defense of the "average american"
disclaimer.
when it comes to healthcare, i am not the average american. i work for a large company with reserves in the Bs, that has huge incentive to provide highly competitive benefits. that incentive is the competition. they don't want me to go there for a matter of a few hundred dollars. so i have a very high degree of certainty that should a public option for healthcare pass, that will save my company money (costs less to contribute to this than to provide insurance through aetna), they won't do it. not because they love me so much. not because they care about me so much. mainly because unless ALL tech companies did this, there would be a mass exodus to the competition.
so my disclaimer it thus. should heathcare legislation pass, unless i mess up the good thing i have going at work, i'll still be able to see my harvard trained doctors and pay them whatever they want with my current insurance. most people have never been on public medical assistance, so they have never heard, "we don't accept medical coupons". but ask the poor. i've been the poor. it happens. so in a mixed system, private and public like we already have, there will be rationing, just not for the rich. those that have, will just probably pay more for priority service. don't believe me? think about "first class seating" on an airline. and actually, it already happens. if you don't believe me, you are either not rich, or going to the wrong providers. imagine a waiting room full of yuppies. no teenage mothers. no mediCal. they exist. i'm not telling you where. they would revoke my membership. just kidding. or am i?
so anyhow, i'm not that worried about if i will be able to see the doctor because i'm willing and able to pay in insurance, cash, gold, silver, diamonds, gucci bags or california IOUs. what u want. i got u... i'm arguing now for those that work for small business. because you my friends, will be fucked. i don't normally really cuss on my blog. but i'm making a point, so i decided not to bleep it.
so, again i'm not saying i want anyone to go without insurance. quite the opposite. i'm just saying, lets get reform right. in a fiscally sound way. no wishful thinking. no fanciful imagining that costs will disappear because doctors will all of a sudden get more efficient. if there were money to be made that way, they would have done it to accomodate more PAYING customers. can i get an amen bain and co? or government offices will get more efficient. what's this? we can't audit the fed? no fancy consultants hired to squash the fraud in all public assistance programs. the government has no interest in becoming more efficient. it wins no votes. those against programs normally hate them no matter how efficient. those that love them, again love them no matter how inefficient. votes are won and lost on ideals, not results.
anyhow, back to story. so we've heard the sob stories of the poor person that was bankrupted because they got cancer. 1:1,000,000. so let's now talk about 1:100. the server at your restaurant.
so, lets say you work in a restaurant. i've worked in one. wages are not the cash cow there. it's tips. many times your paycheck ends up being the size of a day or two's worth of tips, mainly because if you work a dinner shift, you can get clocked out after the rush is over. so it's not always a 40hr week. anyhow. so the point is, we know restaurants have high revenue, but what is not generally known is that they have very slim profit margins (or is it? it might be general knowledge). so imagine if now, labor overhead doubled. which is a reasonable assumption since wages are low. the margins cannot absorb this new expense, so your favorite restaurant is going to pass that cost along to you or go out of business. some will try to pass the cost along and then go out of business. that means now Mr. 1:100 is both without a job, and without insurance.
or take the small business that already provides health insurance, but isn't sitting on billions. the business who's profit margins are slim. the business who is on the verge. judging by all of the vacancy signs in retail buildings, this is more than a few. anyhow. so now they can reduce costs by contributing to the government plan instead of bearing the full cost. this is preferable to bankruptcy. So there goes your ability to keep your current insurance. now mr 1:100 has lost his current insurance.
i'm sure i'll keep mine, or my husband will keep his. so i'm not lobbying for me. this is where i use my blog because i give a shit about you. but not in the way you think. i give a shit about transparency. i just want you to get what you think you're voting for. in this case, call me a skeptic, but the numbers don't lead me to believe that you will. i think you will get less. and then be taxed for it. and told to just wait, while the kinks are worked out of the system. and you not dying in the meanwhile is touted as proof of success.
that is all. vote wisely my friends.
when it comes to healthcare, i am not the average american. i work for a large company with reserves in the Bs, that has huge incentive to provide highly competitive benefits. that incentive is the competition. they don't want me to go there for a matter of a few hundred dollars. so i have a very high degree of certainty that should a public option for healthcare pass, that will save my company money (costs less to contribute to this than to provide insurance through aetna), they won't do it. not because they love me so much. not because they care about me so much. mainly because unless ALL tech companies did this, there would be a mass exodus to the competition.
so my disclaimer it thus. should heathcare legislation pass, unless i mess up the good thing i have going at work, i'll still be able to see my harvard trained doctors and pay them whatever they want with my current insurance. most people have never been on public medical assistance, so they have never heard, "we don't accept medical coupons". but ask the poor. i've been the poor. it happens. so in a mixed system, private and public like we already have, there will be rationing, just not for the rich. those that have, will just probably pay more for priority service. don't believe me? think about "first class seating" on an airline. and actually, it already happens. if you don't believe me, you are either not rich, or going to the wrong providers. imagine a waiting room full of yuppies. no teenage mothers. no mediCal. they exist. i'm not telling you where. they would revoke my membership. just kidding. or am i?
so anyhow, i'm not that worried about if i will be able to see the doctor because i'm willing and able to pay in insurance, cash, gold, silver, diamonds, gucci bags or california IOUs. what u want. i got u... i'm arguing now for those that work for small business. because you my friends, will be fucked. i don't normally really cuss on my blog. but i'm making a point, so i decided not to bleep it.
so, again i'm not saying i want anyone to go without insurance. quite the opposite. i'm just saying, lets get reform right. in a fiscally sound way. no wishful thinking. no fanciful imagining that costs will disappear because doctors will all of a sudden get more efficient. if there were money to be made that way, they would have done it to accomodate more PAYING customers. can i get an amen bain and co? or government offices will get more efficient. what's this? we can't audit the fed? no fancy consultants hired to squash the fraud in all public assistance programs. the government has no interest in becoming more efficient. it wins no votes. those against programs normally hate them no matter how efficient. those that love them, again love them no matter how inefficient. votes are won and lost on ideals, not results.
anyhow, back to story. so we've heard the sob stories of the poor person that was bankrupted because they got cancer. 1:1,000,000. so let's now talk about 1:100. the server at your restaurant.
so, lets say you work in a restaurant. i've worked in one. wages are not the cash cow there. it's tips. many times your paycheck ends up being the size of a day or two's worth of tips, mainly because if you work a dinner shift, you can get clocked out after the rush is over. so it's not always a 40hr week. anyhow. so the point is, we know restaurants have high revenue, but what is not generally known is that they have very slim profit margins (or is it? it might be general knowledge). so imagine if now, labor overhead doubled. which is a reasonable assumption since wages are low. the margins cannot absorb this new expense, so your favorite restaurant is going to pass that cost along to you or go out of business. some will try to pass the cost along and then go out of business. that means now Mr. 1:100 is both without a job, and without insurance.
or take the small business that already provides health insurance, but isn't sitting on billions. the business who's profit margins are slim. the business who is on the verge. judging by all of the vacancy signs in retail buildings, this is more than a few. anyhow. so now they can reduce costs by contributing to the government plan instead of bearing the full cost. this is preferable to bankruptcy. So there goes your ability to keep your current insurance. now mr 1:100 has lost his current insurance.
i'm sure i'll keep mine, or my husband will keep his. so i'm not lobbying for me. this is where i use my blog because i give a shit about you. but not in the way you think. i give a shit about transparency. i just want you to get what you think you're voting for. in this case, call me a skeptic, but the numbers don't lead me to believe that you will. i think you will get less. and then be taxed for it. and told to just wait, while the kinks are worked out of the system. and you not dying in the meanwhile is touted as proof of success.
that is all. vote wisely my friends.
posted by techdiva at
4:30 AM
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