Healthcare Reform Improves Education

The title of this is by my confusion of Nancy Pelosi's acceptance speech of her Grammy, Oscar, and Pine Wood Derby Blue Ribbon. She had a little slip in there where she mentioned education will improve with the passing of healthcare reform. If anyone has any insight, please let me know.

Healthcare will change. I am not sure how or when, but it will. All of what I heard prior to the past year was people wanted healthcare reform. I agreed. I wanted Tort Reform, I wanted people to take responsibility for their own health, self investment in health, and less corruption within the health system (including Medicare/Medicaid). I always thought that if people had the choice to buy a $100 per month cell phone bill not only for themselves, but for their children, they could handle the same payment for basic healthcare coverage. But I also have had strong belief that we all have the choice to not purchase healthcare insurance.

So, what happend. I am not going to tell you what is in the bill. If you want to know, read it or read the summaries. I will tell you what is not in it. Tort reform is not in the bill. Probably, likely, because the bill was written by lawyers. These same lawyers who profit from law suits made against MD's, Hospitals, and Insurance Companies. I find this interesting because in medicine, when we write scientific articles to be published in journals, they go through a very rigorous review process. The process includes, but is not limited to, reducing biases and conflicts of interest. Also, we know that great papers can still be written by people with these biases and conflicts of interest, so we have policy that we must disclose any of these on the paper itself. Why does the government not have these checks and balances and disclosures. I would love to see on the cover of the bill: "Disclosure: This manuscript contains information by policy makers that may have conflicts of interst. All authors are lawyers. All authors are wealthy. No authors plan to abide by the policies within this document." In all honesty, the list of biases and conflicts of interest are too long to list in a blog (it would take a 2,000 page bill that noone would read).

Things that annoy me:

1. The fact the Dems state there are 50 million uninsured. Here is the skinny:

It is broken down into two categories: Those who choose not to be insured, and those who do not.

1. Voluntarily Uninsured - ~45%

-Very large percentage (21%) have an income >$75,000

-about 1/2 of the uninsured b/t 18 and 64 fall into this group

-40% of this group is young and healthy, and feel the investment in healthcare insurance is unjustified (this last part is my opinion, but the percentage is true)

2. Involuntarily Uninsured - ~55%

-1/3 are highschool drop outs

-1/3 are immigrants

-remaining 1/3 are made of different groups

-26% of those uninsured have access to public healthcare but do not make use

-So, after reading the statistics, let's break down the numbers. We'll say 50 Billion uninsured (for ease of math). That means about 27 Billion are those who do not have insurance in the not by choice group. Seven Billion of these have access but do not use it. Therefore, 20 Billion people are uninsured because they have no money or access to healthcare. Of these, many are illegally residing in the United States, and others decided high school was not worth the effort (because it is so hard?).

-Despite this, the Dems sold to us that 50 Billion do not have health insurance without breaking it down. And now, we have more socialized healthcare because (in my opinion) people break the law (illegals), are lazy (high school drop outs and those who decide not to work and be a productive member of society), are making great money but are too cheap to spend it on their health, or are young and healthy and have a God complex and feel they will never get ill.

2. The fact the Dems think if they take the "Rich" man's money and give it to the "Poor" is going to make everyone equal.

3. Bullying Chicago-style politics that now run Washington. The majority of people feel one way, but Obama and his posse bribe, bully, and destroy those against their agenda and then cram it down our throats.

4. Thinking illegal immigrants have constitutional rights in the United States. (By the way, they already have access to free education and healthcare).

5. Obama and Co. jumping from one "emergency" to another. It is like a game of leapfrog from one lilly pad to another. What is next? I would guess the legalization of all immigrants and opening our borders to unlimited immigration. Whatever it may be, it will be ridiculous, against common sense and reason, and will undoubtedly pass because Obama is King.

6. This may be the most annoying to me. The fact that there is no reason in the White House. There is no valid thought process. No educated conversation. No reason or common sense whatsoever. These people running our country are supposed to represent us, not rule us. They are supposed to do as we say as a collective.

7. Global Warming and everything that is Green (which sucks because this used to be my favorite color).

8. A few people in government thinking they know what is best for me.

9. Involuntary charity - Government taking our tax dollars (mostly from the rich) and giving it to charitable organizations. If we want to donate money or time, we will. You do not have to force us to donate to organizations we do not morally support or agree with.