Where's the Healthy Debate, CNN?
When CNN airs a YouTube debate for Republican presidential hopefuls you might think they'd select questions about the most important concerns Americans have. After all, the questions were taken from everyday citizens with a video camera and access to the web. But health care wasn't mentioned.
As prominent health care diarist nyceve put it at Daily Kos:
I waited.
And waited.
And kept waiting.
But a single question about the plight of 47 million uninsured Americans, or the rest of us who have to wage an unending true holy war against the for-profit insurance industry, just didn't make the CNN cut.
This omission is shocking when you consider that health care is one of the most important concerns Americans have. A recent Washington Post/ABC poll shows that health care is right up there with the occupation of Iraq and economic woes as a major issue in this presidential election.
It certainly begs the question of why CNN chose to overlook all 40 YouTube questions about health care. Is it perhaps because they know that the Republican candidates don't have much to say about health care? After all, every general Democratic debate has included discussions of candidate plans.
Even CNN was on the ball when the same moderator for both debates, Anderson Cooper, introduced health care at the earlier Democratic YouTube debate with "One of the most popular topics that we got questions on was health care. We, frankly, were overwhelmed with videos on health care, so we put several of them together."
Why did he let the Republicans off the hook?
Think about it. We are in the midst of a health care crisis and a major media source leaves us in the dark about the views of presidential hopefuls who, presumably, will represent all Americans in the White House if they are elected.
We need a real and open debate about health care. If CNN won't allow it, perhaps those of us in the blogosphere will have to do it for them. (You can find additional resources about health care at the Rockridge Institute.)
Try to imagine all of the presidential candidates, of both parties, responding to this hypothetical question:
I've always considered myself lucky to get health insurance through my employer. But when my wife was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, I found that having insurance isn't enough to guarantee that she gets the treatment she needs. From denying tests that her doctors feel are medically necessary to a refusing to pay for treatment they already approved, insurance companies are interfering with what doctors think is best.
What would you do to provide Americans with the security of knowing that we can get the health care we need? Not only the uninsured, but people like us who are not secure even when we have insurance?
A discussion is needed of profit-first health care where profits arise through the denial of care. Consideration of the difference between more health insurance and more health care must be openly explored.
We need a public forum that promotes deeper and more substantive discussions of the major issues in America. CNN revealed a symptom of illness last night. Faced with lagging ratings, CNN turned to YouTube to create the appearance of participation. But if CNN isn't willing to raise one of the most pressing concerns of Americans, people will turn even more to forums where they are taken seriously.
New! Health Care
I am vitally concerned about providing affordable health care to all of our citizens while at the same time find out why health care costs are so prohibitive. The only plan that I see that would provide immediate affordable coverage to all our citizens to cover everything is H.R. 676, The National Health Insurance Act now languishing in Committee in the U. S. House of Representatives. This bill would extend Medicare to Everyone to Cover Everything for a mere 4.7% increase in your Social Security tax.
Enacting H.R. 676 into law would be just the first step toward addressing our ever burgeoning health care crisis. The next step is to find out why health care costs are so high and what can be done to reduce them. Failure to address this problem will result in premiums for whatever insurance you have to continue to incease, even including the premiums you pay for Medicare.
I have Medicare with a supplemental policy that covers everything except dental, eye care or long term benefits. I am really pleased with it but wonder if I can continue to pay the ever increasing premiums on it which go up every year. When I started on Medicare I paid $60.00 a month for Part B, $99.00 for the supplemental policy and $26.00 for the new Drug Program. Next year I will be paying $96.00 for Part B, $142.50 for the supplemental policy and $33.00 for the Drug Program. In fact I am alarmed that you not only pay into Social Security while you work and I am still working at 72 years of age but then have to pay additional premiums to get it.
I was so concerned about this that I have written the Commissioner of Social Security a letter about it demanding to know why we have to pay twice. I have not as yet received a response.
I am also alarmed to note when comparing what Insurace Companies and Medicare pay on the actual hospital and doctor bills to find out they only in most cases pay 50% or less of what the hospital and doctors charge. Why is this I am forced to ask? How can doctors and hospitals afford to accept only half payments or less and still make money as most people have insurance or could not pay the bills outright themselves. I would guess that 80% of the payments received by doctors or hospitals come from those who are covered by insurance.
The worst scenario here is those who cannot afford anyform of health insurance. They are forced to pay full price or face no care at all. This is not right nor fair. Clearly this is DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THOSE WHO CANNOT AFFORD HEALTH INSURANCE.
Clearly we cannot continue to allow 18,000 Americans to die because they cannot afford health insurance. Those who claim to be pro-life must face up to this fact and do something about it. These lives count as much before God as the poor unborn babies who are aborted.
To conclude my comments, I say get H.R. 676 passed as a very necessary bandaid to apply to the hemmorage and then take action to bring health care costs down dramatically so premiums can remain affordable. Failure to address these two issues will result in an ongoing crisis that will become catastrophic and very deadly for America.