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House's healthcare bill benefits insurance companies the most
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Despite its trumpeting as significant health care reform by its supporters, the passage of HR 3962 Saturday (220-215) will benefit most the already profit-bloated insurance companies.
Rather than provide a robust public option, HR 3962 mandates that citizens purchase private insurance under threat of penalty.
Modest reform on preventing insurance companies from denying coverage based on 'pre-existing conditions,' as well as a miniscule 'public option,' will do little to curtail the spiraling cost of health care. Removing insurance companies from the equation would remove the outrageous 'administration' and marketing costs, and provide quality care to all Americans.
But removing insurance companies from the equation has been outside of the realm of debate for some time now, despite the support single payer receives from both doctors and the American people.
Single payer is the only option that guarantees both universal coverage and excellent medical care. Though there is some confusion as to the efficacy of universal health care, a cursory examination of key health indicators in the United States shows that our current system, the most expensive in the world, lags behind those with superior health care systems in life expectancy and infant mortality, among others.
The World Health Organization ranks the United States' healthcare system as 37th in the world.
Americans have less access to doctors, pay more money, and receive worse care. And now, we are expected to give more of our money to the same crooked 'insurance' companies whose profit-over-people principles guarantee that sick people will be denied care and will die.
A great deal more money, in fact, will be given to the predatory insurance companies.
This measure is expected to provide an additional $70 billion dollars in annual revenue, according to a post on Commondreams.org by Representative Dennis Kucinich.
Summarizing the passage of the bill, Kucinich states succintly:
Notwithstanding the fate of HR3962, America will someday come to recognize the broad social and economic benefits of a not-for-profit, single-payer healthcare system, which is good for the American people and America's businesses, with of course the notable exceptions being insurance and pharmaceuticals."
Given that 45,000 deaths annually are attributed to lack of health insurance in this country, we should all hope that 'someday' will arrive soon.
Feel free to comment and discuss below.
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