Healthcare, healthcare, who cares?

Seems the healthcare industry cares A LOT! To the tune of $263 million (that is a quarter of a billion folks) bucks this year. Between the cost of them going to congress, greasing congress, and info commercials.

Don’t worry though, fear factoring is in full force. Recent TV ad targeting seniors and playing on their concerns and fears is making its impact. Seems fear mongering among seniors is still one of the best forms of lobbying.

Rep. Jim Cooper D-Tennessee likens it all to a football game saying, “It is sort of a Super Bowl of lobbying for health care reform.” Going on to say that the lobbyist are winning “so far, but the game’s not over yet.” Glad my health and the care I need still has a chance in the big game.

PricewatherhouseCooper released a study saying basically that if healthcare as proposed, would increase premiums upwards of $4000 for a family. Course this has people freaking out and running scared. Hold the phone Gracie, they also admit they did not take into account some of the subsidies that are proposed. Including but not limited to low-income families. Even they said that these provisions would offset this $4000 per family impact. In other words, we ran a study, and didn’t take everything into account so this huge number we are using to scare you is not real. Now, the Republicans are running up and down the halls of the Capital buildings screaming, “the sky is falling, and PricewaterhouseCooper says so.” How stupid do these people think we are? Pretty stupid it seems, and historically we are proving them right.

Deals are being made right and left, industries that we think stand for one thing are making and benefitting from the deals at the cost of? Everyone from coal miners, clinical labs, and hospitals are the special interest groups winning exemptions from taxes and other cost-cutting measures from the plan that the Senate Finance committee has come up with. Confused? Good, your suppose to be, that is how all of this works.

The United States of America, this great land and society, ranks 37th in the world with its Healthcare system. Which gives us a world ranking of 42nd in life expectancy.

So, what is important? Maybe 50 million Americans without healthcare is acceptable. It is only 18 thousand people that die every year because of complications of being uninsured. I am one of those 18 thousand.