What I think...

This is what the blog is all about really, my personal view of the world.

In brief (hopefully):

Health Care: aka "Obamacare" Doing something is better than doing nothing. It is pretty easy to be angry about a huge change like this if you already have coverage, but what about those who don't? Do those people not matter? I think they do.

I think the insurance companies WILL find a way to make lots and lots of money in this new environment. I think we, the consumers, will pay and pay and pay but I still think we still have to start somewhere.

I'm not sure I think fining people who elect not to have health care coverage is a smart thing to do, but if they can't pay their emergency room bill at the door maybe they don't get coverage. (ooh my, really? Do I really think we would turn away a bleeding individual at the ER... no. it would never happen, but the American people shouldn't be held responsible for those folks.

In my opinion, the failure of any Republican legislator to vote for this bill (LAW) says more about their decision not to govern than to actively participate and represent their people. Our governmental processes make me crazy - I feel this way even when "my" party votes as a single unit rather than as individual, smart, thoughtful decision makers I hope I have elected.

This law will have to be refined over time and I'm sure that as the Insurance companies elevate their rates to unheard of levels it will.

Right now, the system we have doesn't work. Jason has a CPAP machine (over sharing, sorry honey) and gets supplies on an annual basis. The box comes and the bill comes - it is almost about $1000 that is billed to the insurance company. The insurance company pays their "pre-determined" amount and the supply company writes off the rest. They are happy with their 20% (which tells me the cost with lots of profit built in) is $200. The poor saps without health insurance would get and have to pay the full $1000. Or more likely, just suffer though with a dangerous breathing disorder because the testing, machine and supplies are to daunting.


Health care pricing is terribly confusing. I had a minor procedure done that was the equivalent of removing a large splinter and the bill was $1300. Holy crap, do you know how many pairs of sexy shoes a girl can get for $1300? Oh I know, it depends on the shoe.

We are headed to Denver for Easter and while I know my lovely father-in-law falls on the "this shizz is horrible" side of the fence I'm hopeful to be able to hear his objections in a clear way without going into a debate. I can't debate because I refuse to argue until I know all the facts. I can blog however, because while I welcome your opinions you won't be getting in my face with your alternative views of the world. It is nicely segregated. The likelihood of getting hot under the collar and still needing to be nice at dinner is pretty low.