If AARP is representing all retirees, why is it that executive ceo john rother does not surport HR1322 (Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act) ???    can someone tell me why ?

     You keep saying there has to be a better solution than single payer or the systems suggested in Congress.

     Please give us some idea of what it is - even an outline would be fine.  But give us something to show that you have an idea other than a political ideology that has never worked for healthcare.

      Please, Please, Please.  Give us something!

TO kjrlkler;

     I'm sorry if I asked questions that you are incapable of answering.  I've been begging you to respond tp my questions or comments and you are simply ignoring my assertions.  Based on that I assume that you can't and all you have is an political ideology that can't be supported by your intellect.

     I read the material here and decided not to comment - some posts were so stupid that there was no need to comment and others were right on and didn't need my comments.    

     I'll look forward to any real responses from you, but your personal attack on me was not deserved.  But rest assured I will be prepared for you in the future.

Spreading Myths about Healthcare Myths (Beware of Insurance Industry Propaganda)

The web site Get Health Reform Right (billed as a grassroots campaign) is funded and directed by Blue Cross Blue Shield. The site lists what it calls healthcare myths but presents cherry picked facts in attempt to defeat a public plan. Now why do you think BCBS would oppose a public plan? Seven of the ten organizations listed on the Who We Are page of the web site are associated with the health insurance industry and the other three have ties to the industry. They say they are concerned that federal legislation that would create new government bureaucracies that would unravel the workplace healthcare system where more than 160 million people get their coverage.

They assert that a public plan would cause a massive shift to the public plan, cause private insurance premiums to skyrocket, result in the less choice of providers, and cause massive delays in access to care. They provide no rational for their assertions other than using the extreme case from the Lewin report, a case base on changes that are not proposed in any legislation.

They assert that employer based coverage has not declined since 1999 even though reliable sources report that it declined by 4.5% between 2000 and 2006.

They manufacture a straw man myth that employees pay more for coverage than the employer does and then show it is not true. They do not mention that subside provided by the employer is offset by lower wages.

They manufacture other straw man myths and then appear to debunk them.

They repeat many of the bug-a-BOOs lobbyists have been using to scare the public.
 

22,000 people in the US die needlessly each year because their lack of health insurance causes delay in treatment of serious conditions and prevents them from getting adequate care.

For those who oppose universal care, how would you propose we prevent these deaths or do you feel that it is acceptable to let this many people die needlessly each year, causing great emotional pain for their family and friends?

Follow this link to learn about the budget associated with a public plan. http://www.aarp.org/community/groups/displayTopic.bt?pageNum=1&groupId=1162&topicId=2709292

     Have you read some of the mean selfish trash these people have written?  Make me ashamed of being the same species.

     So it is only the working poor that are the problem.  Get them out of ER's and into maybe a police station, where they could be searched for any hidden cash before any treatment is given.  We need to put liens on their cars and houses also. 

     That is about as mean as I have heard - maybe AARP likes hearing this filth, but I sure don't

     You don't understand who pays for healthcare, do you.  From: www.neactuary.com

Healthcare Myth - Who Pays

A very subtle myth that many of us buy into is that someone else is paying for our healthcare. My healthcare is provided by my union, by my employer, by the military, or by Medicare. That is all false. We pay for every dime of the over $2 trillion dollar healthcare bill paid each year.

    * we pay our co-pays and deductibles
    * we pay our share of the premium on our employers plan
    * we pay the Medicare FICA tax
    * we pay the Part B and Part D premiums (when covered by Medicare)
    * we pay taxes that cover local, state and federal share of their employee's premiums
    * we pay taxes that cover the cost of healthcare for the military and their families and for veterans healthcare
    * we pay taxes to cover Medicaid cost and SCHIP costs to cover the poor
    * we pay taxes to cover the government's share of Medicare A, B, C and D
    * we pay the private employer's share of their health insurance in the price of everything we buy (this includes the cost for the healthcare of employees at every stage of a products production)
    * included in all of the above is the cost to treat the uninsured in emergency rooms and any subsequent treatment

Every dime of healthcare costs comes out of the public's pocket. Employers, unions and governments don't pay one dime - it all comes from you and me.

Let's also look at taxes and premiums as we ask the question about who pays for healthcare:

    * Income taxes (federal and most states) and property taxes are very progressive (high paid pay more of their income)
    * FICA taxes and premiums, co-pays and deductibles and sales taxes tend to be very regressive (low paid pay more of their income)
    * Commodity prices (which fund employers share of healthcare costs also tend to be regressive

It would appear that a good portion of our healthcare costs are funded by regressive mechanisms. Whether that is fair or not is a matter of opinion and a matter that deserves discussion.

So when we learn that in the U.S. the per capita cost of healthcare was $6,102 and the cost in France (considered the best healthcare system in the world) was $3,159, we must understand the extra healthcare cost of $2,943 that feeds our bloated healthcare system all comes out of our pockets in one form of payment or another.

     You notice we are already paying for a lot of other folks healthcare.  Are you proposing that all healthcare in this country be ended and then your plan begun.  I suspect everyone was being kind in not responding to this document