Something very bad, and something very ugly

Something very bad and something very ugly is happening in Washington. I will state it in its simplest terms: Without the "public option" of a government-run health insurer, the "health care reform" package that's moving peristaltically through the bowels of Congress is nothing but one giant massive slab of pork placed on the plates of the private health insurance companies, underwritten by the government, paid for by taxes on existing health insurance premiums, and mandating that uninsured people obtain health insurance, all of whom will be required to sign up with a private insurer or lose their income tax returns. And they're still calling it "health care reform"!

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not going conservative on this issue-- I'm considering moving to Canada! I believe we should have a single-payer system, the private insurers should be closed down today, and all health insurance premiums should be diverted to Medicare, or whatever they want to call our national single-payer system. I was even willing to settle for a step or two towards that.

But now look! Our hopelessly co-opted and prostituted legislators keep blinking in the face of industry pressure to drop this or that good idea, so now all they have left is a requirement that all Americans procure health insurance (or they'll have the premiums taken out of their tax returns), and a green light to tax the premiums of "gold-plated" insurance policies, which they'll send to the insurance companies to help pay to cover the rest of the crew. This is a spectacular screw up on the part of Congress! It's criminal!

So what does this get for us? Empty promises from big pharma and big insurance to save unspecified amounts of zillions of dollars over five years. Maybe the promise was gazillions, I don't quite remember. But I do remember they promised! Their effort will be voluntary, and remain unspecified, and unmeasurable.

What does it get for big pharma and the health insurance industry? Guaranteed 15 to 25 million new policyholders-- by law! More profits, more discretion to raise premiums, and drop peoples' coverage when they do get sick, more profits, more say over which medical care you can choose, more control over how care is administered. More profit. More discretion to refuse to cover treatments they consider too expensive. Oh, and more profit. The "death panels" are the boardrooms of Aetna and Anthem Blue-Cross, where they've always been. At least 10 million Americans will remain uninsured. We live in a country that will tax the poor, that will squeeze the poor for higher interest rates on credit, higher fees to enter or participate in the economy (if you want proof of that, go cash your next paycheck at a "check cashing" place in the seedy part of town), pay them less, incarcerate them more often, and not proffer them medical treatment. This is not reflective of American values, it's reflective of capitalist values. It's vile.

As cynical as I am, I am barely able to believe this outcome to all the energy that went into health care reform. Even with all the momentum for change the Obama landslide victory brought with it, especially in the desire for healthcare reform, Congress has been able to completely screw up every attempt to improve the situation and has instead handed the healthcare industry a huge, greasy, sizzling pork roast dripping with gravy. I'm disgusted! As should all Americans be.