Vicious Rants of an Angry Yellow Man

Some thoughts on the healthcare bill that was passed yesterday. It is not a very good bill, it will not make a big difference in our healthcare system in the next few years, and it certainly will not cut the deficit as predicted by the nonpartisan Congressional budget office. It is, however, the only bill that can be passed given the polarity of the country. I have some ideas about what our health system should be like, but my ideas will NEVER be adopted. Whatever you feel about Obama and Pelosi, you have to say they are tough politicians. Of course Pelosi will never lose in her district of San Francisco where a Republican candidate will often finish 3rd in a 2 persons race. Obama, as I have said all along, will be re-elected if the economy turns around by 2012. So his neck is not out at this time. For the Congressional Democrats in conservative districts, this will not be a good time to celebrate. For the Republicans, they may win some seats and may even become the majority in the House. But I have no respect for them. They are only interested in obstruction and putting out false information to scare people.

Good things about the bill: Eliminate preexisting condition exclusions, ends lifetime limits on benefits, and bans recission. These are unfair practices by insurance companies. Of course the insurance companies will charge more because now it is harder to deny coverage on people who are sick. Which brings to one of the bad point of the bill: it does not bring down cost. If my premium has gone by 70% in the past 3 years even though I have not been sick, can you imagine what the cost will be for someone with a pre-existing condition? These folks will still have to buy from private insurance companies who will claim that by taking on all comers they will have to increase the premium. Without a public option to compete with the private companies, how will the cost go down?

One of the things I find laughable is some people say that now that 30 million more people are going to have insurance, there will be problem with access because we don't have enough hospitals and doctors. Where did these 30 million people came from, Mars? The fact they do not have insurance does not mean they don't seek healthcare. It is just that they wait till they are very sick and end up in ERs. Then the outcome may be worse because they waited too long. With insurance coverage, maybe primary care physicians like me will be more busy. But maybe the ERs will be less overwhelm. Anyway, too many things to discuss about this topic. If anyone have any questions or want my view on a particular subject, please write in.