Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Americans should have healthcare as affordable as what she gets as a Congresswoman

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says All Americans Should Have the Affordable Healthcare she now gets as a Congresswoman noting a recent Tweet from her that was followed by two more Tweets:

In my on-boarding to Congress, I get to pick my insurance plan. As a waitress, I had to pay more than TWICE what I’d pay as a member of Congress. It’s frustrating that Congressmembers would deny other people affordability that they themselves enjoy. Time for #MedicareForAll.


Also, pretty sure one Dante’s Circles of Hell includes scrolling through a mirror-hall of agonizingly similar healthcare plans like “UHG Choice Master HMO 1800” vs “RedGo Option Plus EPO 2000.” I don’t know one normal person in this country that actually enjoys open enrollment.


People don’t want overly complicated choice between pricey, low-quality plans. We want an affordable solution that covers our needs, like the rest of the modern world. Medicare for All: - Single-payer system - Covers physical, mental, & dental care - 0 due *at point of service*

I'd like to see what she might say about pre-existing conditions and a very curious scam: insurance companies only paying doctors and hospitals that are "in the network". As if that is something imposed on them.

 

[Ford]

Kinda weird how the wealthiest, most powerful country on the planet (for now) can't figure this out.

I mean, we have an unmatched military. We can park a carrier battle group or a ballistic missile sub off the coast of any nation that dares threaten us and there's pretty much fuck-all they can do about it.

But we can't afford prescription drug coverage?

We have the world's currency. The Euro? That's quaint. How many dollars is that?

But we can't figure out how to do single payer or national health care.

The proverbial "land a man on the Moon?" Sure. Let's send some guys. Come to think of it, whats the last country to put people on the Moon? Trick question! There's only one.

But for some reason we're all thumbs when it comes to not just healthcare for average Americans, but we've managed to screw the pooch when it comes to care for our military veterans. Those people who worked for the world-spanning unmatched conquering force are pretty much fucked the moment they retire and wind up under the VA.

What is it about healthcare that vexes us so much?

 

[untermensche]

When you have an economic system where the many are powerless without the means to survive on their own so they are forced, coerced, to serve the few you end up with all kinds of inequalities.

 

[poster]

but we've managed to screw the pooch when it comes to care for our military veterans. Those people who worked for the world-spanning unmatched conquering force are pretty much fucked the moment they retire and wind up under the VA.

All my health care is through the VA and other than a few irritations regarding privacy, I'm quite satisfied with it. I realize you can find stories on the internet that speak of nightmareish events with it, but then, anything can be found on the internet.

What is it about healthcare that vexes us so much?

Neoliberal policies.

 

[untermensche]

Not policies.

Delusions.

 

[southernhybrid]

The only thing I find a little strange about what the Congresswoman has said, is that her excellent health care is coming from an insurance company. Employees in government or in medium sized and large corporations almost always get the similar insurance offerings. While I agree we should be able to give affordable health care to all citizens, it would make more sense if somebody on Medicaid or Medicare was making a statement about how wonderful their coverage is. Very few doctors will even take Medicaid patients if that's their primary coverage, and in some large cities, there are a lot of doctors who won't even take Medicare. So, I don't think it's fair to compare a good quality insurance plan with our current public plans. But hell yeah, it would be wonderful if all Americans had the same coverage as Congress critters do.

 

[James Madison]

Kinda weird how the wealthiest, most powerful country on the planet (for now) can't figure this out.

I

Not really. The debate over healthcare and government’s role, if any, in providing healthcare is a debated inherited from the founders and framers. Since the inception of the U.S. Republic, a debate has raged concerning what is a proper taxing and spending role of the government, shaped by notions of private property, income, and labor.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

But we can't figure out how to do single payer or national health care.

We can figure it out. The issue is, a good deal of wealthy people don't want to pay higher taxes and they have done a good job convincing rural white people that UHC infringes on their freedoms, apparently the freedom to get sick and die.

 

[ZiprHead]

The only thing I find a little strange about what the Congresswoman has said, is that her excellent health care is coming from an insurance company. Employees in government or in medium sized and large corporations almost always get the similar insurance offerings. While I agree we should be able to give affordable health care to all citizens, it would make more sense if somebody on Medicaid or Medicare was making a statement about how wonderful their coverage is. Very few doctors will even take Medicaid patients if that's their primary coverage, and in some large cities, there are a lot of doctors who won't even take Medicare. So, I don't think it's fair to compare a good quality insurance plan with our current public plans. But hell yeah, it would be wonderful if all Americans had the same coverage as Congress critters do.

A whopping 93 percent of primary care physicians accept Medicare – just as many who take private insurance. As a Medicare beneficiary, your only concern with accessing care will be finding doctors that are open to new patients.

https://www.healthcare.com/info/medicare/do-all-doctors-accept-medicare

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Kinda weird how the wealthiest, most powerful country on the planet (for now) can't figure this out.

I

Not really. The debate over healthcare and government’s role, if any, in providing healthcare is a debated inherited from the founders and framers. Since the inception of the U.S. Republic, a debate has raged concerning what is a proper taxing and spending role of the government, shaped by notions of private property, income, and labor.

That doesn't make it less weird that you haven't figured it out. The debate about whether this particular thing should be part of a proper taxing and spending role of the government should have ended decades ago.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

The more I read or hear from this Congresswoman the more I like her.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Kinda weird how the wealthiest, most powerful country on the planet (for now) can't figure this out.

I mean, we have an unmatched military. We can park a carrier battle group or a ballistic missile sub off the coast of any nation that dares threaten us and there's pretty much fuck-all they can do about it.

But we can't afford prescription drug coverage?

We have the world's currency. The Euro? That's quaint. How many dollars is that?

But we can't figure out how to do single payer or national health care.

The proverbial "land a man on the Moon?" Sure. Let's send some guys. Come to think of it, whats the last country to put people on the Moon? Trick question! There's only one.

But for some reason we're all thumbs when it comes to not just healthcare for average Americans, but we've managed to screw the pooch when it comes to care for our military veterans. Those people who worked for the world-spanning unmatched conquering force are pretty much fucked the moment they retire and wind up under the VA.

What is it about healthcare that vexes us so much?

Republican and red baiting fear mongering. Socialized medicine! Communism! It's an ideology that is now 80 years old. That ideology still is part and parcel of American conservatism.

 

[Treedbear]

The more I read or hear from this Congresswoman the more I like her.

Positively impetuous. Now will she prove to be as smart? I hope she represents the start of a Progressive movement.

 

[James Madison]

Kinda weird how the wealthiest, most powerful country on the planet (for now) can't figure this out.

I

Not really. The debate over healthcare and government’s role, if any, in providing healthcare is a debated inherited from the founders and framers. Since the inception of the U.S. Republic, a debate has raged concerning what is a proper taxing and spending role of the government, shaped by notions of private property, income, and labor.

That doesn't make it less weird that you haven't figured it out. The debate about whether this particular thing should be part of a proper taxing and spending role of the government should have ended decades ago.

Your very post demonstrates why, in the U.S., it is "less weird." The fact you have a particular opinion on one side of the issue does not make it "weird."

 

[Elixir]

The more I read or hear from this Congresswoman the more I like her.

Positively impetuous. Now will she prove to be as smart? I hope she represents the start of a Progressive movement.

I am looking forward to tracking her evolution as a politician. In her district, it's easy to get elected on ideology. In DC, ideology is worthless currency.

 

[Worldtraveller]

Kinda weird how the wealthiest, most powerful country on the planet (for now) can't figure this out.

I

Not really. The debate over healthcare and government’s role, if any, in providing healthcare is a debated inherited from the founders and framers. Since the inception of the U.S. Republic, a debate has raged concerning what is a proper taxing and spending role of the government, shaped by notions of private property, income, and labor.

That doesn't make it less weird that you haven't figured it out. The debate about whether this particular thing should be part of a proper taxing and spending role of the government should have ended decades ago.

You think we haven't figured it out? We have. At least, the oligarchs and plutarchs have. There's not much money to be made in medicare for all.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

That doesn't make it less weird that you haven't figured it out. The debate about whether this particular thing should be part of a proper taxing and spending role of the government should have ended decades ago.

Your very post demonstrates why, in the U.S., it is "less weird." The fact you have a particular opinion on one side of the issue does not make it "weird."

I disagree. If your house is in flames and the firefighters show up and say, "OK, just show us your fire insurance documents and we'll turn on our hoses", I'd say the society this exists in is fucking weird. If you're lying in the street with a knife in your gut and the police say "I'm sorry, your police protection coverage was cancelled when you got laid off last month so we won't be able to look into who stabbed you unless you authorize us to bill you directly", I'd say the society this exists in is fucking weird.

Health care isn't different. If you need to put payment concerns over treatment concerns as an individual instead of having that done collectively as a society, I'd say the society this exists in is fucking weird. The fact that weird societies actually exist doesn't make them less weird.

 

[ronburgundy]

Kinda weird how the wealthiest, most powerful country on the planet (for now) can't figure this out.

I

Not really. The debate over healthcare and government’s role, if any, in providing healthcare is a debated inherited from the founders and framers. Since the inception of the U.S. Republic, a debate has raged concerning what is a proper taxing and spending role of the government, shaped by notions of private property, income, and labor.

Those same founders and framers also debated whether non-whites and women should have basic civil and human rights. Yet, we rightly realized that there is no debate to be had on these matters among the rational civilized people of any minimally ethically defensible nation.
Immoral scoundrels love to defer and regress to the ethics of the past because it typically shares their inhumane disregard for others.

There is not an ethically defensible position that taxation should not provide any form of healthcare services. There is only a reasonable debate over the extent of it and what should be covered (e.g., elective procedures that are not neccessary for a person's basic well being). And it isn't just a matter of being minimally empathic and "generous" to those in need. The same economic processes, activities, and infrastructure responsible for virtual all income, wealth, and private property are also costly to and negatively impact human health.

That makes some degree of diversion of that wealth to basic health care needs a matter of restitution and compensation without which there is what amounts to a form of theft and assault. That makes basic public healthcare neccessary based upon application of the most critical founding principles regarding people's rights and the proper role of government in protecting them. Whether the founders had the context and knowledge to realize that implication of those principles is no more relevant to what we should do than the fact that many of them did not realize the application of those same principles to suffrage or slavery.

 

[Toni]

The only thing I find a little strange about what the Congresswoman has said, is that her excellent health care is coming from an insurance company. Employees in government or in medium sized and large corporations almost always get the similar insurance offerings. While I agree we should be able to give affordable health care to all citizens, it would make more sense if somebody on Medicaid or Medicare was making a statement about how wonderful their coverage is. Very few doctors will even take Medicaid patients if that's their primary coverage, and in some large cities, there are a lot of doctors who won't even take Medicare. So, I don't think it's fair to compare a good quality insurance plan with our current public plans. But hell yeah, it would be wonderful if all Americans had the same coverage as Congress critters do.

You’ve hit exactly what my problem is with ‘Medicare for all.’ It’s inadequate and inadequately compensates providers for care provided.

I believe in universal coverage at a level that is as good or better than what Congress receives. There is zero good reason that all Americans (and residents) don’t have this level of coverage and access to excellent medical care.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

The more I read or hear from this Congresswoman the more I like her.

Positively impetuous. Now will she prove to be as smart? I hope she represents the start of a Progressive movement.

I'm not sure if she is super smart or not. But even if she isn't, her mere energy may motivate others who are. She's got the the boldness that is so much in need, as well as legit down to earth connection to the people. Wasn't she a waitress or something before she ran for office? I mean, instead of a career politician / bankster ?