SOTU: Individual Health Plans Are Out Of Reach For Millions Of Americans
SOTU: Individual Health Plans Are Out Of Reach For Millions Of Americans
Bush said: “First, I propose a standard tax deduction for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for dependents. … [F]or the millions of other Americans who have no health insurance at all, this deduction would help put a basic private health insurance plan within their reach. Changing the tax code is a vital and necessary step to making health care affordable for more Americans.”
FACT — MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WILL BE UNABLE TO AFFORD EXPENSIVE INDIVIDUAL PLANS: Karen Pollitz, a Georgetown University researcher who co-authored a 2001 study on the individual health-insurance market for the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that people who aren’t in perfect health are largely unable to buy individual health insurance. In her study, Pollitz found that “roughly 90% of applicants in what’s known as less-than-perfect health were unable to buy individual policies at standard rates, while 37% were rejected outright.” Individual health insurers may deny coverage to people based on their medial history, or put them in “a high-risk category that it makes health coverage too expensive.” [MSN]
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30 Responses to “SOTU: Individual Health Plans Are Out Of Reach For Millions Of Americans”
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"the best decisions are not made by insurance companies..."
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:23 pmriiiiiiiight...
that parody posted earlier this evening was easier to follow than that tangle that fell out of his mouth.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:23 pmImmigration
We need to chase down drug smugglers. Like the ones I used to get my drugs from -
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:24 pmConvictions run deep in this capital
Did he really say that?
Wow
talk about mythos and gahones
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:25 pmI don't know which is more immoral - the fact that this situation exists, or that Bush can stand there and act like he actually suddenly cares about the sad state of healthcare in this very wealthy super-power.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:26 pmThe T word
"Terrorists can do great harm to our country"
Clean coal - what crap
and nuclear - of course
He's so full of it.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:26 pmWhat are they clapping for now?
He farted - new source of energy
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:27 pmStrategic petroleum reserve doubled in size
Well there's the first clue to impending war
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:28 pmBad men are full of repentance.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:30 pm---Aristotle
Take stock of our situation
Critical homeland protections
Horrors of 911
Unless we stop them
Debating the causes of conflict
Such debates are essential
But forget debate - I say take the fight to the enemy
SECOND REFERENCE TO IMPENDING WAR
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:31 pm8. You're right about that. He can publicly state a positive when it could just as easily be an increase for an even greater escalation of troops. If he is crazy enough to invade Iran he would have most likely learned he will need hundred's of thousands of more soldiers on the ground.
He is a scary man in so many ways.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:33 pmReferences to impending war with Iran so far
1- Strategic Petroleum reserve will be doubled
2- Take fight to enemy
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:33 pmThose darn studies, reasonably suggesting health care is getting too expensive.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:34 pmHe does the switch now
He mentions Sunni insurgents to start out
But he quotes Zarqawi - a Shiite
He's made the switch
They are the enemy
The Iranians
THIRD REFERENCE TO IMPENDING WAR WITH IRAN
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:35 pm“the best decisions are not made by insurance companies…†but by families themselves. I dunno, that sounds like a pretty strong endorsement of the right to choose.
It just confirms the validity of my modus operandi for listening to George -- he says one thing, I insert the opposite to gain an understanding of what he means. No more tears that way.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:35 pmAnd they all stand up and clap. Cowards all.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:36 pmHe'll make the switch again now
Blind hatred, 19 hijackers
(they are sunnis)
now he'll switch it to shiite
Sobered by enemies fierce reaction
Lebanon
Syrian occupiers
So he starts with "blind hatred and the sunnis"
and ends it with Lebanon and the Shiite
Again the switch. Replace one group with the other, and congress claps in either duplicity or ignorance.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:38 pmSome stand up now. Many refuse to stand. Finally.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:40 pmAdvisors in Iraqi army units
Lies, all lies.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:41 pmNow he'll get everyone to clap and stand
Talking about Iraqi govt responsibility
He'll end by letting Congress stand up and clap and everyone look patriotic. Shameful display of disloyalty to our children, our country. A betrayal.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:43 pmHe's talking louder now. Threatening.
Iraqi govt overrun. Epic battle backed by Iran.
Fourth reference to impending war with Iran.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:44 pm"So armed forces are ready for 'all the challenges ahead"
fifth reference to impending war with Iran
Volunteer civilian reserve corps
Here we go
Hire an army. Serve the defining struggle of our time. We can have confidence because we have a diplomatic strategy.. mandate from UN...workin with Jordan to increase support for Iraq govt....
Iran and nuclear weapons
Sixth reference to impending war with Iran
Peace to the holy land
We're going to save the world with a volunteer civilian corps!
Cuba
He hasn't attacked Venezuala yet
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:50 pm"Timeless truth"
Truth isn't enough for Bush. He talks of Timeless Truth. Does truth have a time limit. Truth is truth. It knows no time.
January 23rd, 2007 at 9:51 pmMost Americans cannot afford to pay hundreds of dollars a year for health insurance!
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:36 pmIt is absolutely shameful that in a country with so much wealth, so many people have to do with no health insurance at all.
I cringe when I hear average Americans belittle European nations ("their economy is a basket case!"). Beyond the demonstrable falsehood of their statements; what good does it do anyone to live in an affluent society if they are left out and do not share in the wealth?
Some people do vote blindly against their own interests.
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:45 pmAnd those of us who DO now have health care that is paid for by employers WON"T have health coverage anymore if Bush gets away with this, because we will be told by Corporate America that we will have to pay for it our ourselves with our tax deduction
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:03 pmThis is one bad joke after another.
January 23rd, 2007 at 11:07 pmI'm going to re-write my definition of FUBAR now...
January 24th, 2007 at 1:20 amFirst, I propose a standard tax deduction for health insurance that will be like the standard tax deduction for dependents. …
He's advocating paying for these plans by giving payroll tax exemptions to those who enroll. As pointed out by TP, those who enroll in these plans make on average about $150,000, so not only do they stop paying into SSI at about $95,000, but they get a additional tax break by enrolling in these plans, which are priced out of most people's range. So Bush is in effect advcating another drain SSI of funds -- to finance his health care plan.
January 24th, 2007 at 3:15 amThe Washington Post speaks warmly of Bush's health insurance tax plan ("A Healthy Initiative" - Tuesday, January 23, 2007; Page A16) and minimizes its hazards. Late in the editorial they do admit that "there's a danger that ending the tax privilege for employer-provided insurance will cause companies to discontinue coverage, driving more buyers into the individual market, where it's hard to buy insurance at a reasonable price, especially if you already have a medical problem." This is not a minor problem, as you have pointed out in this post. The President's euphemistic "ownership society" is nothing but a brutal social Darwinist experiment. His health insurance proposal is an integral part of that vision, thinly masked as a concession to progressives, and should be rejected outright.
January 24th, 2007 at 1:45 pm