You’d think the guy with a German name might have some passing familiarity with Germany that has private health insurance within a universal system–just as Obama, Edwards and Clinton have all proposed.
If the press wants to do their job, this is an obvious either distortion by Oberweis or just complete ignorance.
But that’s not all, Oberweis wants to end employer provided health insurance:
Making Health Care More Affordable and Accessible
America has the best health care in the world; why else would the world’s most powerful people regularly come here for life-saving, cutting-edge treatment? The problem is, the health care delivery system we’ve created for ourselves — a “third party payer” system, in which most Americans get their health insurance through their employer — creates perverse incentives, and, because the consumer of the health services is divorced from paying for those services, offers no incentives to manage health care costs better.Read more…
It’s, of course, not divorced. There are these things called co-pays, deductibles, and most have 80% coverage, not 100%. Perhaps Oberweis should get a clue. More problematic is that the most useful thing about insurance most of us have is that it covers appointments and regular check-ups which is the key way to reduce health care costs is to help people live healthier and take preventative care measures instead of relying on treatment after a problem festers. The Oberweis plan does exactly the opposite by discouraging early care and not paying for preventative measures.
It’s not that Oberweis is just wrong, it’s that he’s completely ignorant of the entire sector of the economy.
As someone who lived in Germany for 6 years, I can tell you, we could only hope for a system like they have.
There was one insurance option from the government (‘AOK’), plus the choices from private companies. No matter how I was doing economically speaking, I always had healthcare and I paid for it (listen to this) based on my income!
That’s how it works the whole world round. Anyone proposing anything else simply doesn’t have an example to point to. They’re spouting pure ideology. And it’s about time we said, enough is enough.
Yes, Leo: Enough is enough! We must write notes to our U.S. Representatives about this! Every 4 months on schedule!
http://www.99oh9.org/Write
In the meantime, there are a lot of people who have been fooled for years by the health insurance companies, so do NOT believe everything you read, especially those who call OTHER people “completely ignorant.”
Germany does NOT private health insurance within a universal system like our non-supportive U.S. Democratic Presidential candidates have proposed. Germany and France have NON-profit multi-payer financing. Read more here:
http://www.ninenineohnine.org/pages/Systems_of_Other_Countries
The U.S. has over 1300 FOR-profit health insurance companies. The other countries do NOT.
No front-runner candidate supports us. It’s just like Obama implied by his statements on 4/3/2007 at his health care meeting with New Hampshire residents who clearly told him what the American people want. He told them during that Americans must send a thousand to two thousand letters (notes) to most or all U.S. Congressional Districts in order for us to get the support. Why all this effort? Due to the health insurance companies money and influence. It’s corruption, but we MUST WRITE NOTES.
http://www.ninenineohnine.org/Write
— Bob
I just researched Bill Foster. He doesn’t support the people either. He is using the same foundation for his position as Clinton and Obama. See my note above about what Obama explained must be done to get the politicians to support what the people need and want. I was in Obama’s Washington D.C. office in early November and confirmed what Obama said: write letters (notes) and get them into the mailbox.
In the meantime, note that the final report of an independent consulting group just came out this past week. It’s an analysis of that foundation of the Clinton and Obama plans. Here’s what I learned from that 56-page analysis:
— does not provide access for everyone,
— does not provide full coverage for all medically necessary needs,
— does not cut administrative costs and then control costs to the degree that single-payer will,
— — does not provide maximum simplicity with the least administrative costs and, therefore, does not provide the highest productivity,
— — NOTE– — The proposal accurately communicates about “the vast administrative efficiencies of a single insurer” and that “A single national insurance pool covering nearly half the population would create huge administrative efficiencies.” The proposal then suggests that less than half the population be covered with fewer benefits!
— — causes a loss for America’s family budgets instead of a win,
— — causes an additional cost burden (more than single-payer would) on companies that had not provided employee health insurance coverage in the past, and
— — burdens everyone with mandated (forced) participation and payment of health insurance premiums (in addition to health-insurance-related spending of taxes) within a system that is not as good and simple as single-payer.
Key details:
— The maximum access to health care would not be achieved, since over a million people would have no health insurance.
— Benefits would be limited compared to single-payer.
— Complexities would remain:
— — Instead of going to ONE public agency, multiple government programs would be operated, including the addition of a new one.
— — — The new public plan will be added and maintained in addition to keeping and operating both TRICARE/CHAMPUS (for military retirees and dependents) and Medicare.
— — The use of for-profit health insurance companies would be maintained.
— The average American would continue to lose twice: more spending to private, for-profit companies and more spending in tax dollars.
— — The 56-page analysis of the “Health Care for America” proposal includes the following information:
the proposal “requires that individuals obtain coverage and automatically enrolls people who do not have insurance into the public HCA plan. It also provides subsidies to help low-income people pay premiums. Overall, families would save $23.3 billion primarily from lower out-of-pocket payments. However, other financing mechanisms that would be needed to fully fund the proposal (i.e., $49.3 billion) would reduce these savings to families.”
— — Gain $23 billion (out-of-pocket) and lose $49 billion (more federal taxes)! Not a good net result!
Go to http://www.healthcareforallnow.org ( or directly to http://www.ninenineohnine.org )
answer: quite.
I would be lying to ya if I said found Foster’s health plan ideal, I supported Leash in the primary with that for one in mind, but!
A freshman congressman is not going to shape health care policy, at best he would be on a committee that does so with other Dem’s. Secondly his proposals are head and shoulders above anything Oberweis would do. Lastly I have had a long discussion with him regarding policy, he is willing to listen to logic and not an ideology like many politicians.
“It’s been my policy to view the Internet not as an ‘information highway,’ but as an electronic asylum filled with babbling loonies.” -Mike Royko
Arch,
I’ve done zero research but the Royko quote just set off some bells and whistles in my head. I’m not sure that Royko lived long enough to get the full flavor of the internet and to even bother to have an opinion about the loonies on it. Sure, it sounds like him, but are you sure?
Thanks.
Too bad there isn’t some sort of public forum that Foster could bring this up in.
Oh yeah there was going to be in Elgin on Wed but Foster backed out and he has not agreed to appear at any public forum with Jim Oberweis.
So as for “How Dumb is Oberweis”, well I guess he too smart for Foster, why else would Bill take a pass?
If you don’t want to have a give and take on important issues in public why in the heck do you want to serve in congress?
Fred—he didn’t die until 1997. I remember the quote and the column. It was quite good. I’m pretty sure it made one of the collection., but I’ll look for it.
OneMan, Foster and Oberweis were just on WBBM radio together. Time to find another drum to beat.
Thanks for checking. For the Intertubes 1997 seems like 1897. I love the site and keep up the good work.
refresh my memory . . . where did oberweis get his law degree from??? nuff said . . . ((b-slapp))