In the midst of all the debate over healthcare reform, the Left and their media minions conveniently ignore an irrefutable fact: many Americans can't "afford" health insurance because they'd rather spend their money on other things.
Those include such "necessities" as fancy cars, big screen TV sets, iPhones and their monthly fees, designer jeans, and -- ahem -- alcohol.
With this in mind, the good folks at Reason TV have created a marvelous video that nicely defines who many of the currently uninsured are (h/t Dave Dix):
President Obama's prime-time health insurance speech underscored an important point: No American should have to choose between health insurance and paying rent, between health insurance and getting groceries -- or getting drunk, getting designer jeans, or protein powder.
We hear so much about hardworking Americans who need health insurance, but what about the rest of us? Millions of uninsured Americans could afford health insurance, but it would mean giving up some really cool stuff. Support President Obama's plan to cover all Americans, because no American should have to choose between health insurance and protein powder.
Hehehehehe.
In the end, for many people who don't have health insurance, it is isn't because they're poor and can't afford it.
It's because they have other priorities.
Is it their fellow Americans' responsibility to pay for that which they choose not to?
If Obama-loving media members were at all honest concerning this subject, they would do exactly what the good folks at Reason did: interview regular people who don't have health insurance, and ask them what they spend their money on.
Before we as a nation actually embark on extending healthcare to others, shouldn't we first examine why people who don't qualify for Medicaid, Medicare, or S-CHIP don't have private insurance?
Consider that some years ago when the federal government was first getting involved in reverse mortgages to seniors, they required prospective borrowers to have a meeting with a HUD or FHA representative.
At said counseling session, the income and monthly expenses of the borrower were examined to determine whether or not he or she actually needed the loan. The counselor would even recommend that the borrower cut back on expenditures RATHER than borrow against his or her property.
The point is that without the HUD or FHA agent's authorization, the senior was NOT permitted to do a government-backed reverse mortgage.
With this in mind, maybe folks wanting the government to provide them with health insurance should have to meet with a federal official to examine their finances and determine why they can't afford it themselves.
If after this meeting, it is determined that simple budgetary changes can be made by the prospective insured so that he or she could pay for private insurance, he or she should be denied the government option.
As a result, although Reason was making a joke, maybe folks should have to decide between health insurance and getting drunk.
After all, if they choose the latter, why should the taxpayer fund the former?
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.
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LOL-Well, if it ever does
September 12, 2009 - 17:47 ET by R D HelmLOL-Well, if it ever does come down to that choice, I'm going with the booze. :-^)
-Dave
I agree with Rush. It's time for Obama to resign.
We are on our way to
September 12, 2009 - 17:47 ET by motherbeltWe are on our way to becoming what a British MP called a "pocket money" society.
IOW, government provides us with the things we need, like medical care and education, and our own money, or pocket money is for us to spend on what we want.
From my pocket to theirs
September 12, 2009 - 18:38 ET by ThisnThatMB, that already happens. People on food stamps have restricteions on their use. They can't buy beer with them, for example. So, what these people do is go thru the grocery line and buy some essentials with food stamps; and at the same time, at the same check-out counter, pay cash for their cigarettes, candy, booze, magazines, whatever. Basically we, the taxpayers, are saving the freeloaders a boatload of money. Ask any grocery clerk.
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"Tax the rich" is a basically unstable way of governing - The NYT
I'd be laughing still if it
September 12, 2009 - 17:58 ET by bigtimerI'd be laughing still if it this subject weren't so serious.
Ah heck, I am still laughing, that was a great spoof.
Think I'm going to open a cold one and enjoy the rest of my evening...
Cheers all!
'Go Green...Recycle Congress'
I can't tell you how many
September 12, 2009 - 18:02 ET by Kat Outta the BagI can't tell you how many times we've even had Medicaid patients where I work claim they can't pay their lousy $2 copayment while reeking of cigarettes.
IMO, people who are on
September 12, 2009 - 19:19 ET by motherbeltIMO, people who are on Medicaid or food stamps should have to be tested to be sure they are not smoking,
mb
September 12, 2009 - 19:25 ET by Noel Sheppardmb,
With prices at these levels, I quite agree. Furthermore, just imagine how much they receive of our tax dollars due to their poor health. Can you imagine what Medicaid must pay in tobacco-related illnesses? Must be staggering. ns
I'm not sure about the
September 12, 2009 - 19:43 ET by motherbeltI'm not sure about the medical thing, because that opens too many other doors for government interference. But I don't think that insisting people receiving taxpayer money to buy food forgo obvious non-necessities like cigarettes and beer is out of line.
single payer food plan?
September 12, 2009 - 19:47 ET by katainkentits killing me that I can't find your link :D
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We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. ~Thomas Jefferson
(if you think healthcare is expensive now - wait until its free)
Is this what you are looking
September 12, 2009 - 19:55 ET by motherbeltIs this what you are looking for?
yes! thank you
September 12, 2009 - 19:57 ET by katainkentI will bookmark it into oblivion this time. PDF's are hard to search for. Many thank yous.
Kat Outta just wondering,
September 12, 2009 - 20:55 ET by Radical1979Kat Outta just wondering, do the women have long, manicured nails? I've noticed a lot of "poor" people have enough money to get their nails done.
Yea, that too! I saw a
September 12, 2009 - 21:58 ET by motherbeltYea, that too!
I saw a woman with 4 kids, saying how she couldn't pay her telephone bill, with a full set....and those are not just "manicured" they are probably acrylic nail tips and cost $40-$50 for the set and another $25-$30 to "fill in" the bottom as the nails grow out
Oh, don't get me started...
September 12, 2009 - 22:25 ET by DEVILDOCMOMone day in triage in our ER I had 5 women come in over a period of 4 or 5 hours who were either on Access (Arizona's health care for the "poor") or the ever popular "self-pay". They had a variety of complaints ie abdominal pain, etc. Each and every one had a full manicure and pedicure-easy to see in the summer in Arizona.
I just love it that I work to pay my health insurance while I PAY FOR THEIRS ALSO.
Not wanting to just knock women, our all time most frequent visitor is a hispanic male. He is in our ER 5 out of 7 days with a variety of complaints...cold symptoms, blood tests, you name it. I had some students at another ER and sure enough he is there when he is not at our hospital-or maybe he hits both in one day. ALL the hosptials in town know him. When he was "self-pay" he owed us over $100,000, I guess he still does since he never pays. Now he is the problem of all of us...he is over 65 and on Medicare. Don't you love it!
DevilDoc... No I don't
September 12, 2009 - 22:35 ET by bigtimerDevilDoc...
No I don't just love it...I wished you could go on the airwaves...EVERYWHERE.
I am sick of this...your voices aren't heard, that live it, know it, you are omitted if you even do have supposed air time, testimony to the truth is never for all to see if the left has anything to do with it...and that they do...a lot of it.
Outrageous as always.
'Go Green...Recycle Congress'
I love reason.tv!
September 12, 2009 - 19:32 ET by katainkentHow to Fix America's Healthcare Crisis - Get Some! Those guys are real people. I know its hard to believe.
___________________________________________
We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. ~Thomas Jefferson
(if you think healthcare is expensive now - wait until its free)
I think that must be what
September 12, 2009 - 19:49 ET by motherbeltI think that must be what Noel is talking about..i.e. Reason interviewing people to find out what they spend money on.
Thanks for linking to the video...it's great to actually see and hear them.
*nods*
September 12, 2009 - 19:58 ET by katainkentthe full interviews are amazing and the guys are funny without trying to be. They seem very spoof-y.
Black Market Incentive
September 12, 2009 - 20:15 ET by Junk Science SkepticAs it is, sCHIP already creates a huge incentive for the libtards to work in the black market, even when legit jobs are readily available.
The left's sCHIP poster-family, the Frosts, were a perfect example, but are far from an isolated case. I know of two families who voluntarily left good paying, over-the-counter paycheck jobs in respectable fields to work at their "hobbies" which generally involve a high ratio of unreported income.
They made no big secret of the fact that they had been making "too much" to qualify for sCHIP at their legit jobs.
How many more would join their ranks when it's not just their kids who can get taxpayer funded healthcare?
Stop Funding Leftist Propaganda - Boycott GE & Disney
Answer To Noel's Question At Bottom Of Post
September 12, 2009 - 20:41 ET by stratmanFirst a little background.
48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia
"Generally these groups of people can receive Medicaid assistance:
Some individuals who do not meet the income requirements may still receive Medicaid benefits because they are medically-needy. If you do not live in a state with a medically-needy program and you do not meet the income requirements, you may not qualify for Medicaid."
The convoluted maze of Medicaid eligibility starts here.
Eligibility for SCHIP is a mixed bag, beginning with 150% of Federal Poverty Level in North Dakota and rocketing to UNLIMITED in Illinois. New York and Massachussetts top out at 400%. Why do the last three state's eligibility levels not shock me. (Thank Obama for rescinding Bush's 250% federal maximum level (without waiver) requirement. But hey, it is free medical care even if a family of four makes $88,200 in the states of NY and MA.)
So you see, Noel, the answer to your question (quoted above) is not why aren't we investigating the uninsured who make more than eligibility requirements allow, but why aren't we lowering the requirements further to let more people get in on the free care.
booze and cigs
September 12, 2009 - 20:49 ET by cajun2A family of 4 can receive about $1000 in food stamps per month. The amt is automatically issued on a debit card. Check out your local grocery store the last week of the month. They buy groceries in 3 or 4 cart loads. They then sell the food for cash back in the projects. They cannot carry over to the reserve to the next month. I dont have a problem with the food stamps but the amount is staggering and wasteful. I cant afford to spend more than $100 a week on food and not eligible for food stamps. Yet, these people buy the most expensive cuts of meat. I used to work for the welfare dept so don't accuse me of making this sh** up.
Maybe they should operate
September 12, 2009 - 22:04 ET by motherbeltMaybe they should operate the whole thing sort of like the WIC program. Only cover certain foods, not just everything. Or divide the amount up....so much for meat, so much for dairy, an amount for produce, and then everything else. Maybe if people knew they only had X dollars for meat, they'd buy a whole bunch of chicken and cube steaks and ground beef instead of spending 1/2 of it on half a dozen T-bones.
I went to
September 13, 2009 - 00:17 ET by jdhawkI went to www.ehealthcareinsurance.com, an onlie aggregator, assisting individuals and families to find affordable health care. I made up a family of four - a man and woman in their twenties, and two teen aged kids. The local was my zip code, 28387 in the state of North Carolina. The result was over 88 different offerings that ran in cost from $158 to over $400. $158 amounts to just over $1800 a year to insure a family of four. Hardly an insurmountalbe sum even when the head of the household is bringing the median income of around $38,000 a year.
So, let's say that there are 12 million that can not afford health insurance (this take out illegal aliens, those that already are covered by a government program, but don't participate for whatever reason and those that make enough money to easily afford healthcare insurance). If using the above plan's cost to estimate the cost of insuring the 12 million, the cost would be around $22 billion a year.
Don't tell that our healthcare insurance providers are not efficient and can't deliver quality healthcare insurance at a reasonable cost. Don't tell me that we can't take of the truly indigent at a reasonable cost through private insurers. To say otherwise, is just a lie.
Obamacare will make you sick; it will make you die before your time.
At one time, about 11 years
September 13, 2009 - 01:55 ET by Joe CamelAt one time, about 11 years ago, I knew at least 50 people I worked with who chose not to purchase insurance. They did not need it they said, and frankly, they had other things they spent their money on, including boats, Harley Davidsons, land, cars, overseas vacations..things they wanted. At that time, I paid $450 a month for my wife and three boys for the top of the line policy.
Today, I work for a company that subsidizes the polices of others who don't make what I make. I pay a ton, they pay little and the company seems to have no issues with that logic. When I confronted them, they still did not care. It is a messed up world..
I know for a fact that
September 13, 2009 - 13:51 ET by RR GOPI know for a fact that people are sacrificing more important things for themselves and their kids in order to buy cigarettes.
Lecture all you want, but there it is.
These vice taxes always hurt the poor more than anything. Many are already spending a lot of money for their illegal drugs and taxing the legal stuff helps no one except the Federal government. People will simply spend less on other luxuries as well as necessities.
Human Kind 101.
Maybe some day we'll be rid of these Socialist "intellectuals" who focus on what how people should be rather than how they are.
And if we look at how oh successful they've been in indoctrinating our children who are tattoed, pierced and know how to roll a pipe out of aluminum foil the moment their hormones kick in, or who have done such an awesome job at rehabilitating violent criminals, we can clearly see how their social engineering BS doesn't work.
How about teaching respect for others and Country at an early age, discourage idiots from having babies left and right by cutting off their Free Money, and maybe teaching them about God and Jesus (I know, that's a real stretch).
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.