Guaranteed Healthcare

I'm an American living overseas.  I live in Japan, where I run a small business.  As a resident, I'm required to participate in their Universal Health Care scheme.  Some might find that to be 'coercive' or 'un-American', but it's worth pointing out the flip side of this arrangement:  you cannot be turned down under any circumstances.  The form to enroll, say, one of my employees is 1 single page and all I need to fill out is their name, address, birthdate, Social Security #, salary info. (so the 'Social Insurance' office can calculate the rate and deduct it from the company account every month), along with my business name, address, my name & signature.  There is no field for 'pre-existing medical conditions'.  They don't even ask.  The completed paper is then submitted to the Social Insurance office and 10 minutes later, they issue a health insurance card that will get the holder into almost any hospital/clinic to see any doctor in Japan.

The world of health care insurance is mysterious and ever-changing. Exactly what is covered and when seems to continually morph. Exactly how the big health care insurance corporations make decisions regarding insurance plans is not discoverable. Much goes on behind closed doors away from the light of public scrutiny and out of the realm of public control. Furthermore the private health care insurers rarely suffer fines or penalties when they renege on contractual obligations to their policy holders. They have quite a racket going. But not for long because The People are coming!

In 2003, Senator Barack Obama addressed the AFL-CIO 'CIVIL, HUMAN, and WOMEN'S RIGHTS' Conference.  In his 2003 speech, Obama said, “I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America the wealthiest country in the history of the world … cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody … . A single-payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see."

“Americans want to be in charge of their own health care. They don’t want the government to be in charge of it.”

 Karl Rove has made this point in print and just repeated it again on ‘This Week with George Stephanopolis’ this last Sunday (5/25/08) http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek. 

 This is an emotional talking point. It makes us say, “Yeah, that’s right!” 

 But it is in no way an argument against Single Payer Guaranteed Health Care.