Actually, as I typed the title all I could think was "Which is best for you?" since they don’t appear to blend well to any degree, except maybe via Dennis Kucinich
However, Ronni Bennett at Time Goes By has a post that gives a quick concise look at the current (as of today, I suppose) presidential candidates and their professed stands on Healthcare. I like this, an all in one sort of issue by issue comparison–and there’s a website I usually go to for this, when the field is narrowed down a bit.
As I started reading them, starting with Hitlery’s plan, the question came up again and again: Why are they concentrating on who and how insurance premiums will be paid; why not go directly to the problem and pay the medical costs directly? Surely this would avoid government money–that’s yours and mine in tax dollars paid–going to the inflated bills of the corporate insurance sector who obviously would increase the premium cost per individual (no matter who’s paying the premium). There’s also the common sense factor of why pay regular premiums for the possibility of cost, instead of just paying the cost if and when it actually is incurred, i.e., a hospital stay? While many people have cost insurance companies thousands and thousands of dollars, a lot of others, like Jim and I for example, or my dad–who lived to ninety–have incurred probably less than a few thousand dollars in our lifetimes in expenses, while insurance premiums have probably run into the tens of thousands by now. So forget figuring how to insure all Americans, I say; healthcare should mean healthcare, and that means the medical sector, not Cigna and Connecticare or some private plan.
So then I come to Dennis Kucinich:
- Universal, single-payer, not-for-profit healthcare system – essentially Medicare for everyone
- Plan already exists in the Kucinich-Conyers bill – HR676
- Covers all healthcare needs including prescription drugs, vision and long-term care
- Quotes economist Paul Krugman as saying, "covering everyone under Medicare would actually be significantly cheaper than our current system."
Hmmm. Whaddya know; a politician who just may use common sense.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology