NONSENSE ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE

Here is a letter I wrote recently to the local paper:

Jenni West writes (Mailbag, 3/25/10) that some
San Francisco restaurants add a surchare to custo-
mers' bills to cover health insurance costs for their
help. She forgot to mention that San Franciso is the
only city in the U. S. that has real universal health
care for every single citizen, and has had it since 2007.
Obamacare will now help those restaurants (and all
small business) with substantial tax relief and other
help in providing insurance for their employees. So
they won't need a surcharge to do it! Jenni's fears
that our local supermarkets will start adding a sur-
charge, even though most of them have covered their
employees for years, are probably unfounded (and
alarmist.)

In the same Mailbag, Chuck Mills "was overcome with
grief at such a major step (in health insurance) in giving
up personal freedom as well as the workings of the free
enterprise system." (Sounds like Rush or Glenn, doesn't
it? Don't feel so sad, Chuck: That mean free enterpise
system was bankrupting millions of people with way
over-priced inferior coverage and leaving millions more
unprotected. So something had to change. Was it the
right change? Beats the hell out of me! But as the edi-
torial (same day) said, we'll have to see.

As for the freedom you lost, which one specifically was
that? Was it the freedom to be turned down or can-
celled because of a pre-existing condition? Or maybe
the elimination of the life-time cap on coverage? Was
it the tendency of insurance companies to cancel poli-
cies when a serious illness shows up? Most of us are
happy to see these gone, along with vanquishing bank-
ruptcies due to illness.

I know Fox Noise has been telling you this is govern-
ment takeover of health care. That's hogwash of course,
like most of the nonsense they peddle. The insurance
companies are still in control, siphoning off $billions in
profits as always. It wouldn't be much different if the
government did run health care, becasue --hello! -- the
banks and insurance companies run the government!
This couldn't have happened without their okay. They
knew something (or someone) had to give. We all knew
that would be us! We also know that power corrupts
and great power corrupts greatly. Deal with it.

jgoodwin004@centurytel.net