I am concerned that leaving control over health care in the hands of profit motivated corporations is like leaving financial control of our country in the hands of profit motivated bankers.
When I was young and we had little money we were able to obtain decent treatment at the local community clinics in the area. They provided good service on an ability to pay scale, so for us that usually meant around $25 for an office visit and some tests.
In recent years many of these have had to close due to loss of funding or substantially raise their fees to the point they serve little purpose.
The cost of funding these programs would be minuscule in comparison to the Obama plan and would effectively get medical treatment to those unable to afford insurance or the high cost of private care.
One thing that has not been thought through is the simple fact that even the “rich” are getting hammered by the current economic downturn and despite tax increases, overall revenues will continue to collapse. Further demanding small business pay will definitely result in a lot of layoffs, thus creating more unemployed, more who qualify for the greatest level of aid and less tax revenue. This seems to be the unintended consequence of this plan. As this occurs, tax increases will have no choice to go where the real money is – what is left of our middle class here in the US.
