SJ Robinson is taking time out to write about really serious stuff on health care reform. We have a chance to get real reform this time, but only if we become informed. Helping you become informed is why Jess was created–so that you could see how problems in our health care system affect real people. Right now, the issues are complex and changing daily as Congress considers reform, making fictious illustrations too slow! Be sure to let us know if you have any questions!
Chapter One–Recycling Your Tax Dollars!
SJ Robinson
They are doing it again–big business is buying Congress with your tax dollars. Insurance companies, drug companies and large hospital corporations are funneling money that they get from their influence in Congress to buy more.
How do they do it? They hire lobbyists to have Congress pass legislation that uses them to provide health care. Pharmaceutical companies used it to get more profit out of Medicare Part D by preventing the government from negotiating drug prices. Large hospital corporations bought legislation that gave them a 13% bonus over your local doctor. Insurance companies use it to prevent effective national regulation so that they can corner the market in each state.
If big business can always do it better, why do we pay twice as much for health care as any other country, yet have a higher infant mortality rate, shorter life span, and 100,000 people dying from medical error every year? Because big business takes at least 30% of your health care dollar for overhead and profit! And they are convincing Congress to give you no choice again. Without an effective option like Medicare for all, you will have to continue to use the same insurance companies who got us into this mess to buy your health care.
Health care lobbying in 2008 was $484 million and is rising. Even the best intentioned congressman can’t afford to let that amount of money go. Stop them! Tell Congress we want a Medicare option for all.
SJ Robinson 
0 Responses to “Serious Health Care Stuff”