OT: Health care ALARM: You could face 5 years in prison and $250,000 in fines if you don't comply

More anti-health care propaganda. The health insurance industry doesn't seem to be able to afford competent propaganists - the Stephen Hawking story is typical

"In 2009, Investor's Business Daily (IBD) claimed in an editorial,[34] "People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the UK, where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless." This caused widespread criticism, as Hawking does in fact live in the UK, and has received NHS treatment.[35] Hawking personally replied that, "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS," he said. "I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived."[36] Eventually, IBD issued a correction,[37] but continued to defend the original editorial, calling the mention of Hawking a "bad example" and accusing those that mentioned their error of "chang[ing] the subject."[38]"

and The Daily Crux does seem to be a more than usually mindless right- wing propaganda rag.

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

Ok Sloman, pony up. Cite the applicable section from HR 3692.

James Arthur

Ok Sloman, pony up. Cite the applicable section from HR 3962.

James Arthur

Why bother? "The Crux" didn't.

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

US Health care sure is important to Sloman, supposedly an Aussie ex-pat living just down the road from Amsterdam.

Why are you so obsessed, Sloman?

I doubt if I qualify as obsessed. I don't like nonsense, and I don't have enough to do, so I do take advantage of the frequent opportunities to comment on the anti-health reform comment that show up on this user-group, despite its irrelevance to our nominal focus.

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

Obviously, he's proselytizing for his religion of socialism.

Hope This Helps! Rich

Rich catagorises anything he doesn't understand as a religion. He doesn't understand much.

The particular form of health insurance I've been advocating - the one in use in Germany, France and the Netherlands - was invented by Bismark, a notoriously conservative politician, as a way to steal some of the thunder of his socialist political rivals.

If socialism were a religion, that would make me an heretic.

The U.K.'s National Health Service was invented by the British Labour Party, an avowedly socialist party, and provides health care that is almost as good, at an appreciably lower price per head but no US politician would touch it with a barge-pole.

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

Propaganda:

(Watch the Health Reform Video Challenge winning entry. Child- exploitation winning segment begins after ~1 minute.)

~~~~~ begin quotes ~~~~~ Reins in the Cost of Health Care For All Americans, the Obama Plan:

• Won=92t add a dime to the deficit and is paid for upfront.

• Orders immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine. ~~~~~ end quotes ~~~~~

-- Cheers, James Arthur

There's no need to suppose, you just have to read their bill.

Having read scores of business plans, and having written and implemented a few myself, I've never seen one as bad as HR 3962.

- Their revenue model is to lose lots of money. Even using 10 years' revenue to pay for 6 years' care, they're deep in the hole. - The product they plan on selling? It isn't even defined--that's to be determined later, by the Health Choices Commissioner (or some other flunkie). - Their cost isn't defined either. - To the extent costs are projected, they're hopelessly unrealistic. - Operations: goals are not clearly articulated, nor is a means for implementing them.

So they're going to be selling they-don't-know-what, at unknown cost, with a bureaucratic "factory" to be operated they-don't-know-how.

- Massive overhead--many levels, many departments. Gordian org- chart. The reporting structure is institutionalized chaos. - Top marks on identifying a target market: everyone in the country, illegals included.

They do have a creative marketing strategy--buy their product or men with guns will put you in jail--but as a business plan, HR 3962's not even in the "joke" category.

-- Cheers, James Arthur