There are generally three types of people on the Healthcare Reform issue: Those in favor of reform (Have no health insurance or if they do, their coverage sucks!), Those against reform (Have health insurance and can’t understand why you don’t), and those against reform with NO health insurance (The Joe the Plumber/ Sarah Palin group, too busy foraging in the forests to know better).

Those with health insurance have the muscle to beat back healthcare reform with every twitching nerve in their health covered bodies! Plus, they’re armed with compelling reasons too – any one of which they will throw at you when discussing the subject, or drop them all at once on you like a ton of bricks in a final ad hominem attack. You can’t let your guard down when it comes to debating healthcare reform with these people or they’ll push the issue right back to where it started – at the very beginning with nothing ever being accomplished. Remember: this has been going on for at least 16 years since the Clinton Administration.

The same old scare tactics work every time because obstructionist republicans and rubber chicken democrats keep sounding the alarm that healthcare reform will do nothing but add to the deficit and increase healthcare costs in the long run. People scare easily and always end up running for the quick fix. Why are we such ninnies? The initial deadline set for August before congress goes on recess would have been workable with a solid bill ready until some in congress started whining that more time was needed. Now congress has until the end of the year to pass the bill. What are they waiting for; the deficit to go to $1 gazillion+ so they can complain that the deficit is way too much again?

And don’t tell me all the hemming and hawing isn’t being done to accommodate those health insurance lobbyists! Blame the health insurance companies for rising healthcare costs. Give them a competing government plan and watch how fast they will lower their fees rather than hear them belly ache every year about how much money they’re losing. Health insurance companies hold the scalpel these days, and are now the bane of our individual lives. If they’re so concerned about our health, why aren’t they doing something about their skyrocketing costs making us sick to our stomachs?  Health insurance companies need to get their hands out of medical practice and allow doctors, clinics and hospitals to do their jobs.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has backed the $1 trillion-plus Democratic House health-care bill, H.R. 3200, and Dr. Michael Maves,  AMA’s executive vice president and CEO, expressed in a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Charlie Rangel, that “This legislation includes a broad range of provisions that are key to effective, comprehensive health system reform.” It continues to list details of sensible improvements and cost-cutting measures to streamline operation of the healthcare system. This is why health insurance companies such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield are trying so hard to get congressmen to stall and obfuscate the healthcare reform issue. Health insurance companies don’t want to compete with a government plan less they be exposed with all the money they have been making from doctors, health facilities and patients.

Recently while on Twitter, my view on healthcare reform was challenged by a republican. Here is some of what he said:  Healthcare insurance for everyone isn’t realistic, You don’t have to be insured to get medical help for almost anything (even as small as a hangnail), Here (In the U.S.), where there is a high illegal population, we have hospitals who seek to ONLY see people without insurance, Healthcare and government will control (ration) care, Medicare and Medicaid ALREADY exist to insure those who can’t afford it, Steps we are taking as individuals are already in the right direction so what good will it do to create a giant government bureaucracy in the name of that which we are already doing?

(Of course he threw in Cap & Trade, illegal immigrants, housing, and global warming, which was fine since I answered those issues too.)

It was obvious he was getting his info from Rush Limbaugh or some other blowhard. I pointed out to him comments that were twisted or untrue. Others, I responded as follows: Healthcare insurance can and should be for everyone and government must act; it would be inexcusable not to. Everyone does have access to healthcare but not everyone can AFFORD it. People losing their jobs will also not be able to afford it. Those, through no fault of their own who are unemployed and NOT on welfare, and must pay out-of-pocket, will find medical costs ASTRONOMICAL and cannot easily afford it. Medicaid will help if you are on welfare, but Medicare will not cover much of the cost. I know this from experience with Medicare; I know the costs. As far as government rationing care, this is just a scare tactic by insurance companies, I worked at a huge health insurance company before, and I know those upper management people are making big bucks! They don’t want government involvement because then it will force them to lower THEIR rates and compete! Cost of healthcare is weighing on the economy. People cannot afford to take a short-term survivalist outlook because it will affect ALL – the economy as well – in the long term. If only few have insurance while others are without or unable to afford health treatments, this will AFFECT EVERYONE and hospitals & clinics as well.

Surprisingly, what seemed to stop him in his tracks was when I asked him, “Do you have medical insurance? And if YOU DON’T have medical insurance, why would you be so against having it under healthcare reform?”

He answered, “I do have insurance which I carefully chose to best aid my wife and myself in an emergency. I also know it will give us the opportunity at the absolute best doctors and care in the world should we need it.

I’m sure it surprised him when I said, “Yes, I have medical insurance too and have my own personal doctors that I will continue seeing. That won’t change. You know, having healthcare coverage myself, I could very easily be against healthcare reform because it would benefit me. But if my doctors begin having fewer patients, thus less business, what is the certainty they will be able to continue their practice? The short-term survivalist outlook will affect us ALL in the long run. ”

There was no response from him after that.

The next day I received a message (tweet) from him. “I will agree that many in the GOP are just as bad as democrats now, but that’s why we’re working to oust them. And Obama on Iran IS weak.”

Okay, sure, whatever he says. Even he couldn’t disagree with healthcare reform.

Note To Congress:  The AMA has endorsed H.R. 3200, a perfectly sound bill that can still make it in time for the August deadline. Don’t be surprised if your individual standing looks much worse in December for having delayed this bill until then. If the hope is for the bill to be killed by then, well of course the public will be looking for the surgical team that killed the patient.

And please, let’s not get funny with watering it down either.