Thursday, June 18, 2009

Poll

Think Progress. Links and comments at site.

Today, House Republicans offered a substance-less alternative to the Democrats’ health care plan. The GOP “plan” comes on the same day that Gallup releases new numbers showing the GOP ranks last when it comes to who the public thinks would get health care reform right. Only 34% of Americans are confident that Republicans in Congress will make the correct decisions, which is less than the insurance companies (35%) and the pharmaceutical companies (40%). The public’s faith in President Obama comes in at 58%, while confidence in Democratic leaders in Congress is at 42%:


You'd think doctors would be in favor of anything that lets them and their patients decide what's needed without a third party in some for-profit insurance company cubicle far away standing between them trying to deny as much care as possible.

You'd also think that doctors would support anything that simplifies their paperwork without some clown in each of 1000 insurance company cubicles trying to stiff them as much as possible.

You'd think they'd be falling all over themselves calling for single-payer.

Of course, that doesn't take into account their expectations of high pay and returns from investments in hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, HMOs, etc., not to mention the leasing of office space and their cut from the pharmacy in the medical building they own. Most doctors are Repug businessmen. See 'high pay and investments'.

I don't quite understand the results of the above poll, both that I think folks' trust in doctors is too high, and also that confidence in Pharma, insurance companies, Dem leaders in Congress and most particularly Repug congresstoads is waaaay too high.

To put this in words I can understand, I trust my mechanic to fix my car. I don't necessarily want him setting transportation policy.

With the exception of Fixer and me, of course. Everything would be high speed and low drag! Fuck it, let us figure out high speed, low drag health care too. We couldn't do much worse than the so-called 'experts'.

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