McCain Health Care Policy- "There are no uninsured Americans"

gifford1967 · Aug 28, 2008

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

I definitely think McCain should run on this health care policy. Just like our economic problems are really just "mental", the health care crisis is just a matter of redefining the meaning of "insured".

Texas still leads nation in rate of uninsured residents

12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 27, 2008
By JASON ROBERSON / The Dallas Morning News
jroberson@dallasnews.com

Texas once again led the nation with the highest percentage of residents without health insurance, a U.S. Census Bureau report showed Tuesday, although the same study also reports a slight dip last year in the percentage without coverage across the nation.

Almost one of every four Texas residents – 24.8 percent – were uninsured in 2006 and 2007, based on an average of the rates for those two years. That's up from 23.9 percent for 2004 and 2005.

The national number also increased a bit for the two-year period to 15.5 percent. However, looking at 2007 by itself, the percentage of uninsured in the country fell from 15.8 percent in 2006 to 15.3 percent in 2007. (State percentages were given only for two-year periods.)

California still has the highest number – not percentage – of uninsured residents at 6.7 million, compared with 5.7 million Texans. The Texas number is up from 5.5 million in 2006.

McCain adviser

But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

Mr. Goodman's analysis drew a sharp response from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an Austin-based think tank focusing on poverty issues. "That is not the same thing as having health insurance," said Eva Deluna, a budget analyst for the center. People without insurance are less likely to seek care, and when they do, the cost to the health system is greater, she said.

Fight on statistics

According to Mr. Goodman, only people who are denied care are truly uninsured – everyone who gets care is effectively insured by some mechanism. "So instead of producing worthless statistics that people fling around in vacuous editorials and pointless debates, the Census Bureau should produce meaningful numbers, identifying all of the sources of funds people will draw on if they need medical care," he said.

Ms. Deluna argued that the situation actually is worse now than the Census Bureau reported. The just-released data does not reflect the recent economic downturn, she said.

It makes no sense, she continued, for Texas to have the nation's highest percentage of uninsured residents, while having one of the nation's strongest economies for job growth.

In luring jobs to Texas, state and local officials have simply focused on the number of jobs, rather than on quality jobs offering health insurance, Ms Deluna said.

"People are working harder than ever, but the jobs they have don't provide health insurance," she said.

The number of Texans receiving health insurance through their jobs dropped to 11.9 million last year, from 12.1 million the year before, according to the Census Bureau.

Nationally, the overall number without insurance fell to 45.7 million last year, from 47 million in 2006.

The decline came as more Americans shifted to government Medicaid and Medicare coverage, said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a nonprofit health care advocacy group in Washington D.C.

An estimated 1.3 million additional people signing up for Medicaid and 1 million more signing up for Medicare were the main drivers of the lower uninsured rate, he said. "Ironically, this all happened while the president was trying to cut back on Medicaid," Mr. Pollack said.

Household incomes

In other findings, the report said:

• The nation's official poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5 percent, unchanged from 2006. However, the number of Americans living in poverty grew to 37.3 million in 2007, up from 36.5 million in 2006.

• Real median income, adjusted for inflation, rose for both black and non-Hispanic white households between 2006 and 2007, representing the first real increase in annual household income for each group since 1999.

• Among racial groups, black households had the lowest median income in 2007 at $33,916. That compares with a median of $54,920 for non-Hispanic white households. Asian households had the highest median income, $66,103. The median income for Hispanic households was $38,679.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...insured_27bus.ART.State.Edition2.4dce428.html
Click to expand...

rhadamanthus · Aug 28, 2008

Unbelievable.

BigBenito · Aug 28, 2008

Sherry in 'Logjammin': [on video] You must be here to fix Health Care.
Maude Lebowski: Lord. You can imagine where it goes from here.
The Dude: He fixes Health Care?
Maude Lebowski: Don't be fatuous, Jeffrey
Click to expand...

or

Walter Sobchak: You want Health Care? I can get you Health Care, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don't wanna know about it, believe me.
The Dude: Yeah, but Walter...
Walter Sobchak: Hell, I can get you Health Care by 3 o'clock this afternoon... with nail polish. These ****ing amateurs...
Click to expand...

I honestly can't decide.

Rocketman95 · Aug 28, 2008

Is this an Onion article?

radapharoah · Aug 28, 2008

WTF...these people are out of touch...but half of america still identifies with them...its very sad that people can be so blind

DonnyMost · Aug 28, 2008

Bombshell of a screw up.

Run with it, Dems. Run with it.

Franchise2001 · Aug 28, 2008

radapharoah said:

WTF...these people are out of touch...but half of america still identifies with them...its very sad that people can be so blind
Click to expand...

I'm sure the logic is...

[fear mongering]
If we give everybody healthcare... everybody will start having abortions!! SAVE THE BABIES!! SAVE THE BABIES!! SAVE THE BABIES!!
[/fear mongering]

TheFreak · Aug 28, 2008

It appears I missed the part where McCain's Health Care policy was that "there are no uninsured Americans". Looking at johnmccain.com, I don't see it listed there either. Can someone help me out?

B-Bob · Aug 28, 2008

Here you go, from McCain's advisor:

--------------------
Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

pirc1 · Aug 28, 2008

Wow that was very impressive! I am surprised no one thought of such a brilliant solution earlier!

HayesStreet · Aug 28, 2008

B-Bob said:

Here you go, from McCain's advisor:

--------------------
Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."
Click to expand...

Candidates positions/policies are 'crafted' by many people from different sources. What they express on their own outside of that is not necessarily indicative of what the candidate thinks or is actually preposing. McCain is not proposing this Census fix as far as I can tell.

tested911 · Aug 28, 2008

I'm trying to look for the youtube video where he say's the Economy is strong (Fundamentally) So Fundamental he has no idea what economics is!!

JuanValdez · Aug 28, 2008

It sounds tongue-and-cheek. Do you think this was serious, or are you thinking too much about partisan advantage to wonder whether or not this could trully by McCain's position?

McCain will have damage control out later, I suppose. But, this whole dance is stupid. Someone says something unusual; media blows it out of proportion; opposition party feigns indignant; transgressing party says they were misunderstood; everyone spins in their own mind why this whole incident means their guy should win; repeat. I'm so sick of it already, and I still have over 2 months (and the rest of my life) to go. If only George Bush would overthrow the government, shred the Constitution, and establish a totalitarian regime; then I wouldn't have to put up with it anymore.

BigBenito · Aug 28, 2008

tested911 said:

I'm trying to look for the youtube video where he say's the Economy is strong (Fundamentally) So Fundamental he has no idea what economics is!!
Click to expand...

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9OV37QSDN14&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9OV37QSDN14&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

gifford1967 · Aug 28, 2008

HayesStreet said:

Candidates positions/policies are 'crafted' by many people from different sources. What they express on their own outside of that is not necessarily indicative of what the candidate thinks or is actually preposing. McCain is not proposing this Census fix as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...

This guy is a current McCain advisor who helped draft his health care policy. His quotes in this story demonstrate a stunning lack of knowledge about the way the health system works in the U.S. and scope of the problem with respect to uninsured Americans.

This is only about 1000x times more relevant than the burning question of Obama's relationship with Ayers that's got you so fascinated.

glynch · Aug 28, 2008

What are the unisured whining about? John McCain had no health insurance while he was a POW.

deepblue · Aug 28, 2008

I guess that means Wright represents what Obama believes in? Or wait, that's ok, he no longer is an Obama adviser after he was tossed under the bus.

radapharoah · Aug 28, 2008

glynch said:

What are the unisured whining about? John McCain had no health insurance while he was a POW.
Click to expand...

lol that what he probably was thinking

Baqui99 · Aug 28, 2008

This needs to be hammered home along with the "fundamentally strong" economy comment.

radapharoah · Aug 28, 2008

deepblue said:

I guess that means Wright represents what Obama believes in? Or wait, that's ok, he no longer is an Obama adviser after he was tossed under the bus.
Click to expand...

he was never a campaign adviser

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McCain Health Care Policy- "There are no uninsured Americans"

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