An open letter to President Bush about healthcare

[tbone]

Dear Mr. President,
I say this with the utmost of respect, you sir are an idiot!

In the State of the Union address on Janunary 23rd you introduced your plan for getting more Americans insured. I'm all for that, so I support you on this issue. It's the mechanism in which you go about solving this issue which is extremely troublesome. Your plan is a tax cut for all people who buy health insurance outside of the workplace. There are two main issues I have with this plan.

First, this seems to be a free pass to employers who were on the fence to now stop offering health coverage. Health care is already unaffrodable for many people and businesses and between the years 2000 and 2006, five million fewer Americans received job-based health coverage according the a Kaiser Family Foundation Study.

``If employees can go out and get private coverage with the same tax breaks as they'd get through employer-sponsored coverage, more companies will simply give them the money and let them find their own coverage,''

Paul Fronstin, director of the health research and education programs at the non-partisan Employee Benefit Research Institute

Second, if 47 million Americans already can't afford health coverage, what in the world makes you think those making the least amount of money can afford to pay monthly premiums averaging $352 for an individual or $956.67 for a family because now they will get back more money in taxes in April? Most of these people pay minimal to no taxes anyway due to the massive exemptions they get based on their low income.

A person making minimum wage (assuming it will rise to $7.25) and working 40 hours per week makes $1,160 per month. I'm not going to factor in taxes because as soon as I do a Bush supporter will point out the tax break will lower them, so I'm assuming NO taxes whatsoever. Assuming they are able to make it into subsidized housing (which has been cut every year since you've been in office and hasn't admitted new people in the past 3 years) they will pay 1/3 of their income, $386. Assuming are fortunate enough to live near decent public transportation and they take that to work, $120 per month. Food, as making minimum wage full time is consideredd too much to be eligible for food stamps, would run around $300 a month if corners are cut. Utilities are generally prorate in subsidized housing for $50 for water/eletric/gas/garbage should do it. $70 for basic phone and cable. Ok, so nots thats not assuming any other expenses like cleaning his clothes, entertainment, etc.

Grand total $926 per month to live and go to and from work. He's about $130 short of being able to make insurance premiums per month and even if he could scrapte it together, where will he find the money to pay for the co-pays in case he does get sick?

Factor in local taxes and you know in real life, this isn't going to help low income people, maybe it might help people making $40k and above who's employers for one reason or another don't offer insurance, but these numbers are very small.

So in conclusion, fix the healthcare system for all of us. End rampant lawsuits, regulate providers, and get costs down as opposed to throwing another wrench into a system that is on the verge of catastrophe. I have employer provider healthcare and am thankful, don't screw me and give employers a reason to get out of offering healthcare because of your half brained proposal.

Sincerely,

Joe Voter.


My letter, but here are where I got some of the facts:
MercuryNews.com | 01/23/2007 | Bush to propose tax deduction for health care

[tbone]

A full day, the State of the Union is over, and no one has an opinion on Bush's new healthcare tax cut plan that will most likely end employer sponsored healthcare as we know it?

[thatguyoverthere]

Would you want somebody that doesn't have kids and hates kids running a day care center? Somebody who hates dogs watching yours for two weeks? George W. Bush and his supporters loathe to the core of their being the very idea of government helping citizens with their health care. Why would anyone expect their health care plans to be anything but a mess of bullshit designed to make things as difficult as possible?

Bush has never sat at a kitchen table looking at his bills and wondering how he's going to pay them. How could he possibly have any understanding about what the average poor person goes through?