Polling in Atlanta About Health Care Reform
What do people think about Atlanta health insurance and health care reform?
The AJC recently did a story based on randomly interviewing people in Atlanta and as far south as Macon. Here are some of the things they heard.
William Mays moved the brush from one hand to the other, keeping it moving as he applied white paint to the black burglar bars on the front door of his brother’s southwest Atlanta home. He’s 45, self-employed, and favors a government plan for all.
“It’s got to be affordable,” said Mays, who is uninsured.
That’s nice, but nothing in HR 3200 even approaches affordable.
There is nothing magic about a government takeover of health care that will lower costs.
It hasn’t happened with Medicare. It hasn’t happened with Medicaid.
If it isn’t working for 80 million people why will it do any better for 330 million?
A veteran — he served in the Army from 1956 to 1959 – Scott has coverage through the Veterans Administration. He wondered out loud why lawmakers couldn’t expand Medicare and programs for needy children to cover people who cannot afford private health care.
“Couldn’t we improve on those programs to help the people who don’t have it?”
Yes we can.
But the way the government is going about it, making it another entitlement program, is not effective.
You can qualify for free health insurance (Medicaid) if you make less than 100% of the FPL (Federal Poverty Level), about $22,000 for a family of four. Rather than cutting people off at $22,100 let them buy in on a sliding scale.
This approach makes much more sense than simply cutting them off or even worse, giving it to them for free.
In a first-world country like this, I think it’s a right,” said Bower, 22, who is uninsured. “I think it is the responsibility, a little bit, of the government to protect families from financial ruin” brought by crushing health-care costs.
I always find it odd that most of the folks who want the taxpayer (government) to provide health insurance are those that don’t have it now. They don’t want health insurance but will sure take it if it is free.
Only children should be guaranteed health coverage; everyone else, said Dunlop, should work for a plan. He includes himself in that category: Dunlop said he isn’t covered
Guess it never occurred to the reporter to ask these folks why they didn’t have health insurance. At least that would give more credibility to the story.
Caldwell, 77, who has health insurance, thinks the government should establish a universal plan for those who cannot afford anything else. But people who can pay for their own coverage, she said, should be allowed to shop around.
Gee, that’s what we have now.
Medicaid for those who can’t afford health insurance, the ability to shop around for the rest.
Perhaps someone needs to tell her.
If you want to shop for affordable health insurance in Atlanta, we know just the place.