Michigan State U. Position still open

[Fred Sturm]

	Well, if everyone wants to give me an inch and say off-topic discussion of 
health insurance (and particularly national health insurance) is in line, 
I'll go ahead and grab a foot, if not the whole none yards. I'll try to 
restrain myself from going a full mile, though <g>.
1) Higher taxes for national health insurance? Well, in my own paycheck, 
the difference between a dollar in the tax column of the pay stub and a 
dollar in the insurance premium column is exactly nil. I take home the same 
amount. I currently pay well over 20% of gross income for health insurance. 
Why is that worse than paying another 20% in taxes? Can someone explain?
2) Choice. With my HMO, my choice of doctors is limited to those who are 
affiliated (with a few minor exceptions). If I go out of town, things get 
dicey - maybe I'm covered, maybe not. (BTW, for "I" read "my family.") If 
my doctor gets fed up and changes affiliation, quits, or moves, I'm in a 
bind. This happened three times in the last five years. Don't ask me how 
many times I heard the phrase "Sorry, none of our doctors are accepting new 
clients at this time." Bottom line, there is a bit of choice, but it's very 
limited. Why would there be less under a national plan?
3) Freedom. As it stands now, I'm pretty much stuck in my job until I 
qualify for Medicare (with the assumption I want to be covered by health 
insurance). I've been the self-employed route, and it sucks. I've had 
MidWest National decide they would no longer work in New Mexico. Went to 
another company via an alumni group. That firm severed ties with the alumni 
group. Went hunting again, and this time my wife was denied coverage due to 
supposed pre-existing conditions (I won't bore you with the details, but it 
was specious, based largely on a couple mis-diagnoses of symptoms that were 
later found to have simple explanations). So a large part of my motivation 
for making my contract university work into an employed situation was 
health insurance. (I have the one piano technician job in the state of New 
mexico that includes health insurance). I'll just mention that if you have 
a major illness as a self-employed, you will often find yourself dropped, 
or your premiums bumped way up. And finding another company to cover you 
will be a lost cause.
4) A nameless bureaucrat deciding what care I get. Well, in my book, there 
is very little practical difference between a civil servant bureaucrat and 
an HMO bureaucrat. Except that if things get really bad, I could probably 
get a congress or senate office to put a bit of pressure on the civil 
servant - similar pressure on the HMO would only pertain if I were a major 
stockholder. And the democratic process would write the rules and 
regulations, as opposed to the HMO accountants.
5) Socialism? Well, I'd say that if national health insurance is socialism, 
the choice is between socialism and corporatism. Corporatism I'll define as 
government operated for the benefit of corporations: subsidies for 
corporations (logging, mining, oil and gas exploration, nuclear plants, 
trucking, you name it); public money shovelled directly into corporate 
coffers (particularly the military/industrial complex, where no-bid 
contracts, cost overruns, and influence peddling are the norm - especially 
with today's blatant revolving door between the board room and the 
cabinet); and laws written for the benefit of corporations (eg, ensuring 
and maximizing profits for pharmaceuticals and HMO's). Socialism I'll 
define as government operated for the benefit of individuals: police and 
fire protection; infrastructure like roads, water, sewer, airports; 
education; Social Security and Medicare; laws written for the benefit and 
protection of individuals. I can't for the life of me see why public 
health doesn't belong with categories like these. And I think virtually 
every European and Canadian would agree - it's a no-brainer.
	

	End of tirade. NOW, I'll make use of my earlier apology for going 
off-topic. This is inflammatory stuff that probably doesn't really belong 
on the caut list. But hey, if everyone else is doing it? <g>
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico