this is NOT competition to keep insurance companies "honest" , it's to destroy them. Look at the State health ins. plans in place now , they are for very low income, large families, small business, etc. The premiums for the rest with private insurance are going through the roof, You can't drop out of a crummy insurance company and just sign up with a "Public" one. But as more and more people become destitute, they will be able to and that's what the govt. wants, to ultimately control everything once they make it impossible from us to take care of ourselves.

This essay says a lot of what I've been thinking for a long time.
However, I do recall that I voted for GW in 2000 because of his ideas on tort reform, and voluntary partial privatization of SS. Although I wasn't too confident of his ability to get it through. He did give full tax deduction to the self-employed, and support to the Health Savings accounts which are now very popular.
The health agency I work for changed me from Independent contractor to per diem employee (taxes withheld , same work) several years ago.
As a result I can now itemize only 1/2 of my insurance premiums. I also lost my better and cheaper health insurance which I bought as a "sole proprietor". In New York sole proprietors (Schedule C income tax)...

I remember another Swine Flu scare when eldrly people were pressured into the new vaccine. More people died from that shot than from the swine flu. Now New York State is contemplating a law MANDATING swine flu vacc for every single health care worker, including self-employed

I just read the post about paying fopr Obamacare by eliminating the "100 billion a year in Iraq".. Did you forget Afghanistan ?

What they are carefully hiding is that the so-called public option or insurance "exchanges" would only by open to low income and/or those who are uninsured. Obama came right out and said this about the "exchanges" in his last speech. I have crummy coverage with very high premiums (mostly because I live in New York), can NOT drop mine and switch to any of the NY State subsidized plans, you have to be out of insurance for a year unless you lost your job.
Under Obamamcare those of us not covered by the job, not with any group or self-employed and not poor . wil actualy pay more for premiums and higher taxes to cover everyone else.

I don't understand why I haven't seen anything in the newspapers (I rarely watch TV) about the actual experiments in "universal" health care in Massachusetts, Oregon, Kentucky..

The public option WOULD within a few yearts force out all private insurance becasue the govt would have to approve of all private plans. This would be in the form of mandates, which is why pricing and coverage differ by states. Here in NY there are so many government mandates that there are about 3 private companies writing policies for individual insurance and at that they are very expensive. Also some of those policies are restricted to self- employed persons.

Re: the amount we spend on health care. The other countries always mentioned do NOT have the outrageous malpractice premiums paid by doctors (and passed on); they also don't have the amount of high tech available and expected by people. I am a health care professional and I'm, amazed about the amount of consumption by people of non-necessary medical
"services" and medication, and a lot of this is becaie people are just accustomed to it and their employer insurance is covering a lot of it. My patients are mainly geriatric and I believe that the vast majority of them are over-medicated and feeling even worse from the side effects.

Anyone who wants the vaccines should take them , then they don't have to worry about being harmed by those of us who choose not to.
I have many co workers who choose to accept the seasonal flu shot every year yet they don't want the swine flu. Unfortunately the State is mandating both. I also know of many health workers who want one or both shots for themselves but are admanatly opposed to FORCING anyone else.
This H1N1 shot was rushed through. The Test veion didn'
t contain the adjuvants that the mass produced one has , and it's the adjuvents that cause the damage.
Thimerosol contains mercury. Don't be fooled that a mercury free shot is fine, they are many other adjuvents that are just as bad if not worse. Synthetic...

to anglers reward: you are correct about informed consent...but would you believe, NY health care workers (at least in the major hosptal system I work for) are required to sign a CONSENT form ? Even though they are only taking the shot because of threat of losing their job ? They have a so-called fact sheet full of ommisions, distortions and outright lies, this is their Truth and supposedly all we need to know. Commissioner was on TV saying this shot is safe, blah . blah, blah