I’ve examined the healthcare plans of the three candidates for president, and clearly, Senator Hillary Clinton’s proposals appear to be the best.
Sen. Barack Obama wants to expand the existing healthcare programs for children and for those who are employed by small businesses, but his plan embraces the shortcomings that already exist in our system.
For example, although Gov. Rod Blagojevich likes to tout Illinois’ healthcare plan for children, the fact is that getting healthcare for my child is nearly impossible and it takes months.
I understand why. Blagojevich and Obama are shills for the healthcare industry lobby, which has one goal: to provide the highest cost insurance only to healthy people not likely to use it.
Then there is Republican John McCain, who proposes a plan that would allow you to purchase health insurance from any state, not just where you live.
Oh, that will resolve our problems?
Clinton’s plan is the closest to offering a real solution, proposing a cap on insurance costs — to 5 to 10 percent of a family’s income — and requiring everyone to have health insurance.
Of course, the insurance industry doesn’t want that. They know that if that happens, their profits will go down the tubes. It won’t be as much to rip off the sickly and the needy if everyone had the same access to healthcare.
In truth, the healthcare problem in America is not about costs, as the Republicans want to make, or as Obama is afraid to address. It is about getting healthcare services to everyone.
Here in Illinois, I’ve been haggling with Humana. You know, the insurance company that has all those soft-and-fuzzy TV commercials claiming they care about you. What a crock!
Humana is one of the worst, and I have been with many. Humana has a policy that even if you are already insured by them, when you change the policy, they treat you like you’re starting from scratch.
Humana did have some high priced PR person e-mail me saying he read my last column. Well, fasten your seat belt and grip your glasses, pal. Readers want even more!
Humana scammers will cover you for asthma in one policy, but deny you for the same coverage when you apply for a new policy, as my family is now doing.
We have been with them for maybe two years now. They covered us for asthma.
And now that we want to shift to a family policy, they want to exclude asthma and any other existing condition that was already covered previously.
When I was covered, I couldn’t get Humana to answer one damn question or even care. Now that I am applying for a different policy — Humana made me cancel my last one — they are consumed using my health to deny me coverage.
Of course, the State of Illinois and Blagojevich are useless. Our legislators only seem to care about issues when they get headlines.
What we need is an insurance policy that gives people the ability to purchase the medicines they need, shares the costs of healthcare equally based on income, and guarantees no one can be arbitrarily excluded (the “Humana Exclusion” clause) simply because companies like them want increased profits at the expense of reduced risk.
What we need is a system that says no matter what your ailment or pre-existing issues, you will get affordable medications and care.
Listen to archived radio discussions from last week’s edition of “Radio Chicagoland.” The radio show
is broadcast every Tuesday and Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. on WCEV 1450 AM, and past
shows may be archived at radiochicagoland.com.
(Ray Hanania can be reached at rayhanania@comcast.net. His weekly TV Show “30 Minutes” is broadcast every Friday at 7 p.m. on Channel 19 in Oak Lawn, Burbank and Bridgeview.)
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