Mitt Romney: Maybe Veterans' Health Care Should Be Privatized

[The T]

Which is not any different than what Unions do. Well one thing is different. The Share holders of cooperation's actually have a choice, if they don't like who the Cooperation gives their money to, they can sell their Shares. Unions force people to be Members, Take dues, and if their workers don't like how they spend the money. Most of the time your only Recourse is quit your job, or keep on letting your Dues fund an agenda you don't want.

It's against the law to force people to pay the portion of their union dues that would go for political action.

Not to mention, Unions have internal governance structures just like any other corporation, where the members get to be in control of the direction of the Union.

BY Force.

 

[NYcarbineer]

There should be absolutely no profit associated with war, if a viable non-profit alternative is available.

The fewer money interests who see war as a chance to make money, the better.

 

[Inthemiddle]

BY Force.

What the Hell kind of nonsense is that? Unions have regular elections in which leadership is chosen. Each member can vote as he or she sees fit. There's no "by force" about it.

 

[The T]

BY Force.

What the Hell kind of nonsense is that? Unions have regular elections in which leadership is chosen. Each member can vote as he or she sees fit. There's no "by force" about it.

See also:Right to work States...

 

[The T]

BY Force.

What the Hell kind of nonsense is that? Unions have regular elections in which leadership is chosen. Each member can vote as he or she sees fit. There's no "by force" about it.

Face it boy...you're a Statist masquerading as a yellow-bellied fence sitter.

 

[Inthemiddle]

Face it boy...you're a Statist

You're the one who believes that we should pass laws about people's romantic and sex lives, and I'm the statist?

masquerading as a yellow-bellied fence sitter.

This is the problem with our politics today. To many people demand that others take polar partisan positions. There is nothing wrong with being a centrist, or not simply subscribing wholesale to the "left" or "right." Or, for that matter, rejecting the false dichotomy. It's called being rationale.

 

[Greenbeard]

Face it boy...you're a Statist

You're the one who believes that we should pass laws about people's romantic and sex lives, and I'm the statist?

In fairness, he also believes the state should regulate what doctors can and cannot discuss with patients. He's versatile in his selective embrace of "statism."

 

[Lakhota]

Mitt doesn't know what he stands for.

 

[JoeB131]

Mitt doesn't know what he stands for.

sure he does... He stands for getting elected for the Great Glory of Kolob!

 

[Political Junky]

VA Hospital Care is considered to be among the best in the world. Of course, nothing is perfect. You can find horror stories everywhere. But the VA spends around 94cents of every dollar on the patients. For health care companies, it's much less. Just the fact that health care CEO's can make paychecks of over a hundred million dollars. How many people are denied care and policies skimmed to make a single one hundred million dollar paycheck? Republicans call that "good". It's their version of capitalism. Wonder what their Jesus would call it?

Absolutely, the VA delivers great care and, as you say, at a low overhead.
Romney is bending over for the private insurance companies, who will profit a great deal from privatization.

 

[Inthemiddle]

Absolutely, the VA delivers great care and, as you say, at a low overhead.
Romney is bending over for the private insurance companies, who will profit a great deal from privatization.

Romney is not proposing that we do this. It was an off the top of his head thought that came up in the course of a conversation.

The way you all are going on, you're going to cripple the ability of ANY politician to ever think about or consider ANYTHING, because they'll first have to get voter approval to even start thinking about whether something is a good idea, before they can come out and suggest something is a good idea. Politicians already suffer from a bad enough habit of not thinking enough. Stop making it so that it'll be political suicide to think at all.

 

[The T]

Mitt doesn't know what he stands for.

Neither do you. YOU don't have an original thought...you post talking points and have the audacity to post links to them.

 

[Lakhota]

Mitt doesn't know what he stands for.

Neither do you. YOU don't have an original thought...you post talking points and have the audacity to post links to them.

It beats just making shit up with no supporting facts.

 

[Amelia]

Absolutely, the VA delivers great care and, as you say, at a low overhead.
Romney is bending over for the private insurance companies, who will profit a great deal from privatization.

Romney is not proposing that we do this. It was an off the top of his head thought that came up in the course of a conversation.

The way you all are going on, you're going to cripple the ability of ANY politician to ever think about or consider ANYTHING, because they'll first have to get voter approval to even start thinking about whether something is a good idea, before they can come out and suggest something is a good idea. Politicians already suffer from a bad enough habit of not thinking enough. Stop making it so that it'll be political suicide to think at all.

^^^^^

appreciated

 

[JoeB131]

Absolutely, the VA delivers great care and, as you say, at a low overhead.
Romney is bending over for the private insurance companies, who will profit a great deal from privatization.

[Romney is not proposing that we do this. It was an off the top of his head thought that came up in the course of a conversation.

The way you all are going on, you're going to cripple the ability of ANY politician to ever think about or consider ANYTHING, because they'll first have to get voter approval to even start thinking about whether something is a good idea, before they can come out and suggest something is a good idea. Politicians already suffer from a bad enough habit of not thinking enough. Stop making it so that it'll be political suicide to think at all.

Given his track record, we should call these things even when they talk about them.

We have RomneyCare, which was a big wet sloppy kiss to big insurance, forcing thousands of people to become their customers who probably didn't want to.

The VA is a great organization. It's one of the few Government Agencies that does what it is supposed to so, mostly because the people working there are usually vets themselves and are committed to helping their fellows. Other government agencies could learn from them.

But when I see a Plutocrat like Romney smacking his lips at the big pile of money, and his history of "schemes to make rich people richer" as he described Bain Capital once, I have to be a little suspicious he might mess up the organization I might have to depend on for medical care in my old age.

 

[Valerie]

Absolutely, the VA delivers great care and, as you say, at a low overhead.
Romney is bending over for the private insurance companies, who will profit a great deal from privatization.

Romney is not proposing that we do this. It was an off the top of his head thought that came up in the course of a conversation.

The way you all are going on, you're going to cripple the ability of ANY politician to ever think about or consider ANYTHING, because they'll first have to get voter approval to even start thinking about whether something is a good idea, before they can come out and suggest something is a good idea. Politicians already suffer from a bad enough habit of not thinking enough. Stop making it so that it'll be political suicide to think at all.

Exactly...

In response to Democratic criticism, Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said: “Mitt Romney is only interested in providing veterans with the world-class care they deserve and reversing the defense cuts and failed policies of the Obama administration. He did not lay out any new policy proposals today.”

And here in South Carolina, veterans who heard Romney speak had a more positive reaction, saying that his interest in how the VA system works seemed “genuine” and that they appreciated his desire to learn about what they had gone through.

Romney asked several specific questions of the group about the care they had received from the VA and what they thought were the biggest obstacles to receiving adequate care.

Mitt Romney Floats ‘Private Sector Competition’ For Vets’ Health Care System - ABC News

 

[Valerie]

Blue Cross and Blue Shield developed separately, with Blue Cross plans providing coverage for hospital services, while Blue Shield covered physicians' services.[5]

Blue Cross is a name used by an association of health insurance plans throughout the United States. Its predecessor was developed by Justin Ford Kimball in 1929, while he was vice-president of Baylor University's health care facilities in Dallas, Texas.[6] The first plan guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for $6 a year, and was later extended to other employee groups in Dallas, and then nationally.[6] The American Hospital Association (AHA) adopted the Blue Cross symbol in 1939 as the emblem for plans meeting certain standards. In 1960 the AHA commission was superseded by the Blue Cross Association. Affiliation with the AHA was severed in 1972.

The Blue Shield concept was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by employers in lumber and mining camps of the Pacific Northwest to provide medical care by paying monthly fees to medical service bureaus composed of groups of physicians.[7] The first official Blue Shield Plan was founded in California in 1939. In 1948 the symbol was informally adopted by nine plans called the Associated Medical Care Plan, and was later renamed the National Association of Blue Shield Plans.

In 1982 Blue Shield merged with The Blue Cross Association to form the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.[8]

Prior to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, organizations administering Blue Cross Blue Shield were tax exempt under 501(c)(4) as social welfare plans. However, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 revoked that exemption because the plans sold commercial-type insurance. They became 501(m) organizations, subject to federal taxation but entitled to "special tax benefits"[9] under IRC 833. In 1994, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association changed to allow its licensees to be for-profit corporations.[5] Some plans[specify] are still considered not-for-profit at the state level.




Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield insurance companies are licensees, independent of the association (and traditionally each other), offering insurance plans within defined regions under one or both of the association's brands. Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers offer some form of health insurance coverage in every U.S. state. They also act as administrators of Medicare in many states or regions of the US,[10] and provide coverage to state government employees as well as to the federal government employees under a nationwide option of the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan.[11]




Blue Cross Blue Shield Association - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia