Playing Politics with People's Lives
By Thom Hartmann A...
Another rural Georgia hospital is closing its doors as that state continues to block the Medicaid expansion. The Lower Oconee Community Hospital does not have enough volume to stay open, yet many of the nearby residents are being refused much need health insurance that would have provided that facility with more patients. This is the fourth rural hospital in Georgia being forced to shut down, which means residents will have to travel about thirty miles if they need hospital care. The Hospital's CEO Karen O'Neal told CBS, “It's a terrible situation, and it's tragic.”
In Wheeler County, where this hospital operates, one in four residents is uninsured, and more than 40 percent of children live in poverty. The Medicaid expansion would provide these Americans with much-needed healthcare, and it would allow these hospitals to remain open. Republicans have falsely criticized the Affordable Care Act for forcing people to change doctors, but their refusal to expand Medicaid is leaving Americans with no doctor at all.
Because of Republican governors and lawmakers, five million people are being denied health insurance, and facilities like this are being denied the income to keep their doors open. Americans deserve the health insurance that their tax dollars are paying for, and they need an emergency room that is less than thirty miles from their homes. It's time for Republicans to expand Medicaid in every state, provide medical insurance to every American, and stop playing politics with people's lives.
Comments
#2
Republican members of Congress and Republican Governors will do anything they can to make the Affordable Care Act to appear to be a disaster. If that means that 100,000's of their citizens go without coverage, that is fine with them. If they allowed these folks to get coverage they would be pleased with the health care services. That pleasure would make them likely to support Democratic candidates. This is not about money it is about politics and power. The Republican Party leadership is completely corrupt. They behave as if they are domestic terrorists.
#3
I agree that the states that have used the Supreme Court decision, which allows them to opt-out of the Medicaid part of the ACA is criminal.The Supreme Court ruling, created the avenue for states to refuse the 100% funding of Medicaid. These states are playing politics with the people who need healthcare the most!! I wish their actions could be illegal and all so-called representatives of the people could be prosecuted or sued in civil courts, but the Supreme Court once again saw an opportunity in the Act and made the action of these states legal. I do not know what we can do with the "red" states who are brainwashed by the corporate media. I live in a one of these states and to my dismay too many people are blaming the ACA and President Obama. The strategy of the right-wing Republicans in these states seems to be working. If I challenge someone about these beliefs, they become angry and have no logical answers for their opinions. I will continue to fight to get these people out of office this year.
#4
I think that these RepubliThugs are using their own constituents poorly and need to be voted out of office.
Now the problem is to get Grass Roots Action moving in Georgia and pushing for the right to have this coverage.
Many people are going to be hurt by this and people will die. Those who have blocked the ACA from their constituents should be arrested for Wrongful Death charges, if this happens.
No one is above the Law and even Lawmakers must pay the price when they are wrong.
Where are the Preachers and Elders of the Churches who help the poor and who should be supporting the People? Why aren't they speaking out and telling the truth rather than the lies of the GOP/TeaPartiers?
Where is the Christian service of ministering to the weak and ill? Christ healed the sick and disabled with no question about who they were and what they did with their lives. He only wanted them to know the Love of God.
The ACA is one way for all of us to help each other, like Jesus taught. Stop this stupidity and Share the Love.
Just Sayin'.
#5
It's a grave situation created by Republicans, it's immoral, and could have been avoided. Nothing against against CEO Karen O'Neal, but she had CBS's attention....just tell the damn truth. I wonder how many of those Georgia residents are blaming Obama, based on Karen's comment, "It's a terrible situation, and it's tragic"???...thaaanks OOOOBAMA!
#6
Quote Aliceinwonderland:In my opinion, these Republican governors should be lined up and shot.
Then stick them in an ambulance and rush them to an emergency room in one of the abandoned hospitals. How sweet would that be?
#7
Marc, that's what I love about you; sweet and and generous to a fault, with an ornery streak. My kinda guy! - AIW
#8
Does anyone need anymore proof that repuglicans want poor people to DIE?!?
#9
Quote DAnneMarc:Then stick them in an ambulance and rush them to an emergency room in one of the abandoned hospitals. How sweet would that be?
Sweeter still if you also sent them a bill for the ambulance ride.
#10
DAnneMarc: Wasn't there a guy somewhere around Oakland that was having a serious medical condition where the wife had to call for an ambulance. The ambulance came and they got him in the ambulance but then the 60(?) year old man thought the EMT team was treating him too roughly and so he went back into the house and came out with a base ball bat because they were trying to get him to get back into the ambulance.
By this time the police were there and they shot him dead. Admittedly, he had a drinking problem and was probably drunk and they had repeated drunk-related calls previously but to shoot an old guy that needed urgent medical care...and they shot him...or tased him? They could have at least have shot him in the leg or even just a warning shot. Big bad policemen are scared of a baseball bat? Something is definitely wrong with this picture. And it is occurring so often that it's really scary. It is really risking one's life to do or say anything other than "Yes sir...I'll do whatever you say sir...just please don't shoot me...SIR!"
And there was an old guy who shot this younger theater goer because he threw a bag of popcorn at him because the old guy was ticked off that the younger guy was texting during a movie...it was actually during the previews...I believe. Some people just are too unstable to carry a concealed weapon like that..and I understand that, in California, they are going to make it easier for people to carry concealed weapons.
And the old guy who, at a filling station, thought he was going to be Mr. Big Shot and tell a car full of black kids to turn their music down. Then he shot one of the kids when the car sped away.
And it's not just the old guys against the young guys..it's been the cops shooting up people no matter who they are. And, of course, the drive by shootings...young guys shooting anyone who is in the way...even little kids in their homes. And young guys breaking into old people's houses and robbing and killing them.
#11
Now that we have Obamacare...the insurance companies will raise their rates.
Originally, Obamacare was suppose to not allow insurance companies to raise rates above certain limits but Obama, and congress, were too chicken to fight the insurance companies on that part.
I understand that California's D. Feinstein is working on legislation to put caps on health insurance companies...but there is another California organization that is working really hard to stop insurance companies from raising rates.
All of the health insurance companies are heavily funding anti-capping and I imagine they will go all out to fool people into supporting their anti-capping efforts. They are really sneaky...so watch it when you are accosted by petition signers. They may be like American's Elect...pretending to be for the people but really not.
I was told that a few years ago the agribusiness did some really sneaky things in fighting the ingredients labeling measure by sending out mailers with photos of Democrats and printed in green trying to make people think the Democrats and Greens should vote against the measure. And, of course, agribusiness won.
There was a good article on Truthdig about the efforts to fight insurance rate increases.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/fixing_obamacare_california_might_ca...
And I hear Anthem Blue Cross is pulling a sneaky...pulling out of Obamacare while advertizing that... "Obamacare requires you to be covered by a certain date...so hurry and sign up with Anthem Blue Cross now"!
#12
I think it is sad people are left without health assistance. I believe the health system in northern European countries is far more compassionate.
I have a friend who can't get insurance for the simple reason that she hasn't been in the country 5 years yet, she has only a part-time job so can't afford the premiums and can't find suitable full-time work; she's 65 and she doesn't know what to do about this ACA.
#13
Quote Palindromedary:And I hear Anthem Blue Cross is pulling a sneaky...pulling out of Obamacare while advertizing that... "Obamacare requires you to be covered by a certain date...so hurry and sign up with Anthem Blue Cross now"!
Palindromedary ~ Yeah, that's for sure. I got one of those letters. They're sending them out at random--just like mortgage companies tele-market. I got mine just after signing up for a new policy. It was obvious. I was very lucky. The letter looked quite legit. I'm getting really fed up with all the BS and con artists out there. We are only as good as we regulate ourselves.
#14
DAnneMarc: I think it is "the new wild west", referring to the whole of the US. The criminals are running the show and doing whatever they can, as fast as they can, to rip as many people off as they can....and also manage to kill off a sizable portion of the population as well. If they can kill off most of the old retirees, they will get off the hook for honoring their obligations.
#15
By the way, this is in reply to #4 not #5 (SIGH...)
Mr. Brannon, I don't know how you can stand living in one of those "red states", among the ignoramus "don't confuse me with the facts" crowd... holey moley brother, you've got your work cut out for you. Obama can be blamed for many things, but no way does that justify the mindlessness with which teabrained southern rednecks blame him for everything. Yet these dumb asses who loudly claim government should be drowned in a bathtub are sucking up more government money than the rest of us in the so-called "blue states". I love listening to Randi Rhodes' rants about those guys. She says Lincoln got it all wrong, that he should've just let them secede from the union so that they'd no longer be a burden or an annoyance to us. I guess the down side of such a scenario is the burden those parasites would have continued to be on the slaves doing all their grunt work... Had there not been a Civil War and had the union not prevailed, how long slavery would have dragged on is anyone's guess.
Anyway... I feel for ya. It must be awfully disheartening to be surrounded by such stupidity. I imagine the ruling class thrives on ignorance of that sort, which must be a lot of the incentive behind their efforts to destroy public education. At any rate, we might not live long enough to see the end of this nightmare. - Aliceinwonderland
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What this translates to is a death sentence for an untold number of people who, knowingly or unknowingly, suffer from life-threatening conditions... all just to be a pawn on someone else's chess board. If that doesn't highlight the naked, raw evil of the "Party of No", nothing does. In my opinion, these Republican governors should be lined up and shot. - Aliceinwonderland