On May 3rd, 2011, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) stood up for the ability of consumers to access affordable, quality health care through health insurance exchanges. Transcript: I guess I don't understand. I don't understand what our Republican colleagues want to accomplish here. They talk about free market; they talk about the opportunity have options and opportunities. I think that's exactly what an exchange does. So I don't quite understand what this is all about.
I was Insurance Commissioner, the elected Insurance Commissioner, in 1991, and we set up an exchange. Unfortunately, Governor Wilson vetoed it, otherwise we'd have had this exchange years ago.
And a year ago, the California legislature with the signature of a Republican Governor, Schwarzenegger, created an exchange, based upon the Affordable Care Act. And they want to put it in effect.
The Republican proposal on the floor here would make it impossible for California to do what it wants to do. That is set up a marketplace where people have access to insurance. The notion being that by creating the exchange, you spread the risk across many populations, so that, like a huge corporation, you have an opportunity as an individual purchaser or small business to participate in a large pool and accept the lower rate of insurance.
So what's this all about? What are you trying to accomplish here? Is it some ideology that you just simply can't stand the Affordable Care Act, and you want to rip it apart piece by piece. Apparently so. And you don't want to just stop there.
You're going after Medicare, a program that has been in effect for 42 years. That provides a universal insurance policy to anyone over 65. You're going to terminate Medicare. What's that all about? And give it to an insurance company and not have an exchange?
So what's an individual going to do when they're 65 and possessing all kinds of preexisting conditions? Go without insurance? Be at the mercy of the insurance companies? And by the way, you want to repeal all the insurance reforms. All of the protections that individuals have in the Affordable Care Act.
This doesn't make much sense to me. I don't understand what your goal is here, except to maybe have some political scorecard. You can say, 'Yeah, we repealed the Affordable Care Act. Good for us.'
But what effect to the population of America?
No exchanges. They're gone.
No opportunity for small businesses to enjoy a large market, a large pool, in which they can have a lower price. They're gone.
Oh I see, you're going to have an association health plan. I spent eight years of my life chasing after association health plans that were frauds. They were out and out frauds sold across state lines. Is that what you want? Apparently so. I don't get it. I don't understand what the goal is here.
The Affordable Care Act establishes an exchange allowing individuals and small businesses to be part of a large pool to have four different options on their insurance, and you want to do away with it. I don't get it.
You want to do away with clinics at schools so kids can have access to health care. I don't understand.
You cut all the money out from the community clinics so that people have to go to the emergency rooms in a more expensive situation. What's this all about? I don't understand what the goal is that our Republican colleagues have in mind.
The exchanges make sense. They created a marketplace for small businesses. The exchanges create a market, gentlemen and ladies, they create a market! It's a market-driven program, in which competition occurs, competition between the insurance companies who have to offer quality and price. You got a problem with competition? Apparently so.
You want to do away with the exchange. Apparently what you really want to do is hand over the entire game to the insurance companies, removing all of the controls, removing all of the necessity for them to compete, and apparently create some sort of association plan so the public can be ripped off.
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Republican Plan to End Medicare: Boon for Billionaires, Misery for Middle-Classby garamendiCA10324 views
perhaps you should really investigate how a govt that has continouously spent more than it takes in is allowed to function or even be trusted. Hmm how much money in taxes do you take out of a person's check in addition to Medicare and SS and then you try and make insurance mandatory under threat of fines. Kind of violating the trust of the people are you not?If you think you can dictate to the American people what to buy, then do us a favor and resign and stop pushing your bullshit on us. Thx.
shaithis80 6 months ago
hey if you haven't figured it out yet, the for profit model of health insurance has failed. If I'm scraping by on $10/hr then don't expect me to budget out for my own health insurance. But insurance is just an easy way out to take and doesn't serve as a real solution for pricing medical costs according to a person's income level where one can pay a reasonable amount in cash without going broke. Forcing people to do business with insurers is a sign of tyranny that will not be tolerated.
shaithis80 6 months ago
also unless you can guarantee me a stable job situation for life, don't ask me to maintain health insurance.You don't dictate how I spend my money especially if I'm not making much.To some medical insurance is a monthly expense that is not easily absorbed. Some of us go from job to job where income fluctuates so can't really forsee taking on an additional monthly expense now can I.Unless you are prepared to really solve the root causes of skyrocketing medical costs, then u should not be in power
shaithis80 6 months ago
why don't you wake the fuck up. If you are not addressing skyrocketing medical costs and how the industry inflated beyond the scope of the public market, then you are not addressing much. Get rid of medical insurance and get those rip off medical rates back down. We don't make 6 figures like you do nor can we sustain medical bills for life. The for profit medical industry deserves to go belly up with the rates they have been charging.Seems like you don't care about the health of the people
shaithis80 6 months ago