Insurance profits matter more than people's lives: Democrats propose subsidizing COBRA

Just take a look at the inhuman proposal described here. The proposal is this: subsidize COBRA payments, which is effectively subsidizing insurance companies' profits.

I just don't even have the words. Why not just expand Medicare or relax Medicaid requirements? That's rhetorical--we know the answer is that this wouldn't benefit the insurance companies who own democratic politicians.

This. Is. Inhuman. Not merely inhumane, but inhuman: it's diabolical, evil, even. And democrats--the supposed champions of the poor and vulnerable--are the ones proposing it. Why not just propose a direct transfer to the health insurance companies' bank accounts? That's rhetorical, too: the reason is it doesn't offer the shabby facade of an attempt to help.

Anyone--anyone--who supports democrats' response to this crisis is either completely ignorant of what is going on, or else is a monster; a terribly immoral or stupid creature who should be feared and fought against. These people are supporting politicians' efforts to enrich the very institutions that are literally responsible for countless deaths and suffering. Are the politicians worse? Sure, but only because they're the ones doing this evil.

Just how goddamn bad does this have to get before people realize that democrats aren't on their side?!

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before they can admit that. Just like Republicans. Until then both will simply listen to what they are told and follow along. And fight about it, endlessly. And even when it hits them personally I would not count on any epiphany. It's hard to admit one was duped, and I would bet even harder when it's caused a personal catastrophe. Sure seems that way to me.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

Azazello's picture

That's what Obamacare is, a scheme to make health insurance "affordable" by shoveling cash to insurance companies. That's also why Bernie had to be stopped. He was threatening to cut out the middleman.

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22 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Cassiodorus's picture

Nobody's going to vote for this crap.

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19 users have voted.

“Those who make Bernie Sanders impossible will make Luigi Mangione inevitable." - Dan Berger

@Cassiodorus
So they can keep feeding the 1% while complaining about Trump and McConnell.
Of course they would prefer to control it all and do flim-flam like Clinton and Obama. But as long as they control the House they can make sure their masters, I mean donors, get their share of pie while conning the voters that they are a Resistance fighting the evil Trump.

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18 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

vtcc73's picture

Why not just propose a direct transfer to the health insurance companies' bank accounts? That's rhetorical....

Besides by making payments have to go through insurance companies who can, who am I kidding - will, deny coverage they can leverage profit and spread around the love. I'd love to see a study of the multiplier coming from denied coverage, collections, judgements, and bankruptcy proceedings. And all of it financed by tax dollars. Just think of all the dung beetles getting their piece of that turd as it crashes through people's broken lives. I bet there's a doctoral thesis in there somewhere if you can avoid getting whacked.

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11 users have voted.

"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

snoopydawg's picture

This is the word I have been searching for to describe what the game is. Callously diabolically evil. Everything that has happened since the epidemic started was done purposely with malicious aforethought. . Delaying the response to it for weeks. Not getting PPE and ventilators and everything else.. From the measly $1,200 one time payment that To giving us unemployment that people can't access Becks of the antique systems haven't been updated instead of monthly income like other countries are doing. Watching as people spend hours in line at food banks and seeing millions of pounds of vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk , potatoes and other food items instead of having or getting a system in place to get the food distributed.

People say that Trump is inept, but he's just following the orders he's being given to fudge up the response. Just like Bush wasn't taken off guard during Katrina. It was another asset grab and culling of the undesirables. When will we stop being sure at what democrats do? We still are hanging on to some hope that they will eventually get back to being better than the republicans. They won't. But they will continue hiding behind them and telling us that they tried their best to do something but they just didn't have the votes or McConnell won't let bills come up for consideration. Bullshit.

The oligarchs give congress their orders and they jump to and get it done. This government is corrupt beyond repair and people need to start seeing that.

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The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt

snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

Sorry that my comments have been full of grammatical errors that make them incomprehensible to understand. I'd fix them, but they are too discombobulated and I'm not up to doing it. Apologies... I'll blame the drugs for my week of mistakes as I have been in a viscous pain cycle.

This article is a must read and it's just too long to properly excerpt. But please read it.

Here's a taste. We have been discussing how our neoliberalism and capitalistic system puts profits over people and this highlights that.

Profits Over People

In advanced capitalist countries like the USA where the state machinery is completely overpowered by private capital, the absence of federal measures like universal healthcare to ensure the sustenance of all is forcing the majority of labourers in the unorganised and private sectors to continue working for a meagre wage so as to survive as discussed above. Companies like Starbucks and Uber had kept their services open till very recently, knowingly exposing their lower-level staff to infection even while denying them basic employment benefits, intending to maximise profit even at the expense of their workers. This choice between starvation and sickness imposed upon the working people in the time of the pandemic by the capitalists is nothing new or standalone but only the most recent and obvious manifestation of the workings of a system that puts profits over people since its very inception. The pandemic merely exposes in much clearer light the weaknesses and internal imbalances of the economic apparatus devised by neoliberal capitalism over the past few decades.

The slow response to the epidemic was done on purpose and with malicious aforethought and with depraved indifference which should be a criminal act in a sane world that had a sane and fair justice system. The people who are risking their lives while rich assholes are living on their yachts or private islands are also the ones who only made minimum wages and had no health insurance or other benefits. I hope people will take the time to read this because it accurately sums up what our government has done to us and how little they care for our lives. Let's remember that Jeff Bezos has made $24 billion since January and he still won't pay his workers a living wage nor will he give them health insurance. He just bought his 4th apartment in the same building for $16 million which in our world only cost him $10 from his vast wealth of $160 f'cking billions!

Side note. Who is behind the return to work protests? The sociopathic bank CEOs. The rich assholes like the Koch brothers and the DeVos families.... you know the people who actually don't give a damn if people live or die.

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4 users have voted.

The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt

In addition to the shovels full of cash being directed to the Insurance industry, Cobra is a temporary fix.

We need a log term solution.

But, I'm not entirely rigid. I'm not saying M4A or bust.

Offer me : 1) Medicaid Expansion to all 50 states. There are 11-14 states which Still haven't taken the Medicaid Expansion dollars that the Fed gives to the States. 100% for the first year and 90% thereafter. That money helps every resident of the States concerned because in that first 100% year all the hospitals and Community Health Centers can update and expand their facilities.

2) Raise the ceiling on the amount an individual or family can earn and still qualify. Eliminate the "work requirements" and all other barriers. That will greatly shrink the Gap between Medicaid and the ACA. Millions of people will get coverage that can't afford the ACA now.

3) Lower the Medicare age to 55. Add in all the services that Bernie was talking about. This will help get seniors like me out of our "Medicare Advantage Plans" and out of Insurance Company entanglements.

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NYCVG

dervish's picture

per family during the crisis gets laughed out of Congress, but instead Nancy wants to give $2K per month per family to the insurance companies, and we're supposed to get excited about that?

M4A would be a shitload cheaper, but they don't give a damn. Also note that Trump will run to the left of Joe, per his usual, but the Demotards will act as though they were blindsided by such completely unpredictable tactics.

Saban and the other fatass donors wanted to stop Bernie at all cost, even if it means more Trump, so they got their wish. Joe is doomed.

Here's a nice FU from Joe:

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

Both are beholden to "thinking in money" and all that results in.

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4 users have voted.

@tle

Sanders the first time around because I figured he might shake things up a little. I had low expectations, but even those weren't met.

Back then I came to the conclusion that America had two paths forward: one was to be a peaceful reorganization of our voting and electoral systems to permit multi-party representation, and the other would ultimately lead to a violent revolution. Seems like Democrats prefer the latter, and if they keep doing what they're doing by the time my kids are old enough to have kids they might have it. Populations will get real violent real quick if they're starving and ravaged by illness. We've got half that already--all it's gonna take is a sustained interruption in our food supply.

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