What is Digg?273 Comments
- verticalQ, on 09/16/2008, -10/+79Let me get this right... charging everyone more money for health coverage will help provide people that can't afford insurance now with health care?
That makes about as much sense as billboards that say "learn to read." - kmeyer86, on 09/16/2008, -22/+76It's scary that he wants to destroy so many people's health care, and nobody knows.
- inactive, on 09/16/2008, -3/+46For starters, the McCain health plan would treat employer-paid health benefits as income that employees would have to pay taxes on.
According to the study: “The McCain plan will force millions of Americans into the weakest segment of the private insurance system — the nongroup market — where cost-sharing is high, covered services are limited and people will lose access to benefits they have now.”
Under the McCain plan (now the McCain-Palin plan) employees who continue to receive employer-paid health benefits would look at their pay stubs each week or each month and find that additional money had been withheld to cover the taxes on the value of their benefits.
WTF?
MORE money LESS coverage.
Typical GOP stupidity. - wreckosaurus, on 09/16/2008, -10/+46Countdown to "Reported by diggers as possibly inaccurate"
- jburik, on 09/16/2008, -9/+44The proposed tax credit MAY cover my situation by the end of the year, but no help for me finding the money for the premium with after-tax dollars; and will the "extra income" push me into a higher bracket? Also NO HELP for those who currently are without insurance. At first blush it appears to be another "privatization push" which -- to me -- always seems to leave out those most in need.
- an0nymous, on 09/16/2008, -0/+26Damn. I hadn't really devoted much thought to this before.
I definitely do not want my employer provided healthcare contribution to be considered taxable income.
No way in hell. - deleo, on 09/16/2008, -5/+29There is no room for this type of discussion in the 24/7 news cycle. The media is talking about Sarah Palin's tanning bed. Maybe this discussion will creep its way into the debates. Also, a good question for John McCain given the mess on Wall Street would be, who is your first choice for Secretary of the Treasury? I would bet the first name to pop into his mind would be none other than Phil Graham - the man who is as much, if not more responsible, than anyone else for this mess on Wall Street.
Will the questions or debate ever get to these real policy making issues? Probably not, because they are too dry for our 24/7 news cycle, and so we will just have more of the same for the next 4 years. And people wonder why nothing ever changes? - tucsonsun13, on 09/16/2008, -8/+31McCain - an agent of corporatism.
If Americans really are so foolish as to vote themselves an abysmal, deteriorating, Children of Men-like dooms day then we are finished as a nation. You look at the crowds waving COUNTRY FIRST banners at the Republican convention - a flock of sheep being manipulated by the new wave of American fascism. It's here and it's real.
Had enough America? This one certainly has. - jlee2081, on 09/16/2008, -1/+22According to the study: “The McCain plan will force millions of Americans into the weakest segment of the private insurance system — the nongroup market — where cost-sharing is high, covered services are limited and people will lose access to benefits they have now.”
- kingofinternet, on 09/16/2008, -6/+27define hate dibou.
i think you're mistaking love for what america was, still is, and what it could be for hate. - brandonchicago, on 09/16/2008, -4/+23This needs to become a cornerstone of the debates this fall. Seriously, where has the media been on this issue?
- tucsonsun13, on 09/16/2008, -7/+23"Reported by Limbaugh listeners as possibly inaccurate"
- cadmiumpaint, on 09/16/2008, -13/+29Health care isn't as big as an issue as it should be.
Obama really needs to attack with the parts of his platform that real Americans care about like the economy and healthcare
McCain has no plan for any of these things. - inactive, on 09/16/2008, -5/+21LOL
Oh, you're not joking?
Ha, you still think Palin isn't a standard Republican. - masterkenobi, on 09/16/2008, -2/+16@Dibou
There's no hate, we just want back the country that we love. - johnhummel, on 09/16/2008, -2/+16The problem is the average employer cost for health care is $12,000.
So now I get a $7,000 deficit thanks to the McCain "tax credit" - unless I decide to just opt out of health insurance.
Thanks, McCain. Not. - rewinn, on 09/16/2008, -2/+15About 1 in 10 Americans will lose their health insurance under the McCain plan --- according to the math in the article.
- br0ck, on 09/16/2008, -0/+13You joined today and haven't dugg a single story yet, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but just FYI, if you want certain content to show up on the site, then you have to submit and/or digg that type of content.
- Elranzer, on 09/16/2008, -5/+17To the Neocons...
Republicans = America
Democrats = Anti-American - zestyhedgehog, on 09/16/2008, -1/+13The scariest part is not the tax part - McCain is trying to deregulate the insurance market so that the insurance companies won't be subject to state laws regulating minimum coverages. Look at what's going on with the financial market right now and make a note on how its deregulation worked out.
- cybrguy, on 09/16/2008, -1/+13But the employer gets a discount on their plans because they are in a group, forcing people out into the open with no group to rally around doesn't help the situation, it makes for millions of ignorant health insurance buyers. Currently businesses can shop around intelligently. I know my business put a lot of thought into who provides the health insurance, and they get a big discount because we have so many employees. If I were an individual paying on my own I would have to fork out a lot more money to get the same benefits. Since I'm young and healthy I would opt to not have insurance just as the article suggests. This would then put me at risk, and make coverage more expensive for the people that need the coverage more than myself.
- Smuikas, on 09/16/2008, -0/+12Because purchasing private health insurance is:
Complicated (hundreds of pages of rules about what is covered and what is not; what can lose you your coverage; pre-existing conditions that may rule out coverage)
Dangerous (because most people don't even know how to read their phone bill, much less all the information they need to digest to make an informed decision about purchasing health insurance. This can leave them out of the loop if something happens that isn't covered but is completely necessary.
Hypothetical Example: Patient A cannot go into the hospital and get covered for it because the situation is deemed not an emergency. Patient A gets sicker and sicker, until insurance will cover the hospital stay. By that time, the cancer they would have gotten diagnosed with earlier has metastasized throughout their body and is no longer operable. They die six months later after a painful chemo regimen. If they had been able to get into the hospital earlier, they would have both lived and cost the health care provider less money.
However, because Patient A could not wrap their head around the six hundred page leagalize document that came with the insurance purchase, they were not aware they would not be covered for such things. - rick777, on 09/16/2008, -6/+17Ron Paul gets the most support from Digg users. Since when does speaking negatively about a pathetic health care system qualify people as hate-mongers???
- AngelaQ, on 09/16/2008, -0/+11Yes, two little details you're missing...
That employers will give 100% of that money back to their employees as a raise is at best uncertain; It is quite probable that many people will see not a dime.
That individuals looking for a non-group plan will be able to find any policy at all that fits their needs, let alone for what group coverage used to cost. Even families that do get 100% of that money from their employers will find private insurance costs a lot more and pays lots less back in benefits. Net gain: 0 if they get the big windfall, -40% if they don't. - inactive, on 09/16/2008, -4/+15Or that there's nothing positive to say.
- cedarbaydave, on 09/16/2008, -0/+11Do you understand the concept of Digg. The people decide what the stories are. Don't fault Obama, Barr and Paul supporters for being active. Fault Republicans for not voicing their opinion in this medium.
It is the ultimate free market where the people decide the demand. This is a very conservative Republican principal, but is that not good enough for you if the market is not supporting your exact ideals. - q1006662, on 09/16/2008, -1/+11McCain has a plan. Didn't you read the article?
- lancert, on 09/16/2008, -3/+12In general, deregulation seems like a good idea until you realize that people are inherently selfish and will cut corners wherever they can to make a buck. Look at the government itself, Bush has had a blank check riding on a republican majority for six years and look where we've ended up...
The reason regulation in put in place in the 1st place is because in most cases it's needed because of prior abuses... - wreckosaurus, on 09/16/2008, -6/+15Maybe that's because McCain is an asshat and there aren't any positive stories about him
- cedarbaydave, on 09/16/2008, -5/+14Just wait for the debates. Obama just owned McCain in the speeches on the current financial situation and he will on health care as well.
Obama is just a much more intelligent man than McCain, and actually on top of what is going on.
McCain today wanted to start a hearing on capital hill like after 9-11. Obama - We don't need a hearing, we know what happened, and we need to fix it. NOW.
Typical McCain: Yesterday he was happy as a clam and everything was strong, but today all the sudden he is mad as hell and going to fix things. What a pathetic excuse for leadership. - Elranzer, on 09/16/2008, -2/+11That pretty much amounts to more taxes (on the working class). And they say that Democrats raise taxes...
- fani, on 09/16/2008, -1/+10This is the age of the short sound bites and mini-headlines. We need it now, dammit, MSM -
"McCain lies again"
"McCain doesn't know anything about economy"
"McCain says economy strong as thousands of jobs lost"
"McCains tax plan - you get less money back than Obama's tax plan"
"McCain set to destroy healthcare. Pay more with McCain"
"Palin supported bridge to nowhere"
"Palin violated ethics by firing trooper illegally"
etc. etc. etc.
Man - I can type a whole book with these. they have so much material between the two of them. Yet the MSM doesn't want to report on anything. - DarkPrincess74, on 09/16/2008, -0/+8Or posters in the subway that say "Want to learn English?"
- cybrguy, on 09/16/2008, -0/+8This isn't privatization, the health care industry is already privatized, but most people who get benefits from their employers are shielded from the responsibility of choosing a health care insurer. If they had to make the decision, on average the consumer would likely be worse off, because they wouldn't know how to separate the health insurance scams from the good deals. When a company does this for its employees, it shops around and dedicates a lot of time to properly researching and choosing the best one. If this happens I see a new market for people to scam under-informed health care consumers out of a lot of money.
- homercles337, on 09/16/2008, -2/+10Scary does not even begin to describe this McCain/Palin ticket.
- Elranzer, on 09/16/2008, -4/+12When you preach abstinence-only to kids, then your underage daughter gets pregnant... she deserves all of it that she's getting (and more).
Palin is not only unfit to lead this nation, but she's an unfit mother. - cedarbaydave, on 09/16/2008, -2/+10The MSM has been incredibly easy on Ms. Palin so far. Wait and see what happens if she keeps openly lying and not doing interviews or press conferences.
- anubis2night, on 09/16/2008, -2/+10I 'm not surprised by this at all, I'm sure it a coincidence that the insurance companies and the oil companies had huge lobbyist parties thrown for the republican convention and then we here drill baby drill and get health care proposals like this. And does anyone think that having another oil friendly (Palin) person in the whitehouse is a good idea?
- mkguitar, on 09/16/2008, -4/+12Safe to say that Senator McCain has NEVER had to pay a medical bill in his life.
It's too bad he can't walk a mile in my shoes.
MK - nishuweb, on 09/16/2008, -1/+8As a physician, I see so many people who don't have the opportunity to get employer insurance and so instead of buying private insurance, they "wing it" with no insurance because they're pretty healthy. Then when they have a major illness or accident, they get very expensive health care and then can't pay any of it. This forces the patient into bankruptcy and the hospital gets shorted their expenses. Both lose. What happens is the hospital transfers these costs to people who do have insurance (the $20 Tylenol kind of thing) so they can stay in business.
If you give people money to go buy insurance (via tax credit) and make their employer health insurance unattractive (because of increased income tax) then a lot of people will choose no insurance and pocket the money. Basic flawed incentive plan. (Read Freakanomics).
This will have a huge unintended consequence even though the principle may be well-intentioned. - Kyzzyxx, on 09/16/2008, -8/+15Or, maybe it's just a coincidence that Digg users (supposedly) turned into hate-mongers about the same time as a Presidential Candidate(R) started spewing out lies and misinformation repeatedly and made a disgusting choice for VP. I get quite riled too when ***** want to kill people with MY money for THEIR greed and misguided Callings From God.
- wendelgee2, on 09/16/2008, -2/+9oooo...scary.
- amr05h, on 09/16/2008, -6/+13do you understand that your highly conservative ideals might skew your views of an impartial media source to appear liberal because they don't agree with your ideology? Independent academic research (Bennet, Leightly, Graber, Tuchman are the names of a few that have published these findings) has concluded that there is no overall bias in newspaper or television news sources. I can back it up with research evidence if necessary
- tumbler360, on 09/16/2008, -0/+7"Under the McCain plan (now the McCain-Palin plan) employees who continue to receive employer-paid health benefits would look at their pay stubs each week or each month and find that additional money had been withheld to cover the taxes on the value of their benefits."
Wow. Healthcare expenses should not be taxed. At all. Ever. People will abuse this and say any dumb thing is a healthcare expense, Boob Jobs, lypo suction, etc, but 99% of people won't. Most people do not abuse the system like this and shouldn't be punished. Most people need all the money they can get to pay for their medical expenses. If anything government needs to be assisting with these expenses because they've driven the prices up so high via health insurance companies that people just can't pay for it without going into bankruptcy.
#1 cause of bankruptcy is still Healthcare expenses. #1. So we need to tax them now for everyone?! GREAT IDEA. - inactive, on 09/16/2008, -1/+8It doesn't invalidate it. Just the opposite, it shows we've hit another nerve and you're scrambling to try to hide the ugly truth.
- deadonbroadway, on 09/16/2008, -5/+12After working for health insurance companies for three years in the past, I know that our current system is *****. John McCain doesn't get it. Obama does. It's that simple.
- Smuikas, on 09/16/2008, -0/+6Not only that - but the lost income being supplied as a tax credit loses me money. That extra money withheld from my paycheck could be going into a savings account.
(This is why it's better to withhold too little than too much: the money you get each paycheck can be earning interest, whereas that money you get from your tax return was not earning interest the entire time it was withheld). - stubarwick, on 09/16/2008, -0/+6I agree with the piece... but the bigger problem is that as individual health insurance plans go, there is no guarantee for coverage.
Under employee group plans, employment that meets individual employer's standards and payment for the plan are the only requirements to get health insurance. With individual plans there is no guarantee that the underwriter's will approve you for health insurance.
If this plan forces people to drop their group plans in favor of individual plans then many people may find that they are unable to utilize the advantages provided to them by nature of group based plans, namely that if you qualify for the group then you get coverage, you don't have to be in perfect health to get approved. McCain's plan seems like it will force people into the individual health coverage market where they can be denied by underwriter's for numerous reasons. Healthcare shouldn't be a privilege of the wealthy and healthy. - liquisoft, on 09/16/2008, -0/+6I can't wait for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates. I really really can't.
- DownIsTheNewUp, on 09/16/2008, -0/+6Don't get your hopes up. Bush failed at debates and speeches, yet here he is.
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