According to the Governor fees would be assessed not only on businesses but also doctors and hospitals. These fees would consist of a “’coverage dividend’ of up to four percent of their revenue to subsidize the state’s health insurance program for the poor.”
The Kaiser Foundation says, “The cost of providing health care for employees has risen at more than twice the rate of inflation for the past decade.” My basic and simple question to health insurers is why has the cost of health insurance gone up so drastically? Are the majority of people in the United States sickly, out of shape or more prone to sickness? What is the justification for continual, year after year increases in health insurance premiums?
Just as importantly why can’t this country figure out a way to have a universal health plan for all residents regardless of the state you live in? I have written again and again about the need for universal health care. I’m not the only one, John Garamendi, the past Insurance Commissioner of California and now Lt. Governor is a big proponent of universal health care. Many other countries in the world have proven that universal health care can and does work. I for one am willing to pay higher taxes in order to fund health care for every person in the U.S. Are you?
Here is a long but detailed discussion about universal health care in a forum and a very informative conversation between New Yorker writers Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Gopnik.
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