Rob Dixon III

Town hall meetings around the country are turning into angry mobs over healthcare reform. Really? Who are you and why do you have so much loyalty to big insurance and pharmaceutical companies? Personally, as the founder and CEO of a small business, Planet Telex Inc. , I am 100% for health care reform. After payroll, it is our largest monthly expense. My agent called last month telling me in a patronizingly apologetic tone, “…as we expected, rates have increased.” Why? I’ve yet to see one doctor or fill one prescription since signing up.

So I spend a ton of money on something I never use, which is a clear improvement over the many years where I was among the uninsured and spent nothing on something I never used. Don’t get me wrong, I am a believer in health insurance and am keenly aware that something could happen to me at any time and I’ll be much better off having it. I don’t think I’m alone either, many of us pay a lot for health insurance we never use, just sort of hedging our bets.

Others, like my dad, have gone nearly broke from medical expenses despite having health insurance. His case is especially tragic, because he is a Vietnam War veteran that never went to the V.A., being too proud a conservative to “accept government charity.” Finally, at the brink of going completely broke, he acquiesced and now receives care from the V.A. It costs him only a tiny fraction of what he had to pay with a private insurance company. I was very happy to hear this, and reminded him that it is not charity, he deserves it.

Still, how can I be afraid of government run health care when that was the only option available to save my father from bankruptcy and maintain his health? It clearly works. What are health reform opponents so afraid of? According to Sarah Palin, they are afraid that they “…will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society,’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.”

Wow, that system would be really evil; it’s a good thing that it’s entirely fictional. When I try to contemplate statements like this and why people make them, my brain hits a great big wall of WTF?!? Does Palin actually believe this stuff or does she just say these things to grab attention? Whether she does or not, her actions are far more evil than those trying to improve the health of this nation, which is in fact, very poor.

The obvious explanation for these statements is that a lot of these folks are in the pocket of insurance and big pharma. But that doesn’t fully explain statements like Palins, or these town hall mobs. The lobby against health care usually sticks to concerns about increased costs or taxes. Hillary’s heath care was defeated in the 90’s without this sort of bizarre vitriol. I can’t help but think that this has something to do with Obama being black. Notice that in Palin’s quote she singled him out, presumably stoking fears among those who fear black men. Ooh, the scary black man is going to sit in judgment of you, be afraid!

To most rational thinking Americans, I should hope that these recent displays show how inane, juvenile, and possibly racist their argument is. It also shows the public that the Republicans are not capable of debating based on facts, logic, and reason. Why else spew misinformation on a daily basis? I have learned through personal experience that many conservatives live by the debate philosophy of “he who is loudest and most worked up wins.” This tactic does indeed help them “win” many one-on-one encounters, but should not be allowed to win at the national level. They are bully tactics.

Don’t let the facts be obscured by this complete insanity. The health care bill is designed to lower people’s insurance rates through private insurance companies. The government would set up an agency to help individuals and small businesses buy cheaper insurance from these private companies (creating larger pools to buy into for example). Additionally, there will be legislation that stops the practice of dropping coverage to someone after they get sick and need it. Also under debate is the issue as to whether the government should throw their own insurance provider into the mix.

This is the point where some would cry out that we are undermining capitalism if that option were to be included in the bill. I’m a proud capitalist and have written about this issue before (see Atlas Shunned), but I seriously question the wisdom that everything should be left to free markets. We should question whether we want the health care system to rely on profit motive. I don’t doubt that the introduction of a public option would have a detrimental impact on private insurance companies’ profits, and if that happens I won’t shed a tear for the billion dollar industry that has never been particularly good to me or my family.

As I’ve stated earlier, government V.A. assistance is saving my father. My grandmother has used Medicare for years. My uninsured step-sister had to pay out-of-pocket for a $30,000 surgery. I see absolutely no reason to fear a government option. Who will benefit from it? Me and other small businesses, my dad and other retirees, my grandmother and millions of seniors, the millions of uninsured, the millions paying too much and receiving too little, and the millions of people that are sick or have chronic conditions. So to opponents, I ask you again, who are you and why do you have so much loyalty to big insurance and pharmaceutical companies?