Allen Clifton wrote an article commenting on former Senator Rick Santorum comments regarding on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Santorum objects to how poor people game the system and cause the cost of health care to rise. Santorum makes it sound like health care costs were flat and Democrats decided to introduce legislation for the hell of it. I want to add in my own 2-cents.

What happens after 3-months? Pre-existing conditions do not go away. All I read (and see) is that the right always goes after the low and middle class, just like they always do, and push legislation to help the rich, banks, and CEOs claiming “trickle-down economics”.

I see no difference to the “tax redesign” to which Trump and Paul Ryan (WI) keep talking. Republicans want to increase taxes on the poor (12% to 15%) and lower taxes on the rich (39% to 35%) and have the uneducated say thank you for that. The ACA is one of the best pieces of legislation regarding health in forever and is the first step towards guaranteed universal healthcare.

One more thought on this topic, as long as I got the like :), a person abusing the system and not paying for the 3-months will:

  1. Get blacklisted and be unable to purchase further insurance
  2. Get creditors on their back demanding money
  3. Get a lawsuit filed against them
  4. Never be left alone on the phone
  5. Get a record
  6. Be unable to get insurance ever again
  7. Who in their right mind would think that an average low-income to middle-income person could get the upper hand on an insurance company? That is like an average person gaming a casino in Las Vegas. The house always wins. Period.
  8. The house has lawyers and the like.
  9. The GOP is on the side of big business and the rich, regardless of Trump’s latest tweet that the GOP now stands by the working person (barf, sickening, disgusting), never the low person
  10. When has Santorum ever been on the side of the low or working people? I defy anyone to name one instance. Come on. Name it. The GOP is never on the side of the working person. That is an oxymoron.

In summary, Rick Santorum’s comments are baseless and worthless. That he appeared on CNN IS PROOF positive that CNN is either neutral or on Trump’s side, not the left, as they give equal airtime to lies. CNN should have told Santorum to take a hike and shove it.

If you have a chance, let me know what you think of progressivesleading.com. I am attempting to fight back against the onslaught of the right from their hate speech to their gerrymandering.

Once more into the breach (Star Trek Undiscovered / Shakespeare references), as when it comes to health care and misinformation I am like a Pit Bull and cannot let the subject go. No worries, I will aggregate my three comments on this topic at my progressivesleading.com site.

One can draw several more takeaways from Citizen Rick Santorum’s comments on CNN regarding the ACA.

  1. Insurance is not a guarantee of services. As last I heard, there are deductibles and co-payments. A bad credit means that one will not be able to go back to a doctor and definitely not to a hospital.
  2. Low-income people do not have Platinum plans. They will have subsidized or bronze level service, as that is what they can afford. At the bronze level, exactly what will they gain from 3-months free insurance, which requires a steep out of pocket for any service? Hmm? I want to know. Talk to me.
  3. One has to ask why a low-income person “game” the system by paying 9-months and then not paying the remaining 3-months. Let us give this person, who steals money from the innocent rich, $20 / hour, and I am super generous here, as I should say $12 per hour, which sounds a bit more logical. At best, they will have maybe $2,000 per month for their family for everything, and I do mean everything. Food, housing, transportation, and health care will take more than what they have, let alone cover the costs of everything else. What about Rick Santorum and the right talking about a “living wage”. Hmm? Asshole.
  4. Rick Santorum makes one believe that every low and middle-income person are crooks, while big companies and rich people are poor innocent victims, who need pitying hand help. I assume that the people believing this crap are low-income people, who suffer and try to make ends meet and think that others are even worse. That is such a bullshit thought.
  5. Rich people and companies have the time, money, and resources to game the system. They have connections and lobbyists to do their share. As Warrant Buffet said, he pays less in taxes than his secretary.
  6. There are plenty of crooked upper income people too, so we can discount both sets.
  7. The health care industry had a huge hand in designing the ACA. The costs of healthcare exponentially rising, the reason the ACA exists in the first place, has been happening for a long time. If the reason, or even top 100 reasons, costs of health care rising is because of poor people not paying money, then why did not, and does not, the health insurance companies mention that? They always talk preexisting conditions, costs of health, liability, and the like.
  8. It just crossed my mind, but more Republicans have unhealthy life styles than Democrats do. People on the west and east coasts like to exercise, into vegan, not smoke, go see therapists, etc., while the rural smoke, eat meats, and bicker about who goes to church more than the other. One has to ask what the reason for the cost of health care rising.
  9. In my experience, it is always Republican gaming the system by exploiting the social safety net. When confronted, they invariantly tell me: “I paid into the crooked system, so I should get my money’s worth.”
  10. How about the idea that basic health care is a right, not a privilege. If everyone has basic insurance provided by the federal government, then insurance through the various carriers would be an add-on. That would solve Rick Santorum’s big problem in life.
  11. Why does Rick Santorum focus his energy on complaining and knocking the low-income people rather than being constructive?
  12. Most low-income people work hard and struggle just to get by holding multiple jobs.
  13. Why does Rick Santorum not complain about auto insurance and people gaming them? Heck, for that matter, why is Rick Santorum not complaining about the requirement that ALL PEOPLE must have auto insurance in order to drive? What an asshole and hypocrite he and the GOP are.
  14. Insurance companies can take care of themselves. Does anyone doubt that insurance companies have attorneys, staff, lobbyists, and government officials helping them?
  15. We are talking of the same person and party, which gutted Elisabeth Warren consumer board, which has helped countless and saved billions for the low and middle class.

Okay, I think that I made my points. Like my write-up on the opera Salome on my progressivesleading.com blog, the ignorant mindless sheep of the GOP screw themselves and gain nothing.

In looking for an image for this article, I came across the site ObamaCareFacts.com.

I will close with a quote taken from ObamaCareFacts.com: “Each of the law’s many provisions have had varying degrees of success with some exceeding expectations, others drawing criticism, and others getting legislative changes. Despite the mixed sentiment, the uninsured rate is at a long-time low and under the ACA, health care spending grew at the slowest rate on record (since 1960). Meanwhile, health care price inflation is at its lowest rate in 50 years.”

It seems to be working. Maybe, Rick Santorum and the rest of the right can start quoting facts.

As Keith Olbermann says, Resist! Fight back!

Let me know your thoughts.