Filibustin' with Willie D - My Healthcare Reform Plan

The Supreme Court is expected to render a decision this month on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s controversial healthcare plan that’s set to go into full effect in 2014. At the center of the debate is the individual mandate, which would require everyone to purchase health insurance. The plan expands healthcare to an additional 30 million Americans and provides subsidies to those who need financial help. Lobbyists, special interest groups, and politicians have done a number on the American people to convince many of them, who just so happen to be Republican, that these reforms are a bad idea. There are even dirt poor Democrats, who don’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of, who vehemently oppose these new measures even though they would help them receive health coverage.

As this debate is taking place, health insurance companies are getting richer while the services they provide get worse, because to save money those greedy bastards try every trick in the book to deny treatment and claims. Most doctors are just as scandalous because they allow themselves to be pimped and bullied by HMOs and health insurance companies. They are told what they can and cannot treat and are required to keep patient referrals to specialists at a minimum. They are also courted by pharmaceutical company sales people and given huge incentives to prescribe certain drugs that their patients may not need. Why? Money. It’s always about the money. It’s the reason you only get to talk to your doctor for ten minutes. Doctors don’t get paid to talk to you. They get paid for the surgeries, tests, and procedures they perform.

I think that deep down the Republicans know healthcare reform would be better for everyone, but they oppose it for two reasons: They’re lining their pockets with money from insurance companies and they don’t want Obama to get the credit for doing something historically important and beneficial.

What I like most about Obama’s plan is the prevention aspect. More Americans will be healthy because they wont hesitate to seek help once it is affordable. Potentially life-threatening illnesses will be detected and treated early. And less sick Americans means less sick days and a stronger, more productive work force with less expensive treatment for chronic illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Also, Americans with pre-existing conditions will be able to get coverage and insurance companies will no longer be able to impose limits on essential benefits.

Since we go way back, I was hoping that Barack would call me to get my input on healthcare reform. He probably did call, but I missed him because my phone be acting funny. Anyway, I’m going to go ahead and share my ideas with y’all so that my brilliant thoughts don’t go to waste.

WILLIE D’S PLAN

Introduce an addendum to the Affordable Care Act for the government to insure everyone if the individual mandate is tossed out. The funds will have to come from taxes, but so what? Taxes pay for all kinds of shit many of us never use. If the people who are supposed to benefit from the services that their tax dollars pay for are not healthy enough to enjoy them or they are dead, what’s the point?

Limit attorney fees to 20 percent for individual lawsuits and 10 percent for class action lawsuits. This would ensure that the majority of the money from settlements reaches the people who need it the most: the victims and their families.

Get rid of HMOs and put the control back into the hands of doctors. For-profit third party health organizations should never decide what should and shouldn’t be covered related to patients' health. HMOs make money from members paying their premiums and not paying out claims. Lobbyists, special interest groups, and politicians who receive kickbacks will raise hell about how many thousands of jobs will be lost. But you know what I think about the people who work for HMOs? Fuck ’em! That’s what they say about my loved ones every time they deny a claim or refuse to authorize treatment. In place of the HMO, I'd like to see accountable care organizations, which would hold doctors and providers accountable for the cost and quality of care delivered to patients.

If the court rules that the individual mandate is unconstitutional or throws out Obama’s plan altogether then we are right back to where we started with a busted healthcare system that currently eats up 17 percent of the country’s GDP and we will continue on a path that has claimed thousands of American lives because they couldn’t afford healthcare. The flip side to that coin is that a reformed healthcare system would ensure that everyone has a fair shot at quality health services and living a long, healthy life irrespective of what they could afford.

Maybe it’s me but what’s wrong with looking out for each other?

Willie D is a member of the legendary rap group the Geto Boys.

Follow him on Twitter: @WillieDLIVE