TPM: "Premiums do not reflect the full cost of coverage."

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

97. Yes! Yes! Yes! We agree on that. This culture needs to change. We agree!

But we can't blame that on Obamacare, either. It's the culture! It's our lifestyle. When I studied in England, we learned that it was very much imbedded into the fabric of British culture that people see their GP once every 6 months. A mainstay of the NHS preventive care mantra: Brits are required to visit their GP or Health Nurse once every 6 months.

In this country, how would the average American react if our federal government mandated that we see a general health care provider once every 6 months or even once every year? Not only would the Teabaggers be screaming about death panels--they already do!--but I would imagine even the more liberal of us would be yelling about the NSA. It's just not a part of our philosophical makeup. I wouldn't mind it. I'm sure you and other liberal-minded folk who long for that kind of preventive care-based health care system wouldn't mind it, but what about other Americans who would complain about having to rearrange their schedules, take off work, plan for child care? What about all the lame ass excuses they'd make for why they couldn't go to the doctor to get a preventive care check-up? Or even why they couldn't make the necessary lifestyle changes to prevent diseases in the first place? Americans are lazy people by and large. I don't have that much faith in the average American will.

But I do agree with you. If more people would orient themselves towards preventive care--if this is something that the American health care system could reorient itself towards, I think things would definitely change for the better, and certainly would save so much more money. I think that's what we ultimately strive for. Obamacare won't get us there in the long run. I do think it's a start, but we got a long way to go.

I want the public option. The health care exchanges are a step in that direction. I work for the federal government. Federal government employees--yes, that includes Congress and their families--pretty much have the public option if they want it. It works fairly well. It's affordable. It works. Every American should have access to it if that's what they want. And that's the next logical step.

But ultimately we want to move towards preventive medicine with the end result being much better health outcomes than what we have now. You're right. ACA will not be the long-term solution and that's not what I'm suggesting, but it's better than what we have currently and I think we can use that and make much-needed, vast improvements here on out, provided that we work to elect more progressives to Congress. I'm afraid of what will happen in 2014. We Democrats don't get it together and work to keep the Senate and bring in more liberal Democrats, this country will be doomed. It's not about Obama anymore.