Please don't criticize me for having sympathy for those screwed by the insurance companies. If I were in charge, there'd be no guns at all, or a law akin to that in Australia. But one would posit that the shooter is pissed because the insurance company didn't pay.
But that's what insurance companies do, not pay. That's their business model. Even assuming you can see the doctor of your choice, which is rare. As a matter of fact, essentially all my doctors in L.A. don't take insurance at all. You pay the freight, which ain't inexpensive. And why did these MDs stop taking insurance? Because the insurance companies were running them ragged.
And then there are the hospitals... If you can even find an independent doctor... Everybody is now part of a giant organization, which squeezes the physicians. My dermatologist couldn't sleep. She was on the edge of giving up practice, because at Cedars they required her to see an inordinate number of patients per hour. And this is the only doctor who could diagnosis my pemphigus, even the supposed biggest guy in L.A. couldn't. She didn't insist that I follow her into private practice, but for me it's a no-brainer.
And my internist... He left the UCLA system and it was like he had a personality transplant. Instead of being harried and short, he's folksy, talks music, and is unbelievably thorough. He diagnosed my leukemia. Do you really think I'm going to go back to the factory?
And sure, some private practice doctors will allow you to file insurance claims after the fact, for ten or twenty cents on the dollar, but if the doctors don't take Medicare, then Medicare won't pay. You're SOL.
But you get incredible treatment.
Which is why the rich live longer than the poor. It's very simple, health care.
In the rest of the western world, health care is a right. Everybody gets it. We should have that in the U.S. too, but everybody is fearful of losing something they've already got and paying for the indigent so there can be no change. But Obamacare? People love it, it's never going away, just like Social Security. Neither is going to be clawed back.
I have no sympathy for the individualist who rails about taxes. We live in a society, we all use the roads, the police and fire departments, there have to be taxes. People tell me they gross X but after withholding they get half X, or two-thirds X, they want that money. It was never your money. That withholding pays for so much.
But that's the country we now live in. Isolationist. Everybody wants to be a solo unit, which is impossible. Furthermore, if you don't take care of your brethren, it's only a matter of time before you pay the price. There's a riot and they come to your neighborhood. There's not enough money for a police person on everybody's doorstep.
Okay. You're either a winner or a loser in today's America. And the winners have no idea what is going on with the losers, never mind having contempt for them. Therefore, CEOs keep up with the Joneses. Their boards rubber stamp exorbitant pay packages. Actually, Brian Thompson didn't make that much money compared to his peers, just a bit over eight figures (ten million). But if your beloved needs an expensive procedure and the insurance company won't pay for it and you can't afford it...YOU GO INSANE! And you can't stop thinking about that ten million.
Let's be clear, Trump didn't win because everybody's ignorant or racist. They just weren't happy with the way things are. And one of the things people are unhappy with is health insurance, especially when they see the gargantuan profits and paydays. I mean should people be making money based on denying me service?
I once had emergency surgery, serious, horrific, and the insurance company withheld 30% because I didn't give them three days advance notice. My father even went to their office, ill with cancer, to die in only months, and he couldn't get them to pay. At the end of the day, I had to eat it. And people are sick of eating it. People are even sicker of having to forgo treatment.
So...
The red people hate the blue, much more than the blue hate the red. We were worried if Biden or Harris won they were going to revolt, after all, they rioted on 1/6, and they're heavily armed.
Now the truth is the blue people may ultimately revolt, if democracy truly hangs in the balance. I'd understand that. But, the rich are above the law. Like Elon Musk. The FTC says Twitter must comply with the consent decree and Musk just doesn't do it. The government is no match for the rich. Never mind money can insulate you from so much.
But let's never forget, most change is fomented by individuals. One overeducated fruit vendor ignited the Arab Spring. Look at all the change Trump has wrought. One person standing up to the insurance companies?
Our society, our systems, are much more fragile than we thought. That's what we learned during Covid. Furthermore, so many are alienated and depressed. They believe the system is stacked against them. Hell, my presidential vote never means anything in California because of the Electoral College. Every company made you agree to arbitration, even though in most cases you were unaware of this, and if you look at the statistics, the companies almost always win.
And try standing up to the man... Their lawyer will bury you in paper.
Used to be we had heroes. Lone individuals who stood for what was right, who existed outside the system. But the big story in the music business is how much money Taylor Swift is making at Target with merch.
So people are either resigned or mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore.
And Joe pardoning Hunter... Yes, the Republicans were after him, but Joe's not pardoning the rest of those convicted of the same offenses.
And the Supreme Court is biased and...
Who is going to stand up against the man for you? NO ONE!
So people take matters into their own hands.
I hope the aftermath of this shooting isn't solely talk about gun violence and security. If they want to get you, there's no security that will keep you safe. No, the story here is our health care system. And compensation. And the rich and the poor.
Those are the issues underlying society, and they need a strict look, and change.
It's one thing if you're an entrepreneur, if it's literally your company, you're entitled to the riches. But these stewards of already existing companies... Why are they entitled to so much compensation?
It skews everything.
I have sympathy for Brian Thompson's family, this is a tragedy.
But it's also a wake up call. Things cannot continue on the same path, at some point people just won't put up with it.
And when it's a matter of life and death... You're less worried about the consequences of your actions.
I'm not condoning the shooting, at this point I don't know what drove the shooter to do it. But when I saw the headline this morning, the first thing I thought about was our broken health care system and the overcompensation of the people who run it. They're getting rich on our illnesses. They take our money and don't pay.
Ain't that America.
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