THREAD: Let's examine all the possible ways this @ebruenig tweet represents #FakeNews -- and one of the sillier arguments for #SinglePayer I've heard in a long time... 1/ https://twitter.com/ebruenig/status/1222739686633934848 …
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But even beyond that,
@ebruenig could minimize her COBRA/insurance expenses in other ways. You can ELECT COBRA when leaving a job, but NOT PAY FOR IT if you don't incur medical expenses... 9/Prikaži ovu nit -
Because billing for COBRA policies is by definition retrospective, you can see whether paying for the policy is "worth it," particularly when talking about a short-term gap in coverage... 10/
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For instance, if you incur $100 in medical expenses in a given month, but your COBRA premium is $1,000, you should go bare, decline to pay the COBRA premium (after you elected it), and become uninsured retroactively... 11/
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This only works in short-term situations, of course -- i.e., before the COBRA billing catches up with a recently departed employee. But it DOES work -- and it likely would have worked in
@ebruenig's case, because she's likely talking about a coverage gap of only 90 days. 12/Prikaži ovu nit -
Moreover,
@ebruenig could have explored short-term coverage (that is, if her state of residence hasn't abolished/prohibited it). It might not have been an option here, given a newborn child, but another option to explore... 13/Prikaži ovu nit -
Then there are also options like
@MinuteClinic for well-baby visits, or a local health department for vaccines. Such options could have been cheaper for her than paying COBRA premiums for a short period of time... 14/Prikaži ovu nit -
In sum:
@ebruenig likely faces "uninsurance" for no more than 90 days (she conveniently didn't mention the duration, just that she was uninsured). Her worst-case scenario amounted to a couple grand in expenses -- and there are MANY ways to avoid even that... 15/Prikaži ovu nit -
I don't believe a
@nytimes writer's few grand in medical expenses gives@ebruenig any legitimate argument to justify government's theft (via taxation) of $30 trillion or so for#SinglePayer... 16/Prikaži ovu nit -
@ebruenig's tweet was#FakeNews, pure and simple. And her new@nytimes colleagues like@ReedAbelson@sangerkatz should give her the actual facts about health care... 17/Prikaži ovu nit -
Given that
@nytimes wanted to lionize@feliciasonmez after one of her tweets got her raked over the coals by woke mobs, we'll see whether they'll run an op-ed exposing the way@ebruenig used distortions and lack of facts in HER tweet. I won't hold my breath. 19/Prikaži ovu nit -
In conclusion:
@ebruenig's tweet lacked both facts and a compelling case. If that's the best case she and@BernieSanders can make to justify#SinglePayer, I can't see the American people signing off on this $30 trillion health experiment. ENDPrikaži ovu nit -
Going back to this thread from last week to clear up one thing: People thought my comments saying COBRA would cost “a few grand” insensitive towards the real struggles of working-class Americans. But let’s face it: A
@nytimes writer isn’t working class.Prikaži ovu nit -
@ebruenig and@MattBruenig both have comparatively well-paying jobs that place them in the upper echelons economically… 2/Prikaži ovu nit -
Per the most recent
@IRS data, households making over $97,870 are in the top 20% nationally, while those making over $145,135 rank in the top 10%. The folks in question almost certainly qualify for the top 20%, and quite possibly the top 10%. 3/ https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/17in01etr.xls …Prikaži ovu nit -
I don’t think Washington should spend money subsidizing routine health costs for people in the top 10-20% of income. I say that as someone 1) in the top 20% (but not the top 10%) of income and 2) who pays my insurance premiums every month, without an employer contribution... 4/
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I’ll quote
@LeaderHoyer speech from 2009 as to why, because it’s a question of government’s priorities: “If we take care of everybody, we won’t be able to take care of those who need us most.”https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2009/09/24/house-section/article/H9908-1 …Prikaži ovu nit -
Would I have used a similarly blunt tone in the thread above towards a mother making minimum wage, or a worker on the graveyard shift in a manufacturing firm? Of course not. But that’s not what we’re talking about in this instance. 6/
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Folks can object to my tone, but I dare say that most Americans don’t want their taxes to go up to pay for the health expenses of affluent families and
@nytimes writers. And that was the main point of the thread. ENDPrikaži ovu nit
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