Boycott Obamacare, Not Whole Foods

Humanevents.com ^ | 08/17/2009 | Jo Ann Skousen

[Man50D]

Fueled by a typically deliberate misrepresentation of the facts by the Huffington Post, "illiberals" in the blogosphere are trying to launch a boycott against Whole Foods because of an op-ed piece CEO John Mackey wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

Proponents of the boycott point to Mackey's supposed insensitivity for suggesting that people should take responsibility for their own health by eating healthful foods, exercising, and avoiding things like alcohol and tobacco. To whom is the suggestion of personal responsibility offensive? Only to liberals who believe -- uniformly -- that the government is wiser than its citizens and should thus direct their every act.

Let's look at the rest of Mackey's article -- the real plan that the people who write the Huffington Post and other liberal blogs would like to keep you from taking seriously. It’s based on the benefits package that his company provides for its team members and it is, in every particular, better than what we’ve been told about Obamacare.

First, Whole Foods provides health insurance and pays 100 % of the premiums for any employee working 30 hours a week -- a whopping 89 % of its work force. Hardly a reason to boycott a company and put many of those people out of work.

Mackey's plan relies on a combination of high-deductible insurance for major medical needs--injuries, diseases, and chronic conditions -- and personal savings accounts to cover average health needs -- check-ups, flu, ear infections, etc. Insensitive? Too expensive for the worker? But wait -- Whole Foods funds the employees' savings accounts to pay their deductibles! According to the article, Whole Foods "provide up to $1,800 per year in additional health-care dollars through deposits into employees' Personal Wellness Accounts to spend as they choose on their own health and wellness." And this deserves a boycott?

Here's how it works, and how it could work for any American:

It begins with a high-deductible insurance policy. Under this plan, insurance premiums are much lower -- as much as half the cost of so-called "full-coverage" or low-deductible plans--because most people don't have catastrophic illnesses and injuries each year and thus don't "use" their insurance. Insurance companies can then do what insurance companies are supposed to do -- amass funds during good years to cover losses during bad years.

Meanwhile, people literally "save the difference" in their premiums by setting aside money in a government-authorized "Health Savings Account" and drawing on those savings whenever health needs occur. In good years, the funds roll over to the next year. In bad years, the funds in the HSA are available to cover deductibles until the insurance coverage kicks in. The money belongs to the individual, not to the insurance company.

Under this system, users have an incentive to look for the most appropriate care for each specific problem, and at the best cost. Health care providers have an incentive to offer the best quality care at a lower cost. Best of all, the insurance company can stand aside on day-to-day issues. No longer do you have to ask your insurance company whether your dentist or acupuncturist or ob/gyn is covered. It's your HSA, and it's up to you to decide how to spend it.

If you get sick, you're covered. And if you don't get sick, you get to keep the money in your HSA until you do get sick. Either way, it's a great program for the user, and a cheaper program for the company. It works for large companies, small companies, and the self-employed. Everyone wins. Except those who want the government to control the health care system.

Boycott Whole Foods? Ridiculous! That will only hurt the employees who will be let go when sales drop. I suggest an anti-boycott. Let's call it "An Apple for your Health." Go to your local Whole Foods today and buy an apple. Tell the clerk you're buying the apple for their health -- to keep their jobs and their health care in place. And enjoy the apple--it will be good for your health, too.

[Man50D]

Please edit the number 4. It isn’t part of the title.

[rovenstinez]

Some other tips to be in health, is to live HAPPY, not grumpy. A Happy Heart doeth good, like a medicine, Proverbs...
And not sleeping around, getting STD’s... AND, not being overly concerned about tomorrow, stress, anxiety, worry are killers. I’m way over the hill, and haven’t had surgery since my tonsils have been removed, when I was 16, and haven’t ever spent more than $75 a year for medicine for my family of five for the last 45 years. Go to be early, drink lots of water, cut down on the sugar, red meats, and work hard. Don’t be a couch potato, take a lot of diet gimmicks to loose weight. DON”T get any vaccinations the gob’mint offers, I saved a ton of money by delivering my own children at home...why not?

[Condor51]

Please edit the number 4. It isn’t part of the title.

Darn. I was just about to get out my Sherlock Holmes secret decoder ring from, 'The Sign Of 4'.

[Mouton]

The OZ-ero administration will have a new answer for the push against their plan today: drop the government option AND subsidize the cost of insurance for the “disadvantaged and guests in the country” by taxing all benefits derived from employers which now are not taxed.

A personal note on that...my wife and I receive about $7000 in non taxed health benefits through our employers. So, based on our marginal tax rate (before OZ-ero lets the Bush Tax Cuts go away) is 28%. That means we will be facing an approximate $2000 per year increase in income taxes because OZ-ero wishes for insurance companies to cover “non citizen guests”. Sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings but: I do not wish to pay anyone’s health insurance; credit card payment; Car payment; mortgage payment or college education aside from any expenses of my family and those for which I wish to pay.

[depressed in 06]

and avoiding things like alcohol and tobacco.

Well, at least, he didn't mention marijuana and cocaine. That would have been fighting words to community organizers.

[beaversmom]

LOL:) I’m going to make it a point to go there this week.

[Le Chien Rouge]

My Grandma’s Plan:

1) Laugh everyday
2) Converse with people
3) Pray
4) MAINTAIN a steady healthy diet
5) Take a walk
6) Have a glass of wine—she’s French
7) Avoid bitterness—(she spent a year in a Nazi work camp)
8) Read to keep an active mind
9) Don’t judge others
10) Treat Sleep as a pleasure

She lived as healthy as I had seen anyone live until Alzheimer’s took her mind......