Fix and then Pass the Healthcare Bill

[Soon]

Originally Posted by Linus

Neither am I. And Medicare is paid via taxes. Even Canadian Health Care isn't "free" (it's a single payer that is paid for by provincial and federal taxes, income and GST/PST)

I know on both counts -- I'm Canadian as well.

[key]

I hope I am not the only geek watching this historic vote on C-Span tonight.

I must say Nancy Pelosi has earned her place in the history books with this bill. It would not have passed without her leadership.

The bill is not perfect, but it is the first time in US history that Health Insurance Companies will be regulated. Can you believe we have been living under the boot of those thugs all this time?

Tomorrow I plan to call Speaker Pelosi's office to thank her. I hope you will join me. I am sure she is going to get an earful from the other side. So please take a moment to let her know you appreciate her hard work on this.

[Sachita]

no doubt it. It was a special report here. No its not perfect but its something.

[WolfyOne]

This is only the beginning of what may or may not come. I'll be interested in seeing how the overall picture will play out with the insurance companies. Will they still be able to drop those that have a sickness they deem to expensive to pay for? Doesn't matter to much if they regulate the price insurance companies can charge us if everyone can't be covered under this new bill for equal amounts of monies.

[Jess]

Originally Posted by WolfyOne

This is only the beginning of what may or may not come. I'll be interested in seeing how the overall picture will play out with the insurance companies. Will they still be able to drop those that have a sickness they deem to expensive to pay for? Doesn't matter to much if they regulate the price insurance companies can charge us if everyone can't be covered under this new bill for equal amounts of monies.

I am also interested in if there is a cap insurance companies can charge for those with pre-existing illness. They can no longer " deny", but I have yet to find any statement regarding how much they can charge.

The brief summary of the 2004 page bill from CBS:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_1...46-503544.html

[Soon]

People are saying this is the greatest speech of Obama's presidency thus far. I haven't watched it yet, but I thought I'd put it up to share (and maybe it will help me to remember to watch it!). Scroll down for video:


Obama Quotes Lincoln To House Dems: 'I Am Bound To Be True' (VIDEO)

[apretty]

Originally Posted by Linus

Uh.. huh? What is this referring to:



What "free insurance" card that exists?

no clue--it's gibberish.

[Diva]

If You'd like to send Your thanks to Speaker Pelosi, here is her contact information:

http://www.speaker.gov/contact/

[Greyson]

Originally Posted by key

I kinda don't blame these people as much as I blame Fox News. These people want desperately to believe that they are free, that they are valuable. They have the same desires in life that we all do. They just lack the quality of discernment. they honestly do not realize that their "News" could be lying to them, could be using them.

Thomas Jefferson knew it way back when he said the only way a Democracy will survive is with an informed electorate. This is why he started America's first public University. Jefferson was more proud of this accomplishment than of being President, chose it for his tombstone.

These people on this video are sadly a product of what our country passes for education and information. It really takes work to find the truth, and because so few make that effort, the ones who speak these truths are often scorned as outsiders.

Anyway. Great video.

BTW, did you call your congress critter today. This is it, the last chance to speak up about this bill.

Yes, I spent the entire day and evening watching it until the very end on CNN. I will admit I chose CNN coverage because I like and respect Political Analyst Donna Brazile. Many times when I am about to keel over from the hypocrisy, the spin and all the other B.S. I gather strength and composure from listening and watching Ms. Brazile and Roland Martin. Both, are some of the handful of Political Analyst that happen to be POC.

I would like to just take a moment to point out did any of you notice as the camera scanned the US Congress over and over how few POC faces you saw during the entire proceedings? I know there are many qualified POC in the country that should be active, participating members of the various power structures in government and the private sector. Sometimes it is daunting when I really open my eyes and accept the realities of the society I live in. It still is not a level playing field. I am not sure it will ever be. I am sure that no matter what, I will continue to keep talking about and taking action about the things in our society that are our "dirty little secrets."

Yes, good idea to take the time this morning to contact our Congress women and men who took a stand and made health care more accessible to all Americans.

[Diva]

I hate to admit this, but the idiot that yelled out "BABY KILLER" during last evening's vote of the Health Care Bill was none other than GOP Rep. Randy Neugebauer of the great state of Texas. He represents the Abilene/Lubbock/Amarillo area ~ several notches in the Bible belt.

It took me a while to find a way to contact Mr. Neugebauer....seems his website is mysteriously down. Gee. Wonder why?

But I found him on Facebook and this is the message I sent to him.....

"Once again, an out of control person in our government has made the great state of Texas a laughing stock.

No matter what your personal beliefs are, if you wanted to call someone a 'baby killer', could you not have done this in private? "Freedom of speech" does not mean "Freedom to be a horse's rear".

Check your Baptist tongue, Sir.

~Janey Hall"



I'm so embarrassed. The entirity of Texas, while mostly conservative, is not ALL like this, folks. Thank God for places like Austin and Houston...that's all I have to say!

[Daywalker]

I strongly believer that a huge part of Health Care Reform should have
included a cap on the price of procedures, ER visits, Prescriptions...just
everything across the board. Frankly, if some of those things had been
capped long ago, some of the problems we are all experiencing may
have been alleviated. Who in their right mind believes for one
second that a $100,000 Hospital stay should equal bankruptcy,
the loss of ones Home, and all the things that it takes a lifetime
to achieve...because of illness or injury?


I'll tell ya who...the same folks that seem to think charging $25 to
your Insurance for a fucking band aid during an ER visit...that's who.

[Linus]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/...ex.html?hpt=T1

So 10 States have lined up to sue once Obama signs the HealthCare bill into law. I'm not clear as to why they feel they can sue. It seems the argument is that the gov't is forcing individuals to spend (isn't car insurance similar?) and that States must spend the money for Health Care (aren't similar laws in place for education? No Child Left behind did that, didn't it?)

[Corkey]

I think its their last ditch effort to mess with the law. I am writing our AG in our state to ask him if he wants to be re-elected. Perhaps if we all wrote these bigots and racists they might get the idea that they are wrong...oh wait, their egos will get in the way of reason.

[Hudson]

Didn't Rush Limbaugh promise to leave the country if this health care bill passed? And aren't we holding him to it?

Although when he said he'd go to Costa Rica, he was responding to a caller who asked him where he'd go (for health care) if the bill passed (since according to the repubs, the care will be so, so terrible) I was unclear as to whether he meant because he opposes the bill or to actually go get some health care since Costa Rica offers government-financed universal. I bet he's been sneaking anyway, like Palin did in Canada.

Either way, he should go. Sorry, Costa Rica.

[Soon]

Originally Posted by Hudson

Didn't Rush Limbaugh promise to leave the country if this health care bill passed? And aren't we holding him to it?

Although when he said he'd go to Costa Rica, he was responding to a caller who asked him where he'd go (for health care) if the bill passed (since according to the repubs, the care will be so, so terrible) I was unclear as to whether he meant because he opposes the bill or to actually go get some health care since Costa Rica offers government-financed universal. I bet he's been sneaking anyway, like Palin did in Canada.

Either way, he should go. Sorry, Costa Rica.

A Ticket for Rush

[Hudson]

Originally Posted by HowSoonIsNow

A Ticket for Rush

DONATED! --------

[MsDemeanor]

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

Senate will have to return health bill to House

Senate Republicans learned early Thursday that they will be able to kill language in a measure altering President Barack Obama's newly enacted health care overhaul, meaning the bill will have to return to the House for final congressional approval.

linkyloo

[Miss Scarlett]

I truly believe that the GOP will stop at nothing...see below (emphasis mine)

March 23, 2010, 7:18 pm

Senate Republicans Offer More Amendments
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
The amendments are piling up.

Here are a few of the Republican amendments, as described by the authors, that were submitted on Tuesday in the Senate. The senators referenced below are David Vitter of Louisiana, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, Bob Bennett of Utah and John McCain of Arizona.

Vitter amendment: Prohibiting use of funds to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). (#3554)

Grassley amendment: To make sure the President, Cabinet Members, all White House Senior staff and Congressional Committee and Leadership Staff are purchasing health insurance through the health insurance exchanges established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (#3564)

Inhofe amendment: To exclude devices for persons with disabilities from the medical device tax. (#3565)

Gregg-Coburn amendment: To prevent Medicare from being raided for new entitlements and to use Medicare savings to save Medicare. (#3567)

Bennett amendment: To protect the Democratic process and the right of the people of the District of Columbia to define marriage. (#3568)

Grassley amendment: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure Medicare beneficiary access to physicians, eliminate sweetheart deals for frontier States, and ensure equitable reimbursement under the Medicare program for all rural states. (#3569)

McCain Amendment: To eliminate the sweetheart deals for Tennessee, Hawaii, Louisiana, Montana, Connecticut, and frontier States. (#3570)

See earlier post on amendments offered by Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma.http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.c...al-amendments/

Link to this NY Times article:
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.c...bennett&st=cse

[Greyson]

New York Times

The Conscience of A Liberal - Paul Krugman


March 25, 2010, 5:21 pm

David Frum, AEI, Heritage And Health Care
David Frum* has been fired by the American Enterprise Institute; one has to assume that this is a response to his outspokenness about the Republican failure on health reform.

In discussing the Frum firing, Bruce Bartlett asserts that AEI has muzzled its health-care experts, because the truth is that they agree with a lot of what Obama is proposing. I find this quite believable; back in 2003 Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation, which is supposedly harder-right than AEI, proposed a health care reform consisting of … drumroll … an individual mandate coupled with subsidies to make insurance affordable. In short, Obamacare.
I was struck, by the way, by Butler’s recommendation that we

Provide support to people to obtain health care based on their need, not where they happen to work, or their eligibility for welfare, or their military record, or their age.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need?

*I’m informed, by family members, that Frum is a distant cousin of yours truly.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/david-frum-aei-heritage-and-health-care/?pagemode=print

[AtLast]

Goes to show that all this GOP grandstanding is really just about trying to regain power!!! They are acting like a bunch of 2 year olds with very entitled parents! Serving in Congress is about nothing but campaigning and re-election. Until we have public funding/regulation (ONLY) for elections, we will have an ineffective, broken Congress full of trust-fund babies. It isn't about We the People.... its about We the Elite.....

Originally Posted by Greyson

New York Times

The Conscience of A Liberal - Paul Krugman


March 25, 2010, 5:21 pm

David Frum, AEI, Heritage And Health Care
David Frum* has been fired by the American Enterprise Institute; one has to assume that this is a response to his outspokenness about the Republican failure on health reform.

In discussing the Frum firing, Bruce Bartlett asserts that AEI has muzzled its health-care experts, because the truth is that they agree with a lot of what Obama is proposing. I find this quite believable; back in 2003 Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation, which is supposedly harder-right than AEI, proposed a health care reform consisting of … drumroll … an individual mandate coupled with subsidies to make insurance affordable. In short, Obamacare.
I was struck, by the way, by Butler’s recommendation that we

Provide support to people to obtain health care based on their need, not where they happen to work, or their eligibility for welfare, or their military record, or their age.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need?

*I’m informed, by family members, that Frum is a distant cousin of yours truly.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/david-frum-aei-heritage-and-health-care/?pagemode=print