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No time for delays
Congress should get moving on health care reform or the opportunity will be lost
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 | 2:09 a.m.
President Barack Obama has been emphatic in saying he wants to place his signature on a health care reform bill that gives all Americans access to medical insurance, reduces costs, relieves overcrowded emergency rooms and improves the all-around efficiency and quality at hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices.
But the president has not been a bully. After clearly stating his goals, he stepped back so Congress could work on the difficulties of crafting such a bill without feeling constant pressure from the White House.
The president has also dared to hope that the bill could be written with at least some measure of bipartisan support. Unfortunately, Obama’s approach has not been working to perfection.
He had wanted a bill by August, so there would be time to absorb its complexities and perhaps modify some of its content before signing it into law in October. But it is late July and Congress is not on track to meet an August deadline.
Part of the reason for this is that Republicans are not helping to write the bill. They are offering simplistic and exaggerated criticisms, their favorite of which is that the bill would be tantamount to “socialism.”
Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, has even been speaking in conspiratorial tones. He has said Obama and Democratic congressional leaders in support of reform are part of a “cabal.”
Necessarily, Obama is now becoming more aggressive in calling for Congress to make steady progress on health care reform. Some senators are pushing for a 70-day breather so they wouldn’t have to miss any of their traditional August recess. That, however, could kill what momentum has been achieved.
“We can’t afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care,” Obama said Monday. “This isn’t about politics. It is about a health care system that is breaking American families.”
The president is right. Congress needs to knuckle down and write the kind of bill that a majority of Americans have been wanting for years.
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"gives all Americans access to medical insurance, reduces costs, relieves overcrowded emergency rooms and improves the all-around efficiency and quality at hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices."
What exactly in that statement is true?
This is said in a Clintonian way: "gives all Americans access to medical insurance" ....notice that they do not say all Americans will be covered. All Americans now have "access" to medical coverage right now.
"reduces costs" If it does then then why are they asking for a trillion dollars in new government funding?
"improves the all-around efficiency and quality at hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices" I have never seen a private activity converted to a government managed activity that became more efficient and higher quality.
We are going to like Sweden where health care cost is the highest in Europe, yet they have the highest wait times in Europe and they have the highest tax rates in Europe (on average each taxpayers pays in 51% of thier income to the government). More and more people in Sweden are buying private health insurance because they are getting fed up with the wait times.
ObamaCare will cause increases in taxes and deficits and will result in the rationing of health care and will actually cause the cost of health care to increase and not decrease.
Obama wants to take your good private health insurance away from you and replace it with a lower quality government insurance program and on top of that tax you more.
Go online and drop a note to your Senator and Representative. Tell them to stop this idiotic legislation on health care. Stop the socialization of the United States. Stop the excessive taxation which amounts to government confiscation of wages.
Obama is in a rush because he fears someone might actually read the bill. Also he knows it will never pass if congress goes home for recess and hears from their constiotiuents.
If we need that much speed on health care or the opportunity will be lost then maybe the people really don't want Obamacare. If it can't be put together giving the public time to examine it and give their representatives their input on it, then something sinister is going on that Obama does not want us to discover. If it is truely that great we could easily wait till next spring for its passage. What's the hurry? I don't see people dropping dead in the streets right now.
I keep hearing "snippets" about this health care "reform." One such statement that was made was that if one chooses NOT to have health insurance, there will be fines and penalties. Now, my understanding of this "snippet" is that if I personally elect not to have health insurance, that's taking away my right to choose how I live my own life. This is not socialism as I understand it, it's a dictatorship.
Life expectancy rankings (according to CIA fact book): Japan #2, France #8, Canada #10, US #30. So don't listen to Sean Insannity about Canada's medical care system. Country's like Jordan and Bosnia have higher life expectancy averages than the U.S.
I would put a small 3% sales tax on food to help pay for the plan. Poor people get food stamps, which would offset their costs. Most states already have sales taxes for non-food items. The few states that have no sales tax would have to adopt one, or pay at the wholesale level.
Since, obesity is a problem, its not like people are not getting enough food. You could also exempt fresh fruits and vegetables.
The health-care system is already socialized. The $15 aspirin subsidizes those who have no insurance.
My employee's have real good Insurance and what's good for them is also good for me! My employee's are my state senators and state representatives.They have a social health care plan and I want one too seeing that I'm paying for their's.Or they can give up their's.
This is the Pelosi/reid plan. Obama admitted yesterday he didn't know about the provision that PROHIBITS having private insurance after this plan is approved. It's business as usual, just rush it through before the people get to their Congressmen and tell them to stop.
Yes anne, Democrats plan to fine anyone who doesn't buy health insurance $1,000.
For some people that fine won't be enough to get them to buy health insurance so they'll be out $1,000 and still have no health insurance. The government would use that money to give them some kind of government coverage but this is tantamount to putting a gun to someone's head and forcing someone to buy something they don't want.
There are better alternatives.
1) reduce insurance mandates
2) eliminate rules which prohibit insurance competition (the government talks about creating more competition but it's the reason why we have very little. Nevada actually prohibits you from buying policies issued in California where it is $470 cheaper for an individual person. This would allow people to keep their policy as they moved from state to state.
3) Stop taxing individual health insurance purchases. This would give a person the ability to pay for their own health insurance even if they lost their job"meaning they could KEEP their coverage if they lose jobs.
4) Encourage health savings accounts because the real problem is having a 3rd party payer system where us health care consumers are not conscious about price.
mred,
Several studies have found no correlation between life expectancy and health insurance coverage or universal health care. The major factors are genetics, diet, smoking and alcohol and gun related deaths.
I didn't know there was anymore money left to spend.
Premiums in Nevada have risen 61% since 2000. Employers have dropped coverage or pay more for less. Economists from both sides agree that healthcare costs will swamp our federal budget if nothing is done. It's a well known fact that doing nothing creates a much larger problem in the near future. See well sourced facts here http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inac...
Obama has stated his objectives numerous times; so please do not be fooled by the propaganda swirling around the issue.
President Obamas objectives can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_...
The Administration believes that comprehensive health reform should:
Reduce long-term growth of health care costs for businesses and government
Protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of health care costs
Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans
Invest in prevention and wellness
Improve patient safety and quality of care
Assure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans
Maintain coverage when you change or lose your job
End barriers to coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions
The demographic statistics and dietary habits of the US and Canada are about the same. Canada is number #10 and the U.S. is #30. Also is you look at 5 year survival rates for major diseases, much of the same rankings appear.
If government healthcare is so bad, why doesn't Governor "Gibbons" go out and get his own from the private sector. Ensign should go out and buy his own as well (if he's not to busy worshiping at the alter at his Washington D.C. Hitler House.)
For anyone interested in more than bumper sticker shouting or protest placard slogans, please come to my blog:
http://bgladd.blogspot.com/
The last two posts concern health care policy. Commentary welcome.
As of right now, we do have bipartisan support on this bill, both republicans and democrats are against this bill. If our healthcare is so bad, why do some of the leaders of this world come here to have their procedures done? Because it's the best in the world. Does it need to be tweaked? Sure it does. According to reports, 90% of Americans already have some sort of healthcare, leaving 10%. Even with Obamacare, they say that 3% will still be without any healthcare, so Obama wants to bankrupt our great country for 7% of the population? I agree that healthcare needs to brought into control, but not this. I want the choice to see what doctor I want to see, not the government. My wife's employer has already stated they will drop the private health insurance and take the hit on any and all penalties, as it would save them money and place the burden onto the government. Yeah, I see this Obamacare really saving money.
The LV Sun said "Unfortunately, Obama's approach has not been working to perfection...."We can't afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care," Obama said Monday"
What can be said about Obama's overconfidence is that Obama is complacent about the details of the bills, that he is prone to ignore fundamental facts and use liberal agenda assumptions, he has an unfocused risk-taking perception, and he takes mental shortcuts to decision making.
Obama has a propensity to find a specialist to conjecture "what if" scenarios. Then he fearmongers about the speculated consequences.
But the unintended consequences of this approach is after the bill is passed it sets in motion major policy shifts, which as implemented do not achieve their goal and reduce the American quality of life.
Obama and Biden seem determined to drag out this recession and they are only helping those Obama needs to payback.
Nancy Pelosi's test was that the Stimulus bill be timely, targeted and temporary. They now say they never intended to jolt the economy but bring it back over several years.
Obama is claiming that the stimulus has created 150,000 jobs. He gets that number by using his crack team of experts to speculate or conjecture what should have been the number of job losses each week and compare that with the reported number.
Who can believe Obama when he says Healthcare will be deficit neutral and you can keep the current plan you have now.
Is there information on when the health care plan, if passed would take effect? I've heard that it wouldn't go into effect for some time from now. If that is the case, why the hurry to ram it through the legislative process? Also, I'm not certain, but I've also heard that some Americans might not be covered by the plan (government employees and members of Congress to name a couple of groups). Is there something about this approach to health care that those who are supposed to be doing the hurry-up passage -- don't want to have to endure themselves or have their family members participate in as the rest of us would be required?
"Is there information on when the health care plan, if passed would take effect? I've heard that it wouldn't go into effect for some time from now. If that is the case, why the hurry to ram it through the legislative process?"
In order to keep it "deficit-neutral" (based on the Congressional Budget Office's July 17th, 2009 estimate), it doesn't take effect until 2013. If you wait until 2010 to pass it, then to keep it "deficit-neutral" you'd have to push the start date back to 2014.
Of course, the idea of studying the problem for another 4 years before doing anything about it is not something most people on the left support.
How about congress legislates what we are required to buy?
Maybe something like this:
Everyone must buy 2 gallons of milk a week.
4 boxes of cereal.
Everyone must buy 3 pounds of beans a week.
Everyone must buy 10 cups of yougart a week.
Everyone must buy 50 gallons of gasoline.
Everyone must save $300 a week in the bank.
Everyone must buy 2 pounds of lima beans everyweek.
Everyone must buy 3 lids of pot, and 5 oxycontins as well, every week
Everyone must buy 2 pounds of spagetti everyweek.
At least with the list you get something for your money. With Obama care you get squat, and will be fined if you don't buy it, with something called "shared responsibility payment"
By any other name it's a tax ( in Nevada they would call it a fee)and an unconstitutional intrusion of the government into something that is none of their business.
I vaguely remembering that obama was not going to raise taxes on those making under 250000. Oh that's right Congress is raising the taxes. Obama is just ignorant of the bill and what it contains. ( well that's what he said) So why push for so hard?
It's a congressional bums rush, the draconian plans in the bill ensure only one outcome. Government control of health care.
Another step in GOVERNMENT CONTROL of everything.
AKA BIG BROTHER.
That alone is enough of a reason to not pass it anytime in this century.
There is no way he can be elected to a second term. Look at what he's doing to this country in just the first few months. It is going to be a long 3 1/2 years!
What happened to not signing pork bills? What happened to lowering the deficit? What happened to posting all bills on the internet for 72 hours before any votes.
He is a liar, and a socialist. Cap & Trade, Cash for Clunkers, Obamacare, Stimulus I, Stimulus II, there is no money to pay for these policies. Guess who pays? It's not just going to be the rich that are paying for this.
Take 25 minutes and watch this interview of a Big Health insurance company retiree:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/071020...
Watch it at home at nigth when you can relax.
You are right about most things, but on health care, you need to join me, we should stand up for our rights. (big health insurance companies have you in a head lock and you don't know it.)
Here's the way the private health insurance system works. The insurance companies are in business to make a huge profit and satisfy the shareholders. That is the business they are in -- NOT health care.
Ed Schultz had an example on his show tonight, a company with a $15 billion profit for the year. They did this by charging high premiums, denying anyone with a pre-existing condition, and sharply limiting pay outs to policy holders with claims for injuries and illness. This same company gave millions in bonuses to their top execs.
The industry is spending millions of dollars on Capitol Hill EVERY DAY to lobby and bribe our Congressional Reps and Senators. They are scared reform will kill their golden goose and are doing everything they can to prevent it from happening.
Call your Senators. Call your Representatives
Sgt Rock,
""We are going to like Sweden where health care cost is the highest in Europe, yet they have the highest wait times in Europe and they have the highest tax rates in Europe (on average each taxpayers pays in 51% of thier income to the government). More and more people in Sweden are buying private health insurance because they are getting fed up with the wait times.""
Still quoting LIES. Sweden does not have high healthcare costs, only 10.4% of GDP goes to healthcare, actually one of the lowest in Europe considering that this 10.4% covers 95.2% of healthcare costs. The USAs figures are well over 15% of GDP yet only covers 44.6% of the population. For our money we have more nurses, more doctors, even with the per capita spending 40% lower that the USA.
Referal waiting times are a max of 30 days to see a specialist.
Just to put you right about taxes, my tax is only 22% after mortgage interest reductions, and anyone earning the normal "factory" wage the total tax is 29%. Of course very high earning are taxed accordingly, so where you get your inflated figures from of 51%, from the comic cartoons, suits you, because your are just a comic
mred,
Sales taxes are almost non existent in the USA, so, beware, this is a very lucrative area for states to introduce higher sales taxes. Here in Europe, all countries have a faily high sales tax VAT on ""everything"" ranging from 15 to 25%, so the USA is next in line, everybody will have to pay more taxes.