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twitterLETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Leaders elected to sort through complex issues
Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009 | 2:03 a.m.
Health care reform is a complicated and important issue. Politics needs to be put aside, and the focus should be on making quality health care, among other things, affordable, adequate, accessible and, hopefully, administratively simple.
As a cancer survivor (breast cancer and, for the past 10 years, fighting leukemia), I know firsthand what lack of income and lack of insurance can do. I found myself $40,000 in debt 25 years ago after a mastectomy. I know of cancer patients who have encountered so many problems in our health care system. I personally know of patients who have been denied medical coverage because of preexisting conditions.
Making quality health care affordable for all Americans, removing set limits on the amount a patient must pay for in-network and out-of-network care, and removing the preexisting conditions loophole are but some of the things needed to make health care reform work.
The status quo does not work for people with cancer.
We know health care reform is a difficult task; however, that is why the voters of Nevada and the nation elected their respective legislators to support us and to find the answers to these complex issues, including health care reform. Our elected officials have access to experts to help them; constituents do not.
Congress should focus on patients, not politics.
The writer is a volunteer for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
Discussion: 33 comments so far…
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In a after midnight vote, the Nancy Pelosi House passed her 2% solution. After a dramatic visit by President Obama (to "answer the call of history") and the Stupak Pro-life amendment voted 220-215 to pass Health Insurance reform Nancy has a Health Insurance bill with a public option that will only cover 2% of the people and it costs just 1.2 trillion dollars.
The buying of Democratic votes had to go right down to the wire. Even with the Pro-life amendment bring over 25 votes, Democrats still had 39 defections; a switch of just 3 more congressmen would have lost it.
The Stupak Pro-life amendment brings us back to Obama's address to the American Nation from the "Halls of Congress" felt he was right to ridicule and call my opposition to the abortion position "a lie, plain and simple.
The fact that Obama and the Democrats finally had to capitulate and put a pro-life amendment into the Health Insurance bill show we were telling the truth. Obama implored critics to stop "phony claims" but Obama failed to debunk in his words the "more outrageous myths" of the healthcare proposals
On 10-14 the lowball Baucus Health Insurance Reform bill for just under a trillion dollars does not cover 29 million people.
So for $1.2 trillion dollars and 1990 pages we are getting:
- 98% of the people NOT covered by the public option
- 29 million NOT covered by health insurance
- A wait time of 6 months if you have a pre-condition
- installs a "Payment Advisory Commission" (wage, price, and rationing control board)
- $490 billion taken away from senior's Medicare
- $280 billion NOT paid to Doctors for services rendered
- A new 5.4% surcharge tax on small businesses
- It does NOT include tort reform to save money
- It does NOT allow plans to cross state lines
- It does NOT reduce the cost of healthcare providers
- It does NOT have a enforceable Individual mandate
- It does NOT allow for catastrophic" healthcare policies.
- It does NOT preclude cost shifting.
- It does NOT impose tort reform to reduce defensive medicine.
Very few of "our" elected officials have even read the bill. Most of them, Titus, Reid, Pelosi, etc. lack the basic intelligence to understand it.
"Making quality health care affordable for all Americans, removing set limits on the amount a patient must pay for in-network and out-of-network care, and removing the preexisting conditions loophole "
You do know that removing limits + removing preexisting conditions does not equal affordable.
Oliveri -- your motives here can't reasonably be questioned. For those who desperately need medical care but can't afford it (who can), or fail to qualify (again, who can), there's no real question our society has an obligation to provide care. But I have to ask whatever happened to the Hill-Burton plan, that guarantee hospitals can't turn away those in need of care but can't afford it?
Future -- extremely disturbing, if true.
jlb101 -- exactly how did you come to that conclusion? If that's the reasonable conclusion you got from communicating directly with their offices your post would have some credibility. But given the tone of your usual posts I suspect all you did was skim some headlines, and that gives you zero credibility.
nance/SgtRock -- you assume that "you know..." why?
Phargo -- you got your future predictions from what, tea leaves, entrails or your crystal ball?
All -- heard a disturbing rumor buried in those almost 2,000 pages are hefty penalties and even imprisonment for those who fail to sign up for this insurance. Anyone have anything of substance on that?
Lib fuzzy math:
Requiring insurance companies to pay out more money in claims equals in lowers premiums that they charge to customers.
"The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians' reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill. The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring annual 5-6 percent reductions in doctor reimbursements for treating Medicare patients. Bravely, each year Congress has rolled the cuts over, suspending them but not repealing them. So each year, the accumulated cuts threaten doctors. By now, they have risen to 21 percent. With this blackmail leverage, Obama compelled the AMA to support his bill...or else!"
LarryV -- good point.
Factor in how these doctors are expected to take such a hefty cut into their fees without balancing that out with guaranteed reductions in malpractice insurance, or indemnity from certain kinds of lawsuits, and it appears the feds are hell-bent on screwing everyone but themselves.
I have absolutely to pay for the healthcare bill of anyone other than my family. Go read the constitution.
I heart Titus and Whorehouse Harry both interviewed by different reporters recently. They brushed off the question when they were asked if they had read the healthcare bill. If they had read it they would have said so. The ink isn't even dry on that piece of garbage.
jlb101 said.....
"I have absolutely to pay for the healthcare bill of anyone other than my family. Go read the constitution."
Hmmmmmm...I'm confused..I have read the Constitution many, many times and I have NEVER come across anything that talks about health care. Can you steer me in the right direction? What part of the Constitution are we talking about?
Thanks in advance....
jib can spin anything. I can't wait for the answer. I think there's something about casual Fridays in the constitution too.
Be a man! Pay for your healthcare even if you lost your job or your health. Be a man!
Hey Wolfy...
President Hugo Chavez on Sunday ordered Venezuela's military to prepare for a possible armed conflict with Colombia, saying his country's soldiers should be ready if the United States attempts to provoke a war between the South American neighbors.
So Wolfy, if an armed conflict develops between Venezuela and Colombia, what are the odds that Obama will allow U.S. Armed Forces to intercede?
LarryVegas.....
I have no idea....What ever the decision might be that Obama makes, I'm sure it will be a better decision that clueless George made concerning the Middle East. Of course, time will tell us, right?
ElLobo-My computer posted without my pushing the button as I was proofreading. I should have said there is nothing in the constitution requiring me to pay the doctor bills of anyone. If this were in fact a free country this would not even be brought up.
Shumway I am a man I pay all my bills like any man does. I don't go sniveling like a baby to the government because I don't have something. I made wise investments years ago. I haven't really had to work in ten years, it is not necessary and I live quite well. Life is good except for the parasites who want a share of what I have earned.
jlb101 is a living caricature of a dead elephant.
Future, all -- no one here has mentioned anything about the criminal sanctions sneaked into HR 3692. Check out this press release from a Congressional office: "PELOSI: Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail - JCT Confirms Failure to Comply with Democrats' Mandate Can Lead to 5 Years in Jail"
"Friday, November 06, 2009
Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain "acceptable health insurance coverage" and who choose not to pay the bill's new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.
In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: "This is the ultimate example of the Democrats' command-and-control style of governing -- buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately."
Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:
(exceeded character limit, here's the rest)
"H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax." [page 1]
- - - - - - - - - -
"If the government determines that the taxpayer's unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply"" [page 2]
- - - - - - - - - -
"Criminal penalties
Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:
Section 7203 -- misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
Section 7201 -- felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years." [page 3]
When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.
"The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi's decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare," said Camp.
According to the Congressional Budget Office the lowest cost family non-group plan under the Speaker's bill would cost $15,000 in 2016.
http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.go...
Ah, HR3962... Brought to you in two days by the same nice people who can't make a decision on Afghanistan in three months...
gmag39-Do I detect a bit of class envy there?
Anyone who voted against the health care bill
will be voted out of office next year.
The party is over for the party of NO.
Any congressman who voted for the health care bill will be voted out of office next year is probably more like it.
Plus, the bill still has a long way to go before it gets to it's signing...
It is just a bill on capitol hill...
Health care reform will pass.
The party of NO can't stop it.
teamster -- your union must cover federal DOC, otherwise how can you justify criminalizing your fellow citizens who won't comply with this vast new social order?
Colombia would crush Venezuela. Heck, even El Salvador would crush Venezuela. The Venezuelan military is a ceremonial joke.
Hampster: where is Jimmy Hoffa buried? We know that you were involved.
Wow.....I can't believe it! That's a first.....I actually agree, at least in part, with something that LarryVegas said. That's amazing.....he said:
"the bill (health care reform) still has a long way to go before it gets to it's signing..."
Yes, it's going to be a long hard fight in the Senate and more deals will have to be done before the bill stands a chance of being passed. But, in all honesty, I believe that will happen..
Look for "say it ain't so Joe" Lieberman to get a lot of attention (which he loves...) as well as many of the "blue-dog" Democrats; and a few Republicans as the bill is debated and voted upon in the Senate.
Lieberman, who likes to be the center of attention, will in the end, vote against passage of the bill in the Senate. I believe Harry Reid knows that and has already decided that the battle can be won with out Joe's support...
People not following the fight closely may actually believe that Lieberman will vote against passage of the health care reform bill because he believes that the "public option" part of the bill is not good for a majority of Americans. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Actually, Joe will vote against the bill because he is in the "back pocket" of the insurance companies.
The Boston Globe reports that Lieberman "has received about $800,000 since 2000 from insurance industry sources, and industry-affiliated political action committees have given more generously to his campaign fund than those from any other sector."
Yep, follow the money, especially when it comes to Joe Lieberman, and how he votes.. Joe has been bought and paid for and his vote is now in the hands of the insurance industry...
We need health care reform not a federal takeover of our health cares system.
But the Obama Administration and it's supporters do not want to fix anything. They want to replace it with another redistribution of income and wealth. And you have those out there that are expecting something for nothing...
There's nothing "complex" about a "reform" proposal that is nothing more than a socialist Ponzi-scheme mandate broadening government's power to steal from Americans' under the ruse of "caring" for their health.
Those sponsoring such mandates are enemies of freedom and liberty.
: (
Hampster, good to see you still toting the union wood.
Health care reform will be shown as the boondoggle it is. The loopholes and hidden BS will see the light of day and Dirty Harry will go down with it.
We are no longer the land of the free and home of the brave, we are now the land of handouts and the home of free loaders.
jlb101, dude, I would not trade places with you if you were a Zillionaire. You are a true ultra-right wing character. God bless ya, you old codger.
Getalife, Larry, Harley, you guys are too funny.
Again, the right-wing guys cannot see the forest for the trees. The system we have NOW is a ponzi scheme in which the consumer gets left holding the bag far too often. We are going to change the odds on that a little bit. Is that re-distribution of wealth? I don't think so.
It IS more EQUITABLE. Why do the rich insurance companies and their CEO/COO deserve to make billions and millions, respectively, PER YEAR, while people are dying because the SYSTEM IS BROKEN? Do you think all the folks that are screaming for reform are doing so because they want to make money off you? To "get one over on you?" To "get something for nothing?" NO! They are screaming for change because of denial of coverage, because of escalating costs of policies, because some arbitrary system decides if they are "covered" for whatever ails them, because, as human beings in a civilized society, we think that health care is something we want EVERYONE to have available to them; not just those who can afford to pay ridiculously high policy prices, and their associated out-of-pocket expenses.
It's about BRINGING THIS THING UNDER CONTROL.
Right now, the only ones the system TRULY works for is the big health-care giants. Why in the world would you support THAT as a consumer?
Hampster: where is Jimmy Hoffa buried? My friends with the Gambino Crime Family say he's under the home team (Giants) goal post. What say you? Or are you an honest union official?
mike germ:
James Hoffa Jr. is the current president of the
Teamsters Union and is doing a great job. His dad, Jimmy Hoffa, started the Teamsters Union
and it's still the strongest union in the United
States.
My leader is James Hoffa Jr.
Ronnie Deutsch and other "Tax" lawyers are the true winners in this debate. Medical malpractice lawyers get to go on with business as usual and the beat goes on.
Anyone who really believes that the threat of jail or fines holds any meaning in this society is in denial.
The way things are going, it may be safer in jail with the drug users and non-insurance buyers than on the outside with the violent criminals being released for good behaviour after 5 years served on a 20 to life sentence.