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Ditch bipartisanship on health care reform
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009 | 2:03 a.m.
The Democratic Congress should cease any attempt to negotiate a compromise on health care legislation with Republicans. The Republican leaders have vowed to kill any “Obamacare” bill.
The Democrats should instead negotiate with the “Blue Dog” Democrats. Give them anything they want within reason, but work out a Democratic health care bill.
The Democrats have a sufficient working majority in both houses of Congress, and they can come up with legislation that would have made Ted Kennedy proud.
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"Ditch bipartisanship on health care reform"
You can not stop what was never started.
The Democrats have refused to listen to conservatives for the get-go.
Aside from excessive cost paid by robbing $500 billion from Medicare and the unwanted public plan, two other key issues Democrat Blue Dogs have is coverage of Illegal Aliens and abortion.
Why is it that we cannot start with a simple healthcare bill that handles the bulk of the concerns most liberal and conservative have - without a public option plan/single-payer plan -- it would pass
- Give everyone equal access to tax deductible (same as a business provided deduction) health insurance by, multi-state Health Insurance Exchanges and State and Regional Cooperatives open to individuals and small employers, and paid access to Medicare for early retirement.
- Subsidize transient uncovered people who are laid off (COBRA or Medicare) and those that earn up to 2 times the poverty level (4 times is too high a threshold).
- Require coverage of pre-existing conditions on a new policy, prevent dropping coverage.
- Individual mandate - as a minimum everyone has a "minimal essential benefits - catastrophic" healthcare policy.
- Eliminated cost shifting where one plans pricing power gets a lower rate than other less powerful insurers. That is the cost of a red pill is the same for all.
- Impose tort reform to reduce defensive medicine.
- Government investment in innovation and technology.
- Automate Healthcare records to eliminate duplicate tests by multiple doctors.
When the Democrats are ready to listen there is a real solution
Today, another innovative, fundamental change in payment system, or patient's outcome based payment reform that is able to turn the profit-oriented malpractices and volume into the patient-oriented value and quality is waiting for a final decision.
Now that Minnesota spends "20 percent" less per patient than the national average and 31 percent less than in the highest cost state, under a pay for patient's outcome pack, this promising reform could be successful along the way, I believe.
Aside from the already allocated $583 billion and the savings of this reform package, "20%" of $923.5bn (the combined Medicare and Medicaid cost per year, as of July) is around $184.7bn per year and 1.847trillion over the next decade, and this patient-oriented value alone could be sufficient to meet the goal.
the retarded republicans were never negotiating in good faith...
they simply can not be trusted...
on absolutely anything...
one word...
reconciliation!!!
Just a fyi....Obama is about to offically announce the death of the public option.
I think he is going with the old Clinton trick of triangulation so makes him look like is fighting Congress to improve his poll numbers.
Good luck to him on that one.
If BHO and his cronies really had it going on...they wouldn't need bipartisanship. Makes one wonder if they ONLY want it so they can play the blame game when it all falls apart down the road.
The sad thing is reform is needed and there are a multitude of issues that would improve care across the board. Why not tort reform? Guess they didn't want to tackle the trial lawywers...Why not? Why not enforce illegal immigration laws? Don't want to give up the Hispanic vote? Of course not! The list is endless for potential change, and sadly, the only thing that seems to matter is cronyism, votes, and a left-leaning agenda in a country that is more centrist than not.
I think the Dem's in office are more concerned with their jobs and getting votes then they are about any serious reform. Maybe they should take some notes from all the Rep's who went against the wishes of the people and voted in horrible Bush era legislation...and are now unemployed.
These guys forget who they work for. All of them, starting at the top with BHO!
Birdie sooooo glad to see that you're up bright and early this morning. Did ya get the worm?
BTW...Get over yourself! I will have my job regardless of whether there is tort reform or not. Some things just work out that way. Good planning on my part, right? And, I sleep like a baby at night...thank you very much...because unlike you, I actually help people... actually do a little good in the world. You do understand that concept, right?
Now get back up on your little perch and munch on some failed liberal rhetoric, er...I mean bird seed.
hey biasedthinker...
tell you what skippy...
let's see if you can go a whole day without posting misinformation or fear mongering...
24 hours...
this will be fascinating...
ready, set, go...
i'm watching!!!
Watch away my feathered friend. Not sure which part of my post was fearmongering...maybe the part about you on your liberal perch?
I find it absolutely hysterical that you call conservatives fearmongers when you yourself are so blatantly misinformed and spout nothing but nonsense. I know you can read "Skippy," but maybe you should stop reading the comics and start reading some commentaries...from both perspectives.
Birdie will never open his mind. He's one of those slackers that want everyone else to pay for his way. Won't work for anything himself when he can sponge off of someone else. Thats why he argues so srongly for democrat ideas - let someone else pay his way. Is that right, skippy????
LOL... Trying to prove a point with some folks is like spitting in the wind, isn't it?
Your right Indy - they only know what they want and don't care about anybody else except themselves. What gets me, is they want to use my hard earned money to pay for them. I suppose its easier to have somebody else pay their way instead of working for it themselves.
The Dems don't need any Republican votes to pass this health care. They have the votes to do it on their own. They just need someone to blame if it doesn't pass amongst all of the Dems. The Republicans are not at fault in this matter. Many followers of the Democrat machine have bought this phony charge of Republicans holding it up. While I don't agree with the bill, as Nike says.... "Just do it"
The writer of this letter to the editor states:
"The Democrats have a sufficient working majority in both houses of Congress, and they can come up with legislation that would have made Ted Kennedy proud."
I tired of the rhetoric coming from Reid and Pelosi. HR-3200 is waiting for Pelosi to bring it to a vote of the full House. If they think they can get pass it then... GET ER DONE!!!
The Republicans had the majority in the House and Senate for years and could have passed tort reform.
Any truly independent thinker would be asking themselves why the Republicans failed to do so.
Faced with unsustainable insurance premiums, the auto industry has little chance to roll out affordable products as the premium inflation plunged it into insolvency before.
With this promising reform that comes in with a balancing function for price in operation, Chevy Volt, too, could earn competitive edge in price along the way, together with Nissan Leaf.
As an independent voter, I am asking both political parties why they put us in the shape we are in.
Neither political party wants tort reform because Congress is full of ATTORNEYS...
hey biasedthinker...
i want to thank you...
first you admitted to being a health care professional...
now you admit to spreading misinformation...
atta girl...
now we just need you to grow a conscience...
you and all of your retarded republican friends...
then we will be getting somewhere!!!
hey thumper...
after you got fired and had to leave vegas...
where did you go???
man it has got to suck to have been forced to leave vegas...
then spend all day on a vegas newspaper's website...
how pathetic are you???
I wonder Birdie if it really is possible to be that ignorant? First off... I may work in the industry, but my perspective is just one opinion. I don't know who wronged you in your past life, but son you gotta let it go.
Second...I have a child with a likely death sentence hanging over his head...he is uninsurable. We have lived with this knowledge since he was 12...he is now 19. It's our issue to deal with and we have.
So, please stop calling me biased as I think I am anything but. I try to be very objective and look to many different sources BEFORE forming an opinion. I know...novel idea, right?
So stop chirping...
hey biasedthinker...
i am sorry to hear about your child...
i truly hope he or she lives a long and productive life...
however...
you of all people should know how badly we need healthcare reform...
since you work in the industry you have most likely received preferential treatment...
but you must know...
if the economy doesn't snap out of it...
and you and your husband lose your jobs...
your child is in big trouble...
and your family is staring bankruptcy square in the eye...
got that skippy!!!
brownln4: "they only know what they want and don't care about anybody else except themselves. ..... they want to use my hard earned money to pay for them."
Wow! People usually don't contradict themselves in just a few sentences?
Thumper is on a roll... A little humor is good when discussing serious matters. I just hope that Thumper does not end up in a cage next to Birdie...
Gordon - open your mind and read between the lines. You know exactly what I mean or does it have to be spelled out for you?? Are looking for any excuse to blow off a comment??
Birdie - I must have hit home with you being a slacker as you won't even acknowledge my correct comments on you being a slacker - right skippy???
Your meaning was very, very, very, clear and no reading between the lines was necessary.
WOW! What a great day today for posting. Glad I didn't miss it. Nice to see 'indie" getting it from birdbrain today instead of me.
Let's cut the crap. I everyone who is faking disability to get on Medicare..
If everyone who refuses to get a job and, ergo, health insurance from their employer"
If everyone who makes enough money to purchase health care but wont"
If everyone who spends their money on cigs, booze, and enough food to be among the 50% of Americans who are obese dropped their expensive bad habits and bought health insurance".
If all the illegal aliens went home".
Well".there wouldn't be a health care crisis in America and all of us on this site debating this issue would have to get a life.
And, this "bird-brained" argument that someone in the health care industry can't contribute to the debate because they are protecting their interests".
You're insane. This issue has so many angles and tentacles I am not sure how you can have a discussion without people who know something about the issue having their say.
Why don't you fight a war without military experts""
Oh yea".Libs don't believe in war. Good thing that birdbrains didn't rule in 1942.
How do you know "bird" is a he? I perfer the gender neutral 'IT". Please make a note of it.
I heard that the "Bird" used to be a he, but he/it is now a capon. This is one of the reasons his chirp is more like a squawk and his singing sounds more like whining.
The "Bird" became much more sociable after his lobotomy except that he has a habit of repeating himself and sometimes going into a rant. The doctor that performed the lobotomy was a conservative female doctor and that is the reason he dislikes conservatives, doctors and prostitutes. I am not sure why he doesn't like prostitutes but may have something to do about him being neutered.
Some say the "Bird" is difficult to understand sometimes since his pecker got out of whack by following his buddy Harry a little too closely.
Larry, you should write for The Tonight Show. That was great. I hope it doesn't get censored.
We don't want no Gummint Death Panels.
We got our own.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT_2GjSkz...
and there's this:
Why do we need the Government involved in our Health Care? The drug companies and the insurance companies have only our best interests at heart. So what if they make a few illegal bucks on the side? Too bad they got caught.
It's the American Way.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/i...