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Some Republicans favor reform, too
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009 | 2:02 a.m.
Democrats in Congress as well as the Obama administration think they need to work for bipartisan approval for a national health care bill.
But the Senate is composed of 58 Democrats, two independents and 40 Republicans.
It seems to me we have bipartisan approval as there must be a goodly portion of Republicans in the electorate who want health care reform. So if the Democrats vote for reform, they will be granting the wishes of much of the population that voted for President Barack Obama and, by doing so, expressed a desire for critical change.
The fact that Republicans choose to turn their backs on constituents is their problem. Congress, which has a Democratic majority in both houses, needs to do the bidding of the people who are declared Republicans as well as that of the Democratic and independent voters.
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hey susan...
excellent letter...
this is what i would do...
pass a bill in the house with the public option...
make the retarded republicans filibuster it in the senate...
make them spend days and days filibustering it...
and shine a spotlight on them each and every time they lie during the filibuster...
which will be just about every other sentence...
that will expose them as the frauds they are...
then...
after that circus is over...
just pass it using reconciliation...
the public will love it...
the beloved democrats will soar in the polls...
brilliant...
positively brilliant!!!
Many reformers recognized roughly 30 percent of all health-care spending in the U.S. -some $700 billion a year- might be wasted on no coordinated preventive care program waiting until people get ill, about 50% of idle world's best practices, a pay for each and every service reimbursement and frequent readmissions, no e-medical record and deaths, crushing litigations and the more profits via the unnecessary, risk-carrying procedures, and the most inefficient paper billing systems imaginable, overpriced pharmaceuticals, bloated insurance companies, incredible medial fraud, exorbitant costs by the tragic ER visits etc.
And with around 50% of top of the line practices sitting around, granted the American people pay around twice the amount of the efficient systems, the result is still well below them, the ratio of waste might be estimated to reach far more than 50% in the U.S.
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 Republicans on the Hill are AFRAID to vote with the Democrats, they face the wrath of the far right members of C Street and the scorn of Rush, Bill O and Sean.
If they could think for themselves and truly represent their constituents, they would vote accordingly.
The real reason the Democrats aren't going to vote for a health care bill without the support of the Republican party is because they are smart enough to realize that they would face the outrage of the voters when the common persons tax bill sky rockets to pay for the new system.
And you don't even need to be a rocket scientist like our feathered friend to figure that out.
Judy...wake up and smell the coffee. Rep's and Conservatives won't vote for the bill because it's a bad bill. It has little to do with Rush, Bill or Sean as most of us can read and think for ourselves. But keep telling yourself that...and we'll keep reminding ourselves of exactly who whispers in the ear of the most powerful leader of the free world. I'll give you a hint...Ayers, Emmanual, and Wright to name few.
If the "Left Wingers" in Congress think they can pass a piece of health reform legislation without bipartisan support, then "GET ER DONE!!!"
Ayers and Wright? Beat that dead horse, Indythinker. Obviously the Republicans have learned nothing from their defeat in 2008.
"It has little to do with Rush, Bill or Sean as most of us can read and think for ourselves."
Then why have Republican Senators McConnell and Inhofe said they'll vote against it without even fully reading it? They've undermined your argument.
There is nothing wrong with voting AGAINST a bill without reading it first...
There is something wrong with voting FOR a bill without reading it first...
Can you see the difference here???
No, I see your double standard.
Regardless of party affiliation... the fact that these idiots don't bother reading legislation before they vote is absolutely asinine. Who does that? Do you write random checks without knowing how much your bill is? Who can afford to be that careless...UNLESS IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY TO BEGIN WITH and you actually could care less. And, that Edgewise is really the crux of the matter...for me at least! I think all Americans should be in an uproar over this. The fact that you simply accept this lousy legislating disguised as Democratic wisdom is just a little sad.
Wouldn't it be unique if our elected officials could not vote on a piece of legislation until they read it.
Maybe a little open debate on proposed legislation before voting for it would be useful for those elected officials who have questions.
Just think... If Congress would have done their job by reading HR-3200, had some open discussion, maybe a few amendments to clear up some areas, they might have been able to got it passed.
Shoulda, coulda, woulda!
I propose a quiz on the legislation that would indicate how well our elected spokespeople are understanding the law they vote on.
Let the people know who their spokespeople are by how well they get it.
Then they can vote if they pass, 90%.
Airweare, that is brilliant! Make them prove they know what they are voting on for any vote. That would be Repubs and Dems. Sadly, it still wouldn't result in any of them voting their conscience. Political science 101, day 1, lesson 1: The first day in office will be spent working on re-election.
"Wouldn't it be unique if our elected officials could not vote on a piece of legislation until they read it." LarryVegas
"I propose a quiz on the legislation that would indicate how well our elected spokespeople are understanding the law they vote on." airweare
Well said. Now if only you two posters would be required to study the legislation and prove you read and understand at least some of it before posting ... nah, then you'd never get a chance to exercise your 1st Ammendment right to parrot whatever rushes from Rush's mouth or is spoon fed to you by Fox.
Stan: You were doing so well until you showed your true self by your show of lack of credibility in your last sentence.
I have read HR-3200 and by the tone of airweare's posts, it appears that he also has read the bill. I bet either one of us could debate this bill with you. Bring forth your questions...
Maybe if you listened to Rush or FOX News, you would learn both sides of the issues. Then maybe you could do an intelligent post on the issues not a rant from left space.
okay, even if you don't like what republicans are all about, you still shouldn't call them retarded. that's just wrong.