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Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 | 8:23 a.m.
Sen. Harry Reid
WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the proposed public option trigger a “pretty doggone good idea” during a telephone-town hall on health care reform with Nevadans.
Reid supports the idea from Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, which would establish standards and goals the insurance companies must hit within a specified timeframe. If companies miss the deadline, the public option would kick in.
“My first choice is a public option, because I think it will create competition and make the insurance companies more honest,” Reid said Thursday. “My No. 2 choice is the trigger that Snowe talked about.”
Reid said that he preferred the trigger, “which is a pretty doggone good idea,” to the proposed co-operative model some moderate Democrats support.
The public option would be a government-run program and one type of insurance that could be purchased on the new exchange, alongside offerings from private companies. Under the health reform plans being considered in Congress, all Americans would be required to carry some type of health insurance.
Supporters of the co-op see it as an alternative to the public-run option, but opponents worry it would not provide enough competition to force down insurance policy prices.
Reid said the co-op is his third choice.
“It would be better than nothing but it’s nothing I’m going to jump for joy with," he said.
“We have to be careful at the end of the day we don’t wind up giving a bouquet of roses to the pharmaceutical industry or the insurance industry. They’re going to get a lot of customers. They’re the ones that are making all the money during this time of stress for most people.”
and you agree with cutting 500 billion from medicare and dumping on the senior citizens....you know the attitude well....you people are too old and not needed anymore! we have taken everything from you that we can!! you have out-lived your usefulness and can no longer contribute to the obamanation!
TOO BAD YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO ON MEDICARE YOURSELF!!!
oh yeah by the way....
VOTE REID OUT IN 2010!!! HE HAS LOST HIS WAY AND FORGOT WHERE HE CAME FROM, HE IS NO LONGER IS GOOD FOR NEVADA!!!
This poor excuse for a Senator wouldn't recognize a deal if it was right infront of him except that it would fill his back pocket and as this one is it will fill his back pocket. Without Tort Reform there is no deal since it makes up a large part of health care costs. FAr too many punches to the head for this dolt.
http://uppitywoman08.files.wordpress.com...
Here is what Harry Reid thinks of his constituients, just copy and paste the above address
You know, a few friends and relatives take mini vacations to Nevada two or three times a year, as I'm sure alot of groups do across the U.S. We just read where your Harry Reid snubbed his nose and doesn't think Acorn should be investigated. And he thinks this HB3200 should be forced on the people of the U.S. reguardless of what we think. So we say we can go gambling, mountain bike riding, snow skiing, etc. somewhere eles. You think the president did economic damage to Nevada when he told the bailed-out corporations not to take their employees to Las Vegas. Until Harry is gone, we will be gone, somewhere else.
Senator Reid is an idiot. Plain and simple. That "trigger" is the death kneel to the Public Option. Trust me on that. Here is how it works: only a certain percentage of your income is mandated to go toward health care (kinda like the debt-to-income ratio mortgage companies "supposed" to use in qualifying you for a loan). So let's say it is capped at 15%. Well, anything that goes above 15% the government (i.e. taxpayer) will cover. If your medical expenses exceeds more than 15% of your total income, then the government (i.e. taxpayer) will cover the remainder. Now here is the scheme: there are provisions in the bill that states in order for this so-called "trigger" to take place, the same 15% must be exceeded. Now how can something be exceeded when the government (i.e. the taxpayer) will always subsidize the difference? What this bill does is two things: first, the insurance companies do not have to worry about ever lowering their fees. In fact, the opposite is going to happen. Their fees are going to skyrocket. Second, the insurance companies will be getting paid twice: from you through your earnings, and from you through your taxes. If you don't believe me, just refer to the prescription drug benefit the previous Congress and administration suckered on senior citizens. Big pharma took the government (i.e. taxpayer) to the cleaners using this same "trigger" tactic. And the sad thing is this is only the beginning. You think Wall Street took advantage of us with the bailout; just wait until "cap-and-trade".
cignettis: Please explain something to me.
Nevada has had tort reform since 2002, including a cap on damages and a requirement for expert support of the Plaintiff's claim to deter the filing of frivilous lawsuits.
From 2000-2008 family health insurance premiums for Nevada's workers rose 2.5 times more quickly than median earnings. Health care premiums for families rose by 54.6%, while earnings rose by only 21.4%.
If there really is a direct correlation between the cost of medical care and medical malpractice, and tort reform is the answer to nationwide revision of the system, then why haven't Nevada's residents seen the benefit of the laws they enacted to protect the doctors from malpractice?
I agree the trigger idea is awful. The whole problem with medical insurance now is that they get to pick the pockets of two different people - typically the employer and the employee & dependents. When you're taking money from more than one person, its a lot easier to raise rates...
I hate to say it but single payer is really the best option. That and crack down hard on the AMA and force them to open more medical schools to create more doctors.
Public Option is a must! Every industrialized nation has it but us. We have the same system as Guatemala, El Salvador and most African Nations.
Public Option is the future.
Siromega - I agree with you completely. This issue is very personal to me on 2 fronts. First, my mother just had a stroke. The insurance company she has been with for over 20 years dropped her while at the Mayo Clinic. My father had to pay $12,000 deposit just to keep her in the hospital. That only put a dent into the medical bill; but may bankrupt my parents. Second, my best friend is a doctor with his own practice. You would think he makes tons of money. WRONG! He is losing money hand over fist. He shared with me 2 scenarios on how he gets paid. The first is through Medicare/Medicaid. He told me when he submits a claim, it is electronic and once approved he receives payment within a business day (typically a claim is reviewed and approved within 30 days). The second is through private insurance. He said he must manually fill out claims and mailed them. It takes on average 270 days to receive payment. Now if the government is so bad in conducting business on this level, then why do they pay and process their claims much more efficiently and timely than multi-national private insurance companies?
nativeamerican - I hope you will re-think your decision. We promise to do our best to see that Harry is gone next year; most of us don't like him at all. We are well aware of Harry's role in the current administration.
Harry is to Barack what Monica was to Bill.
I'm with Bobby. Good stuff.
Medicare for all remains the best option...
NO!
Public option NOW!
Note to Reid: No public option equals no vote for you.
Wait. We already decided to not vote for Reid since he switched his choice of speed train to the one Sig Rogich backs.
Why are the Republican's afraid of competition in the health insurance industry?
Larry5: lobby,campain,donate for,to the other guy, and send Harry a note, tell him to stay away from HB3200, he will be forced to use it since he won't be a Nevada politican anymore. And since he likes it so much, all of the medical community in Nevada will insist he use it when he shows up in the hospital. And he can't use his own money, because in HB3200, it makes no difference, you can't use your own money to get better health care.
ImDaManUSirRNot, thank you, and I mean that, at least someone has read HB3200 and can understand it. I got dizzy reading this paragraph that referred me to this artcle, that referred me to paragraph which in turn referred me to this page.paragraph.article.section.you are screwed.chapter.where was i.what was I looking at.
If Pres. Obama is correct and there is 500 billion in waste, fraud and abuse of Medicare then why don't we take that money and use it to fund a program for those who don't have coverage? Why must we overturn the entire system just to cover a small portion of the population? It just doesn't add up.
Do you want to solve the healthcare crisis? Here's how. Eat more fruits and vegetables, watch your weight and exercise regularly. If everybody did that our healthcare costs would plummet. Finding a solution is easy. Getting people to undertake the solution is hard.
Both the Baucus bill and HR3200 are terrible legislation that will simply make a bad situation worse. The Dems need to put together a clear, simple, Govt-base single-payer proposal; the Repubs need to put together a clear, simple, market-based individual choice proposal; both need to be posted on the web for all to see, along with a thorough CBO assessment. Then let the people decide. Democratic shenanigans (gag orders, no debate) and GOP obstinacy ("Just say No") do the public no service.
bbtbrain, why over turn an intire system has nothing to do with money, the stimulus had nothing to do with money , it's not about money, it's all about CONTROL
The Sun just loves Harry. They either changed Harry's picture or he isn't constipated anymore.
Harry is wrong for Nevada, wrong on ACORN, wrong on Yucca and wrong on Health Care.
This guy is so busy being a politician he can't get anything done.
bbtbrain
9/25/09 at 11:38 a.m
If there is $500 Bil. of waste, fraud and abuse, who's fault is it, the goverment. Medicare is a goverment run program, Goverment read the same book that ACORN read.
Finance Committee adjourned before noon today. Senators Carper, Lincoln and Conrad will not push out fast bill. Carper, on CNN says they all agree on 80% and they should pass that and leave the other 20% for another time.
Harry Reid has lost control of his party. The centrist Democrats are exercising their rights to delay and compromise with Republican concerns even if the leadership will not.
Current counts show 51 votes for liberal plans may not be available and 60 is out of the question.
DailyKos is going nuts over Carper's interview
Reid is an idiot.
Is Harry Reid even relavant anymore?
He's done nothing to help Nevada.
He is buddies with the current president who said not to business with Las Vegas.
What can I say, Harry Reid is a doggone, yippe i ey bad idea for Nevada. The guy is a goon. Can't wait to kick his butt out of office.
What Nevadans do in 2010 will affect the entire country for generations. Harry Reid is a scourge, and you people have to vote him out of office. This country needs Nevadans to make things right again. Hopefully, that sense of independence we all used to love about the Old West is still there in your souls.