http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/budget-monitor-questions-impact-of-gop-health-bill/
Finally, the GOP has a bill.
But let's not celebrate just yet.
The Congressional Budget Office says the bill would have little impact in extending health benefits to the roughly 30 million uninsured Americans, but would reduce average insurance premium costs for people who have coverage.
The bill would do little to change the status quo, but would reduce future federal deficits by $68 billion over 10 years, compared to a reduction of $104 billion by the House Democrats’ legislation.
The nonpartisan budget office predicted savings reflected in the Republican plan would amount to $41 billion over 10 years as a result of provisions to limit costs related to medical malpractice lawsuits.
Showing posts with label healthcare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthcare. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Jon Stewart blasts Democrats over public option
On the Daily Show last night, Jon Stewart blasted Senate Democrats for failing to get a public health care option through the Senate Finance Committee despite having a super majority.
Here's the clip via Comedy Central:
Here's the clip via Comedy Central:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Democratic Super Majority | ||||
| ||||
Don't Ruin American Healthcare!
IMPORTANT PSA on the Healthcare Debate Written by: Rob Kutner & Sheryl Zohn Directed by: David Brundige Edited by: Micah Baskir Cinematography: Chris Freilich Artwork: Annette Price Special Thank...
Democratic Party On Brink of Civil War
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-01/the-democrats-civil-war/?cid=hp:mainpromo5
With the defeat on Tuesday of the public-option amendments in the Senate Finance Committee, liberal Democrats are threatening an open revolt against the Obama administration. “If Obama takes the public option off the table, we’re looking at a civil war within the Democratic Party,” says Charles Chamberlain, the political director of the million-member Democracy for America (DFA), founded by Howard Dean, which has helped raise over $200,000 for TV attack ads against wavering Democrats and moderate Senate Republican Olympia Snowe.
With the defeat on Tuesday of the public-option amendments in the Senate Finance Committee, liberal Democrats are threatening an open revolt against the Obama administration. “If Obama takes the public option off the table, we’re looking at a civil war within the Democratic Party,” says Charles Chamberlain, the political director of the million-member Democracy for America (DFA), founded by Howard Dean, which has helped raise over $200,000 for TV attack ads against wavering Democrats and moderate Senate Republican Olympia Snowe.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
On the Take: How much were Senators paid for yesterday's health care vote?
On average, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee who voted FOR a public option to be included in the health care overhaul took home $3 million given to them by insurance companies and other health care industry lobbyists. Those handful of Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee who voted AGAINST the public option took home more than $10 million.
Now, we're just talking about those members on the committee. Money given to the entire Senate and House of Representatives isn't included in this amount.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus alone got about $1.8 million in campaign contributions from health care lobbyists, according to a report released by The Sunlight Foundation. The foundation is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to make the workings of government more transparent.
You can use the report below to compare how much money members of the Senate Finance Committee got from unions, which favor a public option, versus the amount of money they received from insurance companies and other industry lobbyists.
Just in case you wanted to know what members are on the take - and how much money was stuffed into their pockets - see the chart below. Using campaign finance disclosure forms that members of Congress are required by law to submit, the Sunlight Foundation compiled this report. The info is straight from the horses' mouths, so to speak.
Go ahead, take a look for yourself, and make up your own mind.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Name | Party | Labor Contributions (2005-2010) | Health Contributions (2005-2010) | Ratio (Health:Labor) | Rockefeller Amendment | Schumer Amendment |
| Mike Crapo | R | $2,000 | $243,226 | 121.6:1 | N | N |
| Jon Kyl | R | $13,000 | $1,188,238 | 91.4:1 | N | N |
| Chuck Grassley | R | $11,500 | $651,627 | 56.7:1 | N | N |
| Jim Bunning | R | $2,500 | $112,650 | 45.1:1 | N | N |
| John Cornyn | R | $27,250 | $1,226,469 | 44.6:1 | N | N |
| John Ensign | R | $12,000 | $521,575 | 43.5:1 | N | N |
| Orrin Hatch | R | $31,100 | $1,020,334 | 32.8:1 | N | N |
| Pat Roberts | R | $12,000 | $343,849 | 28.7:1 | N | N |
| Blanche Lincoln | D | $36,100 | $641,004 | 17.8:1 | N | N |
| Mike Enzi | R | $26,500 | $423,749 | 16.0:1 | N | N |
| Maria Cantwell | D | $22,500 | $353,342 | 15.7:1 | Y | Y |
| Ron Wyden | D | $39,000 | $370,175 | 9.5:1 | Y | Y |
| Max Baucus | D | $207,925 | $1,763,799 | 8.5:1 | N | N |
| Olympia Snowe | R | $103,750 | $367,549 | 3.5:1 | N | N |
| Kent Conrad | D | $253,750 | $652,178 | 2.6:1 | N | N |
| Debbie Stabenow | D | $284,125 | $737,243 | 2.6:1 | Y | Y |
| Bill Nelson | D | $241,890 | $613,594 | 2.5:1 | N | Y |
| Jay Rockefeller | D | $240,800 | $605,400 | 2.5:1 | Y | Y |
| Chuck Schumer | D | $140,500 | $298,650 | 2.1:1 | Y | Y |
| John Kerry | D | $103,248 | $188,558 | 1.8:1 | Y | Y |
| Jeff Bingaman | D | $229,500 | $366,414 | 1.6:1 | Y | Y |
| Tom Carper | D | $180,010 | $287,406 | 1.6:1 | N | Y |
| Robert Menendez | D | $400,100 | $603,343 | 1.5:1 | Y | Y |
** Both Senators Chuck Schumer and Jay Rockefeller each introduced public option plans. Both were voted down by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
Public Says Voice Not Heard on Health Care
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3
A new poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard school of Public Health says while lawmakers bicker and deal, the public feels largely shut out. Despite public support, the Senate Finance Committee voted down the public option Tuesday.
A new poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard school of Public Health says while lawmakers bicker and deal, the public feels largely shut out. Despite public support, the Senate Finance Committee voted down the public option Tuesday.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
House Passes Bill To Avert Medicare Premium Increase
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=cqmidday-000003209910&mp=Most_Viewed
The House passed a bill that would prevent Medicare premiums from rising sharply for about 11 million senior citizens.
The legislation would block a big increase in Medicare Part B premiums for the affected seniors, who account for about 27 percent of those enrolled in the health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.
They are in jeopardy of a steep increase in their monthly premiums because of complexities in federal law and the likelihood that Social Security recipients won’t get a bump in their benefits next year to cover the cost of the premium increase.
“I have 100,000 Social Security recipients in my congressional district [who] will be impacted by the increase in the Medicare Part B premiums next year since this increase is not going to be offset by the normal cost-of- living increase in their Social Security checks,” said Rep. Shelley Berkley , D-Nev. “I think this is a very important way and a very necessary way of helping to keep my seniors who rely on Social Security ... whole.”
The House passed a bill that would prevent Medicare premiums from rising sharply for about 11 million senior citizens.
The legislation would block a big increase in Medicare Part B premiums for the affected seniors, who account for about 27 percent of those enrolled in the health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.
They are in jeopardy of a steep increase in their monthly premiums because of complexities in federal law and the likelihood that Social Security recipients won’t get a bump in their benefits next year to cover the cost of the premium increase.
“I have 100,000 Social Security recipients in my congressional district [who] will be impacted by the increase in the Medicare Part B premiums next year since this increase is not going to be offset by the normal cost-of- living increase in their Social Security checks,” said Rep. Shelley Berkley , D-Nev. “I think this is a very important way and a very necessary way of helping to keep my seniors who rely on Social Security ... whole.”
Monday, September 28, 2009
Uninsured 22-Year-Old Boehner Constituent Dies From Swine Flu
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/09/25/swineflu-boehner-constituent/
[Last link of the night, I swear. This one I had to include... ]
Think Progress:
A 22-year-old woman from Oxford, Ohio, died from swine flu on Wednesday. Kimberly Young graduated from Miami University in December and continued to live in Oxford, Ohio, within Minority Leader John Boehner’s congressional distrct. Reports now indicate that after initially getting sick, Young put off treatment because she was uninsured:
Young became ill about two weeks ago, but didn’t seek care initially because she didn’t have health insurance and was worried about the cost, according to Brent Mowery, her friend and former roommate. […]
On Tuesday, Sept. 22, Young’s condition suddenly worsened and her roommate drove her to McCullough Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford, where she was flown in critical condition to University Hospital in Cincinnati.
“That’s the most tragic part about it. If she had insurance, she would have gone to the doctor,” Mowery said...
****
RIP Kimberly Young and may your death not be in vain...
"No one should die because they cannot afford health care... "
Mobilization for Health Care for All | Down with Death Panels!
http://www.mobilizeforhealthcare.org/
On September 29th in New York City, October 8th in Chicago, and in cities across the country on October 15th, over 100 people who have signed this pledge will put our bodies on the line to challenge the real death panels.
We will enter the offices of the major insurance companies and demand that they cover the care they are denying to their members. We won't leave until they do. The companies will have to decide - admit they're wrong and approve the care, or have us arrested and show the world how far they will go to protect their obscene profits. If we're arrested, some of us will even refuse to give our names and be released until the insurance companies meet our demand.
We hope that our actions will save the lives of some of the people who are being denied critical care by these death panels today. But we know we can save the lives of millions in the years to come by putting a spotlight on just why our system is broken and how urgently we need fundamental change. We will go to jail to demand that the insurance companies stop denying care to their members immediately, but our sacrifice will be a call to our entire nation to stand up to these death panels and demand real reform - Medicare for All - that finally ensures that every one of us gets the health care we need.
On September 29th in New York City, October 8th in Chicago, and in cities across the country on October 15th, over 100 people who have signed this pledge will put our bodies on the line to challenge the real death panels.
We will enter the offices of the major insurance companies and demand that they cover the care they are denying to their members. We won't leave until they do. The companies will have to decide - admit they're wrong and approve the care, or have us arrested and show the world how far they will go to protect their obscene profits. If we're arrested, some of us will even refuse to give our names and be released until the insurance companies meet our demand.
We hope that our actions will save the lives of some of the people who are being denied critical care by these death panels today. But we know we can save the lives of millions in the years to come by putting a spotlight on just why our system is broken and how urgently we need fundamental change. We will go to jail to demand that the insurance companies stop denying care to their members immediately, but our sacrifice will be a call to our entire nation to stand up to these death panels and demand real reform - Medicare for All - that finally ensures that every one of us gets the health care we need.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Public Option Headed For Vote Tomorrow
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/24/public-option-headed-for_n_299232.html
The public option is headed for a vote in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) lamented on a conference call Thursday evening that the debate Friday would be the first time that the committee, since it began negotiating health care reform months ago, would be debating the public option.
"We're going to have a full blown debate in the Finance Committee," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a backer of the public option. While it may be an "underdog," Schumer said, "don't count it out."
The public option is headed for a vote in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) lamented on a conference call Thursday evening that the debate Friday would be the first time that the committee, since it began negotiating health care reform months ago, would be debating the public option.
"We're going to have a full blown debate in the Finance Committee," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), a backer of the public option. While it may be an "underdog," Schumer said, "don't count it out."
GOP files suit to block Massachusetts senator from taking seat
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27559.html
Another way in which Republicans are trying to delay the health care vote.
Another way in which Republicans are trying to delay the health care vote.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
South and Southwest lead the nation in the number of uninsured
http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/09/south-and-southwest-leads-the-nation-in-the-number-of-uninsured.html
Divided by region, the uninsured were mostly likely to be found in the South (18.2 percent) and West (17.4 percent). Texas lead the nation with the highest percentage of residents who are uninsured, at just over over 25 percent. The other states rounding off the top five states with the highest average rate of uninsured people include: New Mexico (23 percent), Florida (20.5 percent), Louisiana (20 percent), and Arizona (19.6 percent).
For the visually inclined, here are links to a couple of interactive maps that show states with the highest rates of people living without health insurance.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113042669
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113042669
Divided by region, the uninsured were mostly likely to be found in the South (18.2 percent) and West (17.4 percent). Texas lead the nation with the highest percentage of residents who are uninsured, at just over over 25 percent. The other states rounding off the top five states with the highest average rate of uninsured people include: New Mexico (23 percent), Florida (20.5 percent), Louisiana (20 percent), and Arizona (19.6 percent).
For the visually inclined, here are links to a couple of interactive maps that show states with the highest rates of people living without health insurance.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113042669
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113042669
Monday, September 21, 2009
Why we're talking about race - again
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=690926
The Democrats have lost the healthcare debate.
For months now, polls have been showing that Americans don't want the massive new government controls, regulations, taxes, and spending that Democrats are pushing.
Latest Gallup polling shows 60 percent saying that President Barack Obama's proposal will not expand health coverage without raising taxes on middle-class Americans and without affecting the current quality of healthcare.
Forty-three percent approve of how Obama is handling healthcare and 52 percent disapprove.
You would be hard pressed to find a Democrat or Republican who does not agree that we can improve how we deliver healthcare.
So the logical conclusion we'd expect now from well-intentioned people would be that we go back to square one. We do what Obama promised but never did -- have a truly open, bi-partisan discussion, with all ideas are on the table, to generate the best possible product for the American people.
Why is this not happening? Because it's not about healthcare. It's about ideology.
Despite claims from our Democrat administration that it wants civility, it does not. It wants control.
This nation is already torn apart ideologically. In the last four months, we've witnessed two cold-blooded, ideologically motivated murders. An abortion doctor shot in a church, and a pro-life demonstrator murdered in a drive-by shooting in front of a school.
There are fewer and fewer "self evident truths" about which we all agree.
The current charade to paint ideological differences with our president as racially motivated dangerously pours gasoline on the burning embers of our differences.
But this is what Democrats want. They have lost the healthcare debate on substance, so they want to make it emotional. They want to intimidate. And nothing intimidates and polarizes like race.
Continued at the link:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=690926
The Democrats have lost the healthcare debate.
For months now, polls have been showing that Americans don't want the massive new government controls, regulations, taxes, and spending that Democrats are pushing.
Latest Gallup polling shows 60 percent saying that President Barack Obama's proposal will not expand health coverage without raising taxes on middle-class Americans and without affecting the current quality of healthcare.
Forty-three percent approve of how Obama is handling healthcare and 52 percent disapprove.
You would be hard pressed to find a Democrat or Republican who does not agree that we can improve how we deliver healthcare.
So the logical conclusion we'd expect now from well-intentioned people would be that we go back to square one. We do what Obama promised but never did -- have a truly open, bi-partisan discussion, with all ideas are on the table, to generate the best possible product for the American people.
Why is this not happening? Because it's not about healthcare. It's about ideology.
Despite claims from our Democrat administration that it wants civility, it does not. It wants control.
This nation is already torn apart ideologically. In the last four months, we've witnessed two cold-blooded, ideologically motivated murders. An abortion doctor shot in a church, and a pro-life demonstrator murdered in a drive-by shooting in front of a school.
There are fewer and fewer "self evident truths" about which we all agree.
The current charade to paint ideological differences with our president as racially motivated dangerously pours gasoline on the burning embers of our differences.
But this is what Democrats want. They have lost the healthcare debate on substance, so they want to make it emotional. They want to intimidate. And nothing intimidates and polarizes like race.
Continued at the link:
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=690926
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Insurance Company Must Pay $10 Million For Revoking Policy Of Teen With HIV
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/17/insurance-company-must-pa_n_289841.html
The South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered an insurance company to pay $10 million for wrongly revoking the insurance policy of a 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV. The court called the 2002 decision by the insurance company "reprehensible."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/17/insurance-company-must-pa_n_289841.html
The South Carolina Supreme Court has ordered an insurance company to pay $10 million for wrongly revoking the insurance policy of a 17-year-old college student after he tested positive for HIV. The court called the 2002 decision by the insurance company "reprehensible."
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/17/insurance-company-must-pa_n_289841.html
Acne and Pregnancy Among "Pre-existing Conditions"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091803501.html
A proposal to make preexisting health conditions irrelevant in the sale of insurance policies could help not just the seriously ill but also people who might consider themselves healthy, documents released Friday by a California-based advocacy group illustrate.
Health insurers have issued guidelines saying they could deny coverage to people suffering from such conditions as acne, hemorrhoids and bunions.
One big insurer refused to issue individual policies to police officers and firefighters, along with people in other hazardous occupations.
Some treated pregnancy or the intention to adopt as a reason for rejection.
A proposal to make preexisting health conditions irrelevant in the sale of insurance policies could help not just the seriously ill but also people who might consider themselves healthy, documents released Friday by a California-based advocacy group illustrate.
Health insurers have issued guidelines saying they could deny coverage to people suffering from such conditions as acne, hemorrhoids and bunions.
One big insurer refused to issue individual policies to police officers and firefighters, along with people in other hazardous occupations.
Some treated pregnancy or the intention to adopt as a reason for rejection.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Wrong Side of History
Some pumped demoralizing signs into the air, others shouted down anybody they didn’t feel were on their side. It didn’t take long for the name-calling and insults to commence.
“Somebody started yelling. Lynch her! Lynch her! I tried to see a friendly face somewhere in the crowd — someone who maybe could help. I looked into the face of an old woman and it seemed a kind face, but when I looked at her again, she spat on me.”
These are the words of Elizabeth Eckford. She is not talking about town hall protesters or tea baggers. Eckford, one of nine black students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., was recalling how hundreds of white protesters — with backing from powerful politicians — tried to block her and eight other children from entering a public school in 1957.
They became known as the Little Rock Nine.
Protesters faced by the nine youths repeatedly warned that if blacks were allowed into “their schools” (much like the “their country” sentiment currently being echoed) it would harm their children. It is ironic that thousands of angry, mostly white protesters converged on Washington last weekend at the same time I happened to be reading Cooper v. Aaron, a 1958 Supreme Court case stemming from the Little Rock Nine. The case is about Arkansas Democratic Gov. Orval Faubus and his refusal to obey federal orders to integrate the state’s schools. His defiance caused Republican President Dwight Eisenhower to send in federal troops to force Faubus to follow the law. The nation was so polarized that it was nearly impossible for most people to foresee what many now take for granted: Integration would benefit the whole country, not just a particular demographic group. We also now know that those screaming protesters were on the wrong side of history. Some may ask what the Little Rock Nine story has to do with the current health care debate, especially when the apparent villain in the case was a Democrat and the hero, a Republican. Here’s a clue: This column is not really about race. It’s about the way history repeats itself, and about our place in it. Faubus’ opposition to allow black children to integrate Arkansas schools was politically motivated: He risked losing political support if he sanctioned integration, even though it was the right thing to do. Just like Republicans now risk losing political support if they show agreement with President Obama’s health care ideas — or any of his ideas, for that matter.
Bill O'Reilly Backs Public Option (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/17/bill-oreilly-backs-public_n_290658.html
OH
MY
GOD
Is this for real?!?!?!
I just might be watching his show tonight.
OH
MY
GOD
Is this for real?!?!?!
I just might be watching his show tonight.
Medicare "Maligned"
One casualty in the attacks against expanding health insurance is perhaps the most popular federal program ever created: Medicare. Foes are careful not to say it too directly, but the implication is that the retiree insurance program exemplifies what's wrong with government-run health care. And the daughter of the president who created Medicare is fed up with that argument.
Here's Lynda Bird Johnson Robb in a video message to a retiree group on Medicare, which was signed into law by her father, Lyndon Johnson, in 1965:
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)