Tag: Health Debate

Money Well Spent!

Today is the BIG health summit….you know that piece of political theater that will set the stage for health reform….just wanted to add a thought or two into the mix…..

There have been a massive amounts of accusations that health reform is being beaten by the lobbies that are spending lots of cash on our diligent Congresspeople…..and if you think that is a bit harsh then you need to drop the playstation and pay a little more attention to what will be effecting you in the future…..I know….not an easy thing to do when you are so close to the high score….but give it try….

For months we have been bombarded with the facts that the health insurance industry has a anti-trust exemption and can basically gouge the crap out of its consumers with NO fear of reprisal by the government….in other words they have a Free Ride to make all the money they can off the plight of those insured……

The good news was that the Dems were fed up with the insurance companies and would do all they could to change the anti-trust exemption……they were going to make them more responsive and accountable…..well, that was the plan…..but as usual Washington is just full of surprises……the Politico’s Patrick O’Connor is reporting:

In an upcoming House vote to repeal the long-standing antitrust protections for the insurance industry. To most members of Congress, it seems like a no-brainer: Why should insurers be exempted from antitrust laws, anyway.

But Democrats look like they’ll scale back the legislation to protect insurance companies that offer malpractice coverage to doctors and other health care providers, bowing to industry pressure in the latest concession of the health care fight.

Democratic aides in the House said the final bill likely won’t include controversial new restrictions on medical malpractice insurers. Its authors also appear inclined to strip new authority for the Federal Trade Commission because it sparked similar unease.The concessions illustrate just how hard it’s been for the president and his congressional allies to overhaul a single sector of such an enormous segment of the economy.

Just goes to show that the lobbyist money is well spent……the free ride continues and the plight of the insured remains bleak…..As I keep saying…NOTHING about the health reform proposal is reform….it is a tweaking….minor adjustments that have the appearance of success…..and the American people wait…….

What Obama Wants In Health Reform

Tomorrow will be the big meeting of the minds…the health summit between Obama, Dems and Repubs……let us hope that this will not be the circus that I fear it will be……unless these people strat talking to each other instead of the finbger pointing then this will be a huge waste of time and effort….anyway Obama has finally come out with what he will support and they are suppose to go from there…….he wants:

Insurers such as WellPoint Inc, UnitedHealth Group Inc and Aetna Inc overall face increased regulations and payment cuts.

* Insurance plans would face a new federal Health Insurance Rate Authority to help U.S. states review “unreasonable rate increases and other unfair practices of insurance plans.”

* Restrictions on companies that aim to protect consumers are expanded to add new protections, such as prohibiting all annual and lifetime limits, and ban pre-existing condition exclusions, among others.

* Private Medicare plans called Medicare Advantage would see payment changes that aim to compromise between the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate bills. Reimbursement rates for the plans, which can offer more benefits than traditional fee-for-service Medicare coverage at a higher cost, would set benchmark payments at a certain percentage of traditional Medicare and then phase them out.

* Medicare Advantage plans would also see payment adjustments for unjustified billing practices.

* One small positive for health insurance companies: The 10-year $67 billion in fees they would face would be delayed until 2014.

The brand-name pharmaceutical industry faces another $10 billion in fees over 10 years on top of its earlier agreement with the Senate Finance Committee to provide savings and rebates.

* The industry wide fees, to be parceled out among companies such as Pfizer Inc and Merck & Co Inc, will be used to eliminate a gap in Medicare’s prescription drug coverage known as the “doughnut hole.” That could help brand-name companies by getting patients to continue taking their medication rather than switching to a generic or stopping medication altogether.

* In a positive move for the companies, the fees will be delayed by one year until 2011.

Companies that make cheaper, generic versions of brand-name medicines would see an end to lucrative “pay-to-delay” settlements with brand-name drugmakers.

* Obama’s measure gives the U.S. Federal Trade Commission authority to address the settlements and makes it illegal to pay generic manufacturers

“to limit or forego research, development, marketing, manufacturing or sales of the generic drug.”

* Exemptions would only be allowed if the companies can show their settlement would “outweigh the anti-competitive effects of the agreement.”

Medical device makers such as Boston Scientific and Medtronic Inc maintained their earlier win of reducing their costs to $20 billion, down from $40 billion, and won a two-year delay until 2013.

* The industry wide fees were replaced with an excise tax that raises the same amount of revenue over 10 years.

I know a helluva list….but at least we now know exactly what Obama is looking for….read over the list….I do not see many areas for negotiation by the parties if they stick to the line they have held for a year or more…..The summit ought to be a kick in the butt for us political observers….the rest of the world will just tire of the news…and if you will look closely there is still NO elimination of the health industry’s anti-trust exemption….meaning they still control the prices and the screwing of the American people…..there is not tort reform, which will piss off the Repubs and there is nothing in it about ALL Americans….in other words looks a lot like the Senate version that has already passed….so what’s new?

May It Rest In Peace

Many things have died in 2009…we lost a lot of people like movie stars, politicians and ideas…..some deaths were more profound than others….this is……THE DECADE THAT WAS…..a look back at the 1st decade of the 2000’s……

It was a  decade of wonder and amazement……a decade of death and destruction……a decade of scandals and a decade of ruin…..in other words a decade that will live in infamy….(I know…if it was good enough for Roosevelt then it is good enough for Info Ink)……..This decade could possibly the worst decade in American history since the Great Depression……Personally…..I could lived without it…..

We, as Americans, as well as the rest of the world lived through much….much too much than should not have been……

A disputed election/9/11/2 wars/many American deaths/death of bi-partisanship/redefining of the word change/economic collapse/1st African-American president/growth of more racism/a health joke/dysfunctional Congress/death of hope/death throes of the middle class/political sex scandals/the sexual appetite of a once powerful sports icon/

All in all a really crappy decade, unless you are on Wall Street where free taxpayer money was everywhere……..it ran generously like that of a busted water pipe…..a good decade for greed…..and lobbyists spending money like drunken sailors……

Some good came out in the decade, but all in all, it is a decade that most Americans could have lived without……we can only pray that this new decade will be kinder to the American people than the last……but I am a skeptic…….

God I Love It!–Told You So!

Daily Agitator

In the beginning there was Info Ink….back at the dawn of this “New Age” in politics there was Info Ink and he was posting on a very popular progressive site and he was told that , basically, if you did not have anything nice to say about Obama then he needed to go elsewhere…..he did…….he spent time posting that there were other choices for voters and the the promised change was pure BS and that if anyone believed the promise then they were delusional……he was attacked on all sides for not supporting a “true” progressive that had a chance to win the presidency……..

And now the head man of that progressive site is on the airwaves bitching about the non-existent changes and in the same breath defending some of the president’s actions….

Personally, I do NOT want to hear from these people….several of us bloggers warned the progressives about this….NO one listened…instead they just kept tooting the change horn……and more loudly with every criticism……Progressives?  Can you hear us NOW?  you asked for it–you flipping got it!

Just as an example….look at the newest Senate health reform version…..what part of it is progressive?  Oh the existing condition thing….oh yeah…cannot be denied, but they can charge twice or three times to premium….that is a good shot…or maybe that 30 million more people will have health insurance…..that is a good one……and the insurance companies get 30 million more customers that are ordered to buy their insurance……and then there is the anti-trust exemption….another good call….

This is a expansion of insurance not reform……if it was so bad why did PhARMA and Insurance stocks reach a 52 week high on Friday….does not sound like they are too damn upset with the Senate bill……

This bill, as is, is a boom to the insurance industry, money coming in hand over fist….it so pro-insurance could have been a bill from the GOP…….too bad they did not think of it first and maybe then there could have been a bi-partisan deal since both parties are selling out to the industry…..then everyone could be happy except for the mass of people that are getting screwed………

Granted, I realize that this may not be the final cut, so to speak, but I would bet it is damn close……..

Just maybe you Progressives should have listened to the rantings of us bloggers and you would not feel so damn betrayed by this president…Just a thought…….

It Is All So Much BS!

You know when you step in a pile of manure you just have to call it what it is…….

From the AP wire:

President Barack Obama is hailing a Senate vote to propel health care legislation toward final passage, calling it a “big victory for the American people.”By the thinnest possible margin, all 58 Democrats and the Senate’s two independents held together early Monday in a crucial test vote against unanimous Republican opposition. The move overcame a procedural effort that could have scuttled a final vote on the massive bill.

Obama said the Senate showed it could stand up to special interests and move the nation closer to a health insurance overhaul for families.

Please read it again……and think about what you have just read……(pause for reflection)…….

Do you recall the days after he won the election?  It was all abvout how the American people voted for change and how the American people voted for a new way of doing things in Washington….Remember?……

Partisanship is more entrenched than it ever was……..and look at the vote on health care….NOT ONE Repub voted for the Senate health reform bill….even though when read reads like a page out of a GOP playbook……and then Obama calls it a BIG win for the American people……where?…..yes 30 million more will have coverage….the problem is it is a forced coverage with a fine if it is not bought…the insurance companies got 30 million new customers without having to do anything but promise to eliminate the existing condition thing….which means that if you have an existing condition you will be able to buy insurance but it will cost several times more….

And then he goes on to say that it shows that we can stand up to special interests and win…really…if that is so damn true why did insurance stocks hit a 52 week high on the news of the vote?  Answer that one……

This is NOT a final bill but it is pretty much what the final version will look like….I would bet……

The Cost Of Health Care

I would like to say before I start that the AP is a genius….I am gonna post their entire article….why?….most people do not want to click as often as you would think….I would like to thank them for their expert analysis…..

THE ISSUE: How much do Americans who have employer-sponsored health insurance pay in premiums? What do their employers pay? Would that change if the system is overhauled?

THE POLITICS: Health care costs have been increasing. For Americans and the businesses that insure most of them, that translates into higher insurance premiums. The average premium cost for employer-provided insurance has doubled since 2000. These days, coverage for an individual with employer-provided insurance costs on average $4,824 a year, with the employee paying $779 of that amount, according to a 2009 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. For a family plan, the premium is $13,375 with the employee paying $3,515. Under current law, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that in 2016 average premiums for employer-based insurance will rise to about $7,500 for a single policy and about $19,000 for a family policy.

WHAT IT MEANS: Numerous factors will affect the cost of insurance under proposed health care bills, making their impact hard to predict. But President Barack Obama has vowed to lower the cost of health care. The legislation would set up exchanges where companies would compete for customers. It also would provide subsidies for lower-income people.

There you have what the bill as proposed will cost you if it is not changed in the process….read it and weep…….Good plan and is a FAR cry from the stuff dreams were made of……Progressives lose again….now are you not glad you voted the way you did…..

Do They Think Before They Speak?

First of all….to answer the question….NO!…these morons think they are above reproach…

In the past I have come down hard on the conservatives for the dumb ass things they have said and even on occasions I have called Dems for their stupidity…..but the best so far has been the moronic, ill thought out comment by Senate majority leader Harry Reid:

“Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all Republicans have come up with is this slow down, stop everything, let’s start over,” said Reid. “You think you’ve heard these same excuses before, you’re right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said, ‘Slow down, it’s too early. Let’s wait. Things aren’t bad enough.’ When women spoke up for the right to speak up, they wanted to vote, some insisted, ‘Slow down, there will be a better day to do that. The day isn’t quite right,’ “

Someone needs tro find the guy or gal that wrote such BS and take them out to the wood shed and whack their pee-pee….instead of having a substantial debate on the health reform measure, Reid reads the above from notes and gives the Repubs more ammo to change the focus of the bill.  Good going you morons!

Once it was uttered then he gave all the mouths on the Right something to jerk off over…..they have the Dems fighting each other over abortion and now the majority leader has given them yet more ammo in the tactic of delaying the vote on the bill….

With all that said, I would like to point something out……Reid is an idiot!  But I listened to his comments and have read all them stories on them….and as of yet I cannot see where the comment was leveled as an insult….he basically said that the present day opponents are using the same tactics as was used during the slavery debate…..he did NOT call anyone a racist…….he said the opponents to ending slavery used tactics like delaying, etc to try and beat the proposed freeing of slaves……..

But wait……is not the Repubs using the very same tactic today?  Is not the fake outrage just a way to slow the debate?  So basically, while what Reid said was moronic, it is never the less TRUE!  Why would you, Sen. Reid, willingly give your foes more ammo to aid them in their tactics to kill the bill?

The Pubic Option

Nope that is not a typo!

Yep I said P-U-B-I-C option……..NO I did not mean public option……

Do I have everyone’s attention…I assume so since sex posts seem to get the most traffic on some blogs…..then I shall explain myself…..

The health debate has been raging for months…..lots of slinging of innuendos, misinformation and out right lies has come to the point where the inevitable was predicted….abortion…..the health debate has come to symbolize a woman’s vagina and seemingly has NOTHING to do with the people and adequate health care…it is all about the government intrusion into a person’s pubic region.

You have one of the yellow dogs, Stupak that threw an anti-abortion amendment into the House bill….and it has support within the Democratic Party.  Evewn thought the party stands for a woman’s right to decide what is to been done with her pubic area.

This is becoming a tired and lame argument to stall any legislation…..according to the law it is NOT illegal for a woman to chooce what to do with her vagina and yet there are some mental midgets that want to dictate to a woman what is to be done with her pubic and that she NOT be given an Option to choose.  The people that emphasize the pro-life program are the same people that does not want the government to dictate anything to them that it is their choice…..like owning a gun….but yet they have no problem interjecting themselves into a woman’s rights.

Hey dipsticks!  We cannot legislate morality!  While I do not approve of abortion…it is a personal decision that is to be made by the woman that has the vagina…it is none of anyone’s business but hers….. and hers alone. To dictate to this woman is to violate the Constitution, but if that is their decision then I say let us start looking at guns……

Maybe I should have titled this post….The Pubic War!

How About A Bit Of Irony?

There are times when the analysis of politics or the economy has its good days….today is one of those days……

The GOP and other conservs have tried to turn the health debate into a debate on abortion, but does that accomplish?  And then is the oops factor….(will explain later)

To pass the bill in the House they let an amendment by Rep, Stupak of Michigan to be included:

Stupak’s amendment, which passed as part of the landmark bill and is credited with bringing along several anti-abortion Democrats (including U.S. Rep Dale Kildee, D-Flint), will make it more difficult for poor women to obtain abortions. The amendment in effect prevents insurance companies from participating in the bill’s insurance exchanges — where many low-income families and small businesses will go for their policies — unless they exclude abortion coverage from any policy that might be purchased by someone who qualifies for a federal subsidy.It went further than a compromise already written into the health care legislation that would have segregated federal funds in the exchange to comply with existing laws that prohibit federal funding of discretionary pregnancy terminations.

Stupak has always been anti-abortion. But the stand he took on the health care bill does little more than exacerbate the gap in availability for women seeking abortions. It’s cruel and arbitrary, but not even a real stand against abortion, just a move that panders to the most rabid anti-abortion forces.

After the Stupak amendment was added the GOP weighed in:

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has offered his support to a Democratic congressman from Michigan backing an abortion-related amendment to a House version of a health care bill.

I for one love it when there is a bit of irony in anything political and the GOP has peed in their chili.

The Republican National Committee’s health insurance plan covers elective abortions for its employees, an option Republicans strongly oppose in health overhaul legislation that Democrats are trying to push through Congress.Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele learned of the policy’s abortion coverage Thursday through a news report and immediately instructed staff to inform the insurance carrier that the RNC wanted to opt out of elective abortion coverage.

The GOP platform traditionally includes strong anti-abortion language. All House Republicans, except one, voted for an amendment imposing restrictions of coverage for abortions in the health care bill that passed the House last Saturday. Inclusion of the abortion restrictions prompted an angry backlash from liberal House Democrats, and some are now threatening to vote against a final bill if the curbs stay in.

The memo said the RNC received a phone call from a reporter on Wednesday asking whether the RNC’s health care policy, through Cigna, covered elective abortions for employees. On Thursday, Politico.com published a report citing two sales agents for Cigna who said the RNC’s policy covered elective abortion.

The Cigna employees said the RNC didn’t choose to opt out of abortion coverage when given the opportunity, Politico.com reported.

God!  I love this stuff!

Now Politico is reporting that the GOP is opting out of the abortion clause of their policy.  My question now is would they have acting if Politico had not done their job and pointed this out?

God, I love this stuff!  A good shot of irony is good for the soul……

Personal Thought On Health Reform

We have all heard the figures being thrown around about the uninsured people in the US…there maybe a difference in the total number, but NO one can argue that the system is sound….well, with the exception of anyone making profit off the existing one…..and I have heard some on the Right saying that there is a need for health reform…..then why is it so abhorrent that there is the possibility for reform?

I understand the desire to keep the deficit down….or to keep the insurance profit margins….or to protect the free market….but……doing nothing as some have suggested is not a free market approach….why?  insurance companies are setting fees, services, etc and they have very little competition, if any…..

Think about this…we bailout a numerous amount of banks with NO control…they lost money we gave them money and now they are not it again….answer?…..we needed to get some skin in the bailout…if they took cash then we got 20-30% of their profits and we then could have used that to fund stuff like healthcare…after all they made enough on your money to pay huge bonuses to the boneheads that damn near destroyed the economic system….why not get something for out cash…the banks would not have given free money to ANYONE!

Sorry, that was a double comment or thought health care and banks….oops…my bad!

All I am saying is to those so concerned about the deficit and government spending, there was away to silence their concern but instead we give the guys a free ride to wealth without the consequences of bad judgment……

There is more……the latest polls show that the American people think the public option is a good idea, regardless of what is said by the pundits on the Hill.  We elected these guys and gals to do our bidding but that is not what is happening….take for instance this report by Reuters:

Health insurers, drugmakers and other companies expect U.S. Senate lawmakers to soften the blow from health reform legislation narrowly passed by the House of Representatives that calls for a greater government role in the industry.Pharmaceutical and insurance sector stocks were all in positive territory in line with the overall market on Monday, following the approval of the House bill late Saturday calling for a public insurance option and a government role in drug prices under Medicare.

Let me see, the Senate is where the industry has put their money to defeat health reform and it looks like it was money well spent….