Health Care Group Confronts Clyburn Over Comments

One of the leading health care reform groups in Washington on Monday issued a strong rebuttal to House Democratic Whip James Clyburn for suggesting a comprehensive health care reform bill would not pass Congress in 2009.

Health Care For America Now's National Campaign Manager Richard Kirsch wrote:

"We hope that Congressman Clyburn will join with President Obama and the 178 Members of the 111th Congress, including a great majority of the House Leadership, who have all stated that they want to see comprehensive health care reform passed in 2009. Now is not the time to take small steps to solve big problems. The Health Care for America Now (HCAN) statement signed by President Obama and Members of Congress explicitly states support for an enactment of quality, affordable health care for all in 2009."

The statement, notable for its direct targeting of Clyburn, comes after the South Carolina Democrat said over the weekend that an incremental approach towards health care reform would be better "than to go out and just bite something you can't chew."

"I would much rather see it done that way, incrementally, than to go out and just bite something you can't chew," Clyburn said. "We've been down that road. I still remember 1994."

Those remarks were met with concern by many in the progressive community, who see the short-term period as the best, perhaps only, time to act on sweeping health reforms. But the sense one gets from conversations with staffers on the Hill is that health care could be put on the backburner until the country's economic situation starts to improve. One top Democrat suggested that reform won't happen this year, but, unlike Clyburn, he predicted that Congressional leadership will address the matter in one fell swoop rather than incrementally.

Comments

[jaglon]

05:33 PM on 01/26/2009

In order to fix the economy, the healthcare problem has to be fixed too. As more people become unemployed, more will be uninsured. It is time for single payor health insurance. We could throw the insurance compaies a bone of selling so-called 'gap' policies that cover what single payor (medicare) does not.

The time has come. Has everyone who has commented here written to your congressman or senator about this isssue? Do it.

[InfosolutionWiz]

03:31 AM on 01/27/2009

SO TRUE!!!

[GeoLee]

03:40 PM on 01/26/2009

This is not 1994. this is 1929 and it needs a 1932 approach...Go all out! Have the lobbyists been knocking on your door and paying for you steaks lately or what?

[freshnotbitter]

02:32 PM on 01/26/2009

Clyburn did not think Obama could win and supported Hillary in a devious manner - which he would deny, of course.

So I think we have to think of rolling over the pessimistic, out of date, Clyburn who seems more concerned with yesterday's papers than today's problems.

Incremental change is what got us into this mess and it is exactly what the inimical interests want in order to maintain the present inefficient and outdated system.

Daschle's overall approach is very sane and rational. It leaves the present system in place for those who want it - i.e. you can keep your present arrangements if you like them - while making the changes necessary to do away with the outdated idea that the uninsured are making "choices" about their health care.

Small incremental changes are not efficient. We need a vision that forsees cradle to grave health care because it is time that we recognized our society as one that considers health care as a necessity not a choice. An accident victim doesn't lie in the median of the highway turning over his "choices". he goes to the hospital for care as well he should and we should make sure that he is in the system that had him paying for such services from the day he is born because we all know that we will need medical care eventually. The republican philosophy on medical care went out with the cowboy out on the range operating on himself for lack of

[MNmommy]

03:25 PM on 01/26/2009

Clyburn supported Hillary?

Bwah!!!

Utter nonsense.

[hapaglloyd]

03:38 PM on 01/26/2009

I dont agree that Clyburn supported Hillary,he leaned towards Obama without directly coming out with an endorsement. Remember the house leadership,of which Clyburn is a member, decided among themselves not to endorse anyone in the primaries. Also remember Clyburn came out strong in condemning Bill Clinton after Bill Clinton's "fairy tale" utterance.

[Samalabear]

02:09 PM on 01/26/2009

I should add that this is not 1994. It is a very different climate in 2009. People with and without health insurance are suffering. There are a lot of people who think they have good coverage but just haven't had the opportunity to put it to the test. There are thousands of others who have been financially ruined and others dead despite paying thousands into HMO/insurance-company-run healthcare.

[freshnotbitter]

02:42 PM on 01/26/2009

"think they have good health care...."

I agree.

Rahm Emmanuel's brother was on c-span addressing the commonwealth club of San Francisco and of course the audience was well heeled and, when they were asked if they were happy with the present system, about half of them said they were happy and another quarter or so said they were satisfied. they seemed older so many must have been on medicare which is a government program. Emmanuel went on to set out the alternatives available to us and presented some choices which I think were a bit false.

Daschle, who is now head of HHS, has a very good plan which could be an ideal plan with just a little tweaking.

Private health care plans should be written for one calendar year with the buyers option to renew. Those who are not enrolled on Jan 1 in a private plan should know they are automatically enrolled in a quasi medicare plan run by the state for which a payment is due in the form of a percentage of income (basically just like Social Security is paid for.) Do you see anybody complaining about Social Security?

People don't understand that once the uninsured start contributing to health care, those now insured will pay less premium because presently those premiums are covering the uninsured in a very underhanded way that is not obvious to the public.

[GeoLee]

03:50 PM on 01/26/2009

Between my 650 buck a month plan and my 800 outpatient in deductible and my copays and my medication three tiered plan, without going into a hospital or having an operation and minimal tests, but two sonograms and a couple of x-rays and one CT, but multiple sinus infections that dropped down into my chest , new glasses and dental work not covered, I have spent 13, 648 dollars this past year...and still have bills that will be coming for a Christmas Day ER visit because there was not minor emergency center open in town that day, I am 23 months from medicare and boy it looks better every day heading toward 65. But I think the entire population should have one equal to what the senators get for $285 dollars a month. I would gladly pay that premium and be able to go to some of the best facilities in the country like they do.

[Jacqueline3]

02:01 PM on 01/26/2009

Maybe if every one paid this much attention to Bush we would not be in the mess we are today. Double standards...

[pgweeks]

01:55 PM on 01/26/2009

Maybe Obama will check out the Canadian system while he's visiting. We moved here 4 years ago and it's astounding. $288/3-months for a family of 2, no deductible, no co-pay. When we see the Dr., we just call up and go. It actually is hard to get used to NOT paying every time. It's like heaven. And drugs are cheaper too. If health care reform is enacted in the US I could consider moving back, otherwise it's just not affordable. Work all my life to be bankrupted by the health care system in my retirement years? I don't think so.

[FernandoRuiz]

01:48 PM on 01/26/2009

Clyburn is one of those Blue Dog democrats that give in to Republican lies and philosophies. These politicians are simply puppets of the conservative movement

[Danigirl65]

02:00 PM on 01/26/2009

Actually, I don't believe Clyburn is a Blue Dog democrat. I can't find him listed anywhere in a list of Blue Dogs - where did you find your info??

[FernandoRuiz]

02:09 PM on 01/26/2009

Where did you find a list of Blue Dog dems? Is there a database somewhere that has them all? I was just going by his general policy stances on things

[Koreanovice]

01:43 PM on 01/26/2009

I think he will do it right after he gets the stimulis package signed and Daschel is on board!

[GLT21]

01:36 PM on 01/26/2009

another sell out.

[wallygator]

01:35 PM on 01/26/2009

As long as government run health care is good enough for congressmen making 170k per year its good enough for all.

[zizizzi]

01:25 PM on 01/26/2009

Those who say it can't be done,
should get out of the way of the people who are doing it!


Jim Hightower

[Terypat]

01:07 PM on 01/26/2009

The one's that say it can never happen are the one's who are in the deepests with the lobbyists. These lobbyists donate to dems and republicans alike, so for that reason alone it will be tough.

[Samalabear]

02:01 PM on 01/26/2009

Or the ones with premium health policies at work who don't get or don't care about the big pic. Lots of these folks, though, are losing their jobs, and they are starting to sing a different tune. Health care for all has got to be moved to the top of the agenda following stimulus. The numbers when Bush took office: 40 million uninsured. Today it is 48 million (and maybe more since the jobs are falling so fast). The move is going to have to be towards universal non-profit healthcare.

[chulanow]

12:52 PM on 01/26/2009

With millions of Americans losing their job and a forecast that shows unemployment will only get worse.........we need to focus on Health Care NOW!

These people and their children are going to be without a basic human need.......AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE.

So as President Obama said once before.......a President can focus on multiple things at one time, so let's get started on Health Care before it's too late.

[knowhelpnow]

12:52 PM on 01/26/2009

Single payer, universal health care NOW, you have to hit hard while the fire is hot, No back burner cr*p the time is right now when so many are losing their jobs, or have jobs that do not give health care benefits to their employees or companies that are throwing off the retirees. These are hard times and we have needed this for a very long time; before 1994.

[-0013]

01:43 PM on 01/26/2009

"you have to hit hard while the fire is hot,"

Strike while the iron is hot.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

01:57 PM on 01/26/2009

Unfortunately, with a terrible economy and $10,000,000,000 in debt because of Bush the iron is frozen in liquid nitrogen.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

01:55 PM on 01/26/2009

Did you know no major presidential candidate promised single payer health care?

[Grannysue]

12:42 PM on 01/26/2009

So many problems to fix if President Obama can't fix it this year he will next year, I mean it's like throwing darts at a dart board, which one do you hit first?? He's got a plate full already.