Sebelius On Health Care: "This Is Not A Trick"

NPR:

As lawmakers on Capitol Hill hammer out legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says that a single-payer option is not on the table.

"This is not a trick. This is not single-payer," Sebelius told Steve Inskeep. She added: "That's not what anyone is talking about -- mostly because the president feels strongly, as I do, that dismantling private health coverage for the 180 million Americans that have it, discouraging more employers from coming into the marketplace, is really the bad, you know, is a bad direction to go."

Read the whole story: NPR

Comments

[tiredlady]

What about the millions of Americans in favor of single payer don't the buttwipes in Washington get? Also, why do they wring their hands over putting insurance companies out of work when they never gave a damn as millions of other workers were "downsized, outsourced", (fill in the euphemism of your choice)? We (the rest of us) don't want a watered-down, loophole-ridden," trigger"-happy compromise pile of crap like PartD. WE WANT SINGLE PAYER- NOW!!!!!

[micimaci]

It's a sad day for America, to use the funny man Craig Ferguson.
It is sad because I cannot believe my eyes!!!
I signed the on line push to endorse Mwe Sebelius as a secretary :(((((((
I regret this like the dog that had to give birth to 16 puppies!
And, now the fox watches the hens!
More and more, I am doubting this whole REAL CHANGE and WE CAN DO IT, and "I AM ASKING YOU TO BELIEVE. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I am asking you to believe in yours" - Barack Obama

[jmpurser]

Agreed.

Real change, until it was real important, and then it was really unlikely.

[StopSexismNow]

Sadly, I see in our future something akin to the Medicare Prescription Drug program fraud that was perpetrated on the American people during the Bush Admin. What they are proposing will likely be written by the Insurance, Pharma and Medical industries. Those greedy industry interests will get richer and the American people will suffer more.

We need Single Payer..period!

[jmpurser]

You're right. But you don't have the votes so you're not allowed to say it.

[roudy]

This total sellout by the Democrats on the health care reform issue, and after the sellouts on bankruptcy reform and credit card reform, will guarantee that the Republicans will regain significant numbers of congressional seats in 2010 and 2012, and likely the White House as well.

[jmpurser]

I'm afraid so.

[rxvette]

I'm a pharmacist and I support a public health plan option to compete with the private insurance industry as long as the two conditions are set into place:

1) Prohibit any public or private plan from discriminating against any pre-existing conditions and
2) Prohibit any public or private plan from making a profit on BASIC medical care

Otherwise we'll continue to fail patients like this one - http://rxvette.blogspot.com

[jmpurser]

If you're going to prevent a private company from making a profit and prevent them from picking their own customers why not make it a government entity that provides all basic health insurance? It's called single payer and instead of monitoring thousands of insurance companies you just have to have one report to Congress.

Single payer: it's the intelligent, proven, solution.

[research]

How to lose every negotiation:

Take what you really want,

Off the list.

The single payer option must be vigorously pursued, tooth and nail, so that when we finally compromise, the "center" is the Public option.

[jmpurser]

Well said.

[kevinw]

If there is a viable public option without triggers or a renamed co-op, then it will not be a trick. It appears that the weak kneed Democratic Senate looks like they are desperately seeking a way to pass something that will make us think they made some reforms but keepers their Insurance company benefactors happy. Conrad and the MSM have been pushing the idea of regional co-ops as a compromise on the public plan. There are already co-ops now, so this is not even a change. This pig has new lipstick on it to make you think it is a brand new approach to health care coverage.

The other trick is having a real public option that is turned on with a trigger. The current Medicare Part D drug program, with all of its problems and the dreaded doughnut hole has a provision for a public option. Most people don't know this because they set the trigger so that it will never get executed. This is a really great trick. You can tell your constituents that your bill has a public plan that will execute when the trigger metric is hit. I believe Conrad is proposing 10 weeks after the Rapture.

[jmpurser]

The "public option" is only "viable" for the insurance companies.

[expired]

If you go with single payer then those out there (and there are many) will not have the option of maintaining their current policy. If they can afford to pay sky-high premiums, so be it, it is their right and option. This is not the same as health care as universal health care, which is what the administration is advocating.

If the administration were to push for single payer, you can bet that both sides would screamb// loody mrdr. Not a smart move. This way, the cons can't claim gov't take over.Leave that option open. You will still have a choice on whether to pay low premiums and be covered or pay high premiums in which case, the majority of us would not be covered. Your choice-choice being the operative word.

[jmpurser]

You don't have the "option" of maintaining your private army or printing your private money either. This is an issue of national security. Not having a decent health care system is killing American both literally and economically.

[Antifascist-08]

All you people who are moaning and groaning over the public health option not being enough and being misled by Obama etc. are just playing into the hands of the republicans. Or you are trol ls.

Its called divide and conquer. Its called giving the media stuff to distract from what we are trying to accomplish.

He knows what he is doing. You people would rather spend your time complaining that he is not doing enough than actually pass something that would go exactly where we would want it to over time. He has to pass something through the Senate, not with the American people, who are on board.

You all need to grow up.

[jmpurser]

We did grow up. We know when we're being offered a lolly pop instead of dinner. We know President Obama is selling us down the river too. You're right, he knows exactly what he's doing and so do we.

[YewNeekId]

Where did my comment go??

[YewNeekId]

Bend over and spread'em folks. Here comes the big shaft from the agent of change.

[Antifascist-08]

You first.

[jordan3189]

HAHAHA!!!!

[RTIII]

Oh, this is a trick, alright, it's a trick on Obama's base. What we want doesn't matter; we were duped into believing there would be change. Oh, there's change alright - Obama is plenty more intelligent than Bush, but I want policies that help THE PEOPLE and not corporations. This guy has tricked us into thinking he would at least SOMETIMES side with the people.

I'm Close to being _done_ with Obama.
.

[Antifascist-08]

You were never with him. You weren't paying attention during the campaign. If you were you wouldn't talk like this.
Maybe you are just a trol l.

[RTIII]

go back and look at my posts, dimwit.
.

[jmpurser]

Me too. He was my third choice after Kucinich and Edwards. But at this point we might as well have elected McCain.

[Cherubim]

[wiredbrain]

Why do I know what will happen and you don’t?

The key element in health care reform is the “delivery system” – There has to be a switch from fee for practice to per capita base payments with catastrophic insurance. The Nixon plans of regional planning and HMO’s was cut to pieces by everyone wanting everything. As in welfare reform the 10 federal regional councils were given the job of coordination and making wavers. There was an attempt to shift power from DC to regional commissioners who were part of the Whitehouse staff. (Fred Malik) With welfare reform the councils were used to manage change. Executive Order 11647: Federal Regional Councils

Since this is a big FEDERAL republic the health delivery system will be hard to change. Thousands of small businesses, hospitals, clinics, labs, drug companies, et al the regional councils with wide waver powers over Medicare, Medicaid, Co-ops, PPP, HMO’s, and the new open public option, will bribe states to act, and force marginal changes by “nagging” Nudging the market to promote the collective practice of medicine such as Kaiser Permanente, Mayo, et al