Finance Committee Retreats On Health-Care Reform Bill

Ezra Klein, Washington Post:

The outline I was given today isn't the Finance Committee's final bill. It's not even necessarily the Chairman's Mark (the bill that will go to the rest of the committee for debate, changes, and modifications). But it's the clearest look at what Finance -- the key committee for health-care reform -- is currently considering.

Read the whole story: Ezra Klein, Washington Post

Comments

[lthuedk 1]

The bottom line:

Include choice of private or public or face removal the Constitutional Convention way. A clean sweep.

Do you "Representatives" understand how that works?

It's non-partisan and is legal and binding, since without it we would have no Constitution. It is the last line of defense against tyranny.

[lj9283]

Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy, and Chuck Schumer have posted a petition to gather signatures to show Congress the public's support of a "public health insurance option that would foster greater competition in the marketplace, create more choices for consumers, and lead to lower costs and better quality for all."

Please sign:

http://ga3.org/campaign/healthpetition?source=hc_ty

[jmpurser]

We don't need "choice". We need reliable access to health care for everyone. That's single payer. And we're dying for the need of it.

[Trittydi]

Yank ALL Congressional Health Care -- NOW.
*

[LeftCoastLarry]

Max Baucus's campaign committee received 2003 - 2008:
Health Professionals $537,141
Pharmaceut­icals/Heal­th Products $524,813
source: the Center for Responsive Politics
Max is in the tank to the tune of a cool mil+

[Artemis34]

Sorry but I don"t think covering only the poor will work in the US.

Social Security and Medicare enjoy broad support because everyone can potentially benefit. Everyone pays, everyone can benefit.

If we try to do it only for the poor, it won"t enjoy broad support. Then we will get into all the blame games the right plays and questions about who "deserves" our help with health care, etc.

And there has to be a public option.

Seems this is a non-starter.

[jmpurser]

Another strong point for Single Payer: Everyone enjoys the benefits.

[Savanna]

What are the names of the people that represent Americans on the Finance Committee.
They need a communication blitz to tell them that they can look harder at the issue. If we can find the money to bailout Wall Street, the banks, and the auto industry because of the mistakes that Congress made in passing deregulation of banks and financial institutions, and if we can continue to finance the
"war" then "by George" what is wrong with money to finance public health care... Not one thing except the special interest groups won't have anyone to bribe anymore.

[LeftCoastLarry]

Democrats
MAX BAUCUS, MT
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV
KENT CONRAD, ND
JEFF BINGAMAN, NM
JOHN F. KERRY, MA
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
RON WYDEN, OR
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY
DEBBIE STABENOW, MI
MARIA CANTWELL, WA
BILL NELSON, FL
ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ
THOMAS CARPER, DE

Republicans
CHUCK GRASSLEY, IA
ORRIN G. HATCH, UT
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, ME
JON KYL, AZ
JIM BUNNING, KY
MIKE CRAPO, ID
PAT ROBERTS, KS
JOHN ENSIGN, NV
MIKE ENZI, WY
JOHN CORNYN, TX

[LeftCoastLarry]

Also, here is a great website to see where the money comes from and goes to:
http://www.opensecrets.org/index.php

[Ourrias]

Well, I guess it'll be passed on a budget reconciliation vote, then, with the votes of 51 Democratic Senators, and over the heads of the obstructionist Republicans and Republican-Lites (Nelson, Baucus, Landrieu, Liebermann, etc.).

[DrFitz]

Let's hope. This hairball from the finance committee is DOA. It would be suicidal for Dems to get behind it or for Obama to sign it. It's beyond awful.

[Tom Payned]

I just got off the phone with my two Dem Senators, Wyden & Merckly. Both claim they support a plan with a public option. I beleive Merckly, unsure of Wyden.

I also asked their staff about the Senators including in whatever bill, allowing anyone who wants to purchase a health care plan to buy into the same insurance pool of Federal Employees, as the larger the pool, the lower the premium. Additionally, those of us whose employer can't afford to purchase health care insurance for their employees are left with the option of purchasing "individual" plans which "exclude" any preexisting conditions. And investigative article out just the other day documented cases were insured parties were denied coverage of an expense cancer operation, because they failed to disclose something as simple as a reaction to a flu shot, claiming the policy was fraudulently obtained.

Merkly's office was very receptive to this idea and thought the senator would bring this up and possibly offer it as an amendment.

Wyden's office said they would "let the Senator know about that" but she never took notes or asked questions. It's doubtful that information will be reach the Senator.

Everyone should contact their senators, find out the info, and post the responses on the post.

Let them know we are watching.

[iamvalid]

A great photo op for both Baucus and Grassley. Looks like you both made the list.

http://digg.com/d1uIZU

[Artemis34]

Don't see them there.

[BustMyChops]

Gotta love corporate democrats. Who needs republicans? Hopefully this makes people aware that voting for the candidate with a d- next to their name isn't nearly enough.

[Artemis34]

We’ll have to change more than the party in the control of the congress and the white house to make the government service the people!

I’d recommend:

Public Campaign Financing: take corporations and groups like the NRA out of the campaign finance business.

Outlaw lobbying, period.

Reform media: Require some real news for use of the public air waves rather than non-stop corporate propaganda that urges people to act against their own interests.

Universal suffrage: so that the right cannot disenfranchise those likely to disagree with them (average citizens). And count every vote, including absentee and military votes.

Voting reform: We need verifiable paper ballots. If they can’t brain wash with their propaganda and disenfranchise people, they’ll steal the election directly.

Change Election Day: voting should be on a weekend day/s and that day should be a national holiday.

Direct elections: do away with the Electoral College. Only direct elections are internationally monitored, so this would mean our elections could be monitored too.

Stop gerrymandering: we need some legitimate and fair way to adjust districts based on population changes that cannot be corrupted by either side.

I'd also look at doing something about the Senate. Power is too concentrated in Senators from states with tiny populations.

[BustMyChops]

I agree with all of your points. But as you know none of those things are gonna happen until the Congress is filled with liberals like Bernie Sanders and conservatives like Ron Paul. Unfortunately Americans are too dumb to make that a reality.

[Joethepauper]

What are we paying these people for? Get rid of them all and find people who can solve problems.

[Easyrollins]

we each have emails addresses, of a number of people, if we can get a third of those people to engage in a email campaign it's a start. I believe that a mass emailing to congress of ten to 20 million voters would be a good start. and it would be a good way of getting people inform as to what's at stake concerning health care reform, after that it should be a little easier to mobilize bodies to march on Washington.

[rabiddog6708]

The insurance and drug companies own both the Repubs and the Dems. They will not allow single payer. They will not allow real health care reform.

[elmoor]

What have YOU done about it, or are you just accepting defeat that easily.

CALL YOUR SENATORS AND DEMAND A PUBLIC OPTION. DO IT NOW.

[Easyrollins]

Public Option,is a scape goat, a buzz word, that entails a way for health care reform to fail, after being sabotage by those whose motive is profit. Real health care reform can only be a non-profit single payer approach. As a nation we can no longer afford the huge profits that the Corporations now enjoy, it is a drain on the public good and must be ended.

[Lyr]

Examine how health insurance corporations even got involved. It's not pretty and congress' hands are all over it. Start by reversing the bad laws that got us to where we are today. There is no way this mess can be fixed with one bill.

[jmpurser]

Pretty much. We need Single Payer. The "public option" is just something to keep people from demanding what they really need.

[k6007]

HCAN, and moveon..org are running ads targeting dino/repub obstructionist.

http://www.healthcareforamericanow.org/

http://www.moveon.org/

Let's give 'em a hand, and a donation if you can.

[vanmungo]

HCAN and moveon are themselves obstructio­nist--they are working in concert with the bought-off corporate Dems (and Repubs) to suppress the only real reform--single payer Medicare for all.

Any version of the "public option" will leave most of the U.S. system in the hands of the dysfunctional HMO greedheads. It's a sham: its main objective is not to reduce costs or expand coverage to all Americans--neither will happen as long as the HMOs are in the game; the real objective of the "public option" plans is to keep the HMOs in business.

Keep in mind that the Democrats have taken as much money from the HMOs and Big Pharma as the Republicans--in fact, Obama took twice as much as McCain during the campaign, some $15 million from health-sector companies. That's why he's been trying to bury single payer, even though he once supported it and acknowledges that it works well in Canada and Europe.

Check out the information on these Web sites:

www.singlepayeraction.org
http://www.healthcare-now.org
www.pnhp.org
http://www­.1payer.ne­t/
http://www.guaranteedhealthcare.org/

POLLING DATA
http://www.healthcare-now.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/polling.pdf

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN31432035

[Lyr]

HMO's are a creation of congress, Ted Kennedy in particular. I just hate hearing from them how they are going to protect us from the monsters they created.

[Lyr]

It's sad this healthcare mess has basically been created by the government. They are the ones that created HMO's and gave insurance companies so much power. I really have a hard time trusting them given thier history.