Like others, I am watching the House of Representatives debate the health care reform bill. One way to pay for the bill, or at least to ease the burden of watching, would be to tax cliches spoken on the House floor.
The health system in the United States needs lots of reform. What it is getting this week is highly selective. The Congress will make it easier for many persons with prior conditions to obtain insurance, and ensure that plans cover more, and more people are covered. These and many other provisions in the bill are important elements of any reform package.
What is generally missing is anything that will seriously control costs. Indeed, many provisions will predictably drive costs up, as expanded coverage will expand the demand for expensive services and products. When the AMA, the hospitals and PhRMA are lobbying for the bill, it isn't because of humanitarian urges.
This is the big gap, the big failure of nerve, in the health care debate. Americans will continue to pay about double the share of GDP on health care as do most high income countries, without getting better outcomes for patients.
At this point, the Fox News crusade against the bill, the antics of the Tea Party and the Sarah Palin wing of the Republican party, and the ugly campaigning by the Chamber of Commerce have created a political environment where the bill pretty much has to pass, or the Democrats might as well give up trying to govern. They have to deliver something, and this apparently is about all they can do right now. So a lot of people are rooting for a fairly disappointing bill -- expectations being so low these days.
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The House had a pretty good bill. The Senate screwed it over, and unfortunately we are stuck with the Senate version.
Obama sold out universal health care, single payer, and opt in early in the game, Rahm alienated the independents and progressives, under cutting the Senate.
After watching the "process" last night I would say that both houses of the Congress need seriously to grow up.
It was embarrassing to watch last night's proceedings, and the Senate is worse. No wonder the world laughs at us and pokes fun at us. The House and particularly the Senate are embarrassing.
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What is generally missing is anything that will seriously control costs. ... When the AMA, the hospitals and PhRMA are lobbying for the bill, it isn't because of humanitarian urges.
This is...the big failure...in the health care debate. ...
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It's all by design.
Neoliberal Democratic public policy is all about turning the vulnerable and powerless "least among us" into an income stream for the "haves". Nothing more and nothing less.
These same sold-out mainstream Dems induced countless gullible renters who couldn't afford to buy houses to do so with sub-prime mortgages so their Wall Street friends could run a world-wide scam by securitizing them, forcing most new homeowners into bankruptcy and/or lesser forms of ruined credit, making their already difficult lives even more bleak.
Neoliberals also engineered the mass incarceration of poor African-Americans and Latinos for the benefit of rural white communities where most prisons are located and prison guards reside.
And now they are forcing tens of million folks of modest means who can't afford health insurance to pay every last discretionary nickel of their income to one or another member of the current health care industry oligopoly.
Thus does charlatan and oppressive public policy masquerade as beneficence. Neoliberal Democrats and their faux rightist Republican opponents are the American peoples' adversaries not their friends, much less their savoirs.
Truth and decency are not forever mocked. It's time for a progressive third party.
Eric C. Jacobson
Public Interest Lawyer
Culver City, California
A socialist by any other label, is still a socialist.
They could have easily controlled costs by tackling the unfunded mandates of the past that have driven us to this. Without testing the constitution, taking $500B from medicare, and taxing the people $500B. It appears cutting costs wasn't on the list of priorities.
http://an-independent-voice.com/2010/03/19/how-did-health-care-become-a-crisis-in-america/
Eliminating unfunded mandates would be to much to ask for, from our current government. It would step on to many special interests toes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/fact-sheet-the-truth-abou_b_506026.html
The more things change, the more things remain the same...
J
Personally, I don't see why the Senate would want to change a bill that required them to buy off senators for records amounts, just to get the votes to pass it.
The Senate and House are totally different animal, created for totally different purposes. Some of you might have forgotten that since the Senators are now elected by the people. Originally the were sent to the Senate by the state legislatures, some think changing that was a mistake for the states. Considering the burdens that have been passed on to the states since that time, I am beginning to agree.
Prices will go up, though, not down, as costs magically expand to capture the magically expanded pool of money.
Good article here: http://goo.gl/8Z6v
§§ 51XX-55XX are supposed to establish a "G.I. Bill" to increase the supply of healthcare professionals in the shortest supply (relative to anticipated future demand)--from grants & loan subsidies for medical students who become family practitioners & nurses to the creation/expansion of educational facilities. (See pp 38-43 in linked summary.)
§§ Commencing 56XX are supposed to build new medical infrastructure to meet underserved demand for basic medical services (family medical/dental clinics, pediatric centers, etc.). The USA may currently offer the most "Rolls Royces" of medical services worldwide, but most citizens just want opportunity to buy a "Ford Focus" at a reasonable price. (See pp 43-44 in linked summary.) These provisions are supposed to deal with that.
http://dpc.senate.gov/healthreformbill/healthbill49.pdf
The most chronic problems facing our healthcare system are SUPPLY & DEMAND and their effects on ACCELERATING MEDICAL COSTS. Whether they're addressed through private insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, employer plans, individual plans, the VA, a "public option," etc.--DOESN'T MATTER MUCH. What matters MOST is WHETHER and HOW EFFECTIVELY we confront them. It's OK if this bill's a first step. Continue fighting.
'big government' they should fight to get rid of pre-tax payment and medical deductions. Let the health care cartel find a way to be affordable and competitive without this huge, giant government subsidy. I don't want to be called a socialist, while I and all the people of this country, who are the government, are paying for the health care that the people who are calling me names support.
If the Health Insurance Industry thinks they will be able to raise our rates to whatever they like, they have another thing coming
There are no cost controls in this bill, and there won't ever be any because they'll never get passed the senate! If they wanted cost controls in it, they would have done it already.
Remember Civil Rights Bill didn't include the right to vote, or ban segregation etc. etc. etc. it took years of additional legislation for us to have what we now know as "Civil Rights."
Now we must work on adding a public option - 70% of Americans wanted the public option. Many states are working on single payer.
Remember, we are the only western industrialized country that allows for-profit insurance. Every other country, including the ones that have private insurance, requires health insurance to be non-profit and are highly regulated.
Until we add the public option and/or non-profit single payer programs, we will never lower the % of GDP spent on health care. This slows the increase in % of GDP down, protects people from the most insidious practices of the insurance industry and sets a structure in place that we can improve on with future legislation.
But we have to keep the Dems in office. If Republicans take over they will destroy everything we've put in place. Just like they destroyed EPA, Food and Drug, deregulated the Banking Industry etc etc etc.
We have a start..... i'm grateful for that - it took over 50 years to get to this point.... ;-)