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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (66644)	6/11/2009 10:00:51 AM
From: TideGlider	Respond to of 224748

Drink the Koolaid Kenneth. Good Boy!

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (66644)	6/11/2009 10:12:26 AM
From: TideGlider	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224748

Qualms and Questions About Obama's Health Plan A Commentary By Michael Barone Thursday, June 11, 2009 Email to a Friend .Advertisement Barack Obama has said he wants to pass a national health care bill this year, with a government insurance policy option. Democratic congressional leaders have called for passage of such a bill before the beginning of the August congressional recess. What they want more than anything else is a government insurance program that will tend over the next few years to crowd out private insurance. We are told that a government insurance plan reduces the amounts spent on health care by using "comparative effectiveness research" -- in other words, by rationing care and limiting options through the use of statistics. Unfortunately, statistics are constantly in flux and do not capture the differing needs of actual patients as well as skillful practitioners can. Obama and his party are pursuing an ambitious goal. It could drastically change health care in the United States. But Congress has yet to write an actual bill, although there are some drafts around. And there's not much time. Congress is scheduled to be in session for only six weeks from next week to the August recess. Six weeks of Tuesday-to-Thursday sessions means 18 days for actual legislating. There are other things before Congress, like annual appropriations and cap-and-trade. Still, Obama and the Democratic congressional leaders see this as a rare chance to make "transformational" changes in America. They may be right. Still, there are some things out of kilter here. First, there are nagging questions about money. As Clinton White House deputy domestic policy adviser William Galston points out in the New Republic blog, "Congress has thus far given the cold shoulder to most of the administration's proposals for raising revenues dedicated to health reform." So if Democrats want to pass their health bill using the reconciliation process, which requires that they get only 50 votes in the Senate, they will have to come up with $150,000,000,000 in annual revenue or offsetting spending or else add to the $900,000,000,000 in yearly budget deficits projected by the Congressional Budget Office. As Galston points out, the CBO is unlikely to agree with administration projections of savings from comparative effectiveness research. So money is a problem. So is public opinion. An April tracking poll conducted for the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that voters rank changing health care below strengthening the economy, stabilizing Medicare and Social Security, and reducing the federal budget deficit on a list of eight possible priorities. Democrats rank it higher, Republicans rank it at the bottom, and independents, on this issue like many others this year, look more like Republicans than Democrats. The blunt fact is that most Americans are satisfied with their health insurance and don't believe major legislation will improve things for them. This gives opponents of the Democrats' rush to legislate a strong talking point. Third, the segment of the electorate that did most to produce the Obama victory and give the Democrats large majorities in Congress is the least concerned and least informed about health care. That segment is the 18 percent of voters under 30. Young voters preferred Obama to John McCain by a 66 percent to 32 percent margin, according to the exit poll. Voters 30 and over preferred Obama by only a 50 percent to 49 percent margin. Some 63 percent of the young voted Democratic for the House of Representatives. Only 51 percent of the rest of Americans did so. Without the young, the votes would clearly not be there for what the Democrats are trying to force through. But what do the young know or care about health insurance? They have the fewest medical problems of the whole population. Their image of health care, at least until they become pregnant and have babies, is university health services. You come in if you feel like it, someone else pays, you get some pills or some counseling, or whatever. As for the downside of government insurance, pollster Scott Rasmussen reports that the young favor capitalism over socialism by only a 37 percent to 33 percent margin. The rest of us prefer capitalism by a 57 percent to 17 percent margin. But while young voters may be open to government health insurance, they surely don't care very much about the issue. Voters with experience dealing with doctors and insurance companies care more. Democrats hope they can assemble the votes and finagle the financing before anyone much notices. Those who oppose them have some material to work with. Michael Barone is senior political analyst for The Washington Examiner. To find out more about Michael Barone, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (66644)	6/11/2009 10:36:48 AM
From: TideGlider	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224748

You going to post all those polls Kenneth? Private insurers fear the government option because they know that most people, if given the choice, would choose the government option.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (66644)	6/11/2009 10:39:48 AM
From: TideGlider	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224748

New Poll Shows Public Worried About Medicare Cuts Impact On Seniors, Boomers -- Wants Congress To Act Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Also Included In: Seniors / Aging Article Date: 24 Mar 2008 - 4:00 PST Eight out of 10 Americans are concerned about access to care for seniors' and baby boomers because of government cuts to physicians caring for Medicare patients, according to a new public poll released today by the American Medical Association (AMA). On July 1, Medicare payments to physicians will be cut 10.6 percent, and over the next decade the cuts will grow to about 40 percent while medical practice costs increase 20 percent. Seniors who rely on Medicare will be hurt by the Medicare cuts, as 60 percent of physicians say this year's cut alone will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat. Already 30 percent of Medicare patients looking for a new primary care physician are having trouble finding one, and the cuts will make access woes much worse. "As physicians, we are terribly concerned about how these Medicare cuts will impact our senior patients," said AMA Board Member William A. Hazel, MD "Seniors and boomers are concerned too, our new poll shows that 88 percent of current Medicare patients are worried about how the cuts will impact their access to health care." The first wave of baby boomers will be eligible for Medicare in three years when they turn 65. "Military families are at risk too, as the government will also cut payments to physicians caring for military families in the Tricare program," said Dr. Hazel. Action by the U.S. Congress is the only cure to the cuts, and nearly three-quarters of Americans polled believe Congress should stop the cuts so that physicians can continue to care for Medicare patients. The Save Medicare Act of 2008 (S. 2785), which would replace 18 months of cuts that begin in July with payment increases that better reflect medical practice costs, was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate. "Congress has only a short window of time to act as the first Medicare cut begins in three months," said Dr. Hazel. "Physicians and now patients have spoken: Congress should stop the cuts to preserve seniors' access to care." The AMA has created a Web site so the public can learn about the issue and take action. "There's still time for Congress to act, and this poll shows that the vast majority of Americans want lawmakers to make this a priority," said Dr. Hazel. A telephone survey of 1,006 adults 18 years of age and older living in the continental United States was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for the American Medical Association (AMA) from Feb. 22-25, 2008. The margin of error is +/-3 percent. American Medical Association