Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (59848)	7/31/2009 11:43:17 AM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

The healthcare effort's cornerstone is providing healthcare to about 45 million people who do not have any now while 310 million continue to have some form of healthcare. This should explain the gap in support that the Gallup poll provides. Furthermore, many people who have lost their jobs have not felt the full impact of losing their healthcare. Add to that the number of folks who will realize that insurance companies at new employers will not accept pre-existing conditions. Once the American public realizes this, numbers will change. Any idea of what the AARP says about healthcare, their satisfaction/dissaticfation with the Medicare program etc.

To: Brumar89 who wrote (59848)	7/31/2009 12:40:08 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

Polis: Obama plan will help individuals, economy By U.S. Rep. Jared Polis Posted: 07/30/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT Editor's note: This is one of two guest commentaries by Colorado congressmen on health care reform. Health care reform is the single most important step we can take to help struggling families and rebuild our economy. With Americans losing jobs and struggling to care for their families, now more than ever, I am committed to passing legislation that will reform our system to provide health care for all. From the college grad no longer covered by her parents' insurance, to the laid-off worker forced to stop going to the doctor to afford groceries for his family, to the cancer patient fighting not just cancer, but also his insurance company to cover costly drugs and treatments, our health care system is broken. A comprehensive fix will end the suffering of so many from sickness and financial insecurity. In Congress, we are debating legislation that would implement President Obama's health care plan to directly address the staggering 47 million Americans without health insurance. I strongly support the principles ofObama 's plan, which will help families by reducing individual health care costs and encouraging preventive care programs to keep kids healthy before sickness starts. By allowing individuals to keep what they like or to shop around for new coverage, the public option in the plan gives Americans increased choice and the much-needed stability and peace of mind that is currently lacking in our health care system. In addition to bringing coverage to millions of Americans, preventing discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation by increasing the transportability of health care, we must ensure that this bill begins to attack the critical issue of reducing health care costs in our bloated system. The United States spends 16.5 percent of our GDP on health care costs, while the average among European nations is only 8.6 percent. We pay more, receive less, and we don't even cover every American. We simply must reduce costs in addition to expanding coverage. The original House bill fell short of the vision articulated by Obama in that it lacked some of the cost-saving policies he has called for. Accordingly, it required more revenue-generating measures to pay for providing coverage, including a new surcharge on many small businesses. I recently sent a letter, along with 20 of my fellow freshman Democrats, to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, urging her to reduce costs and seek out additional means of funding. I also made the difficult decision to vote against the bill in its earliest stages to draw attention to this surcharge provision and lack of cost controls, as a way to strengthen the bill and its revenue sources before it reaches the House floor. I made my decision knowing that the bill still had the votes to make it out of my committee. It passed by a vote of 26 to 22. My actions were to modify the House bill to better reflect the president's plan to contain costs so that we have exhausted every possible alternative before resorting to tax increases. I am happy to say that significant progress has been made on making sure that health care reform is good for small business and good for the economy. Since I recently raised the issue of the impact of the reforms on small business, I have met withPresident Obama, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Speaker Pelosi and House leadership several times. They were very responsive to my concerns and assured me that every step will be taken to equitably pay for health care reform. In addition to the millions of Americans without health care coverage and countless more who are underinsured or worried about losing coverage, the costs of health care are stifling our economy and job growth. This is the Congress of hope, change and progress. We have a tremendous opportunity now to pass a bill for our nation's health, peace of mind, and economy. U.S. Rep. Jared Polis represents Colorado's 2nd Congressional District. denverpost.com