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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (129018)	1/22/2010 12:00:44 AM
From: Jeff Hayden	Respond to of 542043

They've been duped?

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (129018)	1/22/2010 11:45:08 AM
From: Suma	Respond to of 542043

I agree with you Mary. I think that originally the health plan was a very well intended one that should have provided many benefits to those who were uninsured. Pre condition exemptions for one. However as those who are rewarded by the Pharma and special interest groups modified, revised and kept changing the plan the single payers option was excluded. Then we got into the death panels which scared a lot of folks albeit not true. AND then the abortion coverage. It just got to a point where the point of what was originally intended was lost. What we got which of course is doomed now is a watered down altered plan that we still heard should be adopted and the amended later.. But that we needed a start. It's all mindless now as all those months and work that went into the proposal are gone.. I don't know how I feel . It's rather sad in a way that the wealthiest nation on earth cannot fashion something that benefits those less fortunate.. However once again the propaganda machines worked so that those who could have benefited the most were blissfully ignorant of what they were championing against... Where we go from here no one knows. Obama needs to get on the ball. His latest proposals for the banks has caused a big concern for everyone hence the market decline. I am still lost on all the machinations of what is right to do as the arguments on both sides fight it out.

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (129018)	1/22/2010 12:49:53 PM
From: Katelew	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 542043

It looks look these powerful interest groups have won the hearts and minds of many of those that would benefit from reform. Perhaps for some, but I tend to think that people are quite capable of looking at something straight on and rendering judgment on it. The lack of transparancy and backroom deals Dems made to try and get health care reform are repugnant and disheartening....period. No need for someone on the other side to tell me that. Democrats have and are making decisions that will obviously peel off specific groups of voters. What are they thinking? For one, polls show that the majority of people do NOT want taxpayer funded abortion, but Dems have persistently tried to wiggle that into the health care bill anyway. A second decision that has peeled off voters is the decision to surge in Afghanistan. Right or wrong, Obama had created the impression while campaigning that he would be looking for ways to disengage America from the ME as quickly as possible. A third decision that will work to peel off voters is suspension of the Social Security COLA.... maybe even for two years. Added to this is the fact that pharma cos. and health insurers ghoulishly raised prices dramatically to get in front of the health care bill with nary a complaint from Washington. And fourth is the nakedly corrupt dealmaking Dems were making to try and get a health care reform package passed that wasn't even that attractive to start with. And the incoherent, disjointed efforts to shovel money out the door in the name of 'stimulus'....yikes. Plays right into the old caricatures of Dems as being fiscally irresponsible. It's all very discouraging. I find myself often thinking "who are these people, and where are these decisions coming from."

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (129018)	1/23/2010 11:26:25 AM
From: Bridge Player	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 542043

Mary, there was a post this morning on another board that put forth several health care and insurance reform ideas that the author believed would be supported by the majority of the American people, and passable with bipartisan support in the Congress. I agree, and post it here in the interest of furthering a positive dialog on the subject. In reposting here I've edited the material to remove some politically-oriented references that sometimes color our perceptions of ideas, but made no changes to the substance. The unedited full text is available here: Message 26266529 I am not familiar with C.L. Gray or Physicians for Reform. ================================================================= A Doctors View: Five Health Care Reform Solutions That Make Sense C.L. Gray ................ - January 21, 2010 Americans still want health care reform, but they are looking for clear, patient-centered, fiscally responsible solutions. Here's how to make this work. ......... ......... Americans still want health care reform, but they are looking for clear, patient-centered, fiscally responsible solutions. Physicians for Reform offers such a plan. Here are five reforms we propose. REFORM #1: Sell Insurance Across State Lines FACT: State mandates drive up costs • Health insurance for a 25-year-old male in New Jersey costs nearly six times what it does in Kentucky, largely because of state mandates. • Introducing choice and competition reduces business overhead. Businesses could use these savings to raise wages or hire workers. This stimulates the economy without spending a dime of federal money. FACT: Interstate competition optimizes legislative oversight • Competing incentives push states toward quality and efficiency. Increased regulation protects patients. Decreased regulation attracts business. If fifty state legislatures compete to balance patient protection against affordability, effective and efficient oversight will emerge. • The alternative is to have federal mandates—giving Americans no choice and leaving the political class with no competition. We the People provide oversight • Independent watchdog groups could rate states and insurance companies on cost and patient satisfaction. This sifts the good from the bad. • Armed with knowledge and incentive, Americans would push insurers to offer better, cheaper products tailored to their specific needs. CONCLUSION: Allowing businesses to purchase insurance across state lines empowers We the People, not Washington, and does not cost a dime. ........ ........ This measure should enjoy bipartisan support. REFORM #2: Let individuals purchase health insurance with pre-tax dollars FACT: Insurance companies serve businesses, not patients • Businesses purchase employee health insurance with pre-tax dollars. Individuals purchase insurance with post-tax dollars making their insurance far more expensive. • This reform lets patients buy products that meet their needs and makes insurers more accountable to patients. CONCLUSION: This reform empowers We the People and requires no federal spending. REFORM #3: Encourage Health Care Savings Accounts (HSAs) FACT: HSAs reduce health care costs without rationing (cutting Medicare) • No one spends someone else’s money as wisely as they spend their own. This is the fundamental problem of any third-party-payer system (whether insurance companies or government). • When a third party pays, nobody cares about cost. HSAs encourage patients to ask: 1) How much does this cost? 2) Do I need this test or medication? • HSAs let patients control their own money, decreasing health care spending by 13%. • This “bends the curve” without rationing care. During 2005 and 2006, traditional insurance rose 7.3% annually. Lower cost / higher deductable plans combined with HSAs rose only 2.7% annually. FACT: HSAs encourage “young invincibles” to buy insurance • Allowing patients to transfer unused, pre-tax HSA dollars to retirement accounts gives “young invincibles” a reason to purchase health insurance. .......... .......... CONCLUSION: By addressing a fundamental problem of today’s health care system, this reform “bends the curve” without rationing care. Again, it empowers We the People without plunging America further into debt. REFORM #4: End abusive medical litigation FACT: Frivolous litigation drives physicians out of medicine • Tremendous upheaval occurs when physicians are accused of malpractice—even when acquitted. Bringing tens of millions of new patients into the system requires more physicians, not fewer. FACT: Frivolous litigation reform lowers cost and improves access to care • Americans spend approximately $124 billion every year because physicians practice defensive medicine. Frivolous lawsuit reform could reduce healthcare spending by approximately $70 billion annually. • In 2002, 62% of counties in Texas did not have an obstetrician. After passing frivolous medical litigation reform in 2003, nearly 600 obstetricians returned to practice medicine in the Lone Star State by 2007. CONCLUSION: Ending abusive litigation “bends the curve” without rationing care. Physicians for Reform outlines medical litigation reform that reduces frivolous suits, expedites legitimate suits, and holds negligent physicians accountable. (www.PhysiciansForReform.org) REFORM #5: Covering the uninsured FACT: We can insure the uninsured without expanding American debt • Approximately 25% of patients who visit the emergency room where I work do not have health care coverage. Clearly something must be done. • A system of tax credits can help the uninsured purchase coverage. This would cost approximately $80 billion annually. Reforms #1 through #4 will save approximately $120 billion annually, covering the uninsured. Healthcare reform must be viewed in terms of American debt, not federal deficit. ....... ....... an opportunity to keep the patient at the center of American health care. And to do this we must: - Scrap the current legislation. - Enact the five reforms listed above. - Pass each reform separately, one bill every four months. - Limit each bill to 50 pages. - Let each bill pass or fail on its own merits—no pork, no pay-offs. - Make final language available to the public for at least 7 days prior to voting. We the People want patient-centered, fiscally responsible reform. ........... ........... Change for the sake of change is not enough. C. L. Gray, M.D is president of Physicians for Reform. For more visit PhysiciansForReform.org.