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 : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (78638)	3/25/2010 11:47:16 AM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

Exactly! Either way Dems will use the skyrocketing increases as an excuse to implement the Public Option, or if the climate isn't conducive, pass price controls forcing the eventual bankruptcy of the insurance industry, thus "forcing" the gov't to become the sole HC insurance provider. Is this a great country or what? :-(

To: TimF who wrote (78638)	3/25/2010 12:36:33 PM
From: Oeconomicus	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

Which is likely, considering that would quickly force them out of the business, leaving us with single payer. For now, though, they're gonna just treat them as a public utility - until the next power grab.

To: TimF who wrote (78638)	3/25/2010 9:00:47 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

Perhaps HCR is a jobs bill By Bruce McQuain on jobs QandO I do love it when government simplifies things. Like all these new boards and commissions in the new law: 1. Grant program for consumer assistance offices (Section 1002, p. 37) 2. Grant program for states to monitor premium increases (Section 1003, p. 42) 3. Committee to review administrative simplification standards (Section 1104, p. 71) 4. Demonstration program for state wellness programs (Section 1201, p. 93) 5. Grant program to establish state Exchanges (Section 1311(a), p. 130) 6. State American Health Benefit Exchanges (Section 1311(b), p. 131) 7. Exchange grants to establish consumer navigator programs (Section 1311(i), p. 150) 8. Grant program for state cooperatives (Section 1322, p. 169) 9. Advisory board for state cooperatives (Section 1322(b)(3), p. 173) 10. Private purchasing council for state cooperatives (Section 1322(d), p. 177) 11. State basic health plan programs (Section 1331, p. 201) 12. State-based reinsurance program (Section 1341, p. 226) 13. Program of risk corridors for individual and small group markets (Section 1342, p. 233) 14. Program to determine eligibility for Exchange participation (Section 1411, p. 267) 15. Program for advance determination of tax credit eligibility (Section 1412, p. 288) 16. Grant program to implement health IT enrollment standards (Section 1561, p. 370) 17. Federal Coordinated Health Care Office for dual eligible beneficiaries (Section 2602, p. 512) 18. Medicaid quality measurement program (Section 2701, p. 518) 19. Medicaid health home program for people with chronic conditions, and grants for planning same (Section 2703, p. 524) 20. Medicaid demonstration project to evaluate bundled payments (Section 2704, p. 532) 21. Medicaid demonstration project for global payment system (Section 2705, p. 536) 22. Medicaid demonstration project for accountable care organizations (Section 2706, p. 538) 23. Medicaid demonstration project for emergency psychiatric care (Section 2707, p. 540) 24. Grant program for delivery of services to individuals with postpartum depression (Section 2952(b), p. 591) 25. State allotments for grants to promote personal responsibility education programs (Section 2953, p. 596) 26. Medicare value-based purchasing program (Section 3001(a), p. 613) 27. Medicare value-based purchasing demonstration program for critical access hospitals (Section 3001(b), p. 637) 28. Medicare value-based purchasing program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 3006(a), p. 666) 29. Medicare value-based purchasing program for home health agencies (Section 3006(b), p. 668) 30. Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality (Section 3012, p. 688) 31. Grant program to develop health care quality measures (Section 3013, p. 693) 32. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 3021, p. 712) 33. Medicare shared savings program (Section 3022, p. 728) 34. Medicare pilot program on payment bundling (Section 3023, p. 739) 35. Independence at home medical practice demonstration program (Section 3024, p. 752) 36. Program for use of patient safety organizations to reduce hospital readmission rates (Section 3025(b), p. 775) 37. Community-based care transitions program (Section 3026, p. 776) 38. Demonstration project for payment of complex diagnostic laboratory tests (Section 3113, p. 800) 39. Medicare hospice concurrent care demonstration project (Section 3140, p. 850) 40. Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 982) 41. Consumer Advisory Council for Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 1027) 42. Grant program for technical assistance to providers implementing health quality practices (Section 3501, p. 1043) 43. Grant program to establish interdisciplinary health teams (Section 3502, p. 1048) 44. Grant program to implement medication therapy management (Section 3503, p. 1055) 45. Grant program to support emergency care pilot programs (Section 3504, p. 1061) 46. Grant program to promote universal access to trauma services (Section 3505(b), p. 1081) 47. Grant program to develop and promote shared decision-making aids (Section 3506, p. 1088) 48. Grant program to support implementation of shared decision-making (Section 3506, p. 1091) 49. Grant program to integrate quality improvement in clinical education (Section 3508, p. 1095) 50. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health (Section 3509(a), p. 1098) 51. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(b), p. 1102) 52. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(e), p. 1105) 53. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(f), p. 1106) 54. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women’s Health (Section 3509(g), p. 1109) 55. National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council (Section 4001, p. 1114) 56. Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health (Section 4001(f), p. 1117) 57. Prevention and Public Health Fund (Section 4002, p. 1121) 58. Community Preventive Services Task Force (Section 4003(b), p. 1126) 59. Grant program to support school-based health centers (Section 4101, p. 1135) 60. Grant program to promote research-based dental caries disease management (Section 4102, p. 1147) 61. Grant program for States to prevent chronic disease in Medicaid beneficiaries (Section 4108, p. 1174) 62. Community transformation grants (Section 4201, p. 1182) 63. Grant program to provide public health interventions (Section 4202, p. 1188) 64. Demonstration program of grants to improve child immunization rates (Section 4204(b), p. 1200) 65. Pilot program for risk-factor assessments provided through community health centers (Section 4206, p. 1215) 66. Grant program to increase epidemiology and laboratory capacity (Section 4304, p. 1233) 67. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 4305, p. 1238) 68. National Health Care Workforce Commission (Section 5101, p. 1256) 69. Grant program to plan health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(c), p. 1275) 70. Grant program to implement health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(d), p. 1279) 71. Pediatric specialty loan repayment program (Section 5203, p. 1295) 72. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program (Section 5204, p. 1300) 73. Allied Health Loan Forgiveness Program (Section 5205, p. 1305) 74. Grant program to provide mid-career training for health professionals (Section 5206, p. 1307) 75. Grant program to fund nurse-managed health clinics (Section 5208, p. 1310) 76. Grant program to support primary care training programs (Section 5301, p. 1315) 77. Grant program to fund training for direct care workers (Section 5302, p. 1322) 78. Grant program to develop dental training programs (Section 5303, p. 1325) 79. Demonstration program to increase access to dental health care in underserved communities (Section 5304, p. 1331) 80. Grant program to promote geriatric education centers (Section 5305, p. 1334) 81. Grant program to promote health professionals entering geriatrics (Section 5305, p. 1339) 82. Grant program to promote training in mental and behavioral health (Section 5306, p. 1344) 83. Grant program to promote nurse retention programs (Section 5309, p. 1354) 84. Student loan forgiveness for nursing school faculty (Section 5311(b), p. 1360) 85. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes (Section 5313, p. 1364) 86. Public Health Sciences Track for medical students (Section 5315, p. 1372) 87. Primary Care Extension Program to educate providers (Section 5405, p. 1404) 88. Grant program for demonstration projects to address health workforce shortage needs (Section 5507, p. 1442) 89. Grant program for demonstration projects to develop training programs for home health aides (Section 5507, p. 1447) 90. Grant program to establish new primary care residency programs (Section 5508(a), p. 1458) 91. Program of payments to teaching health centers that sponsor medical residency training (Section 5508(c), p. 1462) 92. Graduate nurse education demonstration program (Section 5509, p. 1472) 93. Grant program to establish demonstration projects for community-based mental health settings (Section 5604, p. 1486) 94. Commission on Key National Indicators (Section 5605, p. 1489) 95. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6102, p. 1554) 96. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6103(a)(3), p. 1561) 97. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 6103(b)(3), p. 1568) 98. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 6112, p. 1589) 99. Demonstration projects for nursing facilities involved in the culture change movement (Section 6114, p. 1597) 100. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1619) 101. Standing methodology committee for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1629) 102. Board of Governors for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1638) 103. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (Section 6301(e), p. 1656) 104. Elder Justice Coordinating Council (Section 6703, p. 1773) 105. Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (Section 6703, p. 1776) 106. Grant program to create elder abuse forensic centers (Section 6703, p. 1783) 107. Grant program to promote continuing education for long-term care staffers (Section 6703, p. 1787) 108. Grant program to improve management practices and training (Section 6703, p. 1788) 109. Grant program to subsidize costs of electronic health records (Section 6703, p. 1791) 110. Grant program to promote adult protective services (Section 6703, p. 1796) 111. Grant program to conduct elder abuse detection and prevention (Section 6703, p. 1798) 112. Grant program to support long-term care ombudsmen (Section 6703, p. 1800) 113. National Training Institute for long-term care surveyors (Section 6703, p. 1806) 114. Grant program to fund State surveys of long-term care residences (Section 6703, p. 1809) 115. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 8002, p. 1926) 116. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 8002, p. 1927) 117. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 8002, p. 1931) 118. Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 8002(c), p. 1938) 119. Multi-state health plans offered by Office of Personnel Management (Section 10104(p), p. 2086) 120. Advisory board for multi-state health plans (Section 10104(p), p. 2094) 121. Pregnancy Assistance Fund (Section 10212, p. 2164) 122. Value-based purchasing program for ambulatory surgical centers (Section 10301, p. 2176) 123. Demonstration project for payment adjustments to home health services (Section 10315, p. 2200) 124. Pilot program for care of individuals in environmental emergency declaration areas (Section 10323, p. 2223) 125. Grant program to screen at-risk individuals for environmental health conditions (Section 10323(b), p. 2231) 126. Pilot programs to implement value-based purchasing (Section 10326, p. 2242) 127. Grant program to support community-based collaborative care networks (Section 10333, p. 2265) 128. Centers for Disease Control Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272) 129. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272) 130. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272) 131. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272) 132. Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272) 133. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272) 134. Grant program to promote small business wellness programs (Section 10408, p. 2285) 135. Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2289) 136. Cures Acceleration Network Review Board (Section 10409, p. 2291) 137. Grant program for Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2297) 138. Grant program to promote centers of excellence for depression (Section 10410, p. 2304) 139. Advisory committee for young women’s breast health awareness education campaign (Section 10413, p. 2322) 140. Grant program to provide assistance to provide information to young women with breast cancer (Section 10413, p. 2326) 141. Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force (Section 10501, p. 2329) 142. Grant program to train nurse practitioners as primary care providers (Section 10501(e), p. 2332) 143. Grant program for community-based diabetes prevention (Section 10501(g), p. 2337) 144. Grant program for providers who treat a high percentage of medically underserved populations (Section 10501(k), p. 2343) 145. Grant program to recruit students to practice in underserved communities (Section 10501(l), p. 2344) 146. Community Health Center Fund (Section 10503, p. 2355) 147. Demonstration project to provide access to health care for the uninsured at reduced fees (Section 10504, p. 2357) 148. Demonstration program to explore alternatives to tort litigation (Section 10607, p. 2369) 149. Indian Health demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (S. 1790, Section 112, p. 24)* 150. Office of Indian Men’s Health (S. 1790, Section 136, p. 71)* 151. Indian Country modular component facilities demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 146, p. 108)* 152. Indian mobile health stations demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 147, p. 111)* 153. Office of Direct Service Tribes (S. 1790, Section 172, p. 151)* 154. Indian Health Service mental health technician training program (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 173)* 155. Indian Health Service program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 192)* 156. Indian Health Service program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 194)* 157. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 204)* 158. Indian youth life skills demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 220)* 159. Indian Health Service Director of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment (S. 1790, Section 199B, p. 258)* [Section 10221, page 2173 of H.R. 3590 deems that S. 1790 shall be deemed as passed with certain amendments.] So get those resumes ready for submission – maybe you too can be a part of the “Indian youth telemental health demonstration project”.* ~McQ

To: TimF who wrote (78638)	3/26/2010 6:56:53 PM
From: Sully-	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

No Limits on Federal Power? By Louis Case American Thinker We're going to be hearing a lot about the commerce clause, the dormant commerce clause, and preemption thanks to anti-federal health care lawsuits by state attorney generals. If they rely on the standard arguments made in such cases, they (and we) will surely lose. Preemption is a concept of Article VI of the United States Constitution: <<< This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof ... shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. >>> The only condition that needs to be satisfied is that the federal law be shown to have been made pursuant to the Constitution. The reach of the interstate commerce clause is well-known and documented: Basically any activity or product that "affects interstate commerce" can be federally regulated. What affects interstate commerce? Just about everything. In one of the few cases nullifying a federal law as exceeding the reach of the commerce clause, the majority challenged the dissenters to name an area of activity that the federal government cannot regulate. Needless to say, no answer was forthcoming. When the standard is "affecting interstate commerce," there is no activity or product that is separated by more than one degree. To explain the fact that a certain activity has not ever been regulated by the federal government since the founding, federal courts have adopted the construct of the "dormant commerce clause." Under this theory, the federal government has always had the power to regulate the activity in question but has only now chosen to regulate it -- it has awakened the power. Having now chosen to regulate it, state law is preempted even if the state has regulated the activity for the past two hundred years. The state attorneys general will argue that the states have always had the exclusive power to impose personal mandates on their citizens. The federal counterargument is that the provision of health care services involves goods through interstate commerce. Evidence that the states have regulated this activity for two hundred years is irrelevant with respect to the dormant commerce clause. The federal health care law having been made pursuant to the Constitution -- namely, the interstate commerce clause -- any contrary provisions in the state's constitution or laws are nullified pursuant to Article VI. There appears to be no escape from the logic of the federal argument: Once a federal law has been shown to be made pursuant to the Constitution, state laws and/or constitutions are preempted. When the standard is as broad and as vague as "affecting interstate commerce," there is no activity that cannot be regulated by the federal government. That there is no activity that cannot be regulated by the federal government is the flaw in the federal argument. For example, the Hobbs Act is the federal law prohibiting armed robbery affecting interstate commerce. It has repeatedly been challenged on the basis that it exceeds Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce, and it has been repeatedly upheld as a valid exercise of the commerce clause. But some cases highlight a problem: Why should some individuals be prosecuted in federal court for comparatively small ("lemonade stand") armed robberies while others are prosecuted in state court for the same or greater armed robberies? That is, if all armed robberies affect interstate commerce, then why are some prosecuted in state courts? This disparate and unequal treatment has struck some Circuit Court Judges as arbitrary. Some of these judges, wishing to overturn the particular case, opined that Congress should make its intentions clear as to which armed robberies should be federally prosecuted so that comparatively small cases would be excluded from federal prosecution. In support, the Clear Statement Doctrine was cited: If the federal Congress wants to change the historical relation between the states and the federal government, then it is obligated to state its intention to do so clearly and unequivocally. The only problem with that rationale is that it concedes the basic point that the federal government has the authority to make all armed robbery prosecutions exclusively federal. If Congress has the power under the commerce clause to make all armed robberies affecting interstate commerce (that is, all armed robberies) federal crimes, then it may, according to the Clear Statement Doctrine, expressly nullify all state armed robbery laws in all states. If Congress has the power to nullify state armed robbery laws, then it has had that power from the beginning. If Congress has had that power from the beginning, then states have never had it: They merely exercised that power until Congress awakened its dormant commerce clause power. One can substitute any activity or product affecting interstate commerce for armed robbery, and one would necessarily reach the same conclusion. Thus, if one can make a reasonable argument that divorces, adoptions, marriages, real estate transactions, contracts, personal injuries, rapes, murders, or shoplifting affect interstate commerce, then one would have to conclude that the federal government, by way of Article VI, has the exclusive right to regulate that area of law. If Congress has the exclusive right to regulate that area of law, then the states never had it. That states regulate those areas of law now is not because their own citizens gave their respective states the power to do so in the state constitution. The people have delegated those powers to the federal government in the commerce clause, and the federal government has permitted the states to regulate until such time as it exercises its power through the dormant commerce clause. Every power the federal government has through the commerce clause is one the state has never had. If everything that affects interstate commerce (which, by today's standards, is every imaginable activity) can be federally regulated, then the states never had any power. If the states have no exclusive regulatory power, then they are simply temporary custodians of federal power until the federal government chooses to retake that power. That states have no exclusive power is an absurd conclusion. But it is not easy to see now because the federal government "discovers" one power at a time. But if all activities affect interstate commerce, then what other conclusion is there? .

To: TimF who wrote (78638)	3/29/2010 4:14:01 AM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 90947

Arrogance & Elitism Day by Day Cartoon by Chris Muir daybydaycartoon.com

To: TimF who wrote (78638)	3/31/2010 2:28:11 AM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

What Was the Deciding Factor In One Democrat's Health Care Vote? "Party Loyalty" By: Jim Geraghty Campaign Spot Howard Fineman buries the lead like it's Jimmy Hoffa: <<< A Democratic senator I can't name, who reluctantly voted for the health-care bill out of loyalty to his party and his admiration for Barack Obama, privately complained to me that the measure was political folly, in part because of the way it goes into effect: some taxes first, most benefits later, and rate hikes by insurance companies in between. Besides that, this Democrat said, people who already have coverage will feel threatened and resentful about helping to cover the uninsured—an emotion they will sanitize for the polltakers into a concern about federal spending and debt. On the day the president signed into law the "fix-it" addendum to the massive health-care measure, two new polls show just how fearful and skeptical Americans are about the entire enterprise. If the numbers stay where they are—and it's not clear why they will change much between now and November—then the Democrats really are in danger of colossal losses at the polls. >>> So, just to clarify, some Democratic senator admitted to Fineman that he thinks the bill is political suicide, raises premiums for his constituents and feeds public anger, but voted for it anyway out of personal and party loyalty? Come on, Fineman, spill the goods so we can give this guy his Profile in Courage award. .