Healthcare Hypocricy?

[SubGod22]

Hoyer: No Consensus on Health Bill

House leaders have said they wanted to pass a plan before they leave on a monthlong break. But Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday there is still disagreement on proposed tax increases on the wealthy, and whether to establish a government-run insurance program to compete with private plans.

Obama Admits He's Foggy on Healthcare Bill

Obama urged the bloggers to continue pressuring Congress to pass health-care reform immediately. During that call, Heritage reports, a blogger referenced an article in Investor's Business Daily indicating Section 102 of the House bill would "outlaw" private insurance.

"Is this true?" the blogger asked Obama. "Will people be able to keep their insurance and will insurers be able to write new policies even though H.R. 3200 is passed?"

The president's response on behalf of the legislation he is pushing through Congress: "You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you are talking about."

Blue Dog Dems: 'Mandate' for Abortion in Healthcare Bill

Democratic lawmakers opposed to federal funding for abortions said Tuesday the House leadership's health care bill contains a "hidden mandate" that would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to end pregnancies.

It's the latest controversy to hit the health care overhaul in a week that has seen Republicans sharpen their attacks and some Democrats start to waver on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

Sen. DeMint: We Have to Stop Obama's Politics

An outspoken Southern Republican says it's time to "put the brakes on" President Barack Obama, saying he's advocating too much government spending and ballooning the deficit.

Experts: Obama's 'Public Option' Insurance Will Abandon 100 Million Citizens

"Under our proposals," Obama told the American people during his July 18 weekly radio address, "if you like your doctor, you keep your doctor. If you like your current insurance, you keep that insurance. Period, end of story."

Not so, according to a report released Monday by the Lewin Group, a nonpartisan Falls Church, Va., firm that provides consulting services to the healthcare industry. The D.C.-based Heritage Foundation sponsored the study.

The study concludes that, although the government won't actually order people to leave their private insurance plans, it will induce their employers to do so. The taxpayer subsidies in the public option will tilt the economic scales so much that employers and individuals will abandon the private insurance market by the millions, the Lewin Group study indicates.

[RoyalShock]

Experts: Obama's 'Public Option' Insurance Will Abandon 100 Million Citizens

The Lewin Group appears to support Rep. Price's conclusion that public-option healthcare will bring radical changes to voters' health insurance coverage.

That consultant's analysis finds that the average monthly premium under the public option would be $179 less than the average private premium.

Lewin's analysts calculate that this would induce 83.4 million Americans and their employers to change plans. Because the employers usually make the decision, millions of those individuals would have little or no say in whether they would join the public-option plan.

Lewin concludes that 103.4 million Americans would sign up for the public plan, cutting the size of the private-insurance market just about in half. In three years, 48.4 percent fewer people would be covered by private insurance.

"The president simply isn't telling the truth," Price charges. "I don't know if that's because he hasn't read the bill, or he doesn't know what his cohorts up here on Capitol Hill have done to the legislation, but it's very, very clear."

He adds, "This will destroy the individual private insurance market in this nation. And if you talk to the folks who authored the plan, they admit it. They aren't trying to hide that at all. It's just the President who's trying to hide that."

[SubGod22]

Dems running into irate constituents over ObamaCare

Mayo Clinic throws cold water on Obamacare

Obama and his acolytes repeatedly praised the Mayo Clinic, holding it up as an example of health care reform for all. Obviously they thought the experts at Mayo agreed with them. But their assumptions are wrong.

The Mayo Clinic didn't become one of the pre-eminent medical institutions in the world by falling for false presidential flattery. They are experienced and they think Obama is wrong. And they forthrightly say so. Here, straight from the Mayo Clinic's Health Policy blog, is their reply to Obama's unworkable theories.

. . .the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite. In general, the proposals under discussion are not patient focused or results oriented.

Lawmakers have failed to use a fundamental lever - a change in Medicare payment policy - to help drive necessary improvements in American health care. Unless legislators create payment systems that pay for good patient results at reasonable costs, the promise of transformation in American health care will wither. The real losers will be the citizens of the United States.

Obama: 'Shut up and pass health care'

You will recall that President Obama did the same thing with the stim bill; told Congress in no uncertain terms that the situation with the economy was so dire that passage of the bill - even though no one had read it and that it hadn't been debated in Congress - must be done immediately.

It worked with the stim bill. Why not Obamacare?

Bill Kristol writing in the Weekly Standard Blog:

"The time for talk is through." -- President Obama, talking to liberal bloggers on a conference call Monday night.

The Democratic bills in the House and Senate are a thousand pages long. They're still changing as committees try to mark them up, or as they mark up other versions of health insurance legislation. There's huge uncertainty about how lots of provisions in the bills and under consideration would work--OMB Director Orzsag and HHS Secretary Sibelius couldn't answer straightforward questions on Fox News Sunday and Meet the Press. Nothing goes into effect in any case until 2013--except the tax provisions, which would begin in 2011. Yet President Obama wants everyone to stop debating and deliberating, and act now--because he and he alone has decided "now is the time to go ahead and act."

ObamaCare is a sick joke

As The New York Post has aptly pointed out, ObamaCare is a sick joke. Here are some facts that refuse to be ignored...

By 52 percent to 40 percent, voters are opposed to the healthcare bill introduced on July 14 to the House of Representatives.

Independents now oppose ObamaCare by a ratio of almost 2:1.

The World Health Organization ranked the United States No. 1 out of 191 countries for being responsive to patients' needs, including providing timely treatments and a choice of doctors. Among those currently insured, 84% are satisfied with their healthcare. But if you're happy, don't get too comfortable: ObamaCare will force people to change their insurance.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says that the bill proposed by House Democrats would increase the federal deficit by $239 billion.

Team Obama says the CBO has failed to account for plans to reduce waste and cut services. Unfortunately, reducing waste would account for only about 1% of ObamaCare "savings." Any other potential savings would have to come from reductions in patient care services.

In its "keep the plan deficit-neutral" charade, the Obama Administration indicates that it is counting on reductions in patient care in the form of cuts to the Medicare health program for the elderly. However, the American Medical Association, in its controversial letter of support for the Democrats' plan, thanks House leaders for repealing $230 billion of Medicare cuts.

Team Obama is also counting on savings from prevention initiatives. Legislation pushed by Senate Democrats mentions "prevention" repeatedly. But as the CBO has repeatedly pointed out, prevention doesn't generally save money.

Obama tells us he wants a public plan comparable to the Federal Employees' Health Benefits Plan Congress enjoys. This notion is a farce. Congress has a high-choice cafeteria plan that is indeed paid for by the public, but it is not run by the government.

Congress enjoys very special perks the rest of us can only dream about. There is an attending physician on call exclusively for members of Congress, and Congress enjoys VIP access and admission to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Medical Center. Is Congress going to provide us with VIP treatment?

ObamaCare will implement an oppressive health care bureaucracy with eye-popping complexity that would make Rube Goldberg's head spin.

[ShockCity]

Are you saying this health bill is actually good for the country?

Not necessarily. What I am saying is that putting all of your efforts into bashing the President and making sure he fails is stupid. Why not work with your fellow Congressmen to come up with a better solution and actually do what you were voted into office to do.

[SubGod22]

He and others have come up with other ideas that keep getting completely rejected by the Dems. He isn't just saying no and has presented alternatives. Obama and his cohorts do need to be stopped on the massive spending and taxing they have planned for this country. In that respect, Demint is completely right.

[SubGod22]

Doctors Wage War Against Obama's Health Care Overhaul

The American Medical Association -- the nation's largest physician organization with nearly 250,000 members -- initially opposed the president's plan, but backed the House Democrats' version of the bill last week. That has led to an internal dispute that has resulted in some physicians leaving the nation's largest doctors' association.

Some doctors charge the bill will lead to inferior patient care as physician offices around the country triple their patient lists and become forced to ration care.

"This is war," Dr. George Watson, a Kansas physician and president-elect of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons, told FOXNews.com Thursday. "This is a bureaucratic boondoggle to grab control of health care. Everything that has been proposed in the 1,018 page bill will contribute to the ruination of medicine."

Obama Defends 'Rush' for Health Care Reform, Says 'Stars Are Aligned'

The stars are aligned," Obama said in prime-time news conference, and the American people are depending on Congress to reach a compromise promptly. He wants a deal by Congress' August recess.

"If you don't set deadlines in this town, things don't happen. The default position is inertia," the president said, singling out his critics for playing political "games" with health care reform.

[RoyalShock]

The default position is inertia."

Yeah, that's kinda the point.

:banghead:

I long for the days of gridlock in DC.

[SubGod22]

Employer Health Care Mandates: Taxing Low-Income Workers to Pay for Health Care

Congressional advocates of the latest health care reform proposal claim that it will not cost ordinary Americans more--the costs will be borne by "the rich" and by employers. After all, both the House and the Senate versions require employers who do not provide health benefits to pay higher taxes.

But the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently reported what economists have long known: Regardless of who is formally required to pay, the burden of these taxes and costs will ultimately fall primarily on employees through lower wages. An employer mandate does not give workers without health insurance something for nothing but rather forces them to purchase it out of their wages whether they like it or not--and no matter how low those wages are. Congressional rhetoric to the contrary, much of the burden of paying for an employer mandate will fall on ordinary Americans, and lower-income workers will be hit the hardest.

Medicaid Expansion: The Impact of the House and Senate Health Bills

[SubGod22]

House Democrats Block GOP Healthcare Mailing

Democrats: Forget GOP on Healthcare Vote

While White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki optimistically described an "emerging consensus on Capitol Hill" on Obamacare, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., interim leader of the Health Committee, said this week that an historic opportunity to expand coverage may be dimming — if GOP members continue to be coddled rather than bypassed.

Normally, Democrats have looked to majorities in the House and Senate to ramrod an agreement, but in the case of healthcare reform, moderate Republicans, as well as some fiscally conservative Democrats, are holding firm that President Barack Obama focus on cutting costs — before getting artful in ways to pay for the ambitious new program.

In Dodd’s view, according to a report in the Financial Times, the grail of bipartisanship may have at this point become counterproductive and a liability.

Blue Dog Democrats Now More Powerful Than Ever

Conservative-leaning Blue Dog Democrats are enjoying a power surge like no other in their 15 years, forcing President Barack Obama and their own party leaders to deal with their demands for cost cuts and tax restraints in overhauling health care.


The evidence is everywhere these days: Polls show the public shares their concerns about the cost of Obama's plan to insure all Americans who seek health coverage. Obama himself has spent valuable presidential time in private talks with these Democrats and in near-daily appeals for the public to prod Congress into action.


All the while, Obama and Democratic leaders have issued shout-outs to the faction of 52 House members, a sign of the clout Blue Dogs wield over some of the president's top priorities — none more than his plan to provide health care to virtually all Americans.

Obama Loses Control of Democrats on Healthcare

The problem: He may have cut his Democratic allies in Congress too much slack, both on policy decisions and political strategy. He underestimated the depth of ideological divisions on health care.

In the House, liberal committee chairmen drafted a bill that doesn't even represent a consensus of their own members, moderates and conservatives whose votes they need to pass it on the floor. In the Senate, Democrats headed off in different directions. One group produced a partisan bill; another keeps searching for a compromise with Republicans.

Reid: No Healthcare Vote in Senate Until Fall

Democrats Turn on Each Other as Healthcare Bill Stalls

In the House, Democratic leaders struggled to win over rebellious moderates and conservative rank-and-file party members who are demanding changes to the bill. The dispute has forced Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to postpone work on the legislation for three straight days while he negotiates.

[SubGod22]

Istook: Obamacare Will Ruin U.S. Medical Industry

Obama Says No, But Health Plan Will Cover Illegals

On July 17, Democrats successfully defeated a Republican-backed amendment, offered by Rep. Dean Heller of Nevada, that would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving government-subsidized healthcare under the proposed plan backed by House Democrats and President Obama.

Obama’s Health Plan Chillingly Orwellian

President Barack Obama's rhetoric July 22 summoned the memory of "1984," George Orwell's novel of a nightmarish future — where the slogan of the rulers is "War is peace; freedom is slavery; ignorance is strength."

The president assures us that he will cut healthcare spending . . . by adding $1 trillion to healthcare spending.

He says that "healthcare decisions will not be made by government" . . . while he sets up a new Federal Health Board to tell doctors what treatments they can offer and to whom and under what circumstances.

[rjl]

Sub, ever get any of your news from a source that isn't direct GOP propaganda?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsmax_Media

I could provide source upon source of independent information that flies in the face of everything you've posted, but I'm beginning to wonder what the point is. Have you ever challenged yourself to see things from the opposing view? The fact that you've started 90% of the political threads in the Shockernet Off-topic forum, where 90% of the posters share your same political ideology, would lend one to think "never."

Have fun, I suppose.

[SubGod22]

I forgot any site that doesn't say what you want it to say is GOP propaganda.

Now, would you like to actually address the issue for a change? I have a hard time recalling you actually being on point and only attack the news without offering anything to the actual discussion. The simple fact is that this plan they've been trying to shove through sucks and is going to cost much more than they're telling us and they have no clue how to pay for it. Gov't has no business being involved in business. Especially when it comes to my healthcare.

I'll now let you do what you do and not respond again until you actually bring something to the discussion. Do you actually support this healthcare plan? I'd like to hear why you do if that's the case. Whenever I hear supporters on TV they can't ever make a compelling case whatsoever. So I'd like to hear one.

[Shox151]

I would love to see some neutral articles on this hot topic or several other major issues with our gov't. But in all the searching I've done on the web from several sources its either Rah rah the presidents plan is great and you need this OR its poo poo, this is bad and here is why. What would be great was if there was a place that actually pro'd and con'd all the sticking points in this debate.

My personal opinion on this is, yes the health care industry needs some sort of reform to control costs. Should the gov't be in the business of HC, absolutely not.

edit ** if there has been an article or site posted in here that does that and I missed it, I do apologize.

[RoyalShock]

Question . . .

Can doctors and clinics offer their own "insurance" plans?

For example, I pay my doctor $200/yr. and my family receives a number of lower-cost services. Then I supplement that with an employer insurance plan for hospitalization and prescription medication.

That would allow doctors and clinics to begin competing against one another on cost and reduce their overhead (less insurance filings).

I've heard of dentists doing this type of thing.

[SubGod22]

As far as costs go, I think the CBO can be a decent source as it's an independent office that simply presents what they're given without political twists. They simply don't see how this plan will work and save money and actually say it will add hundereds of billions to the deficit.

Outside of that it's pretty hard anymore to find any source that isn't slanted in some way. But the simple fact is gov't has no business in our healthcare. Costs do need to be lowered but the system as a whole doesn't need overhauled as PBO and some in Congress seem to think.