It is an ungodly mess of errors, loopholes, and massive giveaways. When the American people find out what's actually in this bill, they will revolt. Congress and President Obama have no choice but to do better for health care than this bill.
How bad is the bill?
Forces you to pay up to 8% of your income to private insurance corporations -- whether you want to or not
If you refuse to buy the insurance, you'll have to pay penalties of up to 2% of your annual income to the IRS
After being forced to pay thousands in premiums for junk insurance, you can still be on the hook for up to $11,900 a year in out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Massive restriction on a woman's right to choose, designed to trigger a challenge to Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court
Paid for by taxes on the middle class insurance plan you have right now through your employer, causing them to cut back benefits and increase co-ays
Many of the taxes to pay for the bill start now, but most Americans won't see any benefits -- like an end to discrimination against those with preexisting conditions -- until 2014 when the program begins.
Allows insurance companies to charge people who are older 300% more than others
Grants monopolies to to drug companies that will keep generic versions of expensive biotech drugs from ever coming to market.
No reimportation of prescription drugs, which would save consumers $100 billion over 10 years
The cost of medical care will continue to rise, and insurance premiums for a family of 4 will rise an average of $1000 a year -- meaning in 10 years, you family's insurance premium will be $10,000 more annually than it is right now.
I could go on, but it should be clear: this is not reform. This is a con job.
Make no mistake, we need health care reform. But the Senate's idea of reform is a disaster, and will make things far worse than they are today.
Thanks for all you do.
Jane Hamsher
Firedoglake
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Only 8% of the public knows what is in this Senate bill.. sad that so many people are not following this, when it will affect them greatly for generations to come.
1. This bill is industry sponsored, pure and simple. It has almost nothing to do with benefiting US citizens, but it guarantees private industry profits, by forcing everyone to hand over money to a monopoly, which has little to no incentive to improve the health of the average person.
2. There is a huge difference between an OPTION to buy into a system like this and being FORCED to... Either there is a public option or universal coverage for everyone, based on taxes we already pay. Many countries tax everyone to provide universal coverage, with NO copays or separate forced premiums.
I am willing to pay more taxes for a public system, but I am not willing to be FORCED into paying a Big Pharma monopoly to become even more monopolistic. This monopoly has no choices within it, and is opposed to alternative healthcare, herbs, homeopathy, and herbalists for example. With this Senate bill Big Pharma gets to control and force everyone to stay inside the monopoly, making things even worse... It is much like a King demanding everyone pay tribute, on top of regular taxes, just to see a doctor that he gets for free. Remember, politicians do not have this system. They have their own free healthcare, with zero deductible. How come we cannot have their system?
Industry is saying they have WON.. over consumer rights.
Now comes the real battle, how to reconcile the House and Senate Bill. There is a small chance the final bill will have a public option, but less so now that the Senate passed their bill with no public option in it... Unless THE PEOPLE speak up now, they will be held hostage and sold into disease care Big Pharma slavery... forever.
I suggest everyone, who lives in the United States, watch this video or read the words. If you do not live in the USA please pass it to a friend who does. We may be forced to buy a product that many may not be able to afford.
Joe Lieberman can only hold reform hostage if we let him
Tell President Obama and Congress not to let Joe Lieberman gut health care reform. We're counting on them to fight for real reform. Call Congress at (202) 224-3121 and the White House at (202) 456-1111, then pass this video on.
Copenhagen's last-ditch summit to stop catastrophic global warming isfailing; only massive public pressure can save it. Sign the giant petition below - it may be the largest in history:
With three days to go, the crucial Copenhagen summit is failing.
Tomorrow, the world's leaders arrive for an unprecedented 60 hours of direct negotiations. Experts agree that without a tidal wave of public pressure for a deal, the summit will not stop catastrophic global warming of 2 degrees.
Click below to sign the petition for a real deal in Copenhagen -- the campaign already has a staggering 10 million supporters - let's make it the largest petition in history in the next 72 hours!Every single name is actually being read out at the summit -- sign on at the link below and forward this email to everyone!
An Avaaz team is meeting daily with negotiators inside the summit who will organize a spectacular petition delivery to world leaders as they arrive, building a giant wall of boxes of names and reading out the names of every person who signs. With the largest petition in history, leaders will have no doubt that the whole world is watching.
“We marched in Berlin, and the wall fell. We marched for South Africa, and apartheid fell. We marched at Copenhagen -- and we WILL get a Real Deal”
Copenhagen is seeking the biggest mandate in history to stop the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. History will be made in the next few days. How will our children remember this moment? Let's tell them we did all we could
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Please visualize all leaders working in harmony and agreement, with love and compassion for sustaining life and many generations into the future on the whole planet..
Repeat at least twice daily. This is the inner work that is needed.. The outer work is signing petitions, calling friends, politicians, etc..
In today's modern world of medicine the FDA just will not let companies that sell products make medical claims about them unless they have been tested at great expense, and approved as a drug. But this was not always the cas
A truly historic moment has arrived. The United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark began this week, and the eyes of the world are on the United States, gauging our commitment to a global solution to the greatest challenge facing our planet.
Leaders from across the world, including President Obama, will come together to forge an agreement that will guide international action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and lay the foundation for a new and prosperous 21st century clean energy economy.
In advance of his trip to Copenhagen, President Obama has already made a commitment to take on the climate crisis here in the U.S. -- now we have to show that the American people are ready to lead too.
The United States has a crucial role to play in any international efforts related to the climate crisis -- including the dialogue that continues in Copenhagen this week.
Our principles and our economic strength have traditionally made us a leader in the world community -- but we are also one of the largest emitters of global warming pollution. For these reasons, the rest of the world expects we will also play a leadership role in developing a climate agreement. Given the urgency of the challenge that is before us, the U.S. can't wait any longer.
Solving the climate crisis begins with action and commitment, right here at home. The best way we can prove our leadership and demonstrate that we are ready to take meaningful action is by passing comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation in Congress.
That legislation has passed the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate. We're not done yet, but we are closer than ever before -- and we are going to keep up the pressure to pass a bill until our leaders have done it.
This is an opportunity for America to regain the mantle of global leadership. We need to tell the world that the American people are ready for bold action on climate change.
Three decades ago, the relatives of an eleven-year-old Native girl in Minnesota forced her to have sex with a man in exchange for alcohol. The story was not front-page news. It was not the subject of a feature-length film with a happy ending. No one ..
Yesterday, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said that a "trigger" method of the public option has not been abandoned. A trigger will not provide the health coverage Americans need. Instead, it would only promise a vague public policy that would kick in at a certain point -- without a concrete plan.
Although triggers have been written into several laws, they have nearly always failed. A similar bill with a similar trigger option -- the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act from 1996 -- has reached the threshold where a trigger should kick in -- but neither the states nor the federal governments have implemented reforms. Don't do the same to the public option this year >>
A public option without a trigger is the only way we can rein in spiraling health care costs and give Americans the coverage they need. Even if you've sent a letter to your senators before, please sign again -- the more letters we can get into their offices the better during the bill's debate.
Senator Ensign and Senator Reid are voting this weekend on amendments to the health care bill. We must get the trigger method out of the Senate debate immediately so our senators can move on to the critical matter of getting a strong bill to the president's desk before the holiday recess.
"Wondering what is coal ash? Interested in what is being done about the threat coal ash poses to our drinking water supplies?RSVP to our online chat today!
Coal ash is the leftover waste from coal-fired power plants. Over 129 million tons are created each year, enough for coal ash to flow over Niagara Falls for three days straight! Coal ash contains arsenic, mercury, chromium and a slurry of other highly toxic pollutants. It is often dumped into huge ponds or unlined landfills and there are nearly 600 of these sites located in 35 states. But despite the obvious threat to public health and the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency has not set strong rules for the disposal of coal ash and ensure this health threat stays out of our drinking water supplies.
To find out what Earthjustice is doing about this problem, join Earthjustice Campaign Director Jared Saylor in an online chat and he'll answer your questions.
EVENT DETAILS Event:Waste Deep in Coal AshDate:Thursday, December 10th, 2009Time:11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ETLocation:Your computerRSVP:Click to RSVP!"
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My comment;
Coal is one of our cheap forms of energy, making up a huge portion of electricity generation.
When you turn on your lights, chances are, coal is making it happen, unless you CHOOSE
to sign up for GREEN, pollution free power. Every person using power is generating this waste,
both in the air, in the water, oceans, rivers and lakes, as well as soil. Coal toxins including
mercury poison all life on the planet, making it more acid and poisonous day by day...
We are slowly strangling all life on the planet in order to keep power on in our homes and factories.
That is a fact... Now, what is each of us WILLING to do to change this fact?
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