Sunday July 26, 2009, 7:29 pm
Health Care Reform and You

The health care reform bills moving through Congress look as though they would do a good job of providing coverage for millions of uninsured Americans. But what would they do for the far greater number of people who already have insurance? As President Obama noted in his news conference last week, many of them are wondering: “What’s in this for me? How does my family stand to benefit from health insurance reform?”

Many crucial decisions on coverage and financing have yet to be made, but the general direction of the legislation is clear enough to make some educated guesses about the likely winners and losers.

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF REFORM? The House bill and a similar bill in the Senate would require virtually all Americans to carry health insurance with specified minimum benefits or pay a penalty. They would require all but the smallest businesses to provide and subsidize insurance that meets minimum standards for their workers or pay a fee for failing to do so.

The reforms would help the poorest of the uninsured by expanding Medicaid. Some middle-class Americans — earning up to three or four times the poverty level, or $66,000 to $88,000 for a family of four — would get subsidies to help them buy coverage through new health insurance exchanges, national or state, which would offer a menu of policies from different companies.

IS THERE HELP FOR THE INSURED? Many insured people need help almost as much as the uninsured. Premiums and out-of-pocket spending for health care have been rising far faster than wages. Millions of people are “underinsured” — their policies don’t come close to covering their medical bills. Many postpone medical care or don’t fill prescriptions because they can’t afford to pay their share of the costs. And many declare personal bankruptcy because they are unable to pay big medical debts.

The reform effort should help ease the burdens of many of them, some more quickly than others. The legislation seems almost certain to include a new marketplace, the so-called health insurance exchange. Since there will be tens of millions of new subscribers, virtually all major insurers are expected to offer policies through an exchange. To participate, these companies would have to agree to provide a specified level of benefits, and they would set premiums at rates more comparable to group rates for big employers than to the exorbitant rates typically charged for individual coverage.

Under the House bill, the exchanges would start operating in 2013. They would be open initially to people who lack any insurance; to the 13 million people who have bought individual policies from insurance companies, which often charge them high rates for relatively skimpy coverage; and to employees of small businesses, who often pay high rates for their group policies, especially if a few of their co-workers have run up high medical bills. By the third year, larger businesses might be allowed to shift their workers to an exchange. All told, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 36 million people would be covered by policies purchased on an exchange by 2019.

IS THERE MORE SECURITY FOR ALL? As part of health reform, all insurance companies would be more tightly regulated. For Americans who are never quite certain that their policies will come through for them when needed, that is very good news.

The House bill, for example, would require that all new policies sold on or off the exchanges must offer yet-to-be-determined “essential benefits.” It would prohibit those policies from excluding or charging higher rates to people with pre-existing conditions and would bar the companies from rescinding policies after people come down with a serious illness. It would also prohibit insurers from setting annual or lifetime limits on what a policy would pay. All this would kick in immediately for all new policies. These rules would start in 2013 for policies purchased on the exchange, and, after a grace period, would apply to employer-provided plans as well.

WHO PAYS? Current estimates suggest that it would cost in the neighborhood of $1 trillion over 10 years to extend coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans. Under current plans, half or more of that would be covered by reducing payments to providers within the giant Medicare program, but the rest would require new taxes or revenue sources.

If President Obama and House Democratic leaders have their way, the entire tax burden would be dropped on families earning more than $250,000 or $350,000 or $1 million a year, depending on who’s talking. There is strong opposition in the Senate, and it seems likely that at least some burden would fall on the less wealthy.

Many Americans reflexively reject the idea of any new taxes — especially to pay for others’ health insurance. They should remember that if this reform effort fails, there is little hope of reining in the relentless rise of health care costs. That means their own premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses will continue to soar faster than their wages. And they will end up paying higher taxes anyway, to cover a swelling federal deficit driven by escalating Medicare and Medicaid costs.

WHO WON’T BE HAPPY? Healthy young people who might prefer not to buy insurance at all will probably be forced to by a federal mandate. That is all to the good. When such people get into a bad accident or contract a serious illness, they often can’t pay the cost of their care, and the rest of us bear their burden. Moreover, conscripting healthy people into the insured pool would help reduce the premiums for sicker people.

Less clear is what financial burden middle-income Americans would bear when forced to buy coverage. There are concerns that the subsidies ultimately approved by Congress might not be generous enough.

WHAT IF I HAVE GOOD GROUP COVERAGE? The main gain for these people is greater security. If they got laid off or chose to leave their jobs, they would no longer be faced with the exorbitant costs of individually bought insurance but could buy new policies through the insurance exchanges at affordable rates.

President Obama has also pledged that if you like your current insurance you can keep it.

Right now employers are free to change or even drop your coverage at any time. Under likely reforms, they would remain free to do so, provided they paid a penalty to help offset the cost for their workers who would then buy coverage through an exchange. Under the House reform bill, all employers would eventually be allowed to enroll their workers in insurance exchanges that would offer an array of policies to choose from, including a public plan whose premiums would almost certainly be lower than those of competing private plans.

Some employers might well conclude that it is a better deal — for them or for you — to subsidize your coverage on the exchange rather than in your current plan. If so, you might end up with better or cheaper coverage. You would probably also have a wider choice of plans, since most employers offer only one or two options.

WILL I PAY LESS? Two factors could help drive down the premiums for those who are insured. In the short-term, if reform manages to cover most of the uninsured, that should greatly reduce the amount of charity care delivered by hospitals and eliminate the need for the hospitals to shift such costs to patients who have private insurance. One oft-cited study estimates that cost-shifting to cover care for the uninsured adds about $1,000 to a family’s annual insurance premiums; other experts think it may be a few hundred dollars. In theory, eliminating most charity care should help hold down or even reduce the premiums charged for private insurance. When, if ever, that might happen is unclear.

In the long run, if reform efforts slow the growth of health care costs, then the increase in insurance costs should ease as well. And if the new health insurance exchanges — and possibly a new public plan — inject more competition into markets that are often dominated by one or two big private insurance companies, that, too, could help bring down premiums. But these are big question marks, and the effects seem distant.

WILL MY CARE SUFFER? Critics have raised the specter that health care will be “rationed” to save money. The truth is that health care is already rationed. No insurance, public or private, covers everything at any cost. That will not change any time soon.

It is true that the long-term goal of health reform is to get rid of the fee-for-service system in which patients often get very expensive care but not necessarily the best care. Virtually all experts blame the system for runaway health care costs because it pays doctors and hospitals for each service they perform, thus providing a financial incentive to order excessive tests or treatments, some of which harm the patients.

An earlier wave of managed care plans concentrated on reining in costs and aroused a backlash among angry beneficiaries who were denied the care they wanted. The most expensive treatment is not always the best treatment. The reform bills call for research and pilot programs to find ways to both control costs and improve patients’ care.

The bills would alter payment incentives in Medicare to reduce needless readmissions to hospitals. They would promote comparative effectiveness research to determine which treatments are best but would not force doctors to use them. And they call for pilot programs in Medicare to test the best ways for doctors to manage and coordinate a patient’s total care.

Any changes in the organization of care would take time to percolate from Medicare throughout the health care system. They are unlikely to affect most people in the immediate future.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR OLDER AMERICANS? People over 65 are already covered by Medicare and would seem to have little to gain. But many of the chronically ill elderly who use lots of drugs could save significant money. The drug industry has already agreed to provide 50 percent discounts on brand-name drugs to Medicare beneficiaries who have reached the so-called “doughnut hole” where they must pay the full cost of their medicines. The House reform bill would gradually phase out the doughnut hole entirely, thus making it less likely that beneficiaries will stop taking their drugs once they have to pay the whole cost.

Not everyone in Medicare will be happy. The prospective losers are likely to include many people enrolled in the private plans that participate in Medicare, known as Medicare Advantage plans. They are heavily subsidized, and to pay for reform, Congress is likely to reduce or do away with those subsidies. If so, many of these plans are apt to charge their clients more for their current policies or offer them fewer benefits. The subsidies are hard to justify when the care could be delivered more cheaply in traditional Medicare, and the subsidies force up the premiums for the beneficiaries in traditional Medicare to cover their cost.

Reformers are planning to finance universal coverage in large part by saving money in the traditional Medicare program, raising the question of whether all beneficiaries will face a reduction in benefits. President Obama insisted that benefits won’t be reduced, they’ll simply be delivered in more efficient ways, like better coordination of care, elimination of duplicate tests and reliance on treatments known to work best.

The AARP, the main lobby for older Americans, has praised the emerging bills and thrown its weight behind the cause. All of this suggests to us that the great majority of Americans — those with insurance and those without — would benefit from health care reform.

Sunday July 26, 2009, 7:53 pm

Nurses on Health Care : Don't Let Up On The Pressure Now, We Need to Remind Them We're Watching and Waiting


AFSCME Nurses urge Congress to support President Obama and pass H.R. 3200. Now. Turn up the heat and keep up the pressure. Make sure you continue
calling and emailing your representatives. Don't let the lobbyists be the only ones whispering in their ears




Nurses Praise House Vote to Permit State Single-Payer Laws
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/07/18-1

A Real Win for Single-Payer Advocates
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/07/18-5


Canada achieved Universal Health Care one Province at a time. The Federal gov't. was obliged to comply.



Be informed.

READ the bill:

\Short version: http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/AAHCA-BILLSUMMARY-071409.pdf

Full test (scroll down to Learn More, then Read Bill Text): http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1864

Help HuffPo with investigation of same: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-palevsky/hundreds-join-together-to_b_237999.html


Just Go Read It
Everyone who's yapping about the CBO chief's comments about health care costs, should read this piece by Jon Cohn. Another one of those cases where -- shockingly -- it really helps to understand the policy details and not just the political atmospherics.



If Congress Fails to Pass the Obama Health Care Plan

The next time a Member of Congress tells you that he'd love to vote for the President's health care reform package but he represents a tough swing district, remind him about all the ex-members of Congress who said the same thing in 1994 and were retired by the voters to resume their careers selling insurance or practicing law.

Single Payer: Bold, Affordable, Humane
If you believe that every American has the right to quality, affordable health care, then the only affordable means to achieve that goal is through a properly financed, single-payer national health insurance program.

Follow the Money on Health Care Reform "Right now we are the only nation on earth that barters human life for money." -- Geri Jenkins, RN, co-president of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee in her testimony Wednesday, in the one Congressional hearing at which single payer has been on the table


Health Care For All : What If ... We Stripped Away the $13 Billion Insurance Company Profits ...
President Obama's health care plan will get rid of exorbitant corporate profits, bloated CEO bonuses, endless denials, and skyrocketing costs while giving voters more choice and making private insurance companies behave better.



Here is how your Representatives/Senators are voting on the public option.

http://standwithdrdean.com/where_congress_stands?chamber=&party=&state=&hc_status=&commit=Filter

Contact info, included.



Senate Report Finds Insurers Wrongfully Charged Consumers Billions
24 Jun 2009 Health insurers have forced consumers to pay billions
of dollars in medical bills that the insurers themselves should
have paid, according to a report released today by the staff of
the Senate Commerce Committee. The report was part of a multi-pronged
assault on the credibility of private insurers by Commerce Committee
Chairman John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.). It came at a time when
Rockefeller, President Obama and others are seeking to offer a
public alternative to private health plans as part of broad health
reform legislation. Health insurers are doing everything they
can to block the public option.



Public Health Plan Could Save Money Faster: Policy Group
A nationwide health insurance exchange that includes a Medicare-like government option could save $1.8 trillion more than if only private plans are offered, a prominent private U.S. health policy group said on Wednesday.


Medicare for All (Single-Payer) Reform Would Be Major Stimulus for Economy 2.6 Million New Jobs,$317 Billion in Business Revenue

First-of-Its Kind Study: Medicare for All (Single-Payer) Reform Would Be Major Stimulus for Economy 2.6 Million New Jobs,$317 Billion in Business Revenue, $100 Billion in Wages


TransGriot: 10 busted myths about the Canadian health care system.

Americans Who've Used Canada's Health-Care System Respond to Current Big-Lie Media CampaignMy wife and I used Canada's health care system for years, and we've been incensed by the lies we've heard back here in the U.S. about how it's supposedly broken.

Monday July 27, 2009, 2:23 pm
From: "Health care system and health care reform in Germany"


http://www.bmg.bund.de/cln_160/nn_1169696/EN/Gesundheit/gesundheit__node.html?__nnn=true


This is the official website of the Ministry of Health and Social Matters in Germany

Quote:

"However, a health care system is not a "normal" market. After all, it
places even more importance on care standards and service quality than
other sectors do. Here, too, Germany scores high on quite a few counts:

* It is far easier to obtain out-of-hours medical attention here than
in most other countries and, very importantly, this is so regardless of
income or insurance status.

* Wait times for hospital care ... are shorter here than elsewhere.

Also, no such thing as "Preconditions" exists in Germany!

And

"Universal coverage

From now on, all citizens in Germany will enjoy health insurance
coverage. From 1st January 2009, and for the first time in German
social history, all residents are obliged to take out health insurance
unless they are otherwise covered. Persons who had lost their insurance
cover must return to their most recent insurer. This applies to the
statutory and the private insurance system alike. "

Addendum: If someone cannot pay for his own health insurance (minimum
wages apply), the state pays the premiums. This is a legalized RIGHT
for citizens of Germany!

Don't opt for less, Americans! Don't let them tell you, it can't be done - because it can!

If we can, then you can, too. YES, YOU CAN!

Tuesday July 28, 2009, 8:40 am
Great ways to pay for this. All drug companies take federal dollars for research and use military reasearch. For any research done that uses federal resources, that drug must be reasonably priced.
Another way would be to put a 3% retail tax on imported items. Thats only 3 dollars on a 100 spent at walmart. It would be a huge help in paying encourage buy american, and would help the few manufactures left in the US.

Wednesday July 29, 2009, 10:14 am
Sherbet is this going to be a guessing ame. or is it going to be multiply choice, when it comes to choosing a programme...?

Wednesday July 29, 2009, 11:15 am

What is so hard about using some logic here????

47 million un insured
20 million under insured
fast food companies and insurance companies making profits hand over fist. Bushes tax cuts for the rich still in effect

Subtract 10 million poor/indigent/mentally ill, etc, who are uninsured and will have to get free care = 37 mill un-insured who can pay.
18.5 million can pay $50/mo = 925,000,000
18.5 mill can pay $100 = $1,850,000,000
20 mill under insured will switch and can pay $100 = 2,000,000,000
That is a grand total of $47,750,000,000

That is FORTY SEVEN BILLION, SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS IN PREMIUM PAYMENTS PER YEAR.

That does'nt count the millions who'll switch from private companies if they can pay $100 or 200 per month and have their entire family covered even with pre-existing conditions.

I've also been advocating a 1penny tax on the fastfoods, foods/beverages w/ high fructose cs, and every bottle/glass of alchohol, but in thinking about it more, we should have a 1 penny federal sales tax on EVERY purchase. I can hear the opponents shouting about making the poor poorer, but my statement is 1 cent on each purchase NOT on every dollar or hundred dollars. From candy bars to fruit to big screen tv's to your house. 1 cent on everything. I'm willing to pay $50.01 for my full tank of gas if I can get affordable health care. How about y'all?

Wednesday July 29, 2009, 12:35 pm
What about the people that it will not cover?

Thursday July 30, 2009, 9:59 am
Thank you Blue~!

Friday July 31, 2009, 5:39 pm
They Opposed Medicare Too

Rep. Rush Holt,(NJ)

Although Medicare now is widely seen as a successful program for helping Americans access health care, it was very controversial when it was
passed. The same arguments against health care reform today were made then.

Friday July 31, 2009, 6:08 pm
Who, in the eyes of Canadians, is THE most popular Canadian? Tommy

Douglas, the father of the Canadian Medicare System. Watch this video.



http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1463312787?bctid=1463302784



(Also posted at www.lftwings.org.)

Saturday August 1, 2009, 12:44 pm
Bu$h/RepubliCON$ do NOT want you to know that they cut health care for our veterans:


chucknyc I'm a fan of this user


permalink

This may be a bit off point, but I want to clarify something. Many people think that we veterans are getting some of the best 'free' health care in the world. First off, it is not free. It was part of the contract with America that we were offered when we agreed to defend this country.

Secondly, there are more than five million veterans, including myself, who do not have access to VA health coverage because we make too much money. Very few people know this dirty little secret. In 2004, President Bush and his congressional lap dogs quietly attached a rider to a bill that not only cut the VA budget but also restricted VA health care to those who make less than $28,550. I was never notified and I assume that financial data was made available to the VA through our tax returns. Imagine my surprise when I went to the VA hospital in Manhattan for followup treatment ten days after an emergency room visit only to be told they had 'erred' in treating me ten days earlier because I make too much money.

President Obama's attention to this egregious matter resulted in the income threshold being raised in June to $39,820 for a veteran with no dependents. That's an improvement, to be sure, but it still excludes millions of successful veterans who have bravely joined our nation's military when those in the Bush administration did everything they could to avoid it.

Saturday August 1, 2009, 12:58 pm
13 Republicans Voted To Allow Single-Payer Health Care In States
13 Republicans on the House Education and Labor Committee offered their support for an amendment, offered by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), that allowed states to set up single-payer health care systems.


Health Care Reform: 450,000 Doctors Can't Be Wrong
The U.S. has a catastrophically fragmented health care system that provides incentives for sick care instead of prevention. The system is in dire need of reform -- reform to save lives, to save families and money for patients and the health care system.

Sunday August 2, 2009, 3:47 pm
Linda Bergthold: So it Begins -- the August Attack on Health Care Reform

I received a mass email that exhorted the recipients to pray because of the disaster to befall on us if health care reform is passed. I went through every charge and answered it.
.....
Page 29 lines 4-16 -- Your Health Care is RATIONED.
WOW. NOT AT ALL! THIS LANGUAGE SAYS THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO PAY MORE
THAN A SET AMOUNT EACH YEAR FOR YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE. RIGHT NOW YOU
ALL HAVE MAXIMUM AMOUNTS THAT YOUR INSURANCE WILL PAY ANNUALLY AND THEN
YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN. THE NEW LAW WILL PROTECT YOU FROM HAVING TO PAY
MORE THAN SET AMOUNTS. YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY!!
Page 50 Section 152 -- Health Care will be provided to ALL non-U.S. citizens, illegal or otherwise.

THERE IS NOTHING ON PAGE 50 OR SECTION 152 ABOUT ILLEGALS. ILLEGALS
WILL NOT BE COVERED. THIS SECTION PROHIBITS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST
PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THEIR RELIGION OR GENDER OR ANYTHING ELSE.
.....

Page 59 lines 21-24 -- Government will have direct access to your bank accounts for electrical funds transfers.
NOT THE GOVERNMENT. AGAIN. YOU WILL HAVE TO APPROVE AN ELECTRONIC (NOT
ELECTRICAL!) FUND TRANSFER IF YOU WANT TO PAY YOUR PREMIUMS THAT WAY.
IT WILL BE THE PRIVATE INSURERS WHO PROCESS THIS, LIKE BLUE CROSS,
AETNA, ETC. HOW DO YOU DO IT NOW?

Page 65 Section 164 -- A payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their families in unions and community organizations (ACORN).
NO. THIS IS A PROGRAM WHERE THE GOVERNMENT WILL HELP EMPLOYERS WHO
PROVIDE RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS TO PAY FOR THOSE BENEFITS IF THEY
EXCEED A CERTAIN AMOUNT. IT'S A REINSURANCE PLAN THAT LARGE EMPLOYERS
REALLY LIKE BECAUSE IT ALLOWS THEM TO CONTINUE GIVING THEIR EMPLOYEES
RETIREE BENEFITS WHEN THEY RETIRE BUT NOT BREAK THE PRIVATE EMPLOYER'S
BANK. UNIONS OPERATE HEALTH PLANS JUST LIKE PRIVATE EMPLOYERS SO OF
COURSE THEY ARE INCLUDED. NOTHING SAID ABOUT ACORN HERE.

Page 72 Lines 8-14 -- Government is creating a Health Care
Exchange to bring private health care plans under government control.
IT IS TRUE THAT GOVERNMENT WILL HELP TO REGULATE THE EXCESSIVE ACTIONS
OF PRIVATE INSURERS WHEN THEY DENY YOU COVERAGE BECAUSE OF A
PREEXISTING CONDITION OR BECAUSE YOU WERE SICK. BUT DON'T WE ALL WANT
THAT? EVEN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY HAS AGREED TO THAT. THE EXCHANGE IS A
WAY TO KEEP OUR PRIVATE INSURANCE SYSTEM WORKING, BUT NOT ALLOW THEM TO
DENY YOU INSURANCE OR CHARGE YOU AN ARM OR A LEG. HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO
BUY PRIVATE INSURANCE BY YOURSELF? IF YOU DID, YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU
WERE EVER SICK, THEY CAN REFUSE TO SELL IT TO YOU OR CHARGE YOU A LOT.

SEE NY TIMESSUNDAY WITH THIS QUOTE:
Lawmakers of both parties agree on the need to rein in
private insurance companies by banning underwriting practices that have
prevented millions of Americans from obtaining affordable insurance.
Insurers would, for example, have to accept all applicants and offer a
minimum package of benefits, to be defined by the federal government.
Nearly all Americans would be required to have insurance. Lawmakers
also agree on the need to provide federal subsidies to help make
insurance affordable for people with modest incomes. For poor people,
Medicaid eligibility would be expanded.

Page 84 Section 203 -- Government mandates ALL benefit packages for private Health Care plans in the Exchange.
THERE WILL BE DIFFERENT PLANS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM, BASIC TO
COMPREHENSIVE DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU WANT TO PAY. RIGHT NOW, IF YOU ARE
A MEDICARE BENEFICIARY AND CHOOSE TO BUY A SUPPLEMENT OR "GAP" PLAN,
YOU CHOOSE PLANS FROM A MENU AND THE BENEFITS ARE MANDATED AND
CONSISTENT.

Page 85 Line 7 -- Specifications for Benefit Levels for Plans = The government will ration your Health Care.
NO RATIONING HERE. YOU CHOOSE THE BENEFITS YOU WANT TO PAY FOR. ONCE
YOU HAVE YOUR PLAN, YOUR DOCTOR DECIDES WHAT TREATMENTS YOU NEED.
"BENEFITS" MEANS YOU GET HOSPITAL SERVICES AND LAB AND X-RAY. IT
DOESN'T DETERMINE WHEN OR HOW OR WHY. JUST LIKE THE PLANS YOU HAVE NOW
THROUGH YOUR EMPLOYER OR WHICH YOU BOUGHT YOURSELF. NO DIFFERENT.

Page 91 Lines 4-7 -- Government mandates linguistic appropriate services. Example -- translation for illegal aliens.
YES, LINGUISTIC SERVICES. NO, ILLEGAL ALIENS. NO SERVICES TO ILLEGAL
ALIENS. THIS IS A BLATANT LIE. THERE IS NO MENTION OF ILLEGAL ALIENS
HERE AT ALL.

Page 95 Lines 8-18 -- The government will use groups i.e.,
ACORN & Americorps to sign up individuals for Government Health
Care plan.
THE BILL SAYS "APPROPRIATE ENTITIES" WILL HELP WITH ENROLLMENT. DOESN'T MENTION ACORN OR AMERICORPS.

Page 85 Line 7 -- Specs of Benefit Levels for Plans. AARP members -- Your Health Care WILL be rationed.
NO MENTION OF AARP. NO RATIONING. YOU GET TO CHOOSE THE LEVEL OF BENEFITS YOU CAN AFFORD. ....S SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THEM AND CHOOSE APPROPRIATELY.....




Read more.....

Sunday August 2, 2009, 8:32 pm
If you want the real hard facts on health care, here's the plain and simple truth... studied and researched ... to try and put together a mythbuster, this is more comprehensive than even I would have done. We already have people standing in long lines just to see a doctor, we already have denied/rationed care.

UnitedHealthCare is making record breaking profits and under the guise of The Lewin Group
are advising congress. They actually have health scare talking points like the one about killing granny.http://mediamattersaction.org/factcheck/200907300008

There will only be change when those unaffected are as outraged as those who are.

http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62

More myth debunking is taking place at http://healthcarereformmyths.org, a site maintained by dedicated citizens with nothing to gain but possibly some intellectually honest debate





See also, http://www.pleasecutthecrap.com . Handy reference against the rumors.

Monday August 3, 2009, 10:45 am

Republican Right Wingers : The Faces of Ignorance and Hate


Philadelphia, Pa, August 2: This afternoon, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, I saw the face of ignorance and hate--and it wasn't pretty.

Monday August 3, 2009, 4:50 pm
Robert Kuttner: Faint PraiseWhy is our health system so massively inefficient? Because it is run by and for private insurers, aided and abetted by for-profit drug companies and hospitals. Even if we insure more people, as President Obama hopes to, a fragmented, profit-oriented system dominated by these interests simply cannot yield the most efficient use of health outlays.

Monday August 3, 2009, 5:44 pm

Geithner Hints Dems Will Move Ahead On Health Care Without Republican Support - If They Must


When I think of how much the Bush administration shoved down the country's throat on strictly partisan votes, it makes me crazy when Democrats start talking about being bipartisan. This kind of talk by Tim Geithner on This Week with Geo. Stephanopoulous

Monday August 3, 2009, 11:32 pm
So, thanks to Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Speaker Pelosi says she will bring a vote to the floor on single-payer after the recess. Are you all ready to make those phone calls and write those letters?


Nancy's contact info..http://speaker.house.gov/contact/

Send our speaker an e-mail of encouragement.

Tuesday August 4, 2009, 2:56 pm
* The Democratic National Committee released a pretty hard-hitting statement this afternoon, slamming Republicans for "inciting angry mobs" or "rabid right-wing extremists."

* On a related note, "Town Halls Gone Wild" continued today in a variety of locations.

* CBS News offers a good example of how not to report on the right-wing harassment strategy.

* Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D) of Texas hasn't changed his mind
at all after his run-in with a right-wing mob: "I am more committed
than ever to win approval of legislation to offer more individual
choice to access affordable health care. An effective public plan is
essential to achieve that goal."

* What's more, Doggett told CNN
today, "I'll tell you, unless more Americans who are suffering under
the insurance companies get out there and express their opinion, write
their letter to the editor, call these talk shows -- if they don't get
their message out the insurance companies will win in September and we
just cannot let that happen."

* HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius reminds folks of "the reason we're even having this conversation" about reform in a WaPo op-ed.

* Nice to see Blue Dog Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) have a few unkind words about George W. Bush and health care today.

Wednesday August 5, 2009, 10:13 pm
Grassley Uses Kennedy's Brain Tumor To Spread Fear Of Rationing

Thursday August 6, 2009, 1:48 pm
HCAN Playbook For Thwarting Town Hall Protesters
How to deal with the crazy GOPers.

Thursday August 6, 2009, 3:11 pm
Contrary to Steele’s Claim, State Republicans Are Actively Promoting Town Hall Mobs and Violence

Thursday August 6, 2009, 10:34 pm




Tampa Town Hall On Health Care Reform Disrupted By Violence
(VIDEO)

Police officers were called to calm down an unruly crowd outside a health care reform town hall meeting in downtown Tampa, Florida on Thursday evening, according to local news reports.

Angry protesters screamed, yelled and banged on windows as officers hurried to guard the entrances to the facility, where U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor was trying to discuss the various health care reform proposals being debated in Congress. One photojournalist said that a fistfight broke out inside the building, reports WTSP.

Many of the hundreds of protesters said that they had been inspired by a conservative activist group promoted by Fox News host Glenn Beck and some received emails from the county Republican party, according to the St. Petersburg Times.....

The Tampa Tribune reports that some protesters carried racist caricatures of President Obama and added details of more fights and scuffles.....

Monday August 10, 2009, 3:45 pm

Health Insurance Reform Reality Check


Get the facts about the stability and security you get from health
insurance reform instead of listening to industry and right wing hype.

Monday August 10, 2009, 6:31 pm

$1.2 TRILLION WASTED : The 6 Biggest Ways Our Health Care System Throws Away Money


More than $1.2 trillion spent on health care each year is a waste of money. That's half of the $2.2 trillion the USA spends on health care each year, according to the most recent data from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute

Wednesday August 12, 2009, 10:55 am
Chris Matthews had on the Ron Paul supporter who showed up with a handgun to the New Hampshire town hall on health care led by President Obama. On Hardball yesterday, he really
laid into the man -- a Kramer lookalike named William Kostric -- with some tough questions about just what the hell he hoped to accomplish:

Matthews: Why did you bring a gun to a meeting with the President of the United States, given the violent history of this country with regard to presidents and assassinations? Why did you bring a gun to a public event with the president? You know the history of this country. If you love this country and its history, you know we've had a problem with people with guns and presidential events. Why did you bring a gun to an event with the president?

... OK, you brought a sign that says, 'The tree of liberty has to be watered with the blood of tyrants,' and you're carrying a goddamn gun at a presidential event. I think those things make people wonder what you're about.

Matthews gets to the core point eventually:

Matthews: I'm gonna ask you: What do you bring to this discussion about health care? By bringing a gun, and that sign that you quote Jefferson from, what does that bring to a debate that this country's engaged in -- and we're looking at your gun right now, and your sign on there -- what did you -- and it's loaded, you pointed that out -- what are you doing to help this debate?

The best that Kostric can do is babble incoherently -- rather Kramerlike, actually -- about "showing the other end of it" so you can "pull people in your direction." He manages to finally blurt out that he actually thinks everyone would have been safer at the Town Hall event if everyone there had been packing heat.

Of course, that begs the questions of whether President Obama would have been safer, doesn't it?

Especially with crackpots like this in the crowd.

Wednesday August 12, 2009, 11:46 am

Health Insurance Reform Reality Check
Get the facts about the stability and security you get from health insurance reform instead of listening to industry and right wing hype.


* Nice work from the LA Times fact-checking common health care claims. (thanks to reader T.C. for the tip)


For some factual info on Health Care Reform go to:
http://HealthActionNow.org
http://Healthcare­factcheck.­com

The only way to fight this is with facts

Wednesday August 19, 2009, 2:53 pm
BE THERE ... 9/12/2009 in D.C.


The place to organize for the March on DC
I just wanted to remind everyone that you can connect with other people in your state by joining our ning social networking site. JOIN NOW and find a bus to ride in on, or a caravan of cars coming from your area. Connect with others in your state and work together to spread the word!
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Saturday August 22, 2009, 11:28 am

"Many promoters of health-care reform believe that people have an intrinsic ethical right to health care—to equal access to doctors, medicines and hospitals. While all of us empathize with those who are sick, how can we say that all people have more of an intrinsic right to health care than they have to food or shelter? Health care is a service that we all need, but just like food and shelter it is best provided through voluntary and mutually beneficial market exchanges. A careful reading of both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will not reveal any intrinsic right to health care, food or shelter. That's because there isn't any. This "right" has never existed in America."

Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey in arecent Wall Street Journal op-ed on health care.

Whole Foods Backlash & Boycott: Bloggers Outraged Over CEO's Anti-'ObamaCare' Column