Obama to AARP: Health Care Reform “Not That Costly If We Start Making Changes Right Now”

“Obama stressed that the government is not going to force anyone into end-of-life decisions.”
Even though the term ‘end-of-life’ is used several times in that section of the bill. Page 425 of HR 3200 specifically uses the term “end-of-life”:
(E) An explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title.

Wasn’t this the argument for the highly sucessful bailout and stimulus package?

>>>>>>If elderly people are gullible enough to give thousands to telemarketers–they will certainly believe the most dangerous smooth talker in America.
I pray that most are too smart to believe him.
Say no to the pill-pusher.>>>>>>
This only happens to elderly people? You did give me my laugh for the day!!!:)

Posted by: Terry | Jul 28, 2009 5:27:19 PM
And will this nullify my Long Term Care insurance I’ve been paying for all these years?
Will physicians have to take a new oath? Physician do no harm seems like so much old fashioned mumbo jumbo somehow.

TCTimmy,
You quoted: “Obama stressed that the government is not going to force anyone into end-of-life decisions.”
Of course not. It will all be very mathematical. Your doctor will determine your QARY Index (Quality Adjusted Remaining Years) and then the government provided chart will determine what care you will be allowed. Once that is known, you will be allowed to live or die as you choose. Of course “pain pills” will always be provided. We are not cruel after all…

The delays in Congress may work to the president’s advantage. It gives him more time to appease Blue Dogs and moderate Republicans while bolstering public support for reform via events like the one today.

TCTimmy
You asked:And if you can convince someone to die with dignity, do you get bonus points added to your QARY Index?
——-
Hmmmm, I don’t know but that is an interesting question. If you can convince someone else to sacrifice some “remaing years of quality life”, can you get those added to your own QARY?
Or better still, can you donate some of your QARY to someone else? For example if your wife has a low QARY and needs a hip-replacement, can you give her enough of your QARY to get the surgery?
How about a QARY Cap and Trade market place. If I don’t want to get health care in old age, can I sell some QARY to an older person so I can live better now?

The truly disgusting part is that, when this woman called HER PRESIDENT with a VALID CONCERN, what did the arrogant jerk do?
HE “DEFLECTED THE WOMAN’S CONCERNS WITH A JOKE.” Any idiot who still believes this man gives a rat’s a- about “ordinary people” deserves to be the first in line for the blue pill. You know, the (pain)killer. Because, heaven knows, the “people” are getting to be a real pain to him. Hence the “frustration.” He’s not getting his way anymore. And he’s made it clear that he won’t tolerate defiance. That makes him very dangerous.

Obama is playing games and the AARP is helping him, end of life couseling wasn’t an issue. Not providing care for elderly because they aren’t deem worht the cost is. Obama backs the Daschle plan which thinks it is a good cost saving measure to not give hip replacement surgeries for elderly because they are old. Smoke and mirror pumpkins…

“News is that Republicans on the Hill are taking a renewed interest in finding out what role Mrs. Obama and her Chicago buds (Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Susan Sher) played in the University of Chicago Medical Center dumping scheme.’
______________________________________
Slimy allegations with nothing to back them up – is smear and fear still all you have?

Michelle and Valerie Jarrett worked together at the University of Chicago Medical center to develop a new plan to save the hospital money at the cost of POOR. Basically, the hospital would kick the poor who had no insurance out of the hosipital telling them to go hit the clinics down the street. Victims included a 12 year dog attack victim.

So Mr. Obama’s answer was to double it again in just 6 months?
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First of all, the national debt has NOT doubled in the past 6 months, so put that LIE away. You can check the figures at the national treasury website.
Second, I was pointing out that part of the reason the CURRENT budget IS high is BECAUSE it has to accommodate paying the interest on the national debt that doubled under George Bush.

I’d put up a bill with the public option plan, let the Blue Dogs vote it down and then stand for their next election on the basis of having trashed health care reform. To me it is undemocratic that a majority of the Senate (elected by a majority of the people) can’t pass something. They have to have 60% so that the minority Republicans and a few recalcitrant Democrats can trash the whole thing.
As I see it, if you don’t have a public option, all you’ll get is another Medicare Drug Plan. Remember that fiasco? Huge donut hole, skyrocketing insurance and drug prices after first year. That bill was pushed by the GOP after it was written by the health, drug and insurance industries to put billions in their pockets, and that’s what it did.
I think the majority of Americans, even the insured ones, know they will lose their health care or job (to keep from having to insure them) as soon as someone in their family gets an expensive illness. It happens to tens of thousands each month. They call it rescission.
Better no so-called reform at all if we can’t get a public health care option. Let those who are owned by the lobbies and the big companies vote it down, and then face the voters.

Second, I was pointing out that part of the reason the CURRENT budget IS high is BECAUSE it has to accommodate paying the interest on the national debt that doubled under George Bush.
Posted by: danita | Jul 28, 2009 7:51:59 PM
__________________________________
Credit where credit is due then. We’ll be sure to add Obama’s debt to whomever follows him as President. Because there WILL be one…

All his performance today did for me is get me to cancel my aarp membership.

How interesting will be your QARY index. QARY stands for Quality Adjusted Remain Years. It will not be determined by some faceless bureaucrat, but by your own heath care provider using a government provided matrix.
You receive QARY points in a number of different areas. Then all the data will be plugged into a computer which will calculate your QARY. It will be very fair, no matter who you are, or your station in life, the QARY will be the great equalizer.
Your QARY Index will be used at the caregiver level to determine what heath care options you will be allowed. Let’s say you are 72 and have a life expectancy of 5 years. But due to your current health, you physician, using the government matrix determines the last two years will be “low quality”. That will give you a QARY of 3. Let’s say you feel pretty good, but you have a consistent pain which could be fixed with an operation costing $30,000.
Let’s say the current government guidelines state that only $9,000 per QARY year can be spent. You will be denied the operation and be prescribed “pain pills”.
The QARY will be a lot like your credit rating. You will be able to influence it somewhat. So when you visit your doctor, make sure you are really upbeat and optimistic. And don’t dwell on too many minor aches and pains.
Good luck!

Really, do you want Mr. Obama’s hand on either the thermostat for the planet or the off/on switch of your life support?

Obama says that Medicare has worked well? In what universe? It is almost broke. Recipients need supplemental insurance to cover what Medicare doesn’t. And it doesn’t pay providers enough to cover their costs for those patients.

There are a lot of good reforms for health care, lets start with tort reform and loser pays. Lose the public option, medicare, medicaid, and the prescription program all cost more than double the predicted price, if you can’t do it in the free market you can’t do it at all. Who but the government would pay 400 dolars for a hammer, government never controlls cost, government run means disaster.

Don’t worry at all. The gov’t funded “waiting rooms” at the funeral homes will be very comfortable and fully equipped. There will be wall size video screens, soft music and amazing video. There will also be plenty of “pain pills.” If you remember the old movie “Soylent Green” you will get the picture.
You’ve had a great life, time to move along.

Bill Kristol’s comments on TDS were LOL hysterical. Jon Stewart did a great job with that moron! Rachel Maddow’s show tonight (7/28/09) discussed the idiotic comments and lies being made by conservatives to spin the truth on the need for health care reform.
The truth is that if we don’t implement health care reform, this country and the middle class are doomed. It’s simple! With the powerful insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies manipulating health care costs, the middle class will NOT be able to afford even the most basic health care in just a few short years. Without reform, we will end up with an upper class and a lower class — just like the poorest third world countries — we will have NO middle class! That’s scary, folks!

Just remember they are modeling this legislation after what they have in England and Canada. Anyone under age 59 it is great, but over age 59, you are out of luck. Just check it out. This is bad for Seniors. This will be the Seniors death warrant.

There was a moving in the late 60′s or early 70′s – one of the stars was the late Farrah Fawcett. It was called “Logans Run.” The whole premise of the movie was that you got to live to a certain age and (for the good of society) you were then “eliminated”.
In about 40 years who would have ever guessed that it would become true.
As a kid in the 50′s and 60′s I always dreamed about the endless possibilities of the future. We always though it to be this “star Trek”- like society, where man had grown better to help each other. Boy were we wrong!
The future now is all about money and trash and the welfare-state, and the people that live on this planet giving nothing to it, taking everything from it and do nothing at all.

jmb – there are many ways to reform healthcare that don’t involve taking away our freedom.
1) Dismantle Medicare – the creation of this bureaucratic, bloated, ineffective program was the beginning of our healthcare problems – during the transition give seniors $ to upgrade their supplemental insurance.
2) Allow insurance companies to sell products across state lines (and across county lines within states)
3) Give incentives to pharmaceutical companies to charge other countries the same as what they charge us – why should we fund the research for the rest of the world?
4) Encourage the legal system to throw out frivolous lawsuits and juries to award appropriate amounts instead of the millions they do now (I would say ‘tort reform’, but that is still too much government intervention)
5) Allow small businesses to form healthcare consortiums (with 501(c)3 status) to purchase insurance at reduced rates.

i thought that the reforms were supposed to reduce costs. now the president is saying it won’t cost as much as critics say. the president said from the beginning that the plan was designed to provide health care to the uninsured AND to reduce costs. the reduction in costs was supposed to be one of the big factors in fixing the economy. so, now the president is saying that it won’t cost as much as critics say. so, i guess that means it won’t actually save us money, which means 50% of his rational for the reform is out the window? obama sure is all over the place and pretty oblivious on this topic considering this is/was his main domestic priority.

jmb, you and I are not necessarily on the same page when it comes to seeing what “the truth” is. You wrote, “The truth is that if we don’t implement health care reform, this country and the middle class are doomed. It’s simple!”
We’re still on the margins of the same page here– we do need to implement SOME FORM of health care/health insurance reform. However, it is not SIMPLE, as you claim. I do not think implementing reform that includes a public option or that does not include tort reform, for example, will make the situation better. If you read the comments on this site alone, you will see that my perspective is not shared by everyone who wants reform.
You claim, “With the powerful insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies manipulating health care costs, the middle class will NOT be able to afford even the most basic health care in just a few short years.” This argument does not seem to hold up when you consider simple economics. You claim “powerful” big companies are “manipulating” costs, and will continue to ratchet them up until the middle class can’t afford their products. Does this make any sense as a business model? Do you truly believe that Big Pharma, for example, wants to price the majority of its customers out of the market? How does a company make the big bucks if no one can buy what it is selling? It is not in the economic interests of insurance and/or pharmaceutical companies to price themselves out of the market. So I think your “simple” observation is quite an exaggeration.
I would also take issue with your contention that it is those businesses easiest to demonize– insurance and pharmaceuticals– that are to blame for the rising costs of health care, which I quite agree we need to find a way to slow. It’s easier to rail against insurance companies than against the nice hospital where your family member’s life was saved. It’s easier to blame a faceless drug manufacturer than to blame the family physician who provides your care. The local hospital and family doctor are the faces of that part of the health care system for most of us, and the corporations you prefer to shift all the blame to do not have the personal connection to most people’s lives that garner them goodwill. I’m not saying that they have not played a major role in rising health care costs, only that it is a very complex situation and they are not SOLELY responsible.
I still want to see the inclusion of tort reform and a sustained effort to reduce defensive doctoring, much of which is driven by malpractice fears. I want to see the pooling of risk for small businesses and individuals, whether that is through co-ops or consortiums or whatever you want to call them. (but NOT through a public plan– that should be last resort, with a trigger, to be used only if the private sector does not come through as they should). But I recognize this is not simple, nor will it be easy. That does not mean it cannot be done.

He’s still pushing this thing as if we don’t do it NOW, we’ll be in more trouble than ever. And I thought Bush used scare tactics!

How would Obama know? He admitted the other day he does not know everything that is in this bill.
Just like John Conyers, democrat from Michigan who said it was ridiculous to expect them/him to read a 1,000pg document, yet he votes in favor for it even though he did not read it.

America is a superpower and world leader in technology. We are the wealthiest country in the world. So why is it that out of thirteen countries studied, when it comes to health care, the United States ranked an average of twelfth (second from bottom) in sixteen available health indicators? It is not the lack of technology and our lifestyle is not the worst, so why do we rank number twelve? Unfortunately, the U.S. health-care system itself is actually the major contributor to our low ranking and our poor health. Citizens who are not insured cannot easily get coverage if they have any pre-existing conditions and those who are insured often get declined or rejected when it comes time to receive payment. Others simply cannot afford the out-of-pocket deductibles and co-pays required to receive the necessary care. Many American citizens die or simply remain untreated and ill for years, before they expire. How can we stand by and let this happen? Big insurance and pharmaceutical companies directly profit by stopping the American people from “voting in” competition and of course, they have their own best interest at heart. They have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase politicians who are siding with them. As it stands right now, insurance companies, not doctors, are making the decisions regarding your health care coverage. Business 101 teaches these business mangers how to make a PROFIT, and that is what they are practicing (which is fine, I just don’t want them to continue making my health care decisions while contemplating how much money they need to make for their company that month). These big insurance companies stand to lose billions if the American people succeed in creating a Public Health Care option that would serve as a competitor and as an alternative insurance for those who wanted it. Yes, it might cost the richest people in our country (those earning over $350,000.00 a year) a few extra dollars, but I’m willing to let them make that sacrifice! We cannot afford to allow the Republican party to deny us affordable Health Care for ALL Americans. INSURANCE FOR ALL AMERICANS… it’s the right thing to do.

Obama said: “And certainly nobody is going to be forcing you to make a set of decisions on end-of-life care based on, you know, some bureaucratic law in Washington.” ”
What a liar. He obviously hasn’t read the bill. Why on earth should senior citizens be required to receive “end of life” COUNSELING? It’s in the bill. If one wants it, ok, but if they don’t why should my grandparents be forced? My family takes good care of them on our own! Why waste taxpayer money on this? No one wants to be told they’re going to die and be made to feel unwanted by society. In 1930′s Germany maybe but not in the USA!

AARP is a leftwing organization, I doubt that O’Babble will have any difficulty getting them behind his Socialist scheme.

If you figure QARY points on the house and senate, half of them would be dead by the end of the year. That’s why they won’t be on this program. Term limits NOW!

Does anyone, democrat or republican think that the government can administer ANY program efficently! This is just another way to grow government. I choose to take public transportation, therefore I do not pay automobile insurance. This is about choices, which our form of government assures us they we can have these choices.

I’m also curious about how this mandate to buy health insurance impacts those who avoid traditional western medicine and find treatment through alternative sources like herbal remedies, acupuncture, midwives (for home births and gyno care) and chiropractors (which usually aren’t covered by insurance). Also, what about those folks whose religion prohibits using western medicine — will they be forced to either buy medical insurance or face a fine?

There are so many complicated turns and twists. The average American can’t make heads or tails of it. One thing I can understand is supply and demand. Health providers will be bailing like lice off a corpse if a few million newly made citizens from our latin neighbors enrolled in the new national plan should effectively kill our health coverage.

“We’re not going to have a perfect health care system. It’s a complicated system. There are always going to be some problems out there. But we could be doing a lot better than we’re doing right now,” he said.”
Well, since the federal government caused most of the complications, perhaps they should just stay out of it. The complicated, contradictory,bureaucratic Medicare regs have caused most of this mess.

What I don’t understand is why we can’t get our hands on the bloomin thing to read it for ourselves. They say we won’t understand it. Well, why not? Inform the people, Wasington. Put this thing in plain English for the people to read and understand for themselves. Then they can contact their representatives with their thoughts.

The reason Obama is not giving any details is because he did not read it. On pg 29 it admits health care will be rationed, on pg 30 a government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get. Pg. 50 all non-Us citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free health care. Pg 59, the federal gov will have direct, real time acess to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer. Pg 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and Acorn) . Pg 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in Healthcare Exchange (total govt control ). Pg. 95: The govt will pay Acorn and Americorps to sign up individuals for Govt run healthcare program. We our just to pg 95, see anything you do not like. We are not being told the truth by the president. If Meicare is costing so much now what do you think it will cost when we add 50 million more to it. The govt can not even run a cash for clinkers for one week and not get it all screwed up. What happened to individual responsibility.

You are not going to have true health care reform until the cost of waste and corruption are addressed and I don’t hear that being mentioned at all. In fact I hear very few specifics of this plan. Is it that these people are not even reading it. These people are a little to concerned with the political ramifications
of an issue than the issue itself. As responsible Americans we should be calling for TERM LIMITS.

I’ve been throwing the AARP propaganda in the garbage. At one time I was a member but I won’t give them another dime now that I know they are supporting this Health Care Reform garbage that the government is trying to force down our throats. Why does our government refuse to listen to what the American people want? They will do whatever they want with no regard to what millions of people are asking for.

Please eveyone wake up, this man has not been transperant or told the truth since he took office. He is getting to the point of being out of controll; there is no free lunch. Wake up while we still have half a chance

There is no real plan, there is no real focus in the proposed Healthcare reform. There is simply >1Trillion USD in band-aids. It is time to stop spending money attacking insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and most of all doctors! Instead focus on where we are really losing money and that is in the overall inefficiencies of the Healthcare system. If hospitals (which account for most of our national healthcare cost >1/3 versus drugs which are <10% (with 70% of all drugs filled with generics already) learned to run themselves more like an insurance company, or drug company, or manufacturer of many of the durable goods they use in the Hospital we would save a trillion dollars instead of spending it. It is time to spend some money teaching hosptials about better operaitonal efficiency (i.e. Lean, and Six-Sigma strategies). It is time to stop pointing fingers and start funding real lasting solutions, a real cure for Healthcare, not more band-aids.

I have resigned by membership in the AARP and returned my membership card. I also advised them that I will not renew my membership with their organization in the future because of their support of the Obama Health Care Reform Program that is in line to be forced on the American people. I have express to AARP that they should represent their members, not the government take over of our medical program and the doctor patient relationship. We all need to let everyone know how we feel about this.
J.Gary

Welcome to the New Democrat Progressive Communist Party. Kiss it good-bye. You that voted for this idiot have got what you deserve. The only problem, you took the rest of us with you. Keep the tea parties going and watch out. The good old government are after your guns. They are sneaky. 535 people are telling the USA what to do. Stand-up..Be heard..Stop this Congress….

I will resign from membership in AARP, the organization is not working in our best interest.

as i write this i will be dropping out of aarp . do u know the va nas a death book that Obama has resuscitated Your life choices great . i went to war for this usa vote everyone out of office dam

cancel my plans to sign up with aarp. the seniors need to be able to trust someone , aarp and the government are not trustworthy.

i believe im going to look over different health for my mother nobody should have to wonder if whats going too happen w meds everythin else