The Note: Pitches and Presses — Obama Steps Up Pressure on Health Care
Email By RICK KLEIN Who’s got something new to say? Surely not members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, not four days into hearings that have provided neither light nor heat. Certainly not Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who’s doing her job in not saying much of anything (since it’s no longer even news — or even relevant — that she’s underwhelmed in her debut). And maybe not Democrats on health care, who are marching deeper into legislative weeds, and have the scratches to show for it. Timelines may not be settled, but this is a race against political clocks: the August recess and the election cycle are making the own pace. (The 2009 cycle is already upon us, with President Obama campaigning with Gov. John Corzine, D-N.J., and Vice President Joe Biden appeared with gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds, D-Va., on Thursday.) More broadly, health care reform is shaping up as a race against President Obama’s poll numbers: If he can’t get something done when he’s at 60 percent-plus, will he be able to coax Congress into action at 50? 45? Among the many problems at this stage of hard choices: The stakeholders — those who claimed those seats at the table — are starting to ask for their checks. And the president can’t offer up a bipartisan group — or even a united party — to coax them to stay for another few rounds. “New fault lines are opening up everywhere you look,” Time’s Karen Tumulty writes. “It’s all a sign that the season for hard decisions has arrived. . . . If the President wants to accelerate the process, he may have to abandon his original hands-off strategy and start getting more deeply involved.” Into the danger zone: “A party-line Senate committee vote on legislation to remake the nation’s health care system underscored the absence of political consensus on what would be the biggest changes in social policy in more than 40 years,” Robert Pear and David M. Herszenhorn report in The New York Times. “But the partisan split signified potential trouble ahead. Republicans on the panel, who voted unanimously against the measure, described the idea of a new public insurance option as a deal-breaker.” “Senators said the White House had been sending mixed signals. For months, they said, it emphasized the need for a bipartisan bill. But in the last 10 days, one Democrat said, the message has been: ‘Hurry up. If you have to go without Republicans, it’s not the end of the world.’ ” We’re back to one-on-one White House meetings: President Obama sits down separately with Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, at the White House, before headlining a fundraiser and campaign rally for Corzine, and raising money for the Democratic National Committee. (To pay for more ads that take on Nelson and Snowe?) Thursday night at 7:30 pm ET, the president speaks at the NAACP’s 100th anniversary conference. What to lean on? “Americans are divided over how they want health care fixed and whom they trust most to do it, refusing to forge a consensus for or against President Barack Obama as he and Congress march toward a historic overhaul,” Steven Thomma writes, on the new McClatchy-Ipsos Poll. “The lack of a popular consensus underscores the risks and stakes as Congress rushes toward proposals to provide coverage to the uninsured and rein in soaring costs for those who do have coverage.”
“The number of Americans who approve of the way Obama is doing his job also dropped, to 57 percent, a 7-point decline from early June and the lowest of his presidency that McClatchy-Ipsos has recorded.” Plus: “The Diageo/Hotline Poll of 800 U.S. registered voters conducted by FD from July 9-13, 2009, finds that the percentage of American voters who approve of the job President Obama is doing has dropped nine points to 56%.” As for those with seats at the table: “Democrats ratcheted up an offensive against health insurers Wednesday, proposing $100 billion in new fees on the industry, as health-care legislation took another step forward in the Senate,” Laura Meckler writes in The Wall Street Journal. “That new fee would come on top of reductions the committee already plans in payments to the industry through the Medicare Advantage program, likely to top $100 billion on their own, officials said. The companion House bill introduced this week included $156 billion in Medicare Advantage reductions over a decade.” “There were signs that the debate was moving into a more bruising phase in which insurance companies, hospitals and others fight to shape the details of legislative provisions that affect them,” Noam M. Levey and Peter Nicholas report in the Los Angeles Times. The light hand — still: “On a day when lawmakers battled over competing health care reform bills, President Barack Obama declined to identify the approach he prefers, but insisted significant reform needs to happen quickly,” ABC’s Kate Barrett reports. President Obama, to ABC’s Dr. Tim Johnson: “What we can’t do is pretend that somehow with all the waste that’s in the system — and everybody acknowledges that — that we can just keep on doing business as usual and somehow bend the curve on health care costs in a way that not only provides affordable coverage to families but also makes sure that we don’t have the federal budget blowing up.” As for urgency of action — there’s this timeline on the component of a new primary-care physician network: “We’re not going to solve all of them immediately overnight, and that’s why I think we have to anticipate this program’s not going to start up probably until 2013. That gives us four or five years to start developing programs to solve this problem,” the president said. A tighter pitch for a $1-$1.5 trillion bill: “You’ll save money,” President Obama said Wednesday, per ABC’s Yunji de Nies and Sunlen Miller. How many senators feel this way? “The president agrees with me,” Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., tells Politico’s Carrie Budoff Brown and Patrick O’Connor. “He wants a bipartisan bill.” The sale: “It’s selling that view to the public that’s tough. As the right drums up opposition to the plan, it is competing against an aggressive White House, a still-brawny Obama political operation and well-funded progressive groups that are using the Internet, television and other techniques to mobilize grass-roots support,” the AP’s Alan Fram writes. Picking up the pace: “On the defensive over the economy and health care, the White House is shooting back with a double-barreled message for its critics and skeptics,” Politico’s Jonathan Martin writes. “To Republicans who say the stimulus isn’t working: Back off. To moderate Democrats wary of health care reform: We’re watching you.” Plus: Harry and Louise themselves hit the Hill at 11 am ET Thursday, alongside advocates, activists, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. On the Sotomayor hearings — the last day of questioning from senators Thursday. Time to look to the next nomination already? “After three days of testimony, Judge Sotomayor appeared to have made no major mistakes that would jeopardize her confirmation in a Senate dominated by Democrats. So both sides are trying to use the Judiciary Committee hearings to define the parameters of an acceptable nomination in case another seat opens up during Mr. Obama’s presidency,” Peter Baker and Charlie Savage write in The New York Times. “Several legal experts said Judge Sotomayor’s testimony might make it harder for Mr. Obama to name a more liberal justice next time,” they write. “She repudiated the president’s assertion that ‘what is in a judge’s heart’ should influence rulings and rejected the liberal idea that the Constitution is a ‘living’ document whose meaning evolves with society. . . . And she dismissed any role for foreign law in deciding cases, an influence some liberal legal experts argue should be considered.” “On the third day of her confirmation hearings, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor today declined to respond to senators’ questions asking her explain her personal views on hot button social issues such as abortion and gun rights hearings,” per ABC’s Ariane de Vogue and Theresa Cook. “If repetition were the qualification for a Supreme Court justice, Sonia Sotomayor would already be on the high court,” Naftali Bendavid writes in The Wall Street Journal. “By midafternoon, even two Democrats on the panel sounded frustrated by her long, elusive replies,” The Washington Post’s Amy Goldstein, Paul Kane and Robert Barnes report. Heard enough about the “wise Latina” comment yet? “I didn’t ask about it because so many other people asked about it and how many times can you beat a dead horse to death,” Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, tells ABC’s Jake Tapper for his ABC News Shuffle podcast. Gail Collins channels Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.: “Judge, to get back to that “wise Latina” speech, I want to know if you think judges should allow their prejudices to impact decision-making. For instance, if I were a plaintiff before your court, would you be less inclined to rule in my favor because my middle name is Beauregard?” And Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.: “Before we get to my questions, I would like to tell you several anecdotes about my own interesting history. Did I mention that I used to be chairman of this committee?” Bloomberg’s Margaret Carlson charts the day of two women in what’s still a man’s world: “If Sotomayor makes it through her grilling without what Graham called a ‘meltdown,’ a female hazard if ever there was one, she will slip gently into that good quiet that is the Supreme Court, a perfect place for the best student, no worse for the wear and tear. [Hillary] Clinton’s fate will likely be different. Hers may have been a Machiavellian appointment. A potential enemy, she’s been brought far enough inside the tent to be seen as disloyal should she criticize the administration, but kept far enough from the center to be a diplomatic heavyweight.” That CIA program was almost operational: “CIA officials were proposing to activate a plan to train anti-terrorist assassination teams overseas when agency managers brought the secret program to the attention of CIA Director Leon Panetta last month, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter,” Joby Warrick reports in The Washington Post. John Woo defends warrantless wiretapping: “As we confront terrorists who remain intent on attacking the U.S., using weapons we cannot anticipate, we should be skeptical of those who insist that we radically change the way this country has always made war,” he writes in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson is on the Hill Thursday, in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on the Bank of America deal: “In prepared remarks for a Congressional hearing obtained today by ABC News, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson admits telling Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis that the Federal Reserve could remove the bank’s board members if they backed out of their proposed merger with Merrill Lynch last December,” ABC’s Matthew Jaffe reports. “However, Paulson emphasizes that Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke never asked him to indicate ‘any specific action the Federal Reserve might take.’ “ This from ranking Republican Darrell Issa, R-Calif., as part of his opening statement Thursday: “Mr. Paulson claims that an attempt by Bank of America to back out of the deal would have ‘threatened the stability of our entire financial system.’ . . . It is a threat to the foundations of our free society when government officials, acting in the midst of a crisis, use dire predictions of imminent disaster to justify their encroachment on our individual liberty and the rule of law.” And with President Obama hitting the Garden State, the first lieutenant governor of New Jersey just might be . . . a reality show winner. (No, seriously.) “With the days dwindling until Gov. Jon Corzine announces a running mate, his short list for lieutenant governor includes a few of the usual Democratic suspects — and one outside-the-box candidate,” per the Star-Ledger’s Claire Heininger and Josh Margolin. “Randal Pinkett, a past winner of the Donald Trump reality show “The Apprentice” who has never held elected office, is being considered by Corzine, who along with his opponents must make a decision by July 27. This is the first year New Jersey voters will elect a lieutenant governor.”
The Kicker: “You’ll have lots of ‘splainin’ to do.” — Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., channeling Ricky Ricardo after Judge Sonia Sotomayor offered a hypothetical about shooting the senator. (Both Coburn and Sotomayor were laughing.) “Didn’t the White House prepare you?” — Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., in mock incredulity that Judge Sotomayor couldn’t recall the episode of “Perry Mason” where the defense attorney lost.
Today on the “Top Line” political Webcast, live at noon ET: Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Politico’s Jonathan Martin. Follow The Note on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thenote For up-to-the-minute political updates check out The Note’s blog . . . all day every day:
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If the horrible incompetence, unkindness and lies my family has suffered for 18 days at a hospital in Tennessee was made public, every American would get behind Pres. Obama’s healthcare plan.
Posted by: Sandra | July 16, 2009, 8:28 am 8:28 am
hurry hurry lets rush another 1.5 trillion through before those you know voters the ones that have no clue whats going on around them we need to hurry before they wake-up.
Posted by: natale from mass. | July 16, 2009, 8:30 am 8:30 am
sandra thats the problem right their you by into because he grabs you when you are vulnerable.
Posted by: natale from mass. | July 16, 2009, 8:34 am 8:34 am
You can blame the information the medical industry is gettting (my guess is originating from pharmaceuatical and insurance companies) for the decline in support. A family member works in the industry and you should see the politically biased, doomsday tone of the seminar her boss just attended and shared with her staff. Very transparent, it trudged out a lot of pending changes in the next few years (although they have no way of knowing what those will be at this point) and even went so far as to directly “blame” Democrats. If these evil powerful industries are fighting it so hard, it must be for the good.
Posted by: iamwomaninMI | July 16, 2009, 8:37 am 8:37 am
Dear President Bush:
“It is a threat to the foundations of our free society when government officials, acting in the midst of a crisis, use dire predictions of imminent disaster to justify their encroachment on our individual liberty and the rule of law.”
Sincerely,
Darrell Issa, R-Calif
Posted by: Will Rogers - heaven | July 16, 2009, 8:43 am 8:43 am
Baloney! No support has been lost for public healthcare. More than 70% of this nation supports it. It’s time to steamroll the republicans and lobbyist.
Posted by: rightbehind | July 16, 2009, 8:44 am 8:44 am
We don’t need a government health care plan. We already have one and it’s a flop (medicare). Now you lame people want another 1.5 trillion failure? Wake up and smell the coffee.
Posted by: jhhen | July 16, 2009, 8:45 am 8:45 am
Trillions more down the hole and no end in sight. Obama and every democrat in the country just can’t wait until we’re just like the rest of the European socialist nanny states where government takes care of everyone from cradle to grave. What a shame the US has devolved into a nation of spineless “citizens” who demand more of the government than they personally give.
Posted by: afkbrad | July 16, 2009, 8:45 am 8:45 am
theirs other ways to get cheaper insurance without goverment becoming a insurance co. they should work on that if their so smart as they say they are you would have other ideas.and what happens if it doesnt work and it doubles maybe triples what then always look at scenerios that could happen.dont rush thats bad leading. oh yeah anybody ask if the illegals are part of this?
Posted by: natale from mass. | July 16, 2009, 8:46 am 8:46 am
This president is out of control. He is telling congress that it is my way or the highway and I have never seen this work for long. Remember when Obama was running for pres. he said he wanted to unite the country. Be honest and ask yourself how he has done that? He hasnt and he really has helped divide the country worse than Bush. He will go down as one of the worse president ever.
Posted by: billy bob | July 16, 2009, 8:47 am 8:47 am
rightbehind – I completely agree with you. We still want healthcare reform. I HOPE the insurance and pharmacuticals are mad and scared. And we WANT a government option. Medicare and medicaid (depending on the State) are the two EASIEST plans to work with as a provider. The few who say Medicare is a ‘flop’ have probably NEVER worked as a provider and dealt with Private Insurance plan administrators.
Posted by: Nichole | July 16, 2009, 8:53 am 8:53 am
Actually more of the country is united under President Obama. Instead of the 51% – 49% split of the Bush years, we have a 70% – 30% split (some say 75/25). You 25% pillow biters for Bush have lost all credibility with the rest of us. You don’t offer any solutions – just rhetoric, rhetoric, rhetoric…
Posted by: Nichole | July 16, 2009, 8:56 am 8:56 am
The government, democratic or republican, has proven repeatedly that is unable to handle to manage; Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. What makes people think that the government is able to handle socialized medicine? Dress it up with whatever pretty label you want to put on it, it’s still socialized medicine. This flies in the face of the principles that this country was founded on. My prayer is that the people who want socialized medicine MOVE to countries where socialized medicine is practice rather than make the rest of us conform to the poor judgement of a few. This is our country’s biggest problem is that we have become so unfair to the majority by catering to a few (not minority, literally a few).
Posted by: john | July 16, 2009, 8:59 am 8:59 am
At least a few Republican senators are listening to the vast majority of Americans who want substantial health care reform. They also understand that the House GOP’s 4 page stunt is not even close to a viable option.
Posted by: matt | July 16, 2009, 9:00 am 9:00 am
Change is good. The healthcare industry needs change. Now it is broken and the only way to fix it is through change. With the majority of the country backing the change only those who want to maintain the status quo and become stagnant are the ones complaining.
Posted by: raggmopp | July 16, 2009, 9:00 am 9:00 am
I would say I lean more towards the Democrats on most issues, however this bill sucks!!, Something DOES need to be done about the cost of healthcare and Health insurance but this plan isn’t the answer, it’s a plan to help insurance companies make billions more in profit a year, the plan will mandate that everyone will have to have insurance and if they can’t afford it the government will subsidize them, The insurance companies probably love this plan, then they can collect more money and deny more people!, not only that I’m sure you will have to claim any subsidies on your taxes as income.
I am not anti-Obama, but I am against this current bill, and a few other things he has done, no president can please everyone all the time, however to those who complain about Obama and congress all the time, the ONLY way this country will see real change is if you stop complaining to message boards and start complaining to your congressman and senators, whether for a bill or against a bill, people need to start writing so that those in DC will hear what we want, if the majority want the bill then they know they should vote for it or lose that cushy job come election time, if the majority are against, they better vote no. Don’t say that it doesn’t work because it does, and has, Bush’s immigration bill was shot down due to the number of complaints!!
Posted by: d90 | July 16, 2009, 9:02 am 9:02 am
Only the well off who can afford great health insurance and the selfish repub politicians (who also have great health insurance) are against health care reform. They don’t care if Americans lay dying in the streets because they can’t afford preventive care or expensive treatments for ailments. They are the only groups who are against reform. If health care reform does not pass, what does that say about our country when it comes to human rights and dignity? We will have no right whatsoever to go into other countries and preach to them on how to treat their people when we don’t treat our own people fairly here at home.
Posted by: Ron | July 16, 2009, 9:03 am 9:03 am
Noone I knows is behind this joke of a plan. I keep meeting people that are hurrying to get surgeries they need because they dont think they will be able to if this thing goes through. One woman is having 3 surgies this year. Does that sound like someone who has faith in this plan? I’m ready for ABC to report the truth and quit brown nosing the President.
Posted by: Tina | July 16, 2009, 9:06 am 9:06 am
It’s becoming more obvious to me that the people who support this fiasco are the one’s who will not be paying for it. That’s typical of the leaches of society who expect those who work hard to support their lazy lifestyles.
Posted by: jhhen | July 16, 2009, 9:07 am 9:07 am
So what’s wrong with socializing a system that has failed the majority of citizens, and one of the major cannons that have blown holes in the US economy? Affordable and effective health care is a right all of us should have. How many more hours of suffering in emergency rooms will it take for congress to finally do what is needed? Why hasn’t the congress looked at the innovations out there that would replace the losing “fee for service” system that has ruined the country’s medical economy? Whatever is done should at least have a public option. Come on congress stop counting your campaign money and have the courage to do what is right.
Jimmy Mac
Posted by: jmczzz | July 16, 2009, 9:18 am 9:18 am
jhhen- When did Republicans ever start to think that hard work somehow equates to more money? Do you not think medical residents worked hard during their 8 + years of schooling only to come out >100,000 dollars in debt to earn approx. $42,000/year before taxes and work 80 hrs per week? Do you personally know the people on this board who support Obama’s healthcare plan? Do you personally know how many hours per week they work or how much money they make? What a stupid comment to make. Most of the people I know are physicians or scientific researchers who support Obama’s plan. They make anywhere between $30,000-$400,000/year. They work more than 40 hours per week and their tax dollars will go to funding healthcare. The only problem most of us have is that private insurance companies will still play a role at all.
Posted by: MSF | July 16, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am
I don’t believe anyone is rushing to get surgeries this year out of fear of healthcare reform. Unless of course, they are medically unnecessary and extremely expensive – main culprit driving up costs for everyone – not law suits but unnecessary, ineffective medication and extravagent surgery…
Posted by: Nichole | July 16, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am
Absolutely no government healthcare. We can’t afford it, and it will be a failure like Medicare and Social Security. The smartest thing any entity can do if they borrow money from this government is to pay it back as fast as possible because it will become like a parasite that will suck the life out of it. I do not want the government messing with my healthcare. They have already ruined my children and their children’s future. No Obamacare!!!
Posted by: Gina | July 16, 2009, 9:20 am 9:20 am
The Obama Public Health Option is one of the dumbest ideas ever advanced by politicians. If the aim was truly to cover the uninsured, then just cover the uninsured. We don’t need to eliminate or create a significant risk of eliminating private insurance for people who already have private insurance. Plus, giving someone who makes $88,000.00 government subsidies(as this bill does) is a waste of taxpayer dollars because such people can afford to pay for their health insurance.
Posted by: ConstantXI | July 16, 2009, 9:31 am 9:31 am
Public health care and amnesty for illegal aliens. Three guesses where this it going.
Posted by: Oonogil | July 16, 2009, 9:37 am 9:37 am
Well, I see all of the people that don’t even pay for healthcare are all for it! What, welfare line too long?
Posted by: maniteu | July 16, 2009, 9:40 am 9:40 am
Aint gonna happen. This calculates to a 57% tax for my New York colleagues as well as California. America is not warming or even thawing out from the way the stimulus was managed previously and anyone who has had that entrepreneurial spirit that has created a business with more than 5 employees knows more, in a street sense, than this administration. Whoever votes for this in the Senate will be on the radar of dispatch. IMO
Posted by: Seymour | July 16, 2009, 9:47 am 9:47 am
Obama’s plan is NOT reform. It is good business for the insurance companies. Obama’s plan will require everyone to BUY insurance at 10% less than we pay today. The people loose. Insurance companies win.
Posted by: CW | July 16, 2009, 9:55 am 9:55 am
Obama’s popularity is souring fast. Republicans remain the loyal opposition with every proposal of theirs shot down in committee by the Dems. Both Republicans and Dems Congressmen have good personal health care plans. Obama and the Dems are determined to push the public option. Over time Congress to win votes will end up putting money into the public option because it will be too expensive we know Dems just love to buy votes. So another trillion will go into it and the private plans will go under. Then we will have the rationed care which was the aim of this whole mess. The one MRI in NY will be inundated for years. Doctors and hospitals will go under due to the meager repayments from the public option, like in Medicare. Disbelief? Read the article in the NY Times about a hospital in Mass suing over too low reimbursement from medicare. And Mass is suppossed to be the model. Already the legislature cut funding because it costs the state too much.
Posted by: jschmidt | July 16, 2009, 9:58 am 9:58 am
Some of the loudest critics here just want to continue with the current plan as if nothing is broken. Maybe for you it is not broken but for the millions of others it is broken. Come up with a plan that will satisfy most of the people. Right now you are in the minority.
Posted by: raggmopp | July 16, 2009, 9:59 am 9:59 am
Congress should mandate their membership participate in any public health care option, then and only then will I bleieve it is a good idea!
Posted by: Downwithsocialism | July 16, 2009, 10:04 am 10:04 am
I still don’t know why people stand behind this man, he is ripping this country apart—–he doesn’t want to be president, he wants to be king and rule America—he is not for the people he is against people !!!!!!!!!
Posted by: countrygirl_74 | July 16, 2009, 10:14 am 10:14 am
Whats going to stop the socializing of other things after healthecare? We all know that anything the government tries to control or run always ends up costing more and bigger then they always project, is full of red tape and takes forever to get accomplished! Eve Obama admitted they underestimated the woes of the economy and you want him to run healthcare when you know they will “understimate” that too and will raise taxes to cover it. I will tell you why, agencies and departments in Government resist having budgets cut and always strive to make their budgets bigger to give themselves job security. I know, I shamefully work in government and see this going all around me and its sickening!
Posted by: Mr. Twister | July 16, 2009, 10:24 am 10:24 am
Don’t worry if it appears that it may not pass they will just attach it to a military bill like Sen. Leahy did on Monday with the Pedophile Protection bill.
Posted by: Notworking | July 16, 2009, 10:32 am 10:32 am
Well Its no wonder Public support is dropping for Healthcare when you have Fox News and Republicans putting FEAR In people saying its socialized Medicine, you know those Republicans and their fear mongering ways! they dont care if People have Healthcare or can Afford Healthcare, they are on one Mission to tear down the President and the Democrats no country first or people first with Republicans its all about them regaining power and why what do they do for us?
Posted by: Angie in PA | July 16, 2009, 10:37 am 10:37 am
MESSAGE TO MR. O’BABBLE and the rest of the Democrat-Marxist Party : Keep your hands off my health insurance / health care.
Posted by: Ron | July 16, 2009, 10:39 am 10:39 am
GET IT DONE… all this waiting, debating is killing me.
Posted by: im... patient | July 16, 2009, 10:52 am 10:52 am
congressman John Fleming has a Resolution #615 that would require members of Congress to put themselves and their families under the same health plan that you and your family will be forced to use. He has ask members to put their money were their mouth is and sign up. He currently as 42 republicans names on the list but NO DEMOCRATS HAVE AGREED TO SIGN. And that’s just fine with you uh? The stupidity is astounding.
Posted by: worriedmom | July 16, 2009, 11:00 am 11:00 am
d90, why is it only republicans are rich and don’t need health insurance? I am neither R or D, nor am I rich, yet I have excellent health insurance, as do most Americans. How many Americans really lay dying in the streets? We already have the safety net of Medicare for those folks. Quit the emotional rant that the democrats are feeding you. Think for one minute about democratic motives. Is this potentially about controlling (ie. making money) another aspect of our lives? Is it the idea that we Americans are not smart enough to make our own decisions? Or is it creating a supportive net for illegal aliens? Whatever the motives, you can bet that greedy politicians are not here to help you!
Regarding the REST of the World, I could give a rat’s ### what they think. WE know WE are the most generous country, bar none.
Posted by: Because | July 16, 2009, 11:00 am 11:00 am
We need tort reform, but your President, won’t discuss that. He will screw all of you to protect lawyers like himself. I am sicken by your lemming attitude. Someone said “I support this President but I don’t support most of his policies”, just stamp idiot on your forehead already!
Posted by: worriedmom | July 16, 2009, 11:05 am 11:05 am
This Government proposed alternative is a bald faced lie. Insurance companies can’t compete when their competitor is the one making all the rules. When their competitor is the one deciding how much they will be compensated. A recent poll showed over 70% of Americans are satisfied with their health coverage. Why are we destroying that system instead of tweaking it? Health care can be reformed in the private sector and it won’t cost us Trillions to do it. Tort reform, real competition between insurance companies, etc. I’m not softening on the government plan and I’m calling my senators today!
Posted by: Gary | July 16, 2009, 11:11 am 11:11 am
Arizona state just passed a Nullification of Health care bill that will go before the citizens for a vote. Other states are getting behind this too. Where is the story on this?
Posted by: Gary | July 16, 2009, 11:14 am 11:14 am
We need health care reform just like we had to have the spending bill. Remember the urgency? The gov’t has spent something like 10-15% of the $787 billion. So, let’s just cram health care reform down the taxpayers’ throats and we’ll see what happens. Don’t bother giving anyone sufficient time to read the legislation before calling for a vote on it (just like the spending bill). What’s more important, paying off political favors or doing what’s right for America?
Posted by: S | July 16, 2009, 11:18 am 11:18 am
How can you throw your freedom, your country away so easily? President Ebola has not brought people together. The anger that is building within me, a middle aged mother of three is beyond my understanding. Never in my life did I think I would want to throttle the people that voted for this ########.
I have lost friends over this. I won’t go without a fight. I will stand up with my fists and fight for my children to live in the America that should be; not this socialist, communist state that is coming. Where are the patriots? Lets help each other and return this great land to the America that our forefathers dreamed of.
Posted by: worriedmom | July 16, 2009, 11:19 am 11:19 am
Will this new bill require businesses to give insurance to part-time employees? If so, I am totally against it because we will lose jobs. Think about it; if you have 40 hours of work to be done and you have to give insurance to part-timers, are you going to hire 2 people @20 hours, or 1 person @40 hours? Also, $250,000 payroll is not very large for a business at all and still puts them in the “small business” category. Think about this as well (sit down if you have to, I know I’m asking a lot) $250,000 was the standard used for a “wealthy family” and now it’s the standard for a “large business”???
Posted by: softball_iff | July 16, 2009, 11:28 am 11:28 am
Not everyone who needs help with healthcare is “lazy” and “won’t pay for it”. Take me, for instance, a medical resident. I have been placed on bedrest from my 80-hour-per-week job due to an unexpectedly complicated pregnancy. I may lose my health insurance because of my inability to work despite the fact that I will need intensive medical care and will likely have a quarter-million-dollar hospital bill when all is said and done. However, after delivery, I’ll be back to work as a resident physician, paying my taxes and being a good parent. I just need a little help until then, since I may not qualify for COBRA. If I don’t qualify, should I have to file for bankruptcy because of an unexpected health problem? All my adult life (actually, since I was 15) I have worked and paid taxes, except for during medical school. I’m sure there are plenty of hard-working people like myself who just need some temporary assistance due to a health crisis.
Posted by: Mallory | July 16, 2009, 11:32 am 11:32 am
MEDICARE costs 7 times its projected cost. It is bankrupt. When has the government ever in history been able to do anything but make an utter mess of things. This government run health care is going to be much worse than the current system and that is not a reason to change. It is poorly thought out, and economic disaster, and doesn’t even address the cause of the high cost of medical care. You will notice that Obama never addresses the reasons why things are so fouled up. It is because of government involvement from MEDICARE, MEDICAID and a myriad of other fraud laden programs. Latest estimates are that MEDICARE spend over $1B per year on fraudulent care claims.
Posted by: Byron | July 16, 2009, 11:36 am 11:36 am
America has been the greatest country in the world for centuries, and now, there are those who want to make it just like those wonderful European socialist countries. They want their health care system, but they won’t move there to get it. They want us workers to pay for it, like we do their food, housing, and civil services.
I have not met one person who is for this “Heath Care Reform”, But then, If Obama and his administration keep going the way they are, I;ll probably meet them in the same soup kitchens where these polls find the “70%” of Americans that approve eat.
Posted by: Jimmy Gray | July 16, 2009, 11:50 am 11:50 am
It is so strange to me that it’s all about what Obama and the Congress want. How about what the American people want?
How about taking some time to find out how to really deal with the health insurance issue and then proceeding verus jamming through the plan that Obama wants? Will he have this insurance?
Posted by: Kate | July 16, 2009, 11:51 am 11:51 am
Mallory, I’m sorry for your current situation. But what is happening to you is LIFE! Life happens, sometimes people have to do the hard thing. You may have to file bankruptcy, but your life and hopefully your freedom will go on. We the people cannot protect you against all of the things bad that may happen to you in your lifetime. I have had my share. I have gone through much strife, I know it’s tuff love and it’s very sad sometime. I don’t like to see anyone suffer, but I won’t force other people to give anymore of what they themselves work for to provide for THEIR family to pay for my hardships. Why do you?
Posted by: cathy Horner | July 16, 2009, 12:01 pm 12:01 pm
Janice- nice catch- looks like as usual no one read this 1000+page bill. In the private sector all these Congressmen would be fired for incompetence. So if you try to get private coverage it looks like you have to go with the public option. Nothing like stacking the deck against the private insurers.
Posted by: jschmidt | July 16, 2009, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm
Thanks jschmidt.
And isn’t it funny how none of the major news organizations are reporting this to the public? Gee, why would they want to keep it quiet?
Instead we are bombarded with Micheal Jackson, the CIA lied, and Sonya Sotomayor hearings (which are just for show).
Posted by: Janice | July 16, 2009, 12:13 pm 12:13 pm
Angie in Pa wrote:
Well Its no wonder Public support is dropping for Healthcare when you have Fox News and Republicans putting FEAR In people saying its socialized Medicine,
(Like the fear mongering Obama used to rush the stimulis bill through, without even having time to read it?)
you know those Republicans and their fear mongering ways! they dont care if People have Healthcare or can Afford Healthcare, they are on one Mission to tear down the President and the Democrats
(Like they are doing to our wonderful country?)
no country first or people first with Republicans its all about them regaining power and why what do they do for us?
(You mean, besides working and paying taxes to pay for all the existing socialist programs?)
Posted by: Jimmy Gray | July 16, 2009, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm
I do not trust Obama and his band of merry spending dems to fix health care. Obama’s plan is disastrous. Citizens will be forced to pay for health insurance and fined if they do not. Employers will be forced to pay for employee’s health insurance or face stiff fines for each person employed. Jobs will be lost as businesses struggle to pay increased insurance costs and higher taxes. And what about the higher tax rate for businesses and citizens? The government will determine which procedures and illnesses will be covered, not your own doctor. Obama said in an interview that there will be less diagnostic procedures done on people. He said there will be fewer treatment options for people with terminal illness or ailments of old age. Look at the UK health care now. Over a certain age – no dialysis for you! Advanced breast cancer – no more chemo for you. Look at Canada – they’re sending people to the US for treatment! It’s too bad for you if you’re happy with your current health insurance because you’ll lose it in 5 years. Now is the time to write and call Congress. We must insist that they do this right.
Posted by: grannysunni | July 16, 2009, 12:19 pm 12:19 pm
I’ve worked hard all my life, I have Medicare and a secondary ins. which I pay for…there are too many people out there sitting on their hands waiting for someone to come by and give them, welfare, food stamps, etc. I’m all for giving someone a helping hand but unless the government (in office) gets on this healthsystem then you can bet it’s not good…period. Where do you think Kennedy would be if he was on this system? I agree that there has to be an accounting from the Doctors and the Parmacutical companies for their outrageous prices, but that’s it.
Posted by: artinthewild | July 16, 2009, 12:29 pm 12:29 pm
yeas please, lets just kick real health care reform down the road yet again, for another 10 to 20 years…
I see the fear mongering and scare tactics are manipulating the public and the key players in just the same ways they have done in all these years passed.
WENDELL POTTER: Well, the game plan is based on scare tactics. And, of course, the thing they (insurance agencies) fear most is that the country will at some point gravitate toward a single-payer plan. That’s the ultimate fear that they have. But they know that right now that is not something that’s on the legislative table. And they’ve been very successful in making sure that it isn’t. They fear even the public insurance option that’s being proposed, that was part of President Obama’s campaign platform, his healthcare platform. And they’ll pull out all the stops they can to defeat that. And they’ll be working with their ideological allies, with the business community, with conservative pundits and editorial writers, to try to scare people into thinking that embracing a public health insurance option would lead us down the slippery slope toward socialism and that you will be, in essence, putting a government bureaucrat between you and your doctor. That is—you know, they’ve used those talking points for years, and in years past they’ve always worked.
It is always and only about profit…
Posted by: theafalcon200 | July 16, 2009, 12:31 pm 12:31 pm
JIMMY Grey— you are mistakened… It was Bush who rushed the Stimulus through that even Republicans voted for… Or did you conveniently forget that…??? Without any accountability whatsoever… And you kid yourself if you think that even if McCain would have won the election, he too would have pushed for another Stimulus, true it would have looked a little different like tax cuts, tax cuts and still more tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations… and the deficit would still be what it is and the jobless rate would still be as it is…
Posted by: theafalcon200 | July 16, 2009, 12:40 pm 12:40 pm
theafalcon- the scare tactics are real when he hear stories about Canadians coming to the US for treatment or people in the UK waiting months for athritis treatment when they are in pain. The scare tactics are being used by the Dems to push as much through before 2010 so they can get reelected. The stimulus was passed in a similar manner. If they pulled the public option off the table, forced streamlining of the claims processing across all insurance carriers, allowed carriers to compete across state lines, and stopped cutting to the bone medicare payments to hospitals which ill afford to take cuts, they might get it passed. But the govt runs medicare, a bloated agency that isout of control. They missused the SS funds over the years. The IBD article point out a new people getting non-group insurance must sign up with the public option. It is obvious no one read this bill. Plus there is billions in for ‘way of life’ features such as bike paths, sidewalks which have no business being in the bill .Make a seperate infrastrucute bill. And down the road you know to win votes, the Dems will make the public option cheaper to put private insurers out of business and get the rationed care they are after. Redistribute the wealth and redistribute the care- the motto of the Dems and Obama
Posted by: jschmidt | July 16, 2009, 12:42 pm 12:42 pm
iamwomaninMI Posted 8:37 am—Who better to address this healthcare proposal and the calamity it will be for Americans than the medical field, pharamceuticals and yes insurance…they are in the trenches every day with this…the ordinary man in the street may have idealistic ideas on what “should” happen but doesn’t grasp the actual mechanics of the process. Unfortunately our lame excuse for a leader seems to be running everything this way…could that be because he has actually NEVER run a **** thing? Not even a small business! Think about it!
Posted by: cgw | July 16, 2009, 12:44 pm 12:44 pm
thefalcon- Obama and the Dems pushed the stimulus through. Bush had nothing to do with it. Congress didn;t even read it. That was under Obama’s watch. And the stimulus had 9% of infrastructure. The rest was for states and it saved jobs in the states but created new ones. A Republican stimulus would have had corporate tax cuts to create jobs. The next one, should have, a cut of the corp tax rate to 5%, a stimulus to tax payers 3-5k each with a debit card that needs to be spent, and incentives to create jobs for small businesses. Instead the largest tax increase in 30 years on business for healthcare will force downsizing. NY top rate with state and local taxes will be 57% taxes.That is regressive.
Posted by: jschmidt | July 16, 2009, 1:02 pm 1:02 pm
Reform tort law. Stop the opparunist frivilous lawsuits. Regulate the insurance industry. Standardize charges for medical services and stop the fraudulent claims, especially against medicare. Fund 24 hr. free clinics. Make them available for those who register and qualify because they’re unable to pay for services. Nationalization isn’t necessary. Healthcare is needed at the local level, not the federal government level.
Posted by: mmonroeliveson | July 16, 2009, 1:07 pm 1:07 pm
Sorry that third word of my last post was supposed to be opportunist.
Posted by: mmonroeliveson | July 16, 2009, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm
“yeas please, lets just kick real health care reform down the road yet again, for another 10 to 20 years… ”
—————————
theafalcon200 ,
Then instead of coming up with yet another 1,000 pages of total BS, tell them to ACTUALLY crate a healthplan!
Creating a bill that contains some stupid “outline” or “guideline” is USELESS! It means you still do NOT have a heath plan at all. It means all the REAL work and tough choices must still be made.
I dont give a crap about Obama’s dopey triangle in Microsoft Project file for healthcare! That date is MEANINGLESS !
If the govt wants to do healthcare, then create a plan and write it up so ALL of America can look at it and decide if their current plan or any plan available out there is better or not.
You need the REAL details worked out so you have a sheet that tells you levels of coverages, premiums, co-pays, deductibles, maximum payouts…etc.
Just like the summary sheet you have with your current plan and can obtain for ANY health plan out there!
Posted by: Mike_C | July 16, 2009, 1:12 pm 1:12 pm
WORK WITH THE PRESIDENT ON HEALTHCARE REFORM NOW…DO NOT WAIT…IT WILL BE TEN TIMES WORSE WHEN BOOMERS HIT THE MARKETS…WE NEED HEALTHCARE REFORM NOW..NOT LATER….THIS IS THE TIME.
THIS IS THE MOMENT…BACK YOUR PRESIDENT
Posted by: kettle2 | July 16, 2009, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
This is NOT America anymore. This country is becoming a socialist country like France. Why ? Why are we allowing the government to run our lives ?? Does anyone on the right state of mind believes we are going in the right direction on this ?? Look at Social Security, we allowed the Democratic Congress to borrow from that money and put it into the General Fund and now is bankrupt. What do you think is going to happen when “they” pass this bill ?? No, hell no !! I don’t want the government to run my life !!
Posted by: Frank | July 16, 2009, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
Frank…I couldn’t agree more! Having the government run our health care is like having our auto mechanic perform our brain surgery. Catastrophic results!
Posted by: cgw | July 16, 2009, 1:51 pm 1:51 pm
I am so mad. I work in an medical office with docotrs and the goverment already has a hand in what they get paid. Every year Medicare comes out with what they will allow for each procedure or visit. Then all other insurance companies file suit. When we sign a contract with an insurance company we read everypage. I cant believe this plan is being pushed through and no one is reading it the 1000pg bill. I think we should put all of congress and the senate on state funded Medicaid and take the money we save and insure the people who dont have insurance. If they are not going to do their job then they dont deserve benefits(parttime employees).
Posted by: Susan | July 16, 2009, 1:52 pm 1:52 pm
Each day that goes by I am more convinced this Country is going down hill once and for all. WE ARE BROKE! If we stopped deficit spending today we could not pay off the debt in our children’s grandchildren’s lifetime and idiots still think we should spend more. Want healthcare? Get a freaking job and pay for it. Quit looking for “free” help on the backs of us working and paying the all the damn bills.
Posted by: larry | July 16, 2009, 1:59 pm 1:59 pm
A recent poll showed over 70% of Americans are satisfied with their health coverage. Why are we destroying that system instead of tweaking it? Health care can be reformed in the private sector and it won’t cost us Trillions to do it. Tort reform, real competition between insurance companies, etc. I’m not softening on the government plan and I’m calling my senators today!
Posted by: Gary | Jul 16, 2009 11:11:56 AM
_______________
YES! Call them and tell them this: Tax Paying Citizens are being charged the following;
For 14 Pills: $10.- with Insurance Card / $700.- without Insurance
Cat Scan: $1,700.- one day, $4,000.- on a subsequent day
2 Wrist X-rays: $1,500.- Insured
MRI: $1,575.- Insured
(Ref.: U. S. Voting Population; Approx. 128MM) 70% of Americans (56MM) are SATISFIED with their Health Coverage. The other 72MM either DON’T HAVE INSURANCE (47MM) OR the 30% (or 25MM) are DISSATISFIED with their Healthcare Coverage.
Posted by: bobj72 | July 16, 2009, 2:13 pm 2:13 pm
imeach all of the obama and hillary administration and put all of them in prison for life they would do it to you if you did what they did put them in prison befor they take all your away from you
Posted by: RAMBOW99 | July 16, 2009, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm
Proof, our educational system is failing us, greatly!!!
Posted by: bobj72 | July 16, 2009, 2:22 pm 2:22 pm
No one wants to go from doctors and hospitals they know to an extra bill in the mail and God knows what. Obama needs to come off it and work on a way to fix the economy not make it worse.
Posted by: guesswhaturwrong | July 16, 2009, 2:33 pm 2:33 pm
Not this public person. I fully support the president on his health care program. We need it as I am tired of the insurance companies who have finite control over what they will cover. This is an essential program and I am willing to pay more for it.
Posted by: talmag | July 16, 2009, 2:37 pm 2:37 pm
I AM NOT WILLING TO WORK FOR THREE, PAY A LOT MORE IN TAXES AND BE HAPPY THAT MONEY IS BEEING BORROWED FROM CHINA, SO PEOPLE CAN HAVE SOCIAL MEDICINE, AND WASTE THE REST ON DENYAL. THERE IS PLENTY OF MONEY IN AMERICA. I GOT IN HERE 23 YEARS AGO SPEAKING HALF THE ENGLISH I SPEAK NOW, AND NEVER USED FOOD STAMP OR UNENPLOYMENT FUNDS.TRY SELF-CONTROL FOR A REAL CHANGE, AMERICA!
Posted by: madamecantora | July 16, 2009, 2:43 pm 2:43 pm
All I know is even though we have United Health Care, the more we pay the more it “stinks”. Copays…UP, Deductibles..UP, Denied Claims…UP…Premiums…UP, HOWEVER our Coverage…DOWN. Hmmmmmm do we see a pattern here. Guess those Greedy CEOs need their millions in bonuses from chumps like us who have private insurance. Pathetic.
I’m thinking the “public” has story after story of how wonderfully their insurance companies have treated them. Ok you can stop laughing now.
Posted by: mackie | July 16, 2009, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
Only the well off who can afford great health insurance and the selfish repub politicians (who also have great health insurance) are against health care reform. They don’t care if Americans lay dying in the streets because they can’t afford preventive care or expensive treatments for ailments. They are the only groups who are against reform. If health care reform does not pass, what does that say about our country when it comes to human rights and dignity? We will have no right whatsoever to go into other countries and preach to them on how to treat their people when we don’t treat our own people fairly here at home.
Posted by: Ron | Jul 16, 2009 9:03:34 AM
Guess you didn’t catch the part where Obama said that he wouldn’t take part in this health care package. I’m curious did you think that only the republicans wouldn’t be using it? It’s time to stop justifying something based on political affiliation. Wrong is wrong. Cradle to the Grave government is simply wrong…..
Posted by: Bendigo | July 16, 2009, 3:45 pm 3:45 pm
If you don’t like your healthcare plan, or don’t want to provide your own healthcare, then just sign on to the Obama plan and make those mean old rich people that work hard at their jobs pay for it. I mean, it isn’t my fault that they went to college while I sat home popping out babies, with different baby daddies. It isn’t my fault that those baby daddies won’t pay to take care of their kids. It isn’t my fault that daycare costs so much, so I have to stay on welfare. It isn’t my fault that I have to take my kids to the emergency room for a cold instead of to a primary physician. The emergency room visit is free, and if I took them to a clinic I would have to pay a co-pay, and then I couldn’t afford my cell phone or cigarettes. All them rich folks just need to quit complaining and pony up the money to pay for everything I want and need. After all, they’re rich, and that’s just not fair.
Posted by: pop | July 16, 2009, 3:52 pm 3:52 pm
public support is softening because the public knows this plan does not benefit them – it benefits the insurance industry!
The insurance industry is the problem in our healthcare system — they are not the solution.
Posted by: Silly | July 16, 2009, 3:53 pm 3:53 pm
“Public support softens???” How about “Public Support NON-EXISTENT!!!!”
Obama will serve ONE term, IF he’s lucky, and he knows it. Hence the need to get HIS agenda passed, and the check cashed, QUICK!!!! Once we’re in debt for his “socialist” programs, it’s all over.
Posted by: FiercelyIndependent | July 16, 2009, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
FiercelyIndependent | Jul 16, 2009 4:05:40 PM
You say; … “Public support softens???” How about “Public Support NON-EXISTENT!!!!”
_______________
As a member of the 30% Minority, You are GROSSLY UNINFORMED !!! And YOU won’t have control of the Whitehouse again – Conservatively… for AT LEAST 24 & 1/2 YEARS!
Posted by: bobj72 | July 16, 2009, 4:37 pm 4:37 pm
Have you looked at the flow chart put out on this Health care plan? They’re going to create 88 new agencies/commissions – it’s all about growing bigger government. It’s not about Aunt Edna needing surgery nor about you or me needing insurance. They will increase spending so much that everyone will be facing tax increases, not just the wealthy or employers. Obama stated his plan will limit the diagnostic procedures performed; he said maybe instead of 3 MRI’s you’ll only get one. They are cutting funding from Medicare and Medicaid to pay for Obama’s health plan. The only way to cut funding from those programs is to eliminate spending on procedures and treatments. If you think you have bad insurance now, you will have worse under this plan.
I don’t deny that we need health reform. But Obama care will quickly become a nightmare.
Posted by: grannysunni | July 16, 2009, 4:43 pm 4:43 pm
Its the fault of President Obama who has been railroading the American people on this for months. If only he had used his positive influence and a soft hand, he would have been able to accomplish what no one has yet to accomplish.
On top of the spend, spend, spend, fury of the Obama administration – is a man who cannot motivate others. Instead he resorts to acting like a bully … but with a smile. Its only been 6 months and people are getting sick of him on TV – as if he is selling something in an infomercial.
Most of all, the president has dropped bi-partisan, and in fact dropped anything but his own rhetoric. He cannot get his ego from where the sun doesn’t shine for one moment long enough to give other viewpoints a chance. He is destroying and fragmenting the Democratic party – a feat one would have thought 6 months ago to be impossible.
Posted by: Jon F | July 16, 2009, 6:52 pm 6:52 pm
jhhen SAID with a straight face – “That’s typical of the leaches of society who expect those who work hard to support their lazy lifestyles.”
—————————————-
Typical Republican crapola. It’s ok to give and give tax breaks and incentives to business and the wealthy because THEY CREATE JOBS. It is not ok to support any program proposed by those crazy LIBERALS because anything that could be interpreted as helpful to people makes them DEPENDENT. And the only HARDWORKERS who pay taxes have to be Republicans – everyone else is a lazy bum.
Sorry, but I’m not rich, don’t hire people and my husband and I and now our grown children have worked extremely hard for everything we have and have never taken a handout from the government or anyone else. Despite that, we want health care reform becaue our current system is very expensive and only works for those who can afford it. It is broken and in the USA it is simply not acceptable that we have people without access to health care. “Oh but everyone has access”, you are going to say because you are brainwashed by the retoric put out there by those who can’t see the anything beyond their own pocket book. That too is retoric from egotstical, selfish and self centered people who live their life without regard to anyone else. Your comments sound like someone in that category.
Posted by: Olivia | July 16, 2009, 10:59 pm 10:59 pm
I re-read my post and realized that my grammer and spelling suffered because I did it in such a rush. I was a little upset at jhhen choice of words at the time. I’m sorry about the gramatical errors but I hope my sentiments can still be understood.
Posted by: Olivia | July 16, 2009, 11:10 pm 11:10 pm
rightbehind SAID “Baloney! No support has been lost for public healthcare. More than 70% of this nation supports it. It’s time to steamroll the republicans and lobbyist.”
———————–
AMEN. I’m with you behind the steam roller. Obama is the first president with the guts to even try to buck the status quo. I support him 100%.
Posted by: Olivia | July 16, 2009, 11:13 pm 11:13 pm