Comments on: Views on a Public Option: Let the Fur Fly

By: rose

rose — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:48:46 +0000

I’m hoping that you come to my neck of the wood betca those number will change. poll some people in middleclass and poorclass who don’t have the best of insurnace. Those poll number will be higher. We are for the public option more than not, come on don,t think your polling is reaching people who are losing their healthcare everyday. STOP TRYING TO BLOCK CHANGE.THE WORLD IS CHANING, SO WE HAVE TO CHANGE WITH IT.I think nancy is right we really do want choice.

By: ThisSmellsBad

ThisSmellsBad — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:18:00 +0000

Doesn’t smell good when the President, and other Federal Employees can be exempt from the new health plan. IF ITS GOOD ENOUGH FOR US (average citizen), WHY DO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES GET TO BE EXEMPT??

By: Lydia

Lydia — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:22:55 +0000

Passing the public health insurance option is the only way to make insurance affordable. Right now the private insurers are having a field day with no true competition. They are running up to a 30% overhead while good old Medicare runs a 4%. The private insurers have no real incentive to keep their own costs down as they are free to raise their premiums to adjust.
The private health insurance lobby is spending over a million a day this month to convince you the public option is a bad idea. I’d like to think my fellow citizens can see through their sales pitch and recognize the truth that they fear competition will limit their profits and grandiose corporate salaries. This is about corporate greed vs. public need.

By: Jon F

Jon F — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:03:18 +0000

We don’t have a public health option because our system developed much differently than everyone else’s post WWII. You can’t turn it around of a dime in a minute.
Obama will commit political suicide with the option – along with the rest of the democrats. You cannot pass a bill so contentious that it has way too much controversy associated with it. If you do, it will come back to haunt you at some point.
We need to have a clear majority consensus on this one. If not, it’s pure politics.
I say pass it minus the public option now. If the mood and finances are right down the road – go for the public option. But don’t blow the whole enchilada to get it all done at once.
It won’t work! Any experienced Democrat (other than the fool Pelosi) will tell you that.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:05:43 +0000

Thirty-two of the thirty-three developed nations have universal health care, with the United States being the lone exception Why?

By: Catherine

Catherine — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:32:12 +0000

These bills and this administration clearly intend to lead us into complete government healthcare. They pretend that there are bits and pieces of freedom but each morsel has a tax or punishment designed to eliminate that freedom. We have already been tricked out of $780,000,000,000 in “stimulus” money and are now mired in another and even more costly war. Amnesty and this healthcare bill Will create massive costs, long lines and a lower standard of living than we can ever imagine. Why do union retirees get $10 billion set aside in this bill for their retirement and why don’t they have to pay healthcare tax? Obama announced cheerfully some time ago that we were out of money. So are we being set up to take yet another fall?

By: matt

matt — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:47:25 +0000

It is perfectly legitimate to protest the results of polls when wording is unfairly presented. Asking Americans whether they want complete government health care when nothing like that has been proposed is wrongheaded and unfair.

By: Sandcrab1612

Sandcrab1612 — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:28:32 +0000

catman – You said “when you promise people they will have the same health care as members of congress with no increase in tax if you make under 250k and it will be deficit neutral…you have a big problem. your credibility with the american people is gone.”
Contrary to what many believe Congressmen do not have FREE health insurance. Their employer is the federal government and like many employers, it provides him with an insurance plan from a private insurance company (AETNA, Blue Cross, Health Net, Kaiser, etc). Congressmen have been required to get their health insurance in this manner since passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1983. In this case the federal government utilizes the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan to provide a choice of different private insurance plans to choose from, the federal government as the employer pays a portion (approximately 66%) of the monthly premium and the Congressman as the employee pays the remainder. The Congressman is responsible for any co-pays or deductable payments when service is provided by a healthcare provider. The Congressman is also susceptible to the limits within the plan he chooses, none of the plans cover 100% of the costs the insured eventually reaches a point where he has to dig into his own pockets. The governments only other involvement with the FEHB is to negotiate rates and benefits for each plan once a year. If you want to view the plans and their limits, deductibles, and co-pays just Google “FEHB” and go to the site and see what the different plans are.
The FEHB health plans are either nationwide (plan available anywhere within the country) or regional (plan available only in one state or a portion of a state) FEHB allows the Congressman to change between plans once a year during what is referred to as an open season and he can switch with no lapse in coverage due to pre-existing conditions and if he changes jobs within the Federal Government he can take his current plan with him if the plan is available (he moved from one region to another) at his new position, if not he can switch with no problems. If the government were to open these plans to the public the monthly premiums for a family plan would roughly be between $425.00 and $1300.00, for an individual the monthly premium would roughly be between $177.00 and $550.00 and then everyone could have the same health care as our Congressmen. One of the differences in the plan costs is the level of benefits provided and the amount the patient pays (co-pays or deductable) when receiving healthcare.
Would you be willing to pay this much to have access to the same health care coverage as members of Congress?

By: ross

ross — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:46:20 +0000

When Obama says that “no illegals will be covered under this plan” he is right! However, this plan will take time for implementation and by that time Obama will IMPLEMENT AMNESTY FOR ALL ILLEGALS AND THEN THEY WON’T BE ILLEGALS AND THEY WILL BE COVERED UNDER THE PLAN….THEY SURE KNOW HOW SHADE THE TRUTH!! TYPICAL FOR THIS ADMINISTRATION!!! JUST LIKE ABORTION IS UNDER THE GUISE OF “WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE SERVICE”!!!!!!!

By: BenDoubleCrossed

BenDoubleCrossed — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:54:46 +0000

Providing universal health care is not one of the enumerated powers of the Federal Government. So, why isn’t Obama following the constitutionally proscribed amendment process?
Bring John Shadegg’s ‘Enumerated Powers Act’ to a Vote
It’s time for Congress to, “Cite it, chapter and verse.” Where do they derive their authority? When they pass new laws or spend taxpayer money, they should be required to point to specific language in the Constitution. The Enumerated Powers Act would require them to do precisely that. Help us bring this bill to a vote.
For The General Welfare:
1. International and interstate commerce (trade)
2. Naturalization
3. Bankruptcy
4. Coin Money, establish its value
5. Weights and Measures
6. Punish counterfeiting
7. Postal Service
8. Issue patents and copyrights
9. Establish Federal Courts
10. Govern District of Columbia
11. Purchase real estate for necessary buildings