President Obama: “We Are Now Closer Than Ever Before to Passing Health Reform — But We’re Not There Yet”

If Obama really wanted health reform he would allow the sale of insurance across state lines. America doesn’t need another broken system. Goverment knows nothing about running health care or medicare would not be in the shape it is in.

Every bill they are passing is a stealth engineering of the demolition of the private system. I keep hearing that the public option and the destruction of the private system won’t ever pass, and I certainly pray that those who say that are correct.

He would also favor tort reform, but he is too timid to even consider it. The trial lawyers are too much of a cash cow for him, Pelosi, Rangel and the rest of them.

“–Robert Reich, September, 2007
Don’t you just love the “we?” (I guess he plans on being on one of the death panels.)”
Fascist Hyena | Oct 13, 2009 8:10:53 PM
What, exactly, does a quote from a UC Berkeley professor who has never held any policy position in the area of healthcare have to do with anything? And why is it that EVERY OTHER FIRST WORLD NATION has some form of government healthcare without ‘death panels’ (and the elderly live longer on average to boot despite higher rates of smoking!)?

“Every bill they are passing is a stealth engineering of the demolition of the private system. I keep hearing that the public option and the destruction of the private system won’t ever pass, and I certainly pray that those who say that are correct.”
BK | Oct 13, 2009 6:50:35 PM
Meanwhile back in reality, a great many countries have had FAR more extensive government options in place for over a generation and still have a thriving private system. And when you say private system, you are talking about the private health INSURANCE system. The doctors, hospitals, etc will all remain private under any of the public insurance options that have been proposed. The “worst” case CBO analysis has predicting a whopping 10% of people switching to a public option over 10 years. Ooooo, such horrific ‘take over’ there.

Fascist Hyena | Oct 13, 2009 8:10:53 PM
Fascist Hyena, that is one of the most intellectually dishonest posts I’ve ever seen.
Assuming you listened to your source material, you know that what you quoted is taken completely out of context. Reich gave a mock campaign speech in which he was entirely honest about how various policy issues would play out in the real world — *IF* we are unwilling to change our attitudes and make hard choices.
Later in the lecture, he states:
“Now, personally, I think that an economy as rich as ours should be able to both provide affordable health care for most of its people, if not all of its people, and also continue to support innovation that extends the life span of the average person in this country. But can we do both? Are we prepared to spend the money to do both?”
He then goes on to talk about our having to find the will to change our priorities and cut the military and change the tax structure in order to have the money to provide good health care — including new life-extending technologies — for all.
If you read his blog (and of course there are no links allowed here, so I won’t provide one, but it’s easily found), you’d know that Reich is absolutely committed to a real public option and excellent health care for everyone, including the elderly.
Those who quote out of context do tend to get busted. Just a heads-up.

There needs to be a nuclear option to blow up the current health care system… the president keeps saying that if we were starting from scratch… there should be no other option than to redo the whole thing

Fascist Hyena, that is one of the most intellectually dishonest posts I’ve ever seen.
Posted by: dan
don’t get too concerned, he does the same thing with ‘his’ polling numbers posts, shall we say, ‘selective at best’.

Single payer will be included in the healthcare reform bill when the bill is signed by President Obama.

Most astounding of all is what this Congress is willing to do to struggling middle-class families. The bill would impose nearly $400 billion in new taxes and fees. Nearly 90% of that burden will be shouldered by those making $200,000 or less.
It might not appear that way at first, because the dollars are collected via a 40% tax on sales by insurers of “Cadillac” policies, fees on health insurers, drug companies and device manufacturers, and an assortment of odds and ends.
But the economics are clear. These costs will be passed on to consumers by either directly raising insurance premiums, or by fueling higher health-care costs that inevitably lead to higher premiums. Consumers will pay the excise tax on high-cost plans. The Joint Committee on Taxation indicates that 87% of the burden would fall on Americans making less than $200,000, and more than half on those earning under $100,000.
Industry fees are even worse because Democrats chose to make these fees nondeductible. This means that insurance companies will have to raise premiums significantly just to break even. American families will bear a burden even greater than the $130 billion in fees that the bill intends to collect. According to my analysis, premiums will rise by as much as $200 billion over the next 10 years—and 90% will again fall on the middle class.

Obama can’t wait to start taxing us to fund Obamacare.
Even though the changes in health care won’t go into effect for 3 more years.
Some crisis.

Obama bragged “When I become president”
he will change the way Washington does business.
No more closed door meetings, or backdoor deals. He even said the health care debate would be on C-Span.
So why is the meeting with Rham today behind closed doors–not one debate on C-Span.
Emanuel probably couldn’t control his potty mouth–and Obama lied about transparency.

“He would also favor tort reform, but he is too timid to even consider”
CBO has already estimated tort reform’s impact and its minimal, as they say most states have already enacted such legislation and insurance costs have skyrocketed anyway.
In short tort reform will not stop insurance companies from gouging doctor or patients.
The lesson as always? Right wingers lie.

Everyone cry a little for the insurance companies as they rip you off.
Posted by: Ryan C
The Dems agree that there is 50 billion dollars in fraud/waste/abuse in Medicare, nobody in Washington is doing anything about it and all the kos kiddies can do is whine about insurance companies.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Taxation has analyzed the excise tax in the Baucus plan and come to the logical conclusion that it will raise prices for insurance policies. In two letters issued yesterday, the JCT acknowledged that the increased premium costs for health-insurance plans that qualify for the excise tax will increase costs to employers offering them, DEPRESSING WAGES DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY AS A RESULT, depending on whether they impose the total cost increase on employees. The second letter demonstrates that the effect of the Baucus plan and its disappearing subsidies on lower-income workers is to force them into a higher tax bracket, disincentivizing gains in employment.

You want us to trust these companies and this system with our health??
Posted by: Skip |
That’s an absurd question. A 13 year old could list 10 huge problems with the way these companies are allowed to operate and an 18 year old could write a law to fix 90% of it. Do you ever stop to ask yourself why Washington doesn’t?

Robert Reich, 2007:
“And by the way, we are going to have to–if you’re very old, we’re not going to give you all that technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life to keep you maybe going for another couple of months. It’s too expensive, so we’re going to let you die. [applause]
“Also, I’m going to use the bargaining leverage of the federal government in terms of Medicare, Medicaid–we already have a lot of bargaining leverage–to force drug companies and insurance companies and medical suppliers to reduce their costs. But that means less innovation, and that means less new products and less new drugs on the market, which means you are probably not going to live that much longer than your parents. [applause] Thank you.”

“Fascist Hyena, that is one of the most intellectually dishonest posts I’ve ever seen.
Posted by: dan”
I have no idea what post this fellow is talking about, but I do have a question for him: what is the difference between “intellectual dishonesty” and “dishonesty?”

“Fascist Hyena, that is one of the most intellectually dishonest posts I’ve ever seen.
Posted by: dan”
I have no idea what post this fellow is talking about, but I do have a question for him: what is the difference between “intellectual dishonesty” and “dishonesty?”
+++++++++++++++
I was referring to the post identified at the top of mine, as you well know:
Fascist Hyena | Oct 13, 2009 8:10:53 PM
In case you can’t find it, I’ll refresh your memory. It was one of the first times you twisted Robert Reich’s words, which you have now spammed in this thread.
I’ll repeat now what I said the first time, so that you can’t duck it by saying that you have no idea what I’m talking about. I’m talking about your spammed Reich quote. Got it?
And BTW, ABC, letting this guy get away with his out of context spam is opening yourselves up to a suit for libel.
As I posted last night:
Assuming you listened to your source material, you know that what you quoted is taken completely out of context. Reich gave a mock campaign speech in which he was entirely honest about how various policy issues would play out in the real world — *IF* we are unwilling to change our attitudes and make hard choices.
Later in the lecture, he states:
“Now, personally, I think that an economy as rich as ours should be able to both provide affordable health care for most of its people, if not all of its people, and also continue to support innovation that extends the life span of the average person in this country. But can we do both? Are we prepared to spend the money to do both?”
He then goes on to talk about our having to find the will to change our priorities and cut the military and change the tax structure in order to have the money to provide good health care — including new life-extending technologies — for all.
If you read his blog (and of course there are no links allowed here, so I won’t provide one, but it’s easily found), you’d know that Reich is absolutely committed to a real public option and excellent health care for everyone, including the elderly.

“And BTW, ABC, letting this guy get away with his out of context spam is opening yourselves up to a suit for libel.”
Wrong. (Check with someone who knows, then blush hotly and remain silent.)