Health Care Reform: An Opinion Summary

This is going to cost us a lot more than they are admitting.

It boils down to:
1.Heath Care Change is needed.
2.The bill passed was not a good bill.
3.The bill needing passage, wasn’t even considered….i.e. National Health Care for all.
4.The bill that was passed, will cost us dearly.
5. The health care industry will simply raise rates and charges to compensate for the bill’s provisions.

i am so disgusted at the republicans hiding behind
theconcern for the cost of this program.where were they when bush was running up the deficite?i was a republican for many years but they have become a racist group of pompous asses.they don’t care about
anything except their interests and staying in office and feeding a bunch of lies to a gullible public.

If 13% of those opposing the health care bill (opposition is at 59% according to this article) think it’s “not liberal enough”, than that means a majority of Americans think there should be health care reform (subtract 13% from 59% opposed and add the 13% to those in favor of health care reform and you get 54% in favor of reform). So why does the media play up this “huge opposition”? ABC, would you like to explain to us?

I wonder to what degree people opposed or in favor of the bill that passed have been paying attention to the substance versus the political rhetoric surrounding the bill.
Unless you seek it out, trying to learn about “the bill” is pretty impossible on any of the news networks who are more interested in the game of politics than your health. Who smirked? who shouted slurs? Who interrupted the President? Who made a nasty remark?
The news media prefers the metaphor of the mirror–merely reflecting back what the people are saying, but it’s a pretty funky mirror in which extremists and idiots are amplified and rational people appear incredibly small–in the interest of whoever paid for that insightful 5 minutes.
I think the people with editorial control of the networks figured out long ago that the best way to manipulate the public is to feed them slop for news, cover the game, slant the outcome with your own blend of cheerleaders and weak critics, focus on nutjobs in the streets, and then continuously take the public’s temperature with slanted questions.
In my opinion, the fact that the public is so evenly divided about a monumental change to the status quo after the crappy media diet we’ve ingested over the past year of debate actually testifies to a greater underlying support that could have been measured if people took the time to learn about the bill and turned off the news.

Gary -
Your last paragraph mischaracterizes public opinion. You’re comparing two different populations. Doesn’t look like you’ll be winning the 2010 Iowa Gallup Award for Excellent Journalism Using Polls… Haha j/k! But seriously, you can’t compare the two.

I’m outraged by the Health Care bill being passed, I have received a letter from the president questioning his authority, and quote on quote he replied: “I’ll do what I want…” with his signature, if you Obama fanatics think this is such a great bill, think again, I’ve researched this bill thoroughly.
Many other countries relied on us. Now they’ll be screwed, Obama is a liar about what this will do for us. We’ll receive denials if treatments are deemed too costly by National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), the government should listen to the voice of this Nation, 2/3 of the American people don’t want this bill, and by the way Nancy Pelosi is just as low as our president, I’ll not salute or pledge allegiance to him, to all those who do, may God have mercy on you.

The bill signed today is a travesty against the American nation. Rather than ‘fix’ or ‘reform’ the healthcare system, the bill simply enlarges the number of Americans dependent on the federal government. We are making a laughing stock out of those who work and save for their family’s future.
Their are many things that should be done to make the healthcare system better, improve access, and lower cost growth. This bill is not the way to do that fairly.

I am so sick of people assuming that if your opinion doesn’t match theirs it’s because of who they listen to. Politicians can put any spin they want on anything (republicans and democrats alike). Guess What! I am in favor of Health Care Reform! I am opposed to THIS Health Care Reform. I did my own polling I have been checking out opinion sites all over the web and for every positive remark I have read or heard anywhere there have been five or more who opposed this decision (many of which are outraged) The Bottom line is the government knew the major majority did not want this bill and they crammed it down our throats anyway! If people do not quit expecting the government to do everything for them we will have no freedom. I used to feel secure that they would never have the gull to take away our right to bear arms because of the opposition they would get. Now, I wouldn’t put it past this communist administration!

Kat–
not sure what “doing your own polling” means–that’s just anecdotal evidence–pretty worthless because it’s based on a small sample and biased by your own network of acquaintances or people in your close geographic region or the specific websites you investigated if it was not systematic.
People who comment on the web are a particular subset of individuals–with stronger passions for politics than most–and it’s very understandable that the negative passions get stirred up more than the positive ones with the need to vent. That’s, by the way, why any “polls” done on the web are unscientific–they are unlikely to be representative of the general public.
Of course people are truly free to think, interpret and form judgments on their own, but the hectic pace of modern life leaves little room for verifying sources and thoughtful analysis on complicated political topics, or even the simple judgment about whether this bill is good or bad for me or for others.
Given this, if you don’t recognize the power of the “echo chamber”, the effect of media and PR campaigns, you are a prime target for whatever message echoes the loudest.

10th amendment people, and to answer why god, cause those who follow false idols and not in the right path. And to Mike, yes I am republican, but it doesn’t mean I believe in all they do, they have been wrong in many areas, along with democrats, you can’t force Americans to get something, that’s called being socialist. So you want to call me a liar and disrespectful, then go ahead, but if you pledge allegiance to Obama, I’ll call you a socialistic being. And also to include we all got freedom of speech, is it Un-American to question our president’s authority regardless of party? We don’t pledge allegiance to the president, but to our nation.

This plan is better + helps everyone. States already have the “mand. Health Ins.” plan and the “mand. car insuransce” It’s just the GOP sticking 2gether 4 Nov.!!!
It’s not gonna work in 11/10 elections because people will start listen 2 the facts once seniors see the $250 SSN checks in the mail, no more co-pays on RX’s., no one getting turned down for anything appropiate!!! The GOP will be MAD at the polls!!!!!

The commentators keep reminding us that Theodore Roosevelt was the first president who tried to bring universal health care to the American people. That’s not quite true. He never really expressed the idea while he was in office. In 1912 Roosevelt had been out of office for four years when he attempted to reclaim the presidency from William Howard Taft, the man he had picked to succeed him. Once in office, Taft began to dismantle most of the progressive reforms that Teddy had put into place. When he sought the nomination once again, his campaign slogan was “a square deal for every man and every woman in the United States.” Part of the “Square Deal” was health care for all. He arrived at the convention that summer with all the delegates he needed (and then some) to seize the mantle of standard bearer. It was not to be. His party would betray the people by giving the nomination to Taft in spite of his victory. They had had enough of Theodore Roosevelt and his progressive reforms. 1912 was the year that the progressive wing of the Republican party died. He was the last great Republican president – the very last.
A generation later TR’s distant cousin Franklin attempted to pick up the torch of universal health care. In his 1944 State of the Union address, he told the American people that his major goal for the post war world was national health insurance. Unfortunately for you and I, FDR did not live to see the war’s end. A film of that speech can be viewed in Michael Moore’s film, Capitalism: A Love Story. It’s is now out on DVD and is essential viewing.
The new health care bill is not perfect – far from it – but as the old Chinese saying goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” There will be improvements made on it down the years – there absolutely needs to be – but this is a fairly good first step. We’re on our way! The Conservatives will whine, but that’s what they do best. They’ll whine just as they whined when Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, or the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Just as they whined when Harry Truman desegregated the army in 1947, or when Franklin D. Roosevelt brought Social Security into being in 1935. They’ll whine just like they did when Woodrow Wilson tried to form the League of Nations in 1919 – or when Abraham Lincoln ended the institution of slavery in 1863! They whine a lot. Did you ever notice that?

This is so ridiculous…all of it! It makes me want to run away to some foreign country where I won’t have to deal with this. I am so tired of people saying how American’s don’t care about their health because they won’t go to the Doctor and blah blah blah. I do not want to have health insurance. I have no desire to have it. When, on the rare occassion I do go to the Dr. I pay for it out of pocket. I work to provide for my family and insurance is something I cannot afford and I am fine with that. I work for my pennies and purchase what things I can. I refuse to live off the government and it will be a cold day in hell before I take a single penny from the government to have my health insurance, housing, food or anything else paid for for me. I was raised with work ethic and not to walk around with my hand out waiting for everyone else to do it for me.

As for polls, they are a joke. As for all the chatter about “it’s going to bankrupt the country”, I’ve been around long enough to remember the same kind of whining about Social Security, and I bet no one has read the numbers on this one, but there seems to be a lot of fortune tellers out there. And some people sound just downright confused about the facts, just following and passing on gossip and lies. If President Obama had time in his busy schedule to answer and personally sign a letter to one out of millions of letters he gets every day…that one person should be honored indeed to be so important. He is able to see maybe ten out of what his staff hands him. If they are from people who touch his heart, he might personally write back or sign a card or letter. For most, he quickly dictates an answer and his signatures are stamped by staff. Most correspondence are taken care of and stamped with his signature.
Self important and self serving people on the Internet should get real.

It is interesting to hear what health care is like in other countries. I can’t imagine the problems you have to go through in your country to get it. A good article.

Interesting! But regardless, it’s already passed. And those who are against health care would never have voted for Democrats anyways… I don’t think health care will have as much impact in the midterm elections as the pundits are saying. I’ve been looking for a comprehensive list of health care reform effects on individuals.
Has anyone else found any others?

Thats it Libs keep your head in the sand as this administration keeps taking a bite. Under George W Bush I got a check in the mail for $1400.00
Never saw a check under B. Hussein Obama’s watch, only 30 trillion dollar debt and nuclear reduction.
I cant eat that now can I?

Man, it used to be only taxicab drivers and barbers who had all the answers to our nation’s problems, now it seems to be anyone who can pick up a smartphone.
The time for the people to speak is on election day, not trying to micro-manage our representatives constantly using information gleaned from various entertainment bobble heads (e.g. Limbaugh, Beck, etc.) whose job it is to inflame people enough the keep tuning in. By making people come back to hear the ads they make their millions from their sponsors. It’s entertainment, pure and simple, not news. If someone actually has some facts they thing their representative needs to know, I suggest they used their smartphone to e-mail or text the representative.

conducted a concurrent medical record review of 163 patients with documented heart failure admitted to a general medicine service over a 5-week period. Data retrieved included patient demographics, heart failure class, left ventricular ejection fraction, spironolactone

ple to speak is on election day, not trying to micro-manage our representatives constantly using information gleaned from various entertainment bobble heads (e.g. Limbaugh, Beck, etc.) whose job it is to inflame people enough the keep tuning in. By making people come back to hea