Reuters:Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are preparing to unveil a proposal for a sweeping healthcare overhaul that includes a new public insurance plan and would require individuals and businesses to obtain coverage, lawmakers said on Monday.
Similar to legislation being developed in the Senate, the House bill would establish an insurance exchange to help people without employer-sponsored insurance find medical coverage. A new government insurance program would be one of the options available, lawmakers said.
"The exchange will be the vehicle in which we would have the public option, and people can go there to go shopping to determine whether you want a private plan or a public plan," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel told reporters.
In the senate, however, things are different. Nine GOP senators from the Senate Finance Committee sent Barack Obama a letter including this ridiculous bit of spin, as reported by CBS News' Political Hotsheet:
The letter conveyed a concern of many conservatives -- that a public option would utlimately lead to a "federal government takeover of our healthcare system."
The senators cite a recent Lewin Group study, which showed that a public plan using Medicare payment levels could result in a shift of coverage -- private coverage could decline by 119.1 million as people voluntarily move from private to public coverage. The letter says the plan would "result in 119.1 million Americans losing their private coverage."
In other words, "losing their private coverage" by choosing to lose their private coverage because a Medicare-like public option would be a better deal. "Stupid" isn't a strong enough word to describe that argument. You ought to be insulted that they think you'll fall for that. Clearly, the Republican party believes you're dumber than a sack of hammers.
It's pretty much in Harry Reid's lap now. Unfortunately, I find no comfort in that.
4 comments:
Hmm, that really gives the lie to private healthcare...
Theoretically, the whole point of a private system is that it is optional - you can decide to opt out any time you like.
But in practice, the whole point is to funnel as much money as possible to the insurers and providers, who then provide kickbacks to legislators. That's what these senators are protecting.
An individual/employer mandate seems like an undeserved gift to insurance companies. I really don't like the idea of a mandate.
Having said that--- the salaries of the highest paid health insurance CEOs:
* Ron Williams - Aetna - Total Compensation: $24,300,112.
* H. Edward Hanway - CIGNA - Total Compensation: $12,236,740.
* Angela Braly - WellPoint - Total Compensation: $9,844,212.
* Dale Wolf - Coventry Health Care - Total Compensation: $9,047,469.
* Michael Neidorff - Centene - Total Compensation: $8,774,483.
* James Carlson - AMERIGROUP - Total Compensation: $5,292,546.
* Michael McCallister - Humana - Total Compensation: $4,764,309.
* Jay Gellert - Health Net - Total Compensation: $4,425,355.
* Richard Barasch - Universal American - Total Compensation: $3,503,702.
* Stephen Hemsley - UnitedHealth Group - Total Compensation: $3,241,042.
From the Public Campaign Action Fund:
"The nine Republican Senators who sent a letter to President Barack Obama to express their opposition to a central part of his health care plan have collectively taken $17.7 million from insurance and health care interests. That's an average of $2 million per Senator."
Thanks for the additional info. Saves me some legwork ;)
No, thank you, Wisco.
I fling enough crap in these boxes; something's gotta stick once in a while.
Maybe this will stick, too:
"Health insurers around the world collectively hold $4.5 billion worth of tobacco industry stock, according to a new study."
Okay. Nothing new, right? Health insurance companies have been divesting their tobacco stock since the 90's, according to this piece in Time:
"The health-insurance industry, by contrast, has largely divested tobacco holdings since the 1990s and has offered to compromise with lawmakers in the health-care debate. In a letter to Congress on March 24, several health insurers indicated they would be willing to stop charging higher premiums to people with a history of medical problems if all Americans were required to purchase health plans."
They want a mandate. I don't trust a mandate.
Maybe you can make sense of all this. You'll have to try because this is going to be the battle of the summer, for sure.
There are some greedy evil pricks, like Frank Luntz, trying to arm the corporatists with market- researched buzzwords like, "government takeover of healthcare."
My favorite line of attack is, "you don't want a government bureaucrat coming between you and you doctor, do you...?"
As if a profit-driven industry designed to deny claims isn't a bureaucracy coming between you and life and death.
These people are in it for blood money and they need to be neutered.
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