Sat
Dec 19 2009
11:35 am
AP reports that Sen. Ben Nelson got his anti-abortion concessions and will agree to be the 60th deciding vote. Gee, thanks!
If this is the bill we end up with, it could be worse than doing nothing.
A mandate without a strong public option to provide choice and competition is fundamentally unfair. It's a major handout to insurance companies, and could eventually create more problems for families struggling to make ends meet.
In fact, a mandate only makes sense as a way to get everybody in the pool. One large pool. Like Medicare.
UPDATE: Politico has more on the "deal" and the upcoming vote schedule for next week.
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I observe that it is a
I observe that it is a tyranny of the anti women's rights crowd that the have me pay my taxes and then refuse to allow my money to be spent on legal medical proceedures that they have some religious objection to.
Harry Reid wants to butter you up a lil bit
The revolution starts when the bottom 97% pitch in and buy better candidates than the top 3%
Not nearly hacked up enough
I cannot say strongly enough how opposed I am to the federal government picking up the full tab for the Medicare program, especially considering that if this bill passes Nebraska's subsidization turns permanent. That's not fair or right. As our generation gets older and sicker and inflation pushes costs universally higher, there's a good chance this cash cow ends up squishing us to fiscal death if we don't pay careful attention.
I also don't see what far-reaching reforms this version makes other than the stupid abortion side-show argument and freeing state budgets to spend on something that will probably end up more idiotic and less useful than spending it on state level medical reform.
My hope is that this bill dies a fiery partisan death until real reforms can be passed and enforced. Cost controls need to be installed industrywide in both the health care and insurance fields! Lawsuits and their awards have been ridiculous for decades and it does not cost $55 to manufacture a male urinal. Supply costs have to have a hard cap, for both the medical industry and patients. Strict limits have to be set for lawsuit awards.
Greed is why the health care system is in such disarray. That's why it will never be fixed either. Don't hold your breath.
<i>I cannot say strongly
I cannot say strongly enough how opposed I am to the federal government picking up the full tab for the Medicare program
I believe you have been misinformed somewhere along the way.
Lawsuits and their awards have been ridiculous for decades
Less than 1% of the cost of health care. But if we give in to "tort reform" can we have HR676?
I cannot say strongly
That's just for Ben Nelson, and just for the expansion, not the whole Medicare program.
Related: Louisiana Purchase
And it's Medicaid, not
And it's Medicaid, not Medicare.
From the Politco article referenced above
Sorry for not saying "full tab for the expansion of Medicare".
Sorry for not saying "full
Sorry for not saying "full tab for the expansion of Medicare".
Learn the difference between Medicare and Medicaid and get back to us.
At any rate, it's wrong for the federal government to mandate expanding Medicaid unless they (meaning you and me) are going to pay for it.
Instead, I'd prefer eliminating Medicaid and instead have a single-payer national health insurance program based on Medicare.