Government Competing on Healthcare Like an Alligator Versus A Duck?

President Barack Obama adressed the American Medican Association (AMA) today and stated that he was not gonna try and split up doctors from their patients or cut off their insurance plans if they liked them. You can read the entire transcript of his speech here. Obama argued that people must beware of “scare tactics and fear-mongering” that have killed healthcare reform in the past (Hi Hillary!) including the bogeyman of “socialized medicine” and said ”we know there are those who will try to scuttle” the program no matter what. He said that “because these fear tactics have worked, things have kept getting worse.” He also said that if we don’t do something about healthcare now that it will sink the country’s economy as a whole and America itself will become the next GM.

WE DRIVZ 2 DA RESKEW!

Meanwhile the quote of the day on healthcare reform was from Mike Pence (R-Ind) who said on CNN that “the government entering the private sector is like an alligator competing with a duck.” Well I’ve got some advise for YOU Ms Karen Ignagni (American Health Insurance Programs, or AHIP) direct from my South Georgia friends. The best was to get away from an alligator is to run zig zag.

Is Karen Ignagni (AHIP) ready?

Everyone was shocked when Bill Maher made fun of Obama and I watched him live on MSNBC tonight and couldn’t agree more when he said that Obama should have some guts and stand up for what is right, that he doesn’t need the help of the Republicans, and that the AMA is a lobby and “they are not your friends.” Here, here.

Nancy Nielsen, MD, Director of the AMA

Other news came from the Congressional Budget Office who said that healthcare reform would cost one trillion over ten years and insure an additional 16 million people (i.e. not all of the 50 million uninsured). Republicans of course jumped on this. And now the rhetoric has become “government take over” v “public option.”