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President Barack Obama basically gave away the farm today when he indicated that he was open to giving up the public option for healthcare insurance, saying that he would not “draw a line in the sand” over the issue. Rahm Emanuel was quoted as saying:
The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest. The goal is non-negotiable; the path is negotiable.
Them’s some ominous words.
With both Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) in the Senate and Max Baucus (D-Montana) opposed to a public option, it looks like our leaders have sold us down the river yet again as I have predicted before. It is my opinion that without a public option things will only deteriorate as the healthcare industrial complex cannot cut costs on its own.
The Obama administration state that they want nonprofit cooperatives to compete with private insurance plans. They say that if they don’t find evidence of competition, that the public option will “kick in” at a later date.
There has been a lot of negotiating going on. For instance, the hospital lobby just agreed to taking 155 billion in cuts over the next decade, mostly in reduced Medicare and Medicaid payments. This is in addition to cuts agreed to by pharma. They have been admonished not to bitch about the process if they want to keep their spot at the negotiating table with Baucus. Meanwhile we stories like this one about expensive treatments for prostate cancer that are being performed with the cost of over $100,000 when they have never been shown to be better than the “wait and see” approach (i.e. doing nothing). Only in America guys.
It looks our industry friends will agree to just about anything with the Obama administration to avoid going on a diet. Problem is they are for-profit and motivated by making money.
Richard Umbdenstock (AHA), Karen Ignagni (AHIP), Nancy Nielsen (AMA), Billy Tauzin (PhRMA), and David Nexon (AMTA)
Yep. Our friends from the American Hospitals Association (AHA), American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), American Medical Association (AMA), and American Medical Techonology Association (AMTA) can all be counted on for one thing. Following their instincts. Which are greed.
I wonder if David is going to get some of the yummies or if they are going to let him get up to the table.
Meanwhile, 69% of Americans support a public option insurance plan, as do 59% of doctors. Only a third are opposed to it. And only 19% of doctors are members of the AMA, which officially opposes it. So those right wingers like Dr Bill Frist in the Senate do not represent our views.
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This AHA stunt is remarkably a deal that is the twin to the 80 billion the pharmaceutical industry agreed to pay not long ago.
The AHA also negotiated a stipend that if a public option does materialize, hospitals will be reimbursed at a higher rate.
The simple fact that our new administration has to ‘deal’ with such industries is a bit concerning. They are bribes to prevent true health care reform.
Obama plans on signing a bill in October regarding health care reform, and enacting this reform by the end of August. This deal lacks significant details at this time, it appears.
Baucus opposes a universal health care system, which exists in every developed country presently, even though the majority of U.S. citizens support such a system, including most doctors.
Baucus receives bribes from the health care sector that average nearly a million dollars a year. Obama receives, and/or has received, higher bribes annually from the health care sector.
ugh! is it time to leave the country?
Ugh. Balk-Us is, indeed, rightly named.
No one is “immune.” I recently learned that Ted Kennedy, along with Tom Lantos, contributed to the successful effort to keep the FDA from having a second, and meaningful, safety hearing on fen-phen. (Interneuron in Massachusetts.)
If we’re all going to move, let’s go to Fargo.
There are many bureaucrats:
Politicians
Corporations
Lobbyists
They all seek power over individuals.
I disagree with you Doug and your statistics about being in favor of a public option. Iam sure I can find stats that differ.
I am in favor of a single payor. But that payor should be the patient.
I am in favor of individual responsibility by the patient for their healthcare. Stop blaming the sytem for medical conditions that can be prevented with lifestyle changes. All govt or insurance plans that control medical carewill just continue the responsibility problem.
I am in favor of catastrophic insurance for all, so no one will have to deal with a medical bankruptcy. That should not happen in this country.
I am in favor of means testing to help those who truly can not afford to obtain healthcare on their own.
I am in favor of individuals looking out for their own well being and not having a goct or private entity controlling their healthcare destiny.
A govt run plan will destroy quality and innovation. If I go to a doc, I want to be treated as an individual, not as another number to be fit into a cookbook comparative effectiveness scheme to keep costs down and meet quotas.
Individuals made this country great. The more individuals delegate their responsibilities to govt or corporations, the quicker this country will decline.
AMERICA’S NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY!
It’s official. America and the World are now in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. A World EPIDEMIC with potential catastrophic consequences for ALL of the American people. The first PANDEMIC in 41 years. And WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES will have to face this PANDEMIC with the 37th worst quality of healthcare in the developed World.
STAND READY AMERICA TO SEIZE CONTROL OF YOUR NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.
We spend over twice as much of our GDP on healthcare as any other country in the World. And Individual American spend about ten times as much out of pocket on healthcare as any other people in the World. All because of GREED! And the PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare system in America.
And while all this is going on, some members of congress seem mostly concern about how to protect the corporate PROFITS! of our GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT NATIONAL DISGRACE. A PRIVATE FOR PROFIT DISGRACE that is in fact, totally valueless to the public health. And a detriment to national security, public safety, and the public health.
Progressive democrats the Tri-Caucus and others should stand firm in their demand for a robust public option for all Americans, with all of the minimum requirements progressive democrats demanded. If congress can not pass a robust public option with at least 51 votes and all robust minimum requirements, congress should immediately move to scrap healthcare reform and request that President Obama declare a state of NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY! Seizing and replacing all PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance plans with the immediate implementation of National Healthcare for all Americans under the provisions of HR676 (A Single-payer National Healthcare Plan For All).
Coverage can begin immediately through our current medicare system. With immediate expansion through recruitment of displaced workers from the canceled private sector insurance industry. Funding can also begin immediately by substitution of payroll deductions for private insurance plans with payroll deductions for the national healthcare plan. This is what the vast majority of the American people want. And this is what all objective experts unanimously agree would be the best, and most cost effective for the American people and our economy.
In Mexico on average people who received medical care for A-H1N1 (Swine Flu) with in 3 days survived. People who did not receive medical care until 7 days or more died. This has been the same results in the US. But 50 million Americans don’t even have any healthcare coverage. And at least 200 million of you with insurance could not get in to see your private insurance plans doctors in 2 or 3 days, even if your life depended on it. WHICH IT DOES!
If President Obama has to declare a NATIONAL STATE OF EMERGENCY to rescue the American people from our healthcare crisis, he will need all the sustained support you can give him. STICK WITH HIM! He’s doing a brilliant job.
THIS IS THE BIG ONE!
THE BATTLE OF GOOD Vs EVIL!
Join the fight.
Contact congress and your representatives NOW! AND SPREAD THE WORD!
God Bless You
Jacksmith – WORKING CLASS
Finally, Grassley is shown for what he is. My condolences to all who thought that he really gave a **** about little children.
I don’t get your rambling post. What makes you think AMTA is lobbying against a public option?
Gina, I think it’s strange that you would bring up “caring about little children” in conjunction with Senator Grassley. As most Republicans oppose national health care, do you think all Republicans do not care about children? You have seemed pretty pro-MOTHERS Act so I could accuse you of not caring about children. I think here the arguments are a bit more complex than that. You can care about children and still be wrong about something that affects them. Example: MedScape Today Medical News reports on the risk of cardiac admissions and sudden cardiac deaths for children with ADHD. Does that mean that people who promote drugging children don’t care about them, or what? I’ll let you answer that one.
http://uniteforlife.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/adhd-drugs-increase-cardiac-risk-in-children/
AMTA was a signatory with the four major health industry lobbying groups of a letter pledging to reduce healthcare spending voluntarily by one trillion over the next decade.
http://tinyurl.com/lps3ko
This was in response to proposed healthcare reform. Although AMTA has not made a public statement against a public health option, to my knowledge, it is disingenuous to imply that they are not cooperating with the other groups AHIP, AMA, PhRMA and AHA who have declared their opposition to a public option. If not, maybe they should publicly say so.
Ms. Phil apparently has a degree in the Dark Arts of Rhetorical Distortion. Does she really think she’s fooling anyone?
Amanda Reckonwith – are you talking about me? It’s Philo not Phil. And you can feel free to address me as Amy, or Mrs. Philo if you prefer. Dark Arts? LOL Your name is hilarious too. I’m sorry that you have a problem with my site. That’s why people have the internet, they can read facts / opinions / see what they think is true and what they don’t. If you are so credible yourself then perhaps you should post under a real name instead of a pun. Shooting the messenger… if anyone is part of a dark art it certainly is not me.
Dr, SH,
The only thing the government controls in Canada is payment to doctors. It does not tell them how to practice.
People are also free to choose any doctor they want.
And if it is so bad, how come Canadians aren’t demonstrating in the streets that they want an American plan? Instead, newspapers are tired of heck at the lies we are spreading about their system.
Right now, you are not treated as an individual when you go to a doctor. If god forbid, you deviate from the normal patients, god help you.
The problem with a catastrophic only plan is people ignore troubling symptoms and won’t go to a doctor until it is too later due to not being able to afford it. In the end, that increases healthcare costs.
I think I do a great job of looking out for my well being by eating healthy and exercising. But if I am in the wrong place at the wrong time such as a car accident, it won’t matter.
So far, when I have heard arguments like yours, I have heard no answers. How would you change the system without that evil “government” so that people like me could get insurance without preexisting conditions? And if we did’, how would you avoid us being charged such outrageous sums that they were unaffordable? Also, please address rescission issues where people are getting dropped from insurance plans after getting sick even though they didn’t commit any fraud in their application.
I noticed on your website you have some type of concierge plans. Even if I can afford that, if god forbid, I am hospitalized, I could be wiped out financially without insurance.
Anyway, people’s lives are being destroyed due to not having health insurance or being underinsured. I just posted a link that shows that 22,000 people per year are dying due to lack of health insurance.
Your rhetoric isn’t going to help those folks. They need relief and they need it now.