Daily Health Care News - 7/31/09
Posted on July 31st, 2009 by Jason Rosenbaum in News Clips
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NEWS
Grassley promises not to sell out his party - The Hill
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, has assured his GOP colleagues that he will not sell them out and strike a private deal with Democrats on healthcare reform, according to Republican senators.
Liberal Democrats threaten to reject House healthcare compromise - LA Times
Reporting from Washington — After months of marching in line as senior Democrats worked with the White House to develop healthcare legislation, liberal lawmakers from solidly Democratic districts are threatening a revolt that could doom President Obama's bid to sign a major bill this year.
Industry Is Generous To Influential Bloc - Washington Post
On June 19, Rep. Mike Ross of Arkansas made clear that he and a group of other conservative Democrats known as the Blue Dogs were increasingly unhappy with the direction that health-care legislation was taking in the House.
House panel prepares to wrap up health care bill - Associated Press
WASHINGTON — As recently as two weeks ago it might not have looked like much of a victory. But after a series of delays and some rancorous disputes over President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, final House committee action on a health overhaul bill is sure to be hailed as a big step forward.
Debunking The Myths Of Health Insurance Reform - Media Matters
As Congress heads home for the August recess, Media Matters Action Network wants to make sure members are armed with the facts regarding the myths about health insurance reform. Each of these statements shares the common bond of both being completely false, and having been spoken by Republican members of Congress during the past week.
Baucus Could Lose Chairmanship Over Stalled Health Care Negotiations - Think Progress
Four House and Senate committees have produced bills to reform health care, and a deal with conservative Blue Dogs in the House suggests that the final House committee involved in negotiations will release a bill shortly. Only Sen. Max Baucus’ (D-MT) Senate Finance Committee has been unable to reach a deal, with two key Republican Senators announcing today that they plan to delay progress even further until after the August recess. In light of the Finance Committee’s inability to move forward, several senators have decided to play hardball with the Committee’s chair.
OPINION
GOP Health Plan Is Modeled on Banking Deregulation - Think Progress
Apparently incapable of coming up with a single new idea, House Republicans plan to release a health plan today which is plagiarized almost entirely from the McCain-Palin health plan that voters soundly rejected last November. Amazingly, the “new” GOP plan even lifts McCain’s widely-panned proposal to deregulate the health insurance industry in exactly the same way the banking industry was deregulated over the last several decades.
The Fire Department: A Public Option - Matt Yglesias
Tina Dupuy had a nice item in the Huffington Post yesterday noting that urban firefighting in the United States was once a private for-profit industry. Then around the middle of the nineteenth century, cities began to decide that this system was too haphazard, corruption-prone, and unfair and thus began the dread big-government takeover of firefighting.
Health Care Realities - New York Times
At a recent town hall meeting, a man stood up and told Representative Bob Inglis to “keep your government hands off my Medicare.” The congressman, a Republican from South Carolina, tried to explain that Medicare is already a government program — but the voter, Mr. Inglis said, “wasn’t having any of it.”
What's Behind the Liberal Revolt on Health Care? - Ezra Klein
There's been some liberal discontent over the deal struck between Henry Waxman and the Blue Dogs yesterday. In particular, House progressives are angry that the public plan, which previously could use Medicare payment rates (with some exceptions) in its first three years of operation, now has to negotiate its own payment rates from the outset. Substantively, this isn't a particularly big deal. But then, it's not really about this.
Is it possible to find a copy of the bill on health care reform? I would like to read it. I haven't heard or read enough unbiased reports to be able to respond. I have Medicare, which I paid into for a lot of years and still pay a premium for each month. I also have a secondary policy with Blue Cross - Blue Shield, which I pay $300.00/month for. I also have deductibles to pay, beginning in January each year. I'm concerned about all of the remarks I hear about cuts in health care for old people. I'm not asking for help. I just want to know what to fight for or AGAINST! I do know people who do not have any type of health insurance. They need help! As for me, I just need to go on taking care of myself and making sure that what I have worked and paid for stays there for me "at the time in my life when I need it most."
Here is the text:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text
There are no cuts in care or eligibility to Medicare or Medicaid in the bill. None.
from Think Progress:
Right-Wing Harassment Strategy Against Dems Detailed in Memo: 'Yell,' 'Stand Up And Shout Out,' 'Rattle Him'
Friday 31 July 2009
by: Lee Fang http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/31/recess-harassment-memo/
This morning, Politico reported that Democratic members of Congress are increasingly being harassed by "angry, sign-carrying mobs and disruptive behavior" at local town halls. For example, in one incident, right-wing protesters surrounded Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and forced police officers to have to escort him to his car for safety.
This growing phenomenon is often marked by violence and absurdity. Recently, right-wing demonstrators hung Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) in effigy outside of his office. Missing from the reporting of these stories is the fact that much of these protests are coordinated by public relations firms and lobbyists who have a stake in opposing President Obama's reforms.
The lobbyist-run groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, which orchestrated the anti-Obama tea parties earlier this year*, are now pursuing an aggressive strategy to create an image of mass public opposition to health care and clean energy reform. A leaked memo from Bob MacGuffie, a volunteer with the FreedomWorks website Tea Party Patriots, details how members should be infiltrating town halls and harassing Democratic members of Congress:
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Rocking the Town Halls — Best Practices
A Political Action Memo
We here in Fairfield County Connecticut conducted an action at Jim Himes's Town Hall meeting in May 2009. We believe there are some best practices which emerged from the event and our experience, which could be useful to activists in just about any district where their Congressperson has supported the socialist agenda of the Democrat leadership in Washington.
Artificially Inflate Your Numbers: "Spread out in the hall and try to be in the front half. The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up. The Rep should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington."
Be Disruptive Early And Often: "You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep's presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early."
Try To "Rattle Him," Not Have An Intelligent Debate: "The goal is to rattle him, get him off his prepared script and agenda. If he says something outrageous, stand up and shout out and sit right back down. Look for these opportunities before he even takes questions."
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The memo above also resembles the talking points being distributed by FreedomWorks for pushing an anti-health reform assault all summer. Patients United, a front group maintained by Americans for Prosperity, is currently busing people all over the country for more protests against Democratic members. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the NRCC, has endorsed the strategy, telling Politico the days of civil town halls are now "over."
Meanwhile, AHIP, the trade group and lobbying juggernaut representing the health insurance industry is sending staffers to monitor town halls and other right-wing front groups are stepping up their ad campaign to smear reform efforts. The strategy for defeating reform - recently outlined by an influential lobbyist to the Hill newspaper as "delay" then "kill" - is becoming apparent. By delaying a vote until after the August recess, lobbyists are now seizing upon recess town halls as opportunities to ambush lawmakers and fool them into believing there is wide opposition to reform.
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