Daily Health Care News - 8/25/09
Posted on August 25th, 2009 by Jason Rosenbaum in News Clips
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NEWS
Democrats plan hundreds of reform rallies - Politico
Faced with a souring public mood on health care reform, Democrats and their supporters are launching a national grassroots push Wednesday to show lawmakers that the majority of Americans still support overhauling the system.
Dems increase talk of moving healthcare without GOP - The Hill
A leading House Democrat on Monday said Democrats are prepared to pass healthcare reform without Republican support, echoing comments made over the weekend by a leading Senate Democrat.
Big employers dip into health care debate - MSNBC
Hoping to rein in costs, some are taking a stand on health care reform
Grassley Airs Doubts About Health Bill - Wall Street Journal
Sen. Charles Grassley signaled growing skepticism about the likelihood of Democrat-led health-care legislation passing this year, telling a town-hall meeting here Monday, "Now is the time to do this right or not do it."
RNC Chairman Steele's Op-Ed Attempts To Distract Seniors From The Truth - Media Matters
On August 24, 2009, RNC Chairman Michael Steele wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post regarding seniors' health care and outlining the GOP's "Seniors Health Care Bill of Rights." However, instead of offering real solutions or finally agreeing to cooperate with Democrats, Steele's piece spreads falsehoods and misinformation with the goal of derailing efforts to help America's senior citizens.
Supporters of health care reform dominate town hall session - Kansas City Star
After an August dominated by their opponents, health care reform advocates pushed back on Monday.
Dueling Words on Medicare - New York Times
In the campaign for the hearts and minds of older Americans — the cohort most nervous about a health care overhaul — Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, was on a news media tour Monday promoting a Seniors’ Health Care Bill of Rights.
Policy Experts Call Fear of Medical Rationing Unfounded - New York Times
“Rationing.”
It is what many people say they fear most from an overhaul of the health care system — the prospect of the federal government’s limiting the medical care they can receive.
OPINION
Max Baucus’ Flip-Flops - Matt Yglesias
Jon Chait notes that the arbitrary deadline on completely a health reform bill that Max Baucus is now deriding is a deadline that Baucus himself set. That said, in the annals of Baucus health reform flip-flops this is pretty small beer. Comprehensive health reform is hard, and the United States Senate is not all that friendly to progressive policy. But one of the big reasons—in many ways the single most important reason—to have been optimistic about progressive health care policy is the stuff Max Baucus was saying during the transition.
From ‘Death Panel’ To ‘Death Book,’ Conservatives Amplify ‘Health Reform Will Kill You’ Narrative - Think Progress
On August 18th, Jim Towey — director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives from 2002 to May 2006 — wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in which he criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs for distributing an end-of-life counseling booklet that “presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political ‘push poll.’”
Now the GOP Loves Medicare? It's So Hard to Keep Track. - The New Republic
In this morning’s Washington Post, RNC chairman Michael Steele weighs in with what he modestly calls a “Seniors’ Health Care Bill of Rights.” Continuing on the death panel theme, Steele comes out against various mythical rationing measures no Democrat proposes or supports. He goes on to say the following:
Stealth Nationalization - Slate
How government programs are saving insurance companies from disaster.
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BTW I love your blog!
How will this be paid for? If it can be paid for im all for Natl Health Care. Problem is, it cant be. No way no how, not without destroying consumptive American economy. Higher taxes and by necessity less consumption results. Those that say NHC wont wipe out insurance companies are wrong. While im not against that im against lower standards of care. What will happen is public care option will have the equivilent effect on care delivery that of appointed attorneys have for felons that cant afford anything but govt appointed attorneys. They are convicted.
Doctors of lesser repute and skill will care for those in NHC while those insured privately will have Drs of better quality, delivering better care, which will well be the difference between life and death. This of course until insurance companies are wiped out, along with the ability of Americans to afford private insurance.
Why should Drs work for less? They dont give a crap about the Hippocratic oath…should be the Hypocritic oath. Only the money matters, until single payer wipes it out.
Your argument for single payer guarantees lower care delivery over time as more capable people opt into other fields than lower paying medicine:not withstanding the govt total inability to run a fraud free system. Aint gonna happen…to whit…Medicare. Never been a more fraud laced program than medicare in the history of the US.
So you folks that love single payer… get ready to die young, much younger than your folks. It will happen.
Nobody is arguing for single payer. And yes, reform is paid for: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq#c1
HAHAHA! Its called Omnibus Reconcilation Act of 2011, after this health bill passes. Obams goal since Congress is single payer. He said it himself. This is fact.
The thesis is that public health services under the new plan will be so poor, that more public $ will have to be raised to pay Drs as incentive to participate, which will increase the economic attractiveness of the public option(ergo the Omnibus legis) as compared to the private option. Nothing will be said about the increased taxes required to pay for this.
Historical precedent exists for this(think drs no longer accepting medicare patients because it only pays 20% of the bill for services rendered). This is fact and happening every day. Using that argument as the basis for this one, Drs will accept fewer and fewer 'public option' patients cause they wont be paid on time or market rates as the buracracy kicks in. This will force the Govt to use its ability to print $ and tax to penalize insurance companies and raise costs to private subscribers and physicians to drive the private providers under, thereby rendering public option as the only option.
Listen not to what politicians say but to what the DO. Bait and switch is an old game.
I find the fear of government "rationing" healthcare rather strange. Isn't the healthcare of the 50 million uninsured already rationed? Is the government going to ration it even more? Arn't the insurance companies rationing healthcare by denying covergae and purgin people? Is the proposed healthare plan going to encourage the insurance companies to insure even fewer people?
I might add that the oponents of healthcare reform are also worried about the cost. Well, if the cost will increase then probably healthacre will not be rationed any more than it is now.
The rationing objection is absurd. Unfortunately nobody is pointing out this absurdity.