Jul 28 2009
Centrists In Senate May Get Nation On Track With Health Care Reform
Stay away from the fringes if you want to lead this nation. That appears to be the new political wisdom that has come out of years of ping-ponging between the ideological margins that the nation has experienced from the waning days of the GOP led Congress to the last few years of Liberal led Congress.
And no better example of this new trend in politics is the work being done in the senate by centrists to get health care reform back on track:
After weeks of secretive talks, three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee were edging closer to a compromise that excludes a requirement many congressional Democrats seek for large businesses to offer coverage to their workers. Nor would there be a provision for a government insurance option, despite Obama’s support for such a plan, officials said.
The Finance senators were considering a tax of as much as 35 percent on very high-cost insurance policies, part of an attempt to rein in rapid escalation of costs. Also likely to be included in any deal was creation of a commission charged with slowing the growth of Medicare.
Two good things are resulting out of this: no mandate on insurance on companies and no government run plan that would destroy and consume all private insurance. It is not perfect. There are no easy or painless solutions.
For example, to reduce Medicare costs means limiting what is available to the retiring baby boomers who are transitioning from a productive element of society to a drain on resources. A well earned and honorable drain, mind you, but these folks have to realize they cannot live high on the hog and will not get the same level of bottomless support their parents received. We don’t have the people in the work force to do this.
The right and left will scream their usual obstructionists screams, claiming there is a mythical simple solution, which for some dumb reason has never materialized. Trust me, these centrists will not be seen as evil or mushy by the people of this nation who want leaders to join forces and help fix our problems.
And actually conman people will be left to die. They will simply not be given treatment if they are deemed not worth the effort. That is what happens when you ration health care.
And you can say that is not true, but promising to cut costs and expand care at the same time is not possible either, not unless care is rationed and controlled.
And coming up with some crap from CBS news means nothing. Seen the latest graphics from the CBO on the true costs of this plan of Obama’s? but then again, Pelosi can just print some more right?
Conman, do you mean to say the GOP is doing to health care reform what the Democrats did to Social Security reform in 2005? As in, how they opposed Bush’s plan without offering their own solution? I never supported Bush’s plan, but weren’t the Democrats out to make Bush as irrelevant as you claim the GOP is trying to do to Obama?
Or, maybe if Pelosi would allow Republicans into the process, you know, in the spirit of bipartisanship that the Dems promised. Wait, I forgot what Obama would say in response- “I won.”
Is it not true that *Senator* Barack Obama voted AGAINST every single health care reform bill?
Wonder why…
And to those who keep spouting the democrat spin, I say, Bring it on! Imho, this is the death of the democrat party if Nancy’s or Rahm’s desires are manifested. The American people DO NOT want what they want. Fact.
Imho, this whole bill is about building the democrat base…a raw, political, power grab.
Terrye,
Let’s review the facts. We have a government run health care plan called Medicare that covers the most costly segment of our society – seniors. After more than 40 years in effect, it has not led to people being left to die to save money. So there is a real life example that dispells your fear. You can speculate all you want, but the one example of an actual government run health care plan shows that you are wrong.
Meanwhile, our current health care system does exactly what you fear. What about the 50 million Americans who either can’t afford health insurance or cannot get insured because of pre-existing conditions? Given our employer-based system, unemployment is significantly increasing the number of uninsured. If they get a serious illness that requires expensive treatments, we just let them die. The more serious the illness, the more difficult and costly it is to obtain private insurance, so the ones who need it the most are most vulnerable. But who gives a crap about 50 million Americans and rising being left to die because they can’t obtain health insurance?
Marksbbr,
“Conman, do you mean to say the GOP is doing to health care reform what the Democrats did to Social Security reform in 2005? As in, how they opposed Bush’s plan without offering their own solution? I never supported Bush’s plan, but weren’t the Democrats out to make Bush as irrelevant as you claim the GOP is trying to do to Obama?”
Yes, it is the same thing. But what is your point? Is that how you think we solve our nations problems – let the political parties play their little partisan games at our expense and then say “well they did it to us last time!”
Health care reform is too big of a problem to allow either political party to hijack it for purely partisan reasons. While Social Security is a problem that needs to be addressed, it pails in comparison to our health care problems. Our health care costs are far and away the highest in the industrial world (almost 17% of GDP) even though all other industrialized countries provide universal health care for their citizens. It is projected to account for 20% of our GDP by 2018. Small and medium businesses are getting crushed by the cost of health care. If we don’t make fundamental changes soon, rising health care costs will doom this country.
Terrye,
“And coming up with some crap from CBS news means nothing.”
You crack me up. I cited to the CBS story to support my statement that the GOP plan was a 4-page outline because the story contains an actual link to the GOP plan. Had you taken 2 seconds to actually read the CBS story, you would have realized how stupid you would look if you challeneged a news story that actually provides a link to the plan. But per usual for you, you just started spouting off your usual talking points and reinforced what most of us already know about you.
Conman, no that’s not how I roll. I don’t think it’s right for any party to obstruct reform in order to score points. I’m glad that we both agree that the Dems played this same game with Social Security. And, if you have read any of my other posts in previous topics, I have said before that I wish the GOP would release some real plans of their own.
But, how can you say that Social Security pails in comparison? I believe they are both equally important. I know people are having a hard time with medical bills… I know from experience, either myself or my family. But I’m just as troubled with Social Security, and I wonder if it will be there when I need it (I’m 27). With the boomers retiring and less and less people paying into the system, I don’t think it’s worth being blown off.
conman:
Understand this: I review your comments and do not go beyond the first condescending lines. So once you said “let’s review the facts” I stopped reading and snorted to myself. etc. If you want people to read your stuff and actually respond to it, do not write a long winded lecture.
The truth is that the government could literally buy health care insurance for all the insured for a fraction of what this piece of crap costs. It is not about providing care, it is about gaining power.
So if you want to review the facts and come up with some fairy tale crap do so by yourself.
As far as social security paling in comparison, tell that to the people on social security.
BTW,l work in health care. The fiction out there that people are dying for lack of care, that businesses are going belly up because we need reform is nonsense. Obama is going to suck more money out of the economy with his deficits than the rising costs of health care will.
So the idea that all the little Obamabots have that this is something we have to do right now and that we have to do it the way Pelosi says or we shall perish is propraganda.
The GOP does have ideas, the fact that those ideas depend more on market forces than they do incompetent overpaid government officials does not mean they do not exists.
And btw conman, Medicare can refuse care right now if they deem people are noncompliant. If we go to a system like this it will only make the system less efficient and more arbitrary. To be honest, I do not think Obama can do his own job…so why would I want him watching over doctors.
The AARP and other groups have been bought off. The AMA had to be promised an additional $245 billion in reimbursements before they would give any support. The AARP is just a lobbying group like so many others that work with the Obama administration. Their first concern is politics, not the welfare of their members.
That is all this is, it is not about health care…it is about money and power.
And the idea that once Barack Obama has taken over that all of a suddent health care will be free is absurd. If anything it will costs more money. So says the CBO.
Right now people are more worried about losing their jobs…and in fact that in and of itself can and will effect health care costs for more families than this silly useless bill.
BTW, conman. I don’t read CBS crap. If you want to talk about the GOP plan, you can go to the source.