Good enough for us, but not for them

Some of us (guess who?) are more equal than others.

The proposed US "universal" health care reform bill allows US Representatives, Senators and their staff to keep their existing excellent health care programs. The House draft wording only allows us to keep our private plans only if it remains unchanged (unlikely) and only if we remain with our current employer. New job? Tough luck!

Various provisions will lead to employers dropping their plans or to insurers changing or discontinuing them so eventually many of us (except the political elites) will have to join the new public plan.

The new plan is touted as being as good or better than private plans but apparently it's not good enough Reps, Senators and their staff. This is just not right. Universal should apply to everyone, including them.

Senator Tom Coburn introduced an amendment to the Senate version that requires them and their staff to enroll in the new health care program. This passed the Senate health committee by a 12-11 vote.

It is expected that this provision will be stripped out at a later time.

What do they know about this plan is that we don't? Why didn't they require themselves to be part of this plan?

You should contact your congressional delegation and ask them to insist that this provision be included in the final version and to oppose any backroom or conference committee deals to later remove it.

Also ask them to insist that all congressional dealings on this bill remain transparent and that proposed be available in writing on the internet as promised for timely public scrutiny at least a week in advance of any vote.

Further, just as we can now sue doctors who make mistakes, under this new plan we also need to be able to sue the government and individually, the government employees for mistakes in interpretation and application of the provisions of this new plan. They need to be held accountable for decisions that can mean life or death.

Ask them to pledge that the bill and any future amendments will require Reps, Senators and their staff to always be covered only by this new universal health care plan so we will know this plan is really good for all of us.

As more time light shines on the health care reform bill the more support it loses and opposition it gains. This is another Stimulus type of bill in the making in that it is one that the lobbyists write and Reid and Pelosi don't even allow anyone in Congress to read before trying to ram it through for approval. they know that if the details are made available to the public it won't stand a chance of passing. If this does pass it will be another debacle like the Stimulus Bill has turned out. Even Democrat and Republican governors alike don't want this health reform bill.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/he.../20health.html

This is being rushed too fast and not enough people know enough about it or are paying attention to it.

Rather than posting in this thread, everyone needs to be asking their congressman and senators what's wrong with the plan that they are not going to participate in it.

They also need to tell them there will be unfavorable consequences if the wordings are not made available on the internet a week in advance of the vote as was promised. No more sneaking the thing through.

Obama, Reid and Pelosi know that if this isn't passed BEFORE the August recess it will likely die in the fall. One the people in Congress go back to their districts and states they will be getting an earful from their constituents and it won't be supportive of all the massive deficit spending Obama is proposing.

The first sign of Obama losing his luster was him telling us that the unemployment rate wouldn't exceed 8% if the Stimulus Bill was passed ASAP. Well, now that it has hit 9.5% and is expected to hit 10-11%, or more, his credibility has taken a huge hit. His poll numbers are falling fast, especially relating to his legislative agenda and handling of the economy. He might have had a chance to regain support but almost everything he has proposed, or gotten passed, will hurt economic and job growth in the long term. Many Democrats (especially the blue dogs) are seeing the writing on the wall with Obama and they are starting to distance themselves from him and the health reform bill is where this loss of support is currently showing up the most.

Don't count on it dying before the August recess. They're pushing hard. If you don't want it, you need to tell your congressman and two senators NOW. An email takes 5 minutes. It will be the best 15 minutes you've ever spent.

So let me get this right ...

In the USA, they are removing all access to private medical insurance for all non-elite citizens?
And given the limited & shoddy help the US citizens already get for health care, this is basically doing away with public healthcare?

Zeitgeist!

So how's the umero going?
How are those new embedded RFID chips going?

Debro for World President

Writing to your congress or such doesn't work. Why you ask? Well I wrote to speak my mind before the stimulus was passed this last time and was replied by the Governor, Senate ect... of my state that this was a good thing and that it was needed or all society will fall so said in such words. So I expect nothing from my letter this time but the hey America needs this and we are going to allow it Sad thing is just like the social Security thing congress doesn't fall under the new bill and I think if it applies to all Americans this should include Congress and such too.

We are a dieing Society so enjoy the ride.

I called my Democrat congressman's office before the Climate Bill was voted on in the House and gave them an earful over it. I am doing the same today on the health care bill. Congress has had royalty status on many things for decades. Remember the banking scandal when they would run up massive overdraws on their checking accounts for years on end and with no penalties? They have their own barbers, restaurants, health care etc. and are rarely affected by the legislation they thrust upon the common folks. This health care bill is just more of the same except it also extends to all federal government employees being exempted too. If Congress wants to enact national health care then they can start by fixing the current social security and medicare systems FIRST before piling another unfunded mandate program on our economy.

If only a few write, that's true (unless they are big donors). The stimulus bill was rushed through in a crisis atmosphere because they knew if people had the time to learn about it, then it would not pass. They are trying to do the same thing here. They should not be allowed to get away with it.

It only takes 5 minutes to send an email - the same amount of time as it takes to post here. it will be the best 15 minutes you've ever spent.

You will only get a non-committal generic response but believe me they keep close track of the positive and negative emails. Overwhelming public reaction has stopped other bills but everyone needs to write to have any effect.

Do it NOW.

Well who hasn't done it already? You keep saying it takes just 5 minutes consistently but I have already but believe my cry will just be ignored again.

I believe that this pressure will make it pass or Obama will do things his way to make it just happen behind the screens.

Thanks for contacting them.

In the past, other than the illegal amnesty bill that's all I ever did.

This time it's too important to do just that.

This is the first time I have ever posted a message like this in the Lounge/Off Topic sub-forums on the boards in which I participate.

In the past I may have also emailed friends and family, but this time I am also emailing local radio talk show hosts and writing letters to the editors of local newspapers.

They will pull less behind the scenes shenanigans if they know people are watching.

Very true but from hearing reaction on CNN it seems that majority of congress opposes this bill but Obama is still pushing it to pass.

Many in Congress that blindly followed Obama on the Stimulus Bill are now getting stung by that decision. I think they are getting very wary of following him down the next primrose path. That being said, it doesn't mean that we should not make our feelings known to your representative and senators in Congress. After they rammed the climate bill through the House, I don't take anything for granted.

Trust me many of the congress and the senate are not in favor of this new bill because they are not able to go through it but rather just sign it. They are not blind sheep from what I have seen on CNN right now and they are not happy with the statement pass the bill before August. As stated Obama is rushing it to pull wool over all eyes and to rush it is the only way to get the pressure to sign it into a bill. I have private insurance and I don't agree personally to get less and pay more premium. What needs done as said is to reform the medicare/medicaid to apply it to the truly needy and not the greedy.

The other thing that needs to be done is Tort reform. The lawyers are driving up medical costs, through massive numbers of lawsuits, more than anyone by making liability insurance so expensive for doctors and hospitals. There needs to be an avenue for people to seek legal solutions to their problems but there also needs to be penalties for lawyers that make a living filing frivolous medical lawsuits. There also need to be reasonable caps on jury awards. Then again, the trial lawyers own the Democrat Party so that part of the cost saving equation will never see the light of day in any health care reform bill presented, and pushed, by them.

"The Congressional Budget Office found that “Malpractice costs account for less than 2 percent of [health care] spending.” Congressional Budget Office, Limiting Tort Liability for Medical Malpractice 1, 6 (Jan. 8, 2004)."

And some more info:

Pipe please quit posting facts, your confusing UTR.

"Medical malpractice cases are a tiny percentage of tort cases filed each year and the vast majority settle without litigation.

* Medical malpractice cases account for only about four percent of tort cases. Examining the Work of State Courts, 2005, A National Perspective from the Court Statistics Project (2006) at 29.

* In the Harvard closed claims study, only fifteen percent of claims were decided by trial verdict. Other research shows that 90 percent of cases are settled without jury trial, with some estimates indicating that the figure is as high as 97 percent. Testimony of Neil Vidmar, Russell M. Robinson, II Professor of Law, Duke Law School before The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, “Hearing on Medical Liability: New Ideas for Making the System Work Better for Patients,” June 22, 2006 at 17."

http://www.insurance-reform.org/issu...heet2009F.html

Some more info:

You are right. I am all confused. Especially after studying these graphs:







It looks to me like Californians did themselves a big favor passing Prop 103. I wonder what their budget deficit would be now if they hadn't passed it. These numbers are from 2001. I bet they are far worse now.

Why would a cap on malpractice awards or insurance rates have any impact on the state budget?

Does anyone really think the cost of premiums for medical malpractice insurance has remained basically flat from 1970 to 2000?

You don't think the State of California pays medical bills on behalf of the people living in their state?