Universal Health Care for America

[Guest Parry]

Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson made this comment today after the Senate voted 54-45 to table an amendment he proposed with Sens. Orrin Hatch, Bob Casey and others to extend the federal standard disallowing public funding for abortion to the Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009, the Senate health care bill.

 

"I am disappointed," said Senator Nelson. "Our proposal to ensure that the Senate health care bill doesn’t open the door to public funding of abortion was reasonable. It was rational because it followed established federal policy. And it was right because taxpayers shouldn’t be required to pay for abortions.”

[Guest ALWAYS RED]

In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed.

 

In 2005, the cost of a nonhospital abortion with local anesthesia at 10 weeks’ gestation ranged from $90 to $1,800; the average amount paid was $413.

 

Do the math. We are talking roughly a half a billion dollars taxpayers will now be forced to pay for with this new health care bill.

[Guest Levana Layendecker]

In the last week, the public health insurance option Majority Leader Reid put into his merged bill was stripped out, and a "compromise" allowing people over the age of 55 to buy into Medicare if they chose was added and then also stripped to appease Senators Joe Lieberman.1,2 The leadership and the White House accepted these changes in order to move forward, and they have introduced a bill in the Senate that reflects this.3,4

 

The compromise, which took away the best way to truly hold the insurance companies accountable, provoked an angry reaction from health reform supporters.5 Frankly, we're angry, too. The new bill released today does include a number of new, tougher insurance reforms, including a patients' bill of rights, restrictions on how much insurers can spend on administration and profit, and an attempt to hold down insurance premium increases.

 

Right now, the Senate bill looks like it will pass the Senate next week and move into conference with the House, which has a much better bill that it passed last month.6

 

What needs to be fixed?

 

The Senate bill, as it stands now, has major problems that need to be fixed. We need to make sure that the final bill that goes to President Obama's desk provides good, affordable coverage and holds insurance companies accountable.

 

Here's what must be fixed:

 

1. Make health care affordable

The Senate bill does not make health care affordable at work, and would encourage employers to hire part-time workers and offer bare-bones benefits. We need the final legislation to do what the House bill does - require all but the smallest employers to contribute a fair amount to good coverage for their workers.

 

And for those people who are self-employed or in between jobs, both bills need improvement on affordability. The Senate bill doesn't do enough to make coverage affordable for low-and-moderate income families and the House falls short for middle-income families. The final bill should combine the best of both.

 

2. Hold insurance companies accountable

The final bill must include strong consumer protections and insurance regulations for all consumers, and give the federal government responsibility for running the new insurance marketplaces. Generally, the House bill is better, but we need Congress to pick the strongest provisions from both bills to be sure that everyone with insurance benefits from strong consumer protections.

 

The final bill should also give us the choice of a national public health insurance option that's available on day one.

Fairly finance health care reform

 

The Senate bill taxes the health care benefits of millions of workers to pay for health reform. There's a better way to pay for health reform that won't raise premiums and out of pocket costs. By contrast, the House bill asks those who can most afford to pay their fair share to finance reform, as President Obama promised during his campaign.

 

The final bill should ask the richest to pay their fair share for reform, instead of taxing our health care benefits.

 

What's next?

 

The reason that conservative Democrats like Ben Nelson and Independent Joe Lieberman have been able to hold the bill hostage to their demands is that Republicans have insisted on filibustering the bill every step of the way, requiring all 60 Senators who are part of the Democratic caucus to agree. That will continue this week, with the next 60-vote motion happening on Monday and perhaps two more 60-votes motions occurring during the week.

 

After the Senate passes their health care bill, it will head into "conference" with the House bill. There, leaders from each branch of Congress, as well as the White House, will work to resolve the differences between the two bills and come up with something that can pass and be sent to the President's desk.

 

Conference is an opportunity to stand up for the three priorities listed above, and make sure the final bill guarantees us quality, affordable health care, with the choice of a public health insurance option. The legislation that comes out of the conference will be sent to both houses of Congress for a final vote, and will require a majority in the House and 60 votes one more time in the Senate.

 

What can be done?

 

In the coming days, we'll be asking you to let your Senators, member of Congress and President Obama hear from you. We'll be rolling out with a campaign to stand up for the fixes we must see to get the best bill possible to the President's desk. We'll be asking you to take part, raise your voice, and help us fight for what we believe in.

 

It's been a tough week for health care reformers, there's no question. But we need to get ready, because it's not over yet.

 

As President Teddy Roosevelt once said, "Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, and difficulty." This last week has been painful and difficult, and there's a lot of effort ahead. We'll all be taking this time over the holidays to recharge for the coming fight.

[Guest LAW]

Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson made the following remarks at a press conference this morning announcing his support for the Senate health care bill, which will reduce costs, expand access, and improve health care for all Nebraskans:

 

“Change is never easy...but change is what is needed in America today. And that is why I intend to vote for cloture… and vote for health care reform.

 

On the floor of the Senate, in town hall meetings throughout our states, and in one-on-one meetings with our constituents, we have all heard heart wrenching stories of people who are left behind, or forced into bankruptcy, or caught in the grip of a health care system that just doesn’t work as well as it should.

 

While each of my colleagues may differ on how to fix the system, I know of no member who suggests the current system is satisfactory; I know of no member who doesn’t think we need to change our health care system. Where we differ—and I say so with great respect to all my colleagues—is in the way we fix our health care system.

 

I believe in the free marketplace as the foundation of our economy and as the primary force that should drive our health care system. That is why I opposed the public option and yet supported the market exchanges. I truly believe that a competitive health care system will lower costs and provide better health care for the American people.

 

Having said that, I also recognize the legitimate role of government, and the need for governmental regulation…to address the shortcomings of the free market system and the need to reach out and help those who need a helping hand. That is why I support the very significant insurance reforms that are a part of this bill and the subsidies provided to lower-income Americans so they to will have access to affordable and quality health care.

 

This legislation is good for our country and good for Nebraska.

 

I would like to touch on the issue of abortion. As you know, I have strongly held views on the subject and I have fought hard to prevent tax dollars from being used to subsidize abortions. I believe we have accomplished that goal. I have also fought hard to protect the right of states to regulate the kind of insurance that is offered, and to provide health insurance options in every state that do not provide coverage for abortion.

 

I know this is hard for some of my colleagues to accept. And I appreciate their right to disagree. But I would not have voted for this bill without these provisions.

 

I would like to acknowledge the administration. Perhaps most remarkable of all has been the leadership of our Majority Leader, Senator Reid. To craft this landmark legislation, shepherd it through the legislative process, deal with the many competing interests associated with this legislation, and acquire the necessary votes to end the filibuster is an accomplishment of historic proportions.

 

I truly believe this legislation will stand the test of time and will be noted as one of the major reforms of the 21st century; much like social security, Medicare, and civil rights legislation were milestones of the 20th century. Because of Senator Reid’s dedication and hard work, the lives of tens of millions of Americans will be improved, lives will be saved, and our health care system will once again reflect the better nature of our country.

 

I would like to take a moment to talk about something that will likely fall on deaf ears. The debate about health care has been passionate, and I believe good for our country. From the far right to the extreme left, the American people have voiced their opinion. That is good; that is part of our democracy.

 

What has been disheartening about this debate are the reckless and ludicrous claims that have been hurled at one another--from both sides--in the heat of the debate. Opponents of this legislation are not less patriotic or insensitive to the health care crisis we face in America. Supporters would not be standing here today if for a moment they thought this legislation would cause harm to the American people.

 

Yet if you turn on the television or read some of the statements coming from both sides of this debate you would think otherwise. The quality of this debate has not always measured up to the quality of the American people. We can do better.

 

There is still much work to be done before this legislation becomes reality. In the weeks ahead I look forward to working my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make it an even better bill.

 

Less as a threat, and more of a promise – let me be clear. This cloture vote is based on a full understanding that there will be a limited conference between the Senate and House. If there are material changes in the conference report to this bill that adversely affect this agreement, I reserve the right to vote against the next cloture vote. Let me repeat: if the conference report has material changes to this agreement, I am reserving the right to vote against cloture.

 

Change is sometimes hard. Certainly the passage of this legislation has been a struggle. Yet when all is said and done and health care reform has become a reality, I am convinced we will look back at this moment in American history and proudly take note that it was worth the effort.”

[Guest Congressman Steve King]

"The Nelson abortion language in the Reid amendment mandates federal funding for abortion in all health insurance plans (even for men, seniors, and homosexuals) provided an exception of one policy not covering abortion is offered within each state, unless a state passes a law prohibiting coverage of abortion through state health insurance exchanges. States can, by state statute, opt out of abortion coverage. The bill forces all states to offer one policy which does not cover abortion but, absent a state opt out and with a single insurance policy exception, all states are forced into abortion coverage.

 

"If states prohibit abortion coverage by law, the new statute could be reversed by a subsequent legislature, setting up a perpetual battle within the states to, first pass bans on abortion funding, then fight off efforts to repeal or modify the ban.

 

“There are restrictions written into the bill that require the segregation of funds. The Ellsworth language was rejected for similar reasons and so should the Nelson language. Money is fungible.

 

“The result: all American taxpayers will be required to fund abortions through refundable tax credits and subsidies funded out of the federal treasury. No American taxpayer can escape the federal mandate that compels them to send their tax dollars to the U.S. Treasury where they will see their money transferred into accounts that end up in the coffers of Planned Parenthood and other abortion practitioners to be used for abortions.

 

“If states opt out, their citizens, through federal taxes, will still be compelled to pay for abortions in other states, just not in their own states.

 

“Ben Nelson has traded innocent unborn human lives, a fundamental moral principle, for a monetary concession – set aside exclusively for Nebraska.”

[Guest Bernice]

Nelson's amendment would supposedly let states opt-out of this abortion-funding program, but is he concerned that state supreme courts would require abortion funding, as they've done in 13 states regarding Medicaid? “Look, we have a system of government that has three branches," Nelson said. "This is just one of those situations where sometimes the three branches have different opinions, and the courts are the final arbiter of those kind of issues.”

[Guest Linesman]

What about Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) giving her vote to Democratic leaders in exchange for including a provision in the health care bill that will award her state $300 million. Politics disgust me.

[Guest Gary]

If ObamaCare passes, it will void the Constitution and do away with states rights.

[Guest Gary]

If ObamaCare passes, it will void the Constitution and do away with states rights.

[Guest President Barack Obama]

The Senate made history and health reform cleared its most important hurdle yet -- garnering the 60 votes needed to move toward a final vote in that chamber later this week.

 

This marks the first time in our nation's history that comprehensive health reform has come to this point. And it appears that the American people will soon realize the genuine reform that offers security to those who have health insurance and affordable options to those who do not.

 

I'm grateful to Senator Harry Reid and every senator who's been working around the clock to make this happen. And I'm grateful to you, and every member of the Organizing for America community, for all the work you have done to make this progress possible.

 

After a nearly century-long struggle, we are now on the cusp of making health insurance reform a reality in the United States of America.

 

As with any legislation, compromise is part of the process. But I'm pleased that recently added provisions have made this landmark bill even stronger. Between the time when the bill passes and the time when the insurance exchanges get up and running, insurance companies that try to jack up their rates do so at their own peril. Those who hike their prices may be barred from selling plans on the exchanges.

 

And while insurance companies will be prevented from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions once the exchanges are open, in the meantime there will be a high-risk pool where people with pre-existing conditions can purchase affordable coverage.

 

A recent amendment has made these protections even stronger. Insurance companies will now be prohibited from denying coverage to children immediately after this bill passes. There's also explicit language in this bill that will protect a patient's choice of doctor. And small businesses will get additional assistance as well.

 

These protections are in addition to the ones we've been talking about for some time. No longer will insurance companies be able to drop your coverage if you become sick and no longer will you have to pay unlimited amounts out of your own pocket for treatments that you need.

 

Under this bill families will save on their premiums; businesses that would see their costs rise if we don't act will save money now and in the future. This bill will strengthen Medicare and extend the life of the program. Because it's paid for and gets rid of waste and inefficiency in our health care system, this will be the largest deficit reduction plan in over a decade.

 

Finally, this reform will extend coverage to more than 30 million Americans who don't have it.

 

These are not small changes. These are big changes. They're fundamental reforms. They will save money. They will save lives.

 

And your passion, your work, your organizing helped make all of this possible. Now it's time to finish the job.

 

Thank you,

 

President Barack Obama

[Guest ALWAYS RED]

The new federal insurance plan will fund, manage, and offer a full range "abortion coverage" through two national plans. Tax payers will see an increase in their yearly payment to the IRS to fund these abortions. Everyone will now be forced pay no matter what their religious beliefs. In addition, the new healthcare will turn individual doctor/patient needs into general doctor/patient product. Abortions will become a product. I can imagine them on television in the next few years.

 

Governor Dave Heineman called the health bill "bad news for Nebraskans" and urged Nelson to block a vote on it:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsq4J6_1SG0

 

Every other Republican governor of states with democrat senators should follow this example and call out their state’s representatives.

 

Read this George Washington University study and spread the word.

 

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2009/12/gwu-analysis-of-nelson-provision.php?page=1

[Guest USCCB]

The current health care reform bill is “deficient” and should not move forward without “essential changes,” the chairmen of three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said December 22.

 

The chairs, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, of the Committee on Migration, stated their position in a December 22 letter to senators working to pass the Senate version of health reform legislation.

 

The entire letter can be found at http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/letter-to-senate-20091222.pdf.

 

The legislative proposal now advancing "violates the longstanding federal policy against the use of federal funds for elective abortions and health plans that include such abortions -- a policy upheld in all health programs covered by the Hyde Amendment as well as in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program -- and now in the House-passed ‘Affordable Health Care for America Act,’” the bishops said.

 

They said that the health care bill passed by the House of Representatives “keeps in place the longstanding and widely supported federal policy against government funding of elective abortions and plans that include elective abortions” and “ensures that where federal funds are involved, people are not required to pay for other people’s abortions.” The Senate bill does not maintain this commitment.

 

In the Senate version, “federal funds will help subsidize, and in some cases a federal agency will facilitate and promote, health plans that cover elective abortions,” the bishops said. “All purchasers of such plans will be required to pay for other people’s abortions in a very direct and explicit way, through a separate premium payment designed solely to pay for abortion. There is no provision for individuals to opt out of this abortion payment in federally subsidized plans, so people will be required by law to pay for other people’s abortions.” The public consensus against abortion funding, said the bishops, “is borne out by many opinion surveys, including the new Quinnipiac University survey December 22 showing 72 percent opposed to public funding of abortion in health care reform legislation.”

 

“This bill also continues to fall short of the House-passed bill in preventing governmental discrimination against health care providers that decline involvement in abortion,” the bishops said. And it also “includes no conscience protection allowing Catholic and other institutions to provide and purchase health coverage consistent with their moral and religious convictions on other procedures.”

 

The bishops also called for all immigrants, regardless of status, to be able purchase a health insurance plan with their own money.

 

“Without such access, many immigrant families would be unable to receive primary care and be compelled to rely on emergency room care,” the bishops said. “This would harm not only immigrants and their families, but also the general public health. Moreover, the financial burden on the American public would be higher, as Americans would pay for uncompensated medical care through the federal budget or higher insurance rates.”

 

The bishops urged removal of the five-year ban on legal immigrants accessing federal health benefit programs, such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Medicare, which was proposed by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). His proposal, “which would give states the option to remove this ban, should be included in the bill.”

 

The bishops said they want health insurance to be affordable and said that while the Senate bill “makes great progress in covering people in our nation,” it “would still leave over 23 million people in our nation without health insurance. This falls far short of what is needed in both policy and moral dimensions.”

 

The bishops urged Congress and the Administration to “fashion health care reform legislation that truly protects the life, dignity, health and consciences of all.”

 

Right now, they said, “in all the areas of our moral concern, the Senate health care reform bill is deficient. On the issue of respect for unborn human life, the bill not only falls short of the House’s standard but violates longstanding precedent in all other federal health programs. Therefore we believe the Senate should not move this bill forward at this time but continue to discuss and approve changes that could make it morally acceptable. Until these fundamental flaws are remedied the bill should be opposed.”

 

“Regardless of the outcome in the Senate, we will work vigorously to incorporate into the final legislation our priorities for upholding conscience rights and longstanding current prohibitions on abortion funding; ensuring affordability and access; and including immigrants,” they added. “We hope and pray that the Congress and the country will come together around genuine reform.”

[Guest Maya]

I’m with the pro-lifers. I agree that it is likely impossible to create a bill from the current House and Senate versions that will ensure that no federal funds go toward funding abortions.

 

The segregation of funds will be artificial at best because money is fungible, so even if the subsidies from tax dollars go toward the non-abortion portion of the care, the subsidies will have facilitated the purchase of the abortion care.

[Guest I Watch Fox]

Did anyone watch Democratic Representative Bart Stupak talk about the White House pressure on staying quiet on discussing the Health Care debate.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdkgItpauiY

[Guest Human]

With the Democrats in power, it's pretty safe to say the type of health care that the democrats want "Quantity Care". Republicans wanted Quality Care.

 

 

What type of access to health care do we as a society really want Access too?

[Guest National Nurses United]

The 150,000 member National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional organization of registered nurses in the U.S., criticized the healthcare bill saying it is deeply flawed and grants too much power to the giant insurers.

 

"It is tragic to see the promise from Washington this year for genuine, comprehensive reform ground down to a seriously flawed bill that could actually exacerbate the healthcare crisis and financial insecurity for American families, and that cedes far too much additional power to the tyranny of a callous insurance industry," said NNU co-president Karen Higgins, RN.

 

NNU Co-president Deborah Burger, RN challenged arguments of legislation proponents that the bill should still be passed because of expanded coverage, new regulations on insurers, and the hope that it will be improved in the House-Senate conference committee or future years.

 

"Those wishful statements ignore the reality that much of the expanded coverage is based on forced purchase of private insurance without effective controls on industry pricing practices or real competition and gaping loopholes in the insurance reforms,” said Burger.

 

Further, said NNU Co-president Jean Ross, RN, “the bill seems more likely to be eroded, not improved, in future years due to the unchecked influence of the healthcare industry lobbyists and the lessons of this year in which all the compromises have been made to the right.”

 

"Sadly, we have ended up with legislation that fails to meet the test of true healthcare reform, guaranteeing high quality, cost effective care for all Americans, and instead are further locking into place a system that entrenches the chokehold of the profit-making insurance giants on our health. If this bill passes, the industry will become more powerful and could be beyond the reach of reform for generations," Higgins said.

[Guest National Nurses United]

NNU cited ten significant problems in the legislation, noting many of the same flaws also exist in the House version and are likely to remain in the bill that emerges from the House-Senate reconciliation process:

 

1# The individual mandate forcing all those without coverage to buy private insurance, with insufficient cost controls on skyrocketing premiums and other insurance costs.

 

2# No challenge to insurance company monopolies, especially in the top 94 metropolitan areas where one or two companies dominate, severely limiting choice and competition.

 

3# An affordability mirage. Congressional Budget Office estimates say a family of four with a household income of $54,000 would be expected to pay 17 percent of their income, $9,000, on healthcare exposing too many families to grave financial risk.

 

4# The excise tax on comprehensive insurance plans which will encourage employers to reduce benefits, shift more costs to employees, promote proliferation of high-deductible plans, and lead to more self-rationing of care and medical bankruptcies, especially as more plans are subject to the tax every year due to the lack of adequate price controls. A Towers-Perrin survey in September found 30 percent of employers said they would reduce employment if their health costs go up, 86 percent said they’d pass the higher costs to their employees.

 

5# Major loopholes in the insurance reforms that promise bans on exclusion for pre-existing conditions, and no cancellations for sickness.

 

6# Minimal oversight on insurance denials of care; a report by the California Nurses Association/NNOC in September found that six of California’s largest insurers have rejected more than one-fifth of all claims since 2002.

 

7# Inadequate limits on drug prices, especially after Senate rejection of an amendment, to protect a White House deal with pharmaceutical giants, allowing pharmacies and wholesalers to import lower-cost drugs.

 

8# New burdens for our public safety net. With a shortage of primary care physicians and a continuing fiscal crisis at the state and local level, public hospitals and clinics will be a dumping ground for those the private system doesn’t want.

 

9# Reduced reproductive rights for women.

 

10# No single standard of care. Our multi-tiered system remains with access to care still determined by ability to pay. Nothing changes in basic structure of the system; healthcare remains a privilege, not a right.

[Guest Carey]

5# Major loopholes in the insurance reforms that promise bans on exclusion for pre-existing conditions, and no cancellations for sickness.

 

Through all the new changes of the state and federal laws, the new healthcare bill will make it much easier now for self-employed individuals with pre-existing conditions to attain or continue to possess their current medical healthcare coverage. This will now fall under a new law HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

[Guest National Nurses United]

Here are some of the major loopholes for pre-existing conditions:

 

1# Provisions permitting insurers and companies to more than double charges to employees who fail "wellness" programs because they have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol readings, or other medical conditions.

 

2# Insurers are permitted to sell policies “across state lines”, exempting patient protections passed in other states. Insurers will thus set up in the least regulated states in a race to the bottom threatening public protections won by consumers in various states.

 

3# Insurers can charge four times more based on age plus more for certain conditions, and continue to use marketing techniques to cherry-pick healthier, less costly enrollees.

 

4# Insurers may continue to rescind policies for "fraud or intentional misrepresentation" – the main pretext insurance companies now use to cancel coverage.

[Guest Dr. Herb]

This health care bill is now a crazy quilt of compromises that gives insurance companies the right to take money from individuals and give nothing in return. Insurers will continue to bury patients and doctors alike in a quicksand of forms and denials. A textbook case of the slippery slope, it has gone from health reforms to insurance reforms to simply more insurance forms

[Guest ALWAYS RED]

Liberals have created a fascist bureaucracy standing between a patient and getting proper treatment from their doctor.

[Guest chaoszen]

The Healthcare and Pharma Gangsters on the other hand will be laughing all the way to the Bank..

 

This is not reform. It is just tossing some crumbs to the people while enriching the already obscenely wealthy. Business as usual.

[Guest ALWAYS RED]

Obama broke his campaign promises to have health care meetings in public and to televise them on C-SPAN. Instead, he met behind closed doors in secret with insurance company moguls.

[Guest Natalia]

I think that the fact that because of this bill health insurance coverage will increase to 30 million more Americans who are desperately in need of it. That is why I am for it.

[Bluto]

So you're a senior citizen and the government says no health care for you, what do you do?

 

Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun and 4 bullets. Your are allowed to shoot 2 senators and 2 representatives. Of Course, this means you will be sent to prison where you will get 3 meals a day, a roof over your head, and all the health care you need! New teeth, no problem. Need glasses, great. New hip, knees, kidney, lungs, heart? All covered.