Universal Health Care for America

[Guest Colt45]

Government is becoming more and more like professional wrestling. The Health Care Reform Bill is a poorly directed theatre production done at the expense of the American tax payer.

 

Insurance wins by having their subject on both sides of the aisle fight it off. If the popular opinion survey deems public option dead the insurance companies will push the cooperative route and little tort reform. If surveys say that the cooperative option is also dead, then insurance companies will push to kill the Health Care reform bill. The Lord knows they will not allow tort reform.

 

What about the Dutch Plan???? Why not allow the Government Plan to be run by the insurance companies????

 

All the Government would do is set the rate caps and make the insurance companies completely transparent and non-profit.

 

There still will be competition. People like their own style of coverage. That is the art of marketing and salesman. These people deserve every cent of the money they make.

 

Doctors like their own style of coverage and the support given by the insurance companies. I am sure a more transparent system will make things better.

 

The CEOs can kiss my hairy ass. The days of their act is numbered. Real Tort reform means real jail time for these political thugs.

[Guest Consortium]

President Barack Obama is planning to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night with a speech on health care reform – and many Obama supporters are nervous that he will squander this opportunity by continuing his quixotic bid for compromise in the face of Republican intransigence.

 

In the following proposed text for Obama’s speech, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern suggests that Obama demonstrate a new toughness regarding health care reform and a new flexibility on ending foreign military adventures:

 

Good evening, both to you members of Congress assembled here, and fellow Americans in our wider TV and radio audience.

 

I plan to talk first about health care reform. Then I will make some fresh proposals regarding how to pay for it, since this is a legitimate concern.

 

A new strategy will kill two birds with one stone. That strategy finds the money for health care reform by curbing wasteful, self-defeating spending on the military — spending that is making us less, not more, safe. Stay tuned.

 

First, health care:

 

Last year I promised to do all I could to ensure that all of you — that is, every single American — would be able to get affordable health care. I said elect me President and then hold me accountable.

 

You did your part. This evening I will give you a preliminary accounting.

 

But, first a question. How many of you members of Congress do not have affordable health care?

 

I’m serious. And the nation is curious.

 

Okay, let’s do it this way. Any Senator or Representative who does not have affordable health care, please rise.

 

No one is standing up.

 

Now a more important question: How many of you Senators and Representatives will stand up for legislation that will give ALL Americans essentially the same access to health care that you enjoy?

 

I’m dead serious. You and I and the families of members of Congress can get all the health care we need, while millions of Americans cannot.

 

Again, please rise if you want everyone to have equal access to quality medical care. Rise if you believe it is wrong to consider some Americans, like us, more equal than others.

 

Thank you. I invite those of you standing to sit down.

 

That showing is reassuring — that is, if it is authentic and not just for the TV cameras.

 

Health care coverage is basically a moral question, isn’t it?

 

It has something to do with being “your brother’s keeper” (or your sister’s). That expression is from the Bible. So is the parable of the Good Samaritan. The story is about health care and being a good neighbor, isn’t it? Let’s see how it may relate to our situation today.

 

The question posed to Jesus is: Who is my neighbor? In reply, Jesus tells a story. A priest and then a deacon see a badly beaten man lying by the side of the road. One by one, they pass right on by.

 

A Samaritan, on the other hand, stops when he sees that the traveler is in need of urgent care. After applying first aid, he brings this victim of robbers to an inn to rest and heal. The Samaritan gives the innkeeper money to be used to care for the man.

 

The Good Samaritan was in no way required to help this total stranger, who had what these days might be called “a pre-existing condition.” But he does so out of a feeling of compassion and solidarity with another human being — his neighbor.

 

And then he says a beautiful thing. “If more is needed, spend it,” he tells the innkeeper, and promises to pay on his way back for whatever care is needed.

 

Compassion is what this story is all about — the quality that distinguishes Americans when we are at our best, the virtue about which Thomas Merton wrote this:

 

“It is in the desert of compassion that the thirsty land turns into springs of water, that the poor possess all things.”

 

The Good Samaritan himself has the attitude that, in my view, we should all bring to health care. It has to do with compassion for our neighbor. It is what accounts for the encouraging poll results showing that over 70 percent of Americans do want to see everyone have access to good health care. We’ll take a minute or two later to refer back to the Good Samaritan story.

 

For now, let me speak to those of you who stood just now to show that you wish to stand up for ALL Americans. I would like to assume that ALL those who got up from their seats rose out of conviction, and not just because we are on TV.

 

I wish I could assume that, but I cannot.

 

Why? Because some of you and your associates have been deeply engaged in spreading the kind of baseless fear and confusion designed to scuttle any real reform.

 

Fellow citizens, why would members of Congress choose to “walk right on by,” so to speak? Why would they be sabotaging what they claim to support; namely, an urgent effort to give ALL Americans the opportunity to get the health care they need — and not just us, the privileged?

 

Follow the money, someone said. And that applies in spades to this situation.

 

A whole lot of money is at stake. Senior executives of insurance and drug companies do not want to endanger their multimillion-dollar annual salaries — with million-dollar bonuses thrown in for good measure.

 

They have been able to thwart efforts toward meaningful reform — until now.

 

They are not physically present in this chamber this evening, but some of their surrogates are. And their money is.

 

Let me be clear. If Americans knew how much money the insurance and drug industries give to some of you sitting here this evening, they would understand — and be appalled.

 

Fellow citizens, you may wish to inquire about how much money your Representative and Senators receive from firms with a strong vested interest in preventing meaningful change in a health care system that excludes so many and, still, is so outrageously expensive.

 

Sad to say, many of you here this evening – unlike the Good Samaritan – choose to “walk on by,” choose to give priority to financing your next election campaign rather than to the health needs of the American people.

 

You have been setting up straw-man objections to new legislation and then knocking them — and the legislation — down, leaving many of your constituents in confusion.

 

I served here in Congress. And I know that in this rarified atmosphere it is easy to become convinced that, like the children of Lake Wobegon, all of us are above average — evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.

 

Whether above average or not, you cannot plead ignorance. Nor does it require a PhD to recognize as fraudulent the scary gossip that is so widely circulated and so wildly untrue.

 

You know what I’m talking about; ideas like:

 

--“Death panels” will decide to get rid of grandma before her time;

 

--Illegal immigrants will overburden the health care system; or

 

--Federal funding for abortion is part of the planned legislation.

 

These are just a few of the diaphanous ghosts being evoked. You can see right through them.

 

My fellow Americans, NONE, that is NOT ONE, of the draft bills includes any language about “death panels,” or abortion, or benefits for illegal immigrants — as you Representatives and Senators here tonight know full well.

 

But some here before me this evening are reluctant to make that clear to their constituents. Worse still, some are taking a leading role in spreading the confusion.

 

Of course, it’s not just money; it’s also politics. I’ve gone out on a limb to get a fair deal for ALL on health care — a hard thing to do. Recent presidents have been thwarted when they took on the challenge I have taken on.

 

I knew that, and I made that promise to you anyway. It had been 43 years since President Lyndon Johnson successfully pushed through Medicare, and now it’s 44 years. I knew the odds. But a promise is a promise.

 

Politics? I knew that opposition to reform for crass political reasons would be strong; I never expected it to be so transparent.

 

Where’s Jim deMint? Ah, there you are, Jim. I want to publicly thank my dear friend and former Senate colleague, the junior Senator from South Carolina, for making crystal clear what motivates him, and many in his party.

 

On July 17, Senator deMint spoke candidly about how he sees the political stakes. And this is what he said:

 

“If we’re able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”

 

I’ll confess: it’s hard to know what to say to that. Perhaps it would be best, initially, to try to laugh it off. So I’ll borrow from that great musical “Gigi,” where Leslie Caron sings:

 

"This is my Waterloo, whispers my heart;

"Pray I’ll be Wellington, not Bonaparte."

 

But seriously, Jim, this is not about me and losing like Napoleon at Waterloo, as you are hoping. It’s not about winning or losing at all.

 

For me it’s a matter of keeping a promise — of keeping faith with the America people — and it’s about compassion. And if you and those with you succeed in thwarting reform, the hopes and prayers of millions of Americans without affordable health care will be broken. I will be profoundly disappointed, but not broken.

 

Moving ahead: As most of you sitting here this evening know, I strongly encouraged the leaders of the relevant congressional committees to do all they could to hammer out a bipartisan bill, thus achieving a win-win solution for which both sides of the aisle could proudly claim credit.

 

After months of effort they tell me I need to get resigned to the reality that broad bipartisan consensus cannot be achieved, for many of the reasons I mentioned earlier.

 

It’s no use wasting more time, they say. Not all, but almost all Republicans will vote against any meaningful reform.

 

We will continue working to persuade Republican lawmakers to vote on the merits of draft legislation and not vote simply to “break” me and embarrass my administration.

 

But I have decided to move forward and have asked House and Senate leaders to give me a bill to sign before Thanksgiving. The bill I want is quite simple. It will extend insurance for quality health care to ALL Americans. It will have a robust public option to create the kind of competition to bring costs down.

 

There are other ways to obtain the necessary funds for this kind of health care reform. They do not require leaps of imagination.

 

I was able to do some reading while on vacation. And I have come to the conclusion that, by any reasonable measure, we are giving too much money to the Pentagon.

 

We say it is for “defense,” but much of it goes toward a futile effort to maintain a Pax Americana, in the model of Rome and the former British Empire.

 

I have decided it makes no sense to throw untold billions more into adventures like Iraq and Afghanistan, both of which have but tenuous relationship to our nation’s security.

 

Yes, critics will criticize me for changing my mind. And in response I would simply cite Emerson’s dictum: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”

 

Some 2,500 years ago, Alexander of Macedonia tried to “prevail” in Afghanistan. He and his army were on their way to China and invaded Afghanistan, only to encounter formidable mountains and even more formidable “militants” — fierce tribes who started whittling away at the flanks of Alexander’s army.

 

Conferring with his officers, and looking up at those mountains, Alexander decided to change his mind and go back to Asia Minor. That may be why he deserves “the Great” after his name. No foolish consistency there.

 

The trouble is that in the centuries that followed, the Persians, Indians, Mongols, British, Russians learned nothing from Alexander, preferring foolish consistency before they were driven out of Afghanistan, suffering terrible losses and achieving nothing.

 

Economists speak of “opportunity costs” — a fancy term for what else one could do with funds, rather squander them on feckless adventures abroad. Well, funding universal health care is one worthy thing we can do…and will do.

 

The tendency has been to “send in the Marines.” I am going to take a different lesson from the past and send in a Marine — just one.

 

I imagine few of you know that at a similar juncture President John Kennedy faced with respect to Vietnam, he sent the commandant of the Marines, Gen. David Shoup, to Vietnam with instructions “to look over the ground in Southeast Asia and counsel him.”

 

Kennedy placed more trust in Shoup than in his colleagues on the Joint Chiefs of Staff to give him the straight scoop, so to speak.

 

When he returned, Gen. Shoup reportedly told Kennedy that, unless he was prepared to use a million men in a major drive, the U.S. should pull out before the war got beyond control.

 

You may have noticed that another Marine, Gen. Charles Krulak, who served as commandant from 1995 to 1999, has expressed “total agreement” with columnist George Will’s assessment in his recent op-ed, “Time to get out of Afghanistan.”

 

Sounding very much like his predecessor, Gen. Shoup, Gen. Krulak emphasizes that effective counterinsurgency operations would require “hundreds of thousands” additional troops and that our military could not support such a “surge.”

 

Speaking more generally, Gen. Krulak asks, “What in Afghanistan is deemed in our nation’s vital interest…Who is the enemy?”

 

Krulak adds that “no desired end state has ever been clearly articulated and no strategy formulated that would lead us to achieve even an ill defined end state.”

 

Gen. Krulak’s points are well taken. I have come to see that my speechwriter’s clever alliteration “disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaeda” is hardly an actual strategy for Afghanistan — the more so, inasmuch as most of what is left of al-Qaeda’s leadership is now in Pakistan.

 

Also troubling is the public reply given by special envoy Richard Holbrooke a few weeks ago, when he was asked at a think tank about our specific goal in Afghanistan.

 

Holbrooke’s answer was “We’ll know it when we see it.” With that kind of goal, I guess it should come as no surprise that Holbrooke also was unable to deliver on my promise on March 27 that there would be “metrics to measure progress and hold ourselves accountable.”

 

This is not satisfactory. So I am sending in a Marine. I am asking Gen. Anthony Zinni, who was CENTCOM commander from 1997 to 2000, to do what President Kennedy asked Gen. Shoup to do — not in Vietnam, of course, but in Afghanistan.

 

Will he, like Shoup, say a million men will be needed to accomplish anything useful? I will know when Gen. Zinni reports back to me next month. Meanwhile, as you will understand, I will not approve any escalation in Afghanistan or the sending of any additional troops there.

 

You will hear loud complaints that my reluctance to go the route of foolish consistency will make our country less safe. To that I say: Rubbish.

 

The adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan have made our country less, not more safe.

 

I do not wish to follow the example of my predecessor who attempted to make a virtue of never changing his mind.

 

In her classic book, The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, historian Barbara Tuchman described this mindset:

 

“Wooden-headedness assesses a situation in terms of preconceived fixed notions, while ignoring or rejecting any contrary signs … acting according to the wish while not allowing oneself to be deflected by the facts.”

 

Author Tuchman points succinctly to what flows from wooden-headedness:

 

“Once a policy has been adopted and implemented, all subsequent activity becomes an effort to justify it. … Adjustment is painful. … Psychologists call the process of screening out discordant information ‘cognitive dissonance,’ an academic disguise for ‘Don’t confuse me with the facts.’”

 

It seems fitting that Barbara Tuchman’s daughter, Jessica Tuchman Mathews, president of the Carnegie Foundation, has shown herself to be inoculated against “cognitive dissonance.”

 

A Carnegie report on Afghanistan concluded in January 2009:

 

"The only meaningful way to halt the insurgency's momentum is to start withdrawing troops. The presence of foreign troops is the most important element driving the resurgence of the Taliban."

 

Why would I cite Jessica Tuchman and no other think-tanker? It is not because of her historian mother. It is because Jessica Tuchman and her colleagues at Carnegie were right about the folly of invading Iraq.

 

In sum, I intend to put an end to wooden-headedness with respect to adventures in Asia. I have no interest in quagmires, and I am seeking fresh advice — including from those who were right about Iraq.

 

As you might imagine, the cost savings are likely to be immense. In any event, they are likely to be more than enough to defray any extra cost that attends the initial stage of real health care reform.

 

Like the Good Samaritan, if more is needed, we will be able to spend it.

 

We are going to get health care reform done. And pay for it. Yes, we can.

 

May God bless America, and the rest of the world too.

Ray McGovern works with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington. He was an army infantry/intelligence officer and then a CIA analyst for almost 30 years and now serves on the Standing Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS).

[Guest Wondering Cow]

Basic care in the US is overpriced and the quality is mediocre. Doctor's and the Insurance industry look at people as a commodity.

[Guest Danimal]

You know what else costs money? The Effing War(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to CNBC, about Two-Hundred-Twenty-Five-MILLION-DOLLARS-A-DAY.

 

The President should practice what he preaches. His smoking is going to give him cancer and cost us money. Should we foot smoker's bills?

 

[Guest NY1]

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sat down with the President and the Vice President for Oval Office this afternoon and emerged in front of reporters upbeat.

 

“In our conversations today, we think we’re up to 90% of things that are agreed upon,” Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters, adding that he, like Pelosi, really want a public plan to be part of the bill.

 

“A public option will be essential to our passing a bill in the House of Representatives, because, as the President has said … the public option is the best way to keep the insurance companies honest and to increase competition in order to lower costs, improve quality, retain choice — if you like what you have, you can keep it — and expand coverage in a fiscally sound way, that it saves money,” Pelosi said.

 

“And that’s why he said, if you have a better idea, put it on the table. And so if somebody has a better idea of how to do that, put it on the table,” she added.

 

Pelosi confirmed again that the public option is essential for House passage.

 

“if somebody has a better idea of how to do that, put it on the table,” Pelosi said, “For the moment, however, as far as our House members are concerned, the overwhelming majority of them support a public option.”

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2009/09/reid-health-care-reform-is-90.html#ixzz0QZKINMQp

[Guest Mike Flugennock]

Obama Breaks Another Campaign Promise, Proposes Heavy Fines for People Going Without Health Insurance

 

Americans would be fined up to $3,800 for failing to buy health insurance under a plan that circulated in Congress on Tuesday as President Barack Obama met Democratic leaders to search for ways to salvage his health care overhaul.

 

In advance of what Obama hopes will be a game-changing speech to lawmakers, the one idea that most appeals to the Democrats' liberal base lost ground in Congress. Prospects for a government-run plan to compete with private insurers sank as a leading moderate said he could no longer support the idea.

 

The fast-moving developments put Obama in a box. As a candidate, he opposed fines to force individuals to buy health insurance, and he supported setting up a government insurance plan.

 

http://apnews.myway..../D9AJCL500.html

[Guest Jesse]

For families, it would be $3,800, and for individuals, $950. That is pretty cheap.

[Guest Richard in NY]

That is maximum fines. They would actually start at $750 a year for individuals and $1,500 for families.

[Guest Richard in NY]

There would also be a $6 billion fee on insurers "would be allocated by market share" and would begin in 2010, according to the summary. Insurers would also be affected by an excise tax on high-cost health-insurance plans, which would put a 35% tax on premiums for plans above $8,000 for singles and $21,000 for family plans provided by employers.

[Guest Independant Thinker]

McCain said that Obama’s health care plan would mandate that "small businesses” provide coverage for their employees and would fine them if they failed to do so. Actually, Obama’s health care plan, posted on his Web site last, stated : “Small businesses will be exempt from this requirement.” McCain previously used this charge in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.

 

After becoming President, the Obama administration changed this page.

 

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/

 

Here is what it said. Review it tonight with Obama's health care speech.

 

Barack Obama's Plan

Quality, Affordable and Portable Coverage for All

 

* Obama's Plan to Cover Uninsured Americans: Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress. The Obama plan will have the following features:

1. Guaranteed eligibility. No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions.

2. Comprehensive benefits. The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have. The plan will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental health care.

3. Affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

4. Subsidies. Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.

5. Simplified paperwork and reined in health costs.

6. Easy enrollment. The new public plan will be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.

7. Portability and choice. Participants in the new public plan and the National Health Insurance Exchange (see below) will be able to move from job to job without changing or jeopardizing their health care coverage.

8. Quality and efficiency. Participating insurance companies in the new public program will be required to report data to ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and administration are being met.

* National Health Insurance Exchange: The Obama plan will create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase a private insurance plan. The Exchange will act as a watchdog group and help reform the private insurance market by creating rules and standards for participating insurance plans to ensure fairness and to make individual coverage more affordable and accessible. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums that will not depend upon health status. The Exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and have the same standards for quality and efficiency. The Exchange would evaluate plans and make the differences among the plans, including cost of services, public.

* Employer Contribution: Employers that do not offer or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small employers that meet certain revenue thresholds will be exempt.

* Mandatory Coverage of Children: Obama will require that all children have health care coverage. Obama will expand the number of options for young adults to get coverage, including allowing young people up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents' plans.

* Expansion Of Medicaid and SCHIP: Obama will expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs and ensure that these programs continue to serve their critical safety net function.

* Flexibility for State Plans: Due to federal inaction, some states have taken the lead in health care reform. The Obama plan builds on these efforts and does not replace what states are doing. States can continue to experiment, provided they meet the minimum standards of the national plan.

 

Lower Costs by Modernizing The U.S. Health Care System

 

* Reducing Costs of Catastrophic Illnesses for Employers and Their Employees: Catastrophic health expenditures account for a high percentage of medical expenses for private insurers. The Obama plan would reimburse employer health plans for a portion of the catastrophic costs they incur above a threshold if they guarantee such savings are used to reduce the cost of workers' premiums.

* Helping Patients:

1. Support disease management programs. Seventy five percent of total health care dollars are spent on patients with one or more chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Obama will require that providers that participate in the new public plan, Medicare or the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) utilize proven disease management programs. This will improve quality of care, give doctors better information and lower costs.

2. Coordinate and integrate care. Over 133 million Americans have at least one chronic disease and these chronic conditions cost a staggering $1.7 trillion yearly. Obama will support implementation of programs and encourage team care that will improve coordination and integration of care of those with chronic conditions.

3. Require full transparency about quality and costs. Obama will require hospitals and providers to collect and publicly report measures of health care costs and quality, including data on preventable medical errors, nurse staffing ratios, hospital-acquired infections, and disparities in care. Health plans will also be required to disclose the percentage of premiums that go to patient care as opposed to administrative costs.

* Ensuring Providers Deliver Quality Care:

1. Promote patient safety. Obama will require providers to report preventable medical errors and support hospital and physician practice improvement to prevent future occurrences.

2. Align incentives for excellence. Both public and private insurers tend to pay providers based on the volume of services provided, rather than the quality or effectiveness of care. Providers who see patients enrolled in the new public plan, the National Health Insurance Exchange, Medicare and FEHBP will be rewarded for achieving performance thresholds on outcome measures.

3. Comparative effectiveness research. Obama will establish an independent institute to guide reviews and research on comparative effectiveness, so that Americans and their doctors will have the accurate and objective information they need to make the best decisions for their health and well-being.

4. Tackle disparities in health care. Obama will tackle the root causes of health disparities by addressing differences in access to health coverage and promoting prevention and public health, both of which play a major role in addressing disparities. He will also challenge the medical system to eliminate inequities in health care through quality measurement and reporting, implementation of effective interventions such as patient navigation programs, and diversification of the health workforce.

5. Insurance reform. Obama will strengthen antitrust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging physicians for their malpractice insurance and will promote new models for addressing errors that improve patient safety, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and reduce the need for malpractice suits.

* Lowering Costs Through Investment in Electronic Health Information Technology Systems: Most medical records are still stored on paper, which makes it hard to coordinate care, measure quality or reduce medical errors and which costs twice as much as electronic claims. Obama will invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems, including electronic health records, and will phase in requirements for full implementation of health IT. Obama will ensure that patients' privacy is protected.

* Lowering Costs by Increasing Competition in the Insurance and Drug Markets: The insurance business today is dominated by a small group of large companies that has been gobbling up their rivals. There have been over 400 health care mergers in the last 10 years, and just two companies dominate a full third of the national market. These changes were supposed to make the industry more efficient, but instead premiums have skyrocketed by over 87 percent.

1. Barack Obama will prevent companies from abusing their monopoly power through unjustified price increases. His plan will force insurers to pay out a reasonable share of their premiums for patient care instead of keeping exorbitant amounts for profits and administration. His new National Health Exchange will help increase competition by insurers.

2. Lower prescription drug costs. The second-fastest growing type of health expenses is prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies are selling the exact same drugs in Europe and Canada but charging Americans more than double the price. Obama will allow Americans to buy their medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are safe and prices are lower outside the U.S. Obama will also repeal the ban that prevents the government from negotiating with drug companies, which could result in savings as high as $30 billion. Finally, Obama will work to increase the use of generic drugs in Medicare, Medicaid, and FEHBP and prohibit big name drug companies from keeping generics out of markets.

 

Fight for New Initiatives

 

* Advance the Biomedical Research Field: As a result of biomedical research the prevention, early detection and treatment of diseases such as cancer and heart disease is better today than any other time in history. Barack Obama has consistently supported funding for the national institutes of health and the national science foundation. Obama strongly supports investments in biomedical research, as well as medical education and training in health-related fields, because it provides the foundation for new therapies and diagnostics. Obama has been a champion of research in cancer, mental health, health disparities, global health, women and children's health, and veterans' health. As president, Obama will strengthen funding for biomedical research, and better improve the efficiency of that research by improving coordination both within government and across government/private/non-profit partnerships. An Obama administration will ensure that we translate scientific progress into improved approaches to disease prevention, early detection and therapy that is available for all Americans.

* Fight AIDS Worldwide. There are 40 million people across the planet infected with HIV/AIDS. As president, Obama will continue to be a global leader in the fight against AIDS. Obama believes in working across party lines to combat this epidemic and recently joined Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) at a large California evangelical church to promote greater investment in the global AIDS battle.

* Support Americans with Disabilities: As a former civil rights lawyer, Barack Obama knows firsthand the importance of strong protections for minority communities in our society. Obama is committed to strengthening and better enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) so that future generations of Americans with disabilities have equal rights and opportunities. Obama believes we must restore the original legislative intent of the ADA in the wake of court decisions that have restricted the interpretation of this landmark legislation.

 

Barack Obama is also committed to ensuring that disabled Americans receive Medicaid and Medicare benefits in a low-cost, effective and timely manner. Recognizing that many individuals with disabilities rely on Medicare, Obama worked with Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO) to urge the department of health and human services to provide clear and reliable information on the Medicare prescription drug benefit and to ensure that the Medicare recipients were protected from fraudulent claims by marketers and drug plan agents.

* Improve Mental Health Care. Mental illness affects approximately one in five American families. The National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that untreated mental illnesses cost the U.S. more than $100 billion per year. As president, Obama will support mental health parity so that coverage for serious mental illnesses are provided on the same terms and conditions as other illnesses and diseases.

* Protect Our Children from Lead Poisoning. More than 430,000 American children have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood. Lead can cause irreversible brain damage, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and, at very high levels, seizures, coma and death. As president, Obama will protect children from lead poisoning by requiring that child care facilities be lead-safe within five years.

* Reduce Risks of Mercury Pollution. More than five million women of childbearing age have high levels of toxic mercury in their blood, and approximately 630,000 newborns are born at risk every year. Barack Obama has a plan to significantly reduce the amount of mercury that is deposited in oceans, lakes, and rivers, which in turn would reduce the amount of mercury in fish.

* Support Americans with Autism. More than one million Americans have autism, a complex neurobiological condition that has a range of impacts on thinking, feeling, language, and the ability to relate to others. As diagnostic criteria broaden and awareness increases, more cases of autism have been recognized across the country. Barack Obama believes that we can do more to help autistic Americans and their families understand and live with autism. He has been a strong supporter of more than $1 billion in federal funding for autism research on the root causes and treatments, and he believes that we should increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to truly ensure that no child is left behind.

 

More than anything, autism remains a profound mystery with a broad spectrum of effects on autistic individuals, their families, loved ones, the community, and education and health care systems. Obama believes that the government and our communities should work together to provide a helping hand to autistic individuals and their families.

 

Barack Obama's Record

 

* Health Insurance: In 2003, Barack Obama sponsored and passed legislation that expanded health care coverage to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults. In the U.S. Senate, Obama cosponsored the Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 to ensure that more American children have affordable health care coverage.

* Women's Health: Obama worked to pass a number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the health of women. His accomplishments include creating a task force on cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, and helping improve prenatal and premature birth services.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

In his address to a joint session of Congress, President Obama is expected to give a detailed account of his health care plan.

 

Click below for more informaton.

 

http://www.washdc.co...ession_congress

Edited September 9, 2009 by Luke_Wilbur

[Guest Sadie]

"There are some principles that, if they are not embodied in the bill, I will not sign it,'' Obama said in an interview with ABC News' Robin Roberts aired on Good Morning America today.

 

Yet the president declined to draw a line in the sand on a so-called "public option,'' offering government-run health insurance to those who cannot find coverage privately, in this interview.

 

Asked if the must-sign elements include that public option, the president said in the interview aired this morning: "I will give you an example - if it's adding one dime to the deficit, if it's not fully paid for,'' then he will not sign the legislation.

 

"I have tried to maintain a tone, and my White House has tried to maintain a tone, that is open to all-comers,'' the president said. "In spite of all this, there is this unyielding partisanship, and I think in some ways it has gotten worse.''

 

Reasonable voices have been "shouted down'' in the process, the president said, with his appearance before Congress arriving at the end of a summer of tumultuous congressional town halls.

 

"I hope that the Republican Party can rediscover that voice,'' Obama said. "I think they'll find they have a partner in the White House on a whole lot of issues.''

 

Watch Robin Roberts' exclusive interview with President Obama.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/president-obama-interview-robin-roberts-health-care/story?id=8515553

[Guest Dennis Kucinich]

There is only one true health care public option: Single payer. It covers everyone, all basic health care needs, with doctor of choice. No more premiums, co-pays or deductibles. All health care assets in America would become not-for-profit. The bill already exists. It is HR 676. Congressman John Conyers and I wrote the bill. Our bill has the support of 85 co-sponsors in the House. And it is backed by a growing national movement of labor, doctors, and nurses.

 

The Preamble to the United States Constitution and Article One, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution both describe an originating purpose of our United States: to promote the general welfare. Health care is a legitimate function of our government. Health care is a basic right in a Democratic society. It is no more a privilege based on ability to pay than is the right to vote, which was once accorded only to property owners.

 

Health care is also a moral imperative. Forty seven million Americans are uninsured. Fifty million Americans are underinsured. People are losing their homes, their jobs, their lifes savings, their retirement security and their financial health because they cannot pay medical bills, and despite this calamity Washington looks another way. We must not avert our eyes to this human suffering and this economic injustice.

[Guest FactCheck.org]

Obama was correct when he said his plan wouldn’t insure illegal immigrants; the House bill expressly forbids giving subsidies to those who are in the country illegally. Conservative critics complain that the bill lacks an enforcement mechanism, but that hardly makes the president a liar.

The president said “no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.” But the House bill would permit a “public option” to cover all abortions, and would also permit federal subsidies to be used to purchase private insurance that covers all abortions, a point that raises objections from anti-abortion groups. That’s true despite a technical ban on use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion coverage.

The president repeated his promise that his plan won’t add “one dime” to the federal deficit. But legislation offered so far would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The president overstated the degree of concentration in the insurance industry. He said that in 34 states the “insurance market” is controlled by five or fewer companies, but that’s true only of insurance bought by small groups, not the entire “insurance market.”

Obama said his plan won’t “require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have.” It’s true that there’s no requirement, but experts say the legislation could induce employers to switch coverage for millions of workers.

[Guest John McCain]

Last night, during his speech to a joint session of Congress and the nation, President Obama outlined his new proposal for health care reform. While I respect the President's point of view, and hope for an eventual compromise, I believe his proposal amounts to an egregiously expensive and expansive form of government-run health care.

 

After a month of hosting and attending town hall meetings with my constituents in Arizona and around the country, I know that Americans want health care reform. But what is so very clear to me is that Americans want to reform health care in the right way. I am more convinced than ever that we must fix what is wrong with our health care system while doing no harm to the parts that work well.

 

This means we need to have malpractice reform, we must emphasize wellness and fitness, give people the option to get the health insurance of their choice and bring the cost of health care under control.

 

am very troubled by the potential cost of the President's outlined plans. I know that you are very concerned with the national debt and a projected $9 trillion deficit. The prospective cost of the President's plan could reach $2 trillion, and frankly, our country simply cannot afford this price tag.

 

Government-run health care is something we simply cannot afford, and I know that the majority of Americans agree with me that it is not the quality of health care that needs reforming, but the cost.

[Guest AmeriPAC]

Harry Reid has vowed to pass Amnesty and with open U.S. borders to Mexico and he will allow anyone to enter the country. Senator Schumer is ready to introduce another Amnesty Bill and the illegal immigration issue is now merging with Health Care.

 

$31 Billion For 6.6 Million Illegals For GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE

 

According to The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent research institution that examines the impact of immigration on the United States GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE could benefit 6.6 Million Illegals and cost taxpayers up to $31 Billion.

 

On July 30 an amendment by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) that would have required identity verification for those claiming U.S. birth was defeated by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

 

However 83% of Americans Say Proof of Citizenship Should Be Required to Get Government Health Aid

 

Opposition to illegal aliens and any form of Amnesty to illegals without a green card and that will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE was evident at town hall meetings across the country dealing with ObamaCare.

 

California is on the verge of bankruptcy and Our Government has yet to stop the invasion of illegal aliens.

 

Take a look at that always shining gem of political know-how, the state of California which is looking more like Mexifornia everyday and your state is next.

 

A List of 10 Facts Caused by the Illegal Invasion From the L. A. Times.

40% of all workers in L. A. County are working for cash and not paying taxes. They are predominantly illegal aliens working without a green card and will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

95% of warrants for murder in Los Angeles are for illegal aliens and they will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

75% of people on the most wanted list in Los Angeles are illegal aliens they will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

Over 66% of all births in Los Angeles County are to illegal alien Mexicans on Medi-Cal, whose births were paid for by taxpayers and they will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

Nearly 35% of all inmates in California detention centers are Mexican Nationals here illegally and they will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

Over 300,000 illegal aliens in Los Angeles County are living in garages and they will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

The FBI reports half of all gang members in Los Angeles are most likely illegal aliens from south of the border and they will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties are illegals and they will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

(There are 10.2 million people in L.A. County) The fact that California is on the verge of bankruptcy is just a coincidence right? It has nothing to do with illegal aliens, right? 60% of Americans agree that illegal aliens are the cause of this and they do want them to be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE.

 

25 New illegal aliens JUST CROSSED our border while you are reading and will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE

 

This is the kind of change Obama is rushing at break neck speed to impose on the 97% of Real Americans that work hard for a living. It is time to stand up for what the majority of Americans believe in a free America, where the government represents the people, not use them for their own gains.

 

New polling information could become a political death blow to Obama's plans to radically overhaul America's Health Care and Immigration Laws!

 

Rasmussen Reports has released polling data showing that 83% of Americans oppose illegal immigrants or illegal aliens receiving any "government health care subsidies". Opposition crossed all racial, gender, and political party lines. Only 12% of those surveyed support health care subsidies for illegals.

 

This new fusion of the Health Care and Illegal Immigration debates combined with new polling data showing a super majority of Americans oppose the Obama plans for Health Care and Immigration Reform may be dead on arrival.

 

But we must make our voices heard and defeat this bill just like all previous Amnesty Bills have been stopped.

 

AmeriPAC is calling on supporters nationwide to distribute the new poll showing 83% opposition to benefits for illegal aliens, to attend and speak out against illegal immigration and Amnesty at town hall meetings, and to attend and support 9/12 and Taxpayer Tea Party events with signs opposing illegal immigration and Amnesty and any politician siding with the illegal aliens.

 

TELL CONGRESS TO REJECT THE SOCIALIZED HEALTH SCARE

SEND YOUR FAXES NOW!

 

ObamaCare is lagging in the poles and losing support and Obama's call for Obamites in local communities to lobby for Socialized and Rationed Health Care is failing because there are just too many unanswered questions.

 

Not surprisingly people are getting pretty nervous, as well they should. So OBAMA NOW SAYS HE WANTS HIS SOCIALIST MOVEMENT IN CONGRESS TO VOTE since the effort to "get out there, fight lies with truth, and set the record straight" has failed.

 

Folks that is what AmeriPAC has been doing all along setting the record strait. We believe you are entitled to know everything in this bill and how much you stand to lose and how much it will cost you.

 

Be sure you counter Party Obamites, tell everyone the truth about this bad bill, and make certain your members of Congress know that you're counting on them to act and STOP THIS BILL.

 

But we have a chance TODAY to stop them as well!

TELL CONGRESS TO REJECT THE SOCIALIZED HEALTH SCARE

SEND YOUR FAXES NOW!

 

More than 88 million Americans could LOSE their private, employer-based coverage, according to a new analysis of "The American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009" released this week by The Heritage Foundation.

 

While Obama, Pelosi and Reid insist that "if you like your health insurance coverage, you'll get to keep it," it's now very clear: once again, THEY'RE LYING.

 

Is THIS "change we can believe in"??? NO -- and that means WE have to take action NOW!

 

We can't AFFORD Obama's plan to socialize health care in America!

 

How can anyone in Congress vote for a new entitlement program for health care when Congress has not even begun to face up to this unfunded liabilities problem?

 

Well, they're trying to -- but WE can stop them, with YOUR help!

 

We CANNOT let the radical liberals in Congress -- and the White House -- force this plan for socialized health care on the American people! That's why we've set up our website to enable you to send a strong message to every single member of Congress, in both Houses, OPPOSING this outrageous plan.

 

For about what it would cost you in time and telephone charges, you can send Blast Faxes to Democrats, Republicans, Independents -- EVERYONE in the U.S. House AND the U.S. Senate, DEMANDING that they REJECT this socialized health care plan NOW!

 

Can it work? Can we stop Congress from forcing this down our throats, even though the GOP is in the minority?

 

YES -- thanks to "blue dog Democrats," who are more conservative than their "leaders" like Pelosi and Reid. Already, they've been holding up the bill in committee; now, they're saying that Pelosi might not have the votes she needs in the House! And on the Senate side, thanks to the overwhelming opposition of the American people to this bill, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, was overheard jokingly telling House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, "let me tell you, praying might be helpful here."

 

50 New illegal aliens JUST CROSSED the border as you finish reading and will be ELIGIBLE FOR FREE GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE

TELL CONGRESS TO REJECT THE SOCIALIZED HEALTH SCARE

SEND YOUR FAXES NOW!

 

Please, take action right away to STOP this bill dead in its tracks!

 

Defend America,

 

Alan Gottlieb

AmeriPAC

President and Founder

 

P.S. America needs health care reform. But new government programs, mandates, and price controls would deny patients control over their most important and personal medical decisions -- and it's "reform" that we cannot afford.

 

THIS ATTEMPT BY LIBERALS IS OUTRAGEOUS -- and it MUST be stopped! Send your faxes right away to make sure these Senators get a STRONG message, to REJECT the socialized plan of "Obamacare" NOW -- Thank you!

[Guest Mary]

I find it very curious that President Obama has aligned himself with Paul Joseph Watson, who is the Science Czar. Mr. Watson authored a proposal to have a mass sterilization of the population by artificially medicating municipal water supplies to control the population growth.

 

President Obama’s top science and technology advisor John P. Holdren co-authored a 1977 book in which he advocated the formation of a “planetary regime” that would use a “global police force” to enforce totalitarian measures of population control, including forced abortions, mass sterilization programs conducted via the food and water supply, as well as mandatory bodily implants that would prevent couples from having children.

 

The concepts outlined in Holdren’s 1977 book Ecoscience, which he co-authored with close colleagues Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich, were so shocking that a February 2009 Front Page Magazine story on the subject was largely dismissed as being outlandish because people couldn’t bring themselves to believe that it could be true.

 

It makes you wonder the thoughts of influence of those people whom President Obama has chosen to have in his inner circle.

[Guest Brent]

 

Dole, Politics Aside, Pushes for Health Care Plan

 

 

When former Senator Bob Dole was the Republican minority leader, he helped deep-six President Bill Clinton's health care plan. This year, Mr. Dole, 86, who left the Senate in 1996 to run for president, is working behind the scenes to help resurrect one.

 

http://www.nytimes.c.../12dole.html?em

[Guest Bipartisan]

“Crossing Our Lines: Working Together to Reform the U.S. Health System” is a bipartisan agreement for comprehensive health reform reached by Senators Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, and Bob Dole. It is the culmination of a year-and-a-half long effort that included strategic outreach to key health care stakeholders, a series of state-based public policy forums, and months of personal deliberations by the Leaders.

 

Taken together, the recommendations ensure that all Americans have affordable health coverage, while improving health care quality and reining in skyrocketing costs.

 

Organized around four "pillars" of health reform, its policies are intertwined, and work together to achieve more significant improvements in the health care system than could be achieved if they were considered in an isolated manner.

 

* Preserve and improve quality and value: demand value and safety the health care system without undermining innovation; achieve greater quality in the delivery of health care.

* Increase the availability and accessibility of affordable coverage options in a reformed insurance market: examine ways to ensure a broad range of affordable insurance policies in a market that is efficient, fair, and stable.

* Promote the individual’s role in health care coverage and cost: explore ways to encourage participation in purchasing of health care through thoughtful and meaningful financial incentives; initiate public health reforms that encourage healthier lifestyles and a commitment to wellness.

* Secure a workable financing mechanism for the nation’s health care system: determine ways to improve the equity and viability of financing mechanisms; explore options to reform the existing tax exclusion for health coverage; increase efficiency through modernization and streamlining of health care administration.

[Guest Amy Weiss]

On the current health care reform debate, Senator Dole said, "We can end up with bipartisan legislation. It is in the interest of my party. I believe there will be something in it for both parties.

 

Senator Daschle said, "Let's hear more about common ground and less about what separates us. Let's make history. Let's do something that makes our mark. When that happens, we can all be proud."

 

Woodruff asked the panel to talk about points of agreement between business and labor communities.

 

Said Stern of SEIU, "We need to go from a sick care system to a health care system. There is a lot of agreement here. We are business and labor, Democrats and Republicans, but we are also all Americans. The truth is, we have to vote to do something positive for our country. We have a way to make decisions. Everyone's been heard. It's time to vote."

 

Walmart's Dach said, "Walmart supports health care reform because we believe that now is the time for action to ensure all Americans have access to quality and affordable health care coverage. We believe any legislation should include cost-containment measures and strong efficiency provisions."

 

Senator Daschle also said, "The worst possible outcome is to accept something that is unacceptable and that is the status quo."

[Guest Hang em High]

States will either secede from the Union or refuse to recognize the law by reason of the 10th Amendment. States have power; it’s about time they start to use it, but the States are so used to feeding off the federal trough UNCONSTITUTIONALLY themselves because they and the federal government and their respective US Congressmen and US Senators for many years have completely perverted the original meaning of “provide for the general welfare”. The Republic is on life support, and socialized healthcare will be the death of us. Sovereign States, WHERE ARE YOU WHEN WE THE PEOPLE NEED YOU???

[Guest American For Progress]

Obama defended the Senate Finance Committee's America's Healthy Future Act of 2009 from bipartisan criticism, insisting that "it provides health insurance to people who don't have it at affordable prices." "I'd like to make sure that we've got that affordability really buttoned down, because I think that's one of the most important things, is that if we're offering people health insurance and we're saying that people have to get health insurance if it's affordable, we've got to make sure it's affordable," Obama said, replying to Democrats who are hoping to boost the bill's affordability measures during this week's upcoming committee mark-up process.

 

TAXING 'CADILLAC HEALTH CARE PLANS': On Tuesday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) criticized Sen. Max Baucus' (D-MT) bill for imposing "a 35% excise tax on insurance companies" that sell plans valued at more than $21,000 for family coverage, or $8,000 for individual coverage. "Now that raises $200 billion, so I understand the temptation," Rockefeller explained, "[but] every single coal miner is going to have a big big tax put on them because the tax will be put on the company, the company will immediately pass it down in lower benefits…and probably higher premiums to coal miners who are getting very good health care benefits for a very good reason and that's because like steel workers and others, they are doing about the most dangerous job that can be done in America [and are therefore expensive to insure]. So that's not a very smart idea, in fact it's a very dangerous idea." During his interview with CNN's John King, Obama insisted that the bill would move towards "using our health dollars wisely" and protecting the benefits of high-risk workers. "I've been talking to the unions about it. I've been honest with them about it. What I've said is, is that the -- we want to make sure that guys are protected, guys and gals who have got a good benefit, that they are protected, but we also want to make sure that we're using our health dollars wisely." "I do think that giving a disincentive to insurance companies to offer Cadillac plans that don't make people healthier is part of the way that we're going to bring down health care costs for everybody over the long term," he added. On Saturday, Sens. Rockefeller, John Kerry (D-MA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced an amendment to the Baucus bill that would exempt workers in high risk professions from the excise tax on insurers.

 

AN INDIVIDUAL MANDATE IS NOT A TAX INCREASE: On ABC's This Week, host George Stephanopoulos insisted that penalizing Americans who don't purchase health insurance coverage is a tax increase, a point Obama disputed. Indeed, prominent Republicans -- including Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee -- have publicly criticized the bill's individual requirement. Obama strongly defended the provision, insisting that "if you can't afford health insurance, you certainly shouldn't be punished for that." Yet "what it's saying is, is that we're not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you any more than the fact that right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase. Obama also argued that when the uninsured receive uncompensated care, Americans with insurance compensate for their care in the form of higher premiums. "You and I are both paying $900 bucks on average -- our families -- in higher premiums because of uncompensated care." The Center for American Progress has estimated that the failure to continuously cover all Americans accounts for roughly 8 percent of the average health insurance premium. This cost-shift amounts to $1,100 per average family premium in 2009, and $410 per average individual premium. By 2013, assuming the cost-shift remains the same percentage of premium costs, "the cost shift will be approximately $480 for an individual policy and $1,300 for a family policy."

 

PREVENTING UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS FROM PURCHASING COVERAGE: Following the President's address to a joint session of Congress, the White House endorsed "a provision that would require proof of citizenship before someone could enroll in a plan selected on the exchange." The Senate Finance Committee bill requires new applicants to verify their immigration status. "Let me be clear," Obama said on CNN, "I think that, if I'm not mistaken, almost all of the plans had specific language saying that illegal immigrants would not be covered. The question really was, was the enforcement mechanism strong enough? Here's what I've said, and I will repeat: I don't think that illegal immigrants should be covered under this health care plan. There should be a verification mechanism in place. We do that for a whole range of existing social programs. And I think that's a pretty straightforward principle that will be met." Still, some immigration advocates are concerned that the bill's documentation requirements would weed out more eligible applicants than undocumented immigrants. According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, verification requirements have led thousands of Americans eligible for Medicaid to lose coverage and add new administrative costs that "far exceeded the savings." A House oversight committee "reviewed six state Medicaid programs in 2007 and found that verification rules had cost the federal government an additional $8.3 million," but they caught only eight undocumented immigrants.

[Luke_Wilbur]

My question for everyone is whether healthcare, prescription drugs, and emergency room treatment should be constitutionally-protected and inalienable rights, or goods andservices to be earned through the acquisition of wealth?

[Guest Ethan]

Then we need to address the our inalienable rights of "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness."

 

Thomas Jefferson’s modification of George Mason’s draft Declaration says it best — what was "life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety” became “life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness.” To value property over life, and to deny Americans the healthcare that is their right is the greatest injustice of all.

[Guest DC Geek]

I really don't understand the notion of sanctity of life. Is it meant to mean that God, assuming abhors taking human life before its ordained time? Or, does it mean something else?