Yesterday President Obama spoke at the Vermont Baptist Church where King preached the day after the court had ruled in favor of the people of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1954. Obama talked about the harsh winter of today's America and how tough people have it and how spring never looks like it will come. Obama spoke of the early civil rights generation as the Moses generation and his own as the Joshua generation. He pointed out that the civil rights victories were incremental and that one had to take the victories as imperfect as they were and continue on. His message was clear: his agenda will be implemented by small victories after small victories and that people should accept that because that's how our system works.
But he did deviate from his standard line about bringing unity to red states and blue states and conservatives and liberals. Instead, for the first time I've listened to him he called for a broad confederation or alliance of all those who have been left out or left behind in our society--from the minorities and poor to the struggling middle-class. I think you will see this become a theme in the 2010 elections. Obama himself is going to take the lead in populist rage, which the Republicans are ill-equipped to do, despite the teabaggers.
And Obama repeated his favorite line from Dr. King. I always wonder whether it is really true. "The arc of history bends toward justice."
Later Obama in Boston punched up his lines on Wall Street in defense of Martha Coakley, saying that Brown had a truck but he parked it on Wall Street. He hit the Wall Street and bankers theme hard. He pointed out that Coakley was from North Adams, a working-class town, and had gone into law as a public service. A letter from her Williams classmate was posted on line, which made the same points about her public service and working class background. The author was a Republican, who served in the William Weld administration. But look for Obama the campaigner the next year to get down and go populist.
The Mass. race is fascinating from a number of points. Coakley has an approval rating of 65% and Obama has one of 60% in the state. Recent polls which show Brown winning have likely voters only approving of Obama by 44%. The gap has to be voters who want to stay at home. I just can't square them. Nate Silver and his great regression method does an analysis of all the polling data and comes out with Coakley with a 1.5% margin over Brown. In other words, too close to call. The Boston Herald expects the turnout to reach 70% as people have begun to take an interest in the race. High turnout benefits whom? I would suspect Democrats.
Commentators say Coakley is behind because she has been stressing health care in a state that already has health care reform and Brown is stressing bread-and-butter issues. My mind bends to consider Republicans actually speaking about bread-and-butter issues. Is it the promise of jobs if you cut corporate taxes? It doesn't make sense. Blogs from phone canvassing for Coakley report considerable support for her and that the democratic base is finally getting energized. Too late? Money is pouring in on both sides.
Democrats are scrambling around Washington figuring how to pass health reform if Brown is elected. Think about it--the Democrats would only have 59 votes in the Senate--which jeopardizes health reform. That's simply insane--an issue Democrats should hammer on. Republicans are trying to whine about Democrats planning to use reconciliation to produce a bill. Judd Gregg, who used to support reconciliation, protests this is Chicago-style politics.
Actually, a better way to screw Republicans is to simply have the House pass the Senate bill verbatim. Done deal. Then Obama signs. Unfortunately, there is alot of junk in the Senate bill which could be improved by the House. But a streamlined end to the game would put everyone in better position to adjust it in future sessions. It would also keep the Democrats ahead of the Republicans in terms of momentum. Make them play catch up all year long.
And we end this post with the Tin Ear Award. In response to Obama's plan to tax Wall Street and the Banks as they give out huge bonuses, Wall Street has hired some D.C. litigators to sue the President if he goes through with the promise. How do we spell Chutzpah?
Showing posts with label health reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health reform. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Public Option--Health Care
If I want to learn anything about the health care debate, there are only two people I listen to--Dr.Howard Dean and Barack Obama. The rest of the pundits and the Republican scream machine are simply nuts. Within minutes of today's press conference by President Obama, American Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross/Blue Shield warned that a "government health plan" would dismantle employer coverage in the US and would not compete fairly with private health insurance companies. President Obama today was asked whether a public option is necessary for his health care plan.
It is apparent that the private health insurance industry is terrified by a public option. Almost all the arguments being used against the public option really relate to private insurance companies. Health care is already being rationed--as they claim about any government system--bureaucrats are already deciding proper medical care, --as witnessed by the complaints by private doctors that insurance companies prevent them prescribing certain medicines to their patients, --key procedures are being denied--maybe even triggering rescinding of the health insurance policy, leaving the patrient with the bill. The health insurance industry is in terrible financial shape and they are buying congresscritters left and right to block any fundamental reform that will force them to streamline their own bureaucratic bloat--almost 40% of current medical expenses--and will cut into their profits.
One reporter asked President Obama whether he can guarantee if someone likes their insurance they can keep it ,if the company decides to go on a public plan. Talk about a red herring. Today, you can't keep your plan if your employer drops coverage or moves to a less expensive option. I couldn't even keep my own organization's plan and I was the President. I'm no longer on it.
The media is not really being straight with the American people. I have yet to hear or to see a simple demonstration of what the public option would look like. President Obama clearly knows and keeps describing it as a menu of options--but this doesn't carry to the bulk of Americans. It sounds to0 vague and iffy as if it isn't being practiced right now. You can actually look up the menu of options right now.
A major network should do the CNN electronic screen and type into the internet www.opm.gov/Insure/Health and review all the options available for employees of the federal government. Simply type in your zipcode and then decide what type of employee you are, as an experiment. I choose to be an employee of the FDIC. You are then presented with a long list of options from the top providers in the health insurance industry--Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, etc. Then click a check for all the programs you want to compare. You will be amazed by the prices of the insurance. My wife and I spend $17,000 a year on health insurance for a family plan, a comparable program under this menu would cost one-half that. Same benefits, same deductible and same coverage.
In part, it's because of the larger risk pool that lowers the rates. Another nice feature is a list of questions about doctors choice, response speed, patient satisfaction so you get an idea about the users' responses to these health plans. No wonder the insurance companies are terrified--they simply don't want this option explained--clearly and succinctly to the American people. Even the media refer to Congressmen and women as having Cadillac programs--suggesting these would not be available to the average American. This is simply not true.
It is apparent that the private health insurance industry is terrified by a public option. Almost all the arguments being used against the public option really relate to private insurance companies. Health care is already being rationed--as they claim about any government system--bureaucrats are already deciding proper medical care, --as witnessed by the complaints by private doctors that insurance companies prevent them prescribing certain medicines to their patients, --key procedures are being denied--maybe even triggering rescinding of the health insurance policy, leaving the patrient with the bill. The health insurance industry is in terrible financial shape and they are buying congresscritters left and right to block any fundamental reform that will force them to streamline their own bureaucratic bloat--almost 40% of current medical expenses--and will cut into their profits.
One reporter asked President Obama whether he can guarantee if someone likes their insurance they can keep it ,if the company decides to go on a public plan. Talk about a red herring. Today, you can't keep your plan if your employer drops coverage or moves to a less expensive option. I couldn't even keep my own organization's plan and I was the President. I'm no longer on it.
The media is not really being straight with the American people. I have yet to hear or to see a simple demonstration of what the public option would look like. President Obama clearly knows and keeps describing it as a menu of options--but this doesn't carry to the bulk of Americans. It sounds to0 vague and iffy as if it isn't being practiced right now. You can actually look up the menu of options right now.
A major network should do the CNN electronic screen and type into the internet www.opm.gov/Insure/Health and review all the options available for employees of the federal government. Simply type in your zipcode and then decide what type of employee you are, as an experiment. I choose to be an employee of the FDIC. You are then presented with a long list of options from the top providers in the health insurance industry--Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, Aetna, etc. Then click a check for all the programs you want to compare. You will be amazed by the prices of the insurance. My wife and I spend $17,000 a year on health insurance for a family plan, a comparable program under this menu would cost one-half that. Same benefits, same deductible and same coverage.
In part, it's because of the larger risk pool that lowers the rates. Another nice feature is a list of questions about doctors choice, response speed, patient satisfaction so you get an idea about the users' responses to these health plans. No wonder the insurance companies are terrified--they simply don't want this option explained--clearly and succinctly to the American people. Even the media refer to Congressmen and women as having Cadillac programs--suggesting these would not be available to the average American. This is simply not true.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday Rants
The repression has been in full force this morning. If you want to see a protester die before your very eyes,Nico at www.huffingtonpost.com has posted an Iranian woman shot and dying. Mousavi has announced he is ready for martyrdom. And the Iranian regime claims a suicide bomber has blown himself up at the Khomenini memorial but curiously there is no evidence of this. Christiane Amapour claims the MEK engaged in the attack but the last time we heard this the Iranian regime blew up one of the oldest mosques themselves and blamed the group for it.
While important things are happening around the world, Joseph Farah of www.wnd.com posts the very important investigative report that demonstrates that Barack Obama had at the age of 11 a relationship with the SDS and Bill Ayres through a Unitarian church in Hawaii. Some of us remember in the anti-Vietnam war days the Unitarians were hosts to many anti-war activities,including draft counseling. But then again--maybe Farah meant Obama knew Lew Ayres. The last known photo of Barack Obama at 11 showed him body-surfing with his grandfather. Maybe it was his grandfather who had the relationship.
Farah also brags about how he conned $75,000 from unsuspecting donors to purchase billboards asking "Where is your birth certificate?" Why ,I ask ,isn't the RICO act used against this and the legal cases brought on the whole eligibility issue? This is a money making venture--pure and simple. If we even go further, why not crack down on the NRA and others who claim Obama is going to take away their guns? We all know and as gun lobbyists have been telling us for years that this is all about making Wayne La Pierre more money. I even think Bobby Rush is on the NRA payroll to introduce legislation against assault rifles just to gin up the money-making machine. There is even less sentiment for gun-control legislation than at any time since the 1990s. The only ones profiting by this are gun manufacturers, the NRA and ammunition people.
Senator Ensign of Nevada , a member of the Christian group Promise Keepers, didn't keep his promise when he had an affair with the wife of a campaign worker. It seems this has only come forward because the couple had problems with their mortgage and wanted to hit up the Senator for some loot. Senator Ensign is a roommate with Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, who is also a Promise Keeper, and who knew about the affair for the past 18 months. It seems Coburn, one of Obama's best friends (go figure), believes his friend should be forgiven. Unfortunately, the episode re-raised the issue of Senator Diaper Dan Vitters and his escapes with the D.C. madam. It seems he may face a serious Democratic challenge and also a primary challenge by porno star Stormy Dawn.
Does anyone care about Letterman's jokes about Sarah Palin? It wasn't in bad taste--it was just the joke didn't work. To understand, you had to be aware of Bristol Palin's sexual habits and Yankee's Alex Rodriquez sexual appetites. And the timing didn't work. Forget about Palin's complaint it was about her daughter named Willow. The Freepers managed to whip up a crowd of 20 demanding Letterman be fired. And Cindy McCain--after sending photos of Navy beefcake exrcising on her beach--twittered that Letterman had gone too far. But, as we do know, the road to the White House ran through Letterman's studio and McCain's snubbing him cost him Indiana.
Has anyone caught the House hearings on health insurance? There is something called rescessions (?), which means that a health insurance company can negate a policy for certain types of illnesses. In the hearings, health insurance companies said they had a logrithm they use to determine this issue--even though the committee couldn't get them to submit the formula. It seems there are some 1,500 to 2,000 illnesses, which trigger insurances being cancelled. From what I heard, these included breast cancer, ovarian cancer and brain cancer. This means that if the patient starts treatment for these illnesses health insurance companies are likely to stop coverage, sticking the person with the full bill. Any wonder why people say all of us are a single illness away from bankruptcy?
The Republicans unveiled their exciting health insurance plan this week. It was the same idea as their stimulus plan--four pages with no numbers. They could not answer what their plans were for insuring the 50+ million uninsured Americans. I am increasingly getting the idea that Republicans no longer have any sense of the general welfare or the public good.
But the Democrats are only marginally acting any better. The whole health reform plan is now looking to be a new TARP program for the health care industry so that it doesn't go the way of GM. Mandatory purchase of health insurance for another 50 million people--that's good business. Senator Baucus, who is bought and paid for by the insurance companies, and Tom Dashcle basically said a public option is off the table. My suggestion to all congresscritters who feel this way is to voluntarily give up their own public option plans and pay for private insurance themselves. If you check with any federal employee, the so-called public option is simply a menu of private choices you can choose from and that choice as well as the large pool of employees force private insurers to be competitive. Hardly a revolutionary concept.
People are beginning to show concerns about the government deficits and this is beginning to slow support for health care reform. The $11 trillion of deficits left over from the Bush Administration and the few trillion from the Obama programs damper any enthusiasm for more dramatic changes in the economic situation and any new government programs. Senator McCain was already screaming about $1 trillion being spent for health reform over the next 10 years--a number easily accomodated by cuts in the Defense budget. Also, if we hadn't invaded Iraq we would have a national health care system--think about about.
But the deficits pose other types of problems--how to keep selling U.S. Treasuries to foreign markets, particularly the Chinese. Someone writing in the Daily Beast wrote that Obama should take the initiative and submit legislation that says that when unemployment dips below 5%,about half where it is now, then the U.S. could not have a deficit more than 3% of GDP, which is said to be acceptable. If the debt level goes above this, then it would take 60 votes in the Senate to override this. It's sort of like a modified Gramm-Rudman, where you either have to cut programs or raise revenues, which we used to call taxes. Since we need deficit spending now to try and mount some economic recovery, it's not realistic to address now and the Republicans will try to run with this even though they know in their heart of hearts it doesn't make any immediate sense. Obama could simply take this off the table by urging such a bill now before other initiatives are dragged under by this public concern.
My last thought in my rantings is this: After seeing the handsome men and beautiful women during this last week demonstrating in Iran, could anyone really believe the United States could fight a war against them?
While important things are happening around the world, Joseph Farah of www.wnd.com posts the very important investigative report that demonstrates that Barack Obama had at the age of 11 a relationship with the SDS and Bill Ayres through a Unitarian church in Hawaii. Some of us remember in the anti-Vietnam war days the Unitarians were hosts to many anti-war activities,including draft counseling. But then again--maybe Farah meant Obama knew Lew Ayres. The last known photo of Barack Obama at 11 showed him body-surfing with his grandfather. Maybe it was his grandfather who had the relationship.
Farah also brags about how he conned $75,000 from unsuspecting donors to purchase billboards asking "Where is your birth certificate?" Why ,I ask ,isn't the RICO act used against this and the legal cases brought on the whole eligibility issue? This is a money making venture--pure and simple. If we even go further, why not crack down on the NRA and others who claim Obama is going to take away their guns? We all know and as gun lobbyists have been telling us for years that this is all about making Wayne La Pierre more money. I even think Bobby Rush is on the NRA payroll to introduce legislation against assault rifles just to gin up the money-making machine. There is even less sentiment for gun-control legislation than at any time since the 1990s. The only ones profiting by this are gun manufacturers, the NRA and ammunition people.
Senator Ensign of Nevada , a member of the Christian group Promise Keepers, didn't keep his promise when he had an affair with the wife of a campaign worker. It seems this has only come forward because the couple had problems with their mortgage and wanted to hit up the Senator for some loot. Senator Ensign is a roommate with Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, who is also a Promise Keeper, and who knew about the affair for the past 18 months. It seems Coburn, one of Obama's best friends (go figure), believes his friend should be forgiven. Unfortunately, the episode re-raised the issue of Senator Diaper Dan Vitters and his escapes with the D.C. madam. It seems he may face a serious Democratic challenge and also a primary challenge by porno star Stormy Dawn.
Does anyone care about Letterman's jokes about Sarah Palin? It wasn't in bad taste--it was just the joke didn't work. To understand, you had to be aware of Bristol Palin's sexual habits and Yankee's Alex Rodriquez sexual appetites. And the timing didn't work. Forget about Palin's complaint it was about her daughter named Willow. The Freepers managed to whip up a crowd of 20 demanding Letterman be fired. And Cindy McCain--after sending photos of Navy beefcake exrcising on her beach--twittered that Letterman had gone too far. But, as we do know, the road to the White House ran through Letterman's studio and McCain's snubbing him cost him Indiana.
Has anyone caught the House hearings on health insurance? There is something called rescessions (?), which means that a health insurance company can negate a policy for certain types of illnesses. In the hearings, health insurance companies said they had a logrithm they use to determine this issue--even though the committee couldn't get them to submit the formula. It seems there are some 1,500 to 2,000 illnesses, which trigger insurances being cancelled. From what I heard, these included breast cancer, ovarian cancer and brain cancer. This means that if the patient starts treatment for these illnesses health insurance companies are likely to stop coverage, sticking the person with the full bill. Any wonder why people say all of us are a single illness away from bankruptcy?
The Republicans unveiled their exciting health insurance plan this week. It was the same idea as their stimulus plan--four pages with no numbers. They could not answer what their plans were for insuring the 50+ million uninsured Americans. I am increasingly getting the idea that Republicans no longer have any sense of the general welfare or the public good.
But the Democrats are only marginally acting any better. The whole health reform plan is now looking to be a new TARP program for the health care industry so that it doesn't go the way of GM. Mandatory purchase of health insurance for another 50 million people--that's good business. Senator Baucus, who is bought and paid for by the insurance companies, and Tom Dashcle basically said a public option is off the table. My suggestion to all congresscritters who feel this way is to voluntarily give up their own public option plans and pay for private insurance themselves. If you check with any federal employee, the so-called public option is simply a menu of private choices you can choose from and that choice as well as the large pool of employees force private insurers to be competitive. Hardly a revolutionary concept.
People are beginning to show concerns about the government deficits and this is beginning to slow support for health care reform. The $11 trillion of deficits left over from the Bush Administration and the few trillion from the Obama programs damper any enthusiasm for more dramatic changes in the economic situation and any new government programs. Senator McCain was already screaming about $1 trillion being spent for health reform over the next 10 years--a number easily accomodated by cuts in the Defense budget. Also, if we hadn't invaded Iraq we would have a national health care system--think about about.
But the deficits pose other types of problems--how to keep selling U.S. Treasuries to foreign markets, particularly the Chinese. Someone writing in the Daily Beast wrote that Obama should take the initiative and submit legislation that says that when unemployment dips below 5%,about half where it is now, then the U.S. could not have a deficit more than 3% of GDP, which is said to be acceptable. If the debt level goes above this, then it would take 60 votes in the Senate to override this. It's sort of like a modified Gramm-Rudman, where you either have to cut programs or raise revenues, which we used to call taxes. Since we need deficit spending now to try and mount some economic recovery, it's not realistic to address now and the Republicans will try to run with this even though they know in their heart of hearts it doesn't make any immediate sense. Obama could simply take this off the table by urging such a bill now before other initiatives are dragged under by this public concern.
My last thought in my rantings is this: After seeing the handsome men and beautiful women during this last week demonstrating in Iran, could anyone really believe the United States could fight a war against them?
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saturday Reading
For those who wonder how to cope with the collapse of our economy and political system,the latest edition of the New Yorker (January 26, 2009) delights us with Ben McGrath's American Chronicles "The Dystopians". an account of the best and brightest of our doomsayers. One of my favorite is Dmitry Orlov, who travels the seas on his boat The Hogfish, which is outfitted with solar panels and bicycles. He plans to establish a trading network along Lake Champlain for transporting Vermont apples and marple syrup to farmers' markets in New York City. James Howard Kunstler, known for his weekly blog column Clusterfuck Nation,outlines the sickness of our society but claims he's not a "complete collapsitarian". And he joins former Duke economic professor Thomas Naylor at the meeting of the Vermont Republic Movement, which envisions the creation of a new country named Arcadia, composed of Vermont,New Hampshire, Maine and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Attending was Lynette Clark, the chair of the Alaska Independence party, to which Todd Palin belonged. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Clark calling herself "an Alaskan, not an American", will support Sarah Palin's presidential run in 2012, if Alaska is not independent. The other dystopians are actually hestitating now, hoping somehow that Obama can prevent the total social collapse.
The New Yorker also features probably the most rational article on health reform I've read--Atul Gawande's "Getting There from Here". Dr. Gawande specializes in cancer surgery and outlines the various options for health care reform with the existing systems we currently have. The value of Gawande's article lies with its historical overview of the development of the British, French and Swiss systems and how these were grown out of the historical necessities in those countries. Since his solution of marrying what we have is too sensible, it's doubtful it will make its way down to Washington. But read it. A national health system really is possible.
James Bamford's The Shadow Factory: the Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America (Doubleday ,$27.95) has surfaced on MSNBC recently. Bamford specializes in the National Security Agency and has written three previous books on perhaps the most secret of our secret agencies. Bamford is mesmerizing with his account of the technology behind modern-day surveillance. Our favorite eavesdropper,Gene Hackman is now permanently out of work,an anachronistic character compared to the new wave, wholesale sweep of data about every American. The least of our worries is spying on journalists. The second half of the book describes the legal antics of people like David Addington in the Bush Administration to create a universe of warrantless eavesdropping. What is clear and has become clear is that the NSA staff were far removed from any understanding of the policy changes under Michael Hayden, who put the agency at risk. The book ends with a number of court cases starting in 2006 that challenged this whole eavesdropping regime. For all the recent flap over Obama dismantling the whole apparatus erected by Bush for the alleged purpose of fighting terrorism, its unravelling started three years ago as courts started pushing back. One question does remain--What explains the primitive state of the White House's computer systems? The Obama staff claims "It's like going from Iphone technology to Atari."
The New Yorker also features probably the most rational article on health reform I've read--Atul Gawande's "Getting There from Here". Dr. Gawande specializes in cancer surgery and outlines the various options for health care reform with the existing systems we currently have. The value of Gawande's article lies with its historical overview of the development of the British, French and Swiss systems and how these were grown out of the historical necessities in those countries. Since his solution of marrying what we have is too sensible, it's doubtful it will make its way down to Washington. But read it. A national health system really is possible.
James Bamford's The Shadow Factory: the Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America (Doubleday ,$27.95) has surfaced on MSNBC recently. Bamford specializes in the National Security Agency and has written three previous books on perhaps the most secret of our secret agencies. Bamford is mesmerizing with his account of the technology behind modern-day surveillance. Our favorite eavesdropper,Gene Hackman is now permanently out of work,an anachronistic character compared to the new wave, wholesale sweep of data about every American. The least of our worries is spying on journalists. The second half of the book describes the legal antics of people like David Addington in the Bush Administration to create a universe of warrantless eavesdropping. What is clear and has become clear is that the NSA staff were far removed from any understanding of the policy changes under Michael Hayden, who put the agency at risk. The book ends with a number of court cases starting in 2006 that challenged this whole eavesdropping regime. For all the recent flap over Obama dismantling the whole apparatus erected by Bush for the alleged purpose of fighting terrorism, its unravelling started three years ago as courts started pushing back. One question does remain--What explains the primitive state of the White House's computer systems? The Obama staff claims "It's like going from Iphone technology to Atari."
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