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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Did the "Medicare for Everyone" re-frame do the trick?

Nate Silver's still trying to figure it out. He was predicting that "the public option" for health care reform was a dead duck, as was my friend on the Forum, Mr. Sanborn. Oh ye of little faith. Looks like Mike may be buying me breakfast come the Holidays. I'm thinking a little cafe in Paris.

10 comments:

Taunia said...

It's getting closer all the time.

I'm not sure about states opting out, however. This seems to have swayed the masses most of all. Republican states will opt out, Democratic states will be insured?

Bill Fleming said...

I can't imagine any state opting out. Can you Taunia? Why in the world would they?

Taunia said...

I wouldn't think a state would, but if any did, South Dakota comes to mind first of all.

Why? John Thune. And the sheep that follow him, and there seem to be a lot of them.

Thune voted no on research on embryonic cells. He voted no on spending to reduce teen pregnancy. He voted no to adding 3 million children to the SCHIP program. He voted no for the expanding period of enrollment on Medicare Part D.

He voted yes on subsidizing private insurance for Medicare drug coverage. He voted yes to limit farm subsidies.

You think Thune is going to want government health insurance?

Anonymous said...

My understanding is that all states will take part in the program for a year, and then the legislature and governor can choose to opt out. Don't you think it would be political suicide to take people's health care away from them, once they had it for a year?

Anonymous said...

I find it hard to believe the modern insurance companies are crying they won't be able to compete against a government insurance plan, given that we all know how wasteful and inefficient the government is.
If that's the case, we probably don't want those insurance companies either...
If we go a step further, and let the government insure all the people the insurance companies don't want, isn't that like Cost Control 101 for insurance companies?
They will be left with only the best of the best healthy white people, they won't have to kick out people that get too fat or people that are too skinny or people that get sicklecell, etc... hell, they can finally exclude 75% of the people that tend to get sick.
And of course if the ceo sees their bonuses in jeopardy, they can just deny a few more claims and push them into the government plan. Bonuses saved! and the poor ceo doesn't have to feel morally bad because they let someone else die in favor of their bottom line profits.

Anonymous said...

John Thune, the lame duck republican from SD... the one we "hired" to work FOR us.
The SOB is letting the democrats completely construct the new health care bill, which will pass in some form or another...
And the republicans will not have had a single hand it any of it. Didn't we vote for these idiots to represent us? In good AND in bad situations?

It's lame duck season, and this is one case when it's ok to shoot the cripples! (i.e. vote them OUT of office)
To hell with John Thune and his do nothing attitude!

Bill Fleming said...

Yeah, that's what I'm hearing, too. For all the whining and nay-saying, there appears to be no Republican health care reform plan on the table. None. Does anyone know if any have been proposed?

Surely the GOP doesn't advocate for the status quo, do they?

Donna said...

The SCHIP Program allows for people with incomes 300% above the poverty level to get free helath care for their children. Do people who make $88,000 a year really need that kind of assistance ? Where has personal responsibilty gone in this country ???

If this is any indication of what our lives will be like with the Feds in our health care, I'm very concerned.

Anonymous said...

Donna, have you even bothered to find and read the facts? I'll bet not! Come on, cite your references cause I've stopped falling for the right-wing-nut "the sky is falling" mentality a long time ago.
You can't scare me into voting republican using ignorant sound bytes. Obviously it didn't work for Palin either.

PS: I know two families that used the CHIP program and it doesn't work that way.

Donna said...

Here you are Bill- see section 3 of this synopsis-

Official Title of Legislation:

HR 2: To amend title XXI of the Social Security Act to extend and improve the Children's Health Insurance Program, and for other purposes.


Highlights:

-Allows states to provide pregnancy-related assistance under CHIP for pregnant women whose income is at least 185 percent of their state's poverty level or at least 200 percent of the poverty level for children under 19 years of age (Sec. 111).

-Phases out coverage of non-pregnant childless adults by prohibiting the approval or renewal of waivers after September 30, 2009, unless a state requests a one year extension (Sec. 112).

-Expands CHIP coverage to children of families whose incomes would exceed 300% of the poverty line but for a general exclusion for blocks of income (Sec. 114).

-Expands CHIP to allow states the option of covering children of legal immigrants and pregnant legal immigrants and allows them to bypass the normally required five-year waiting period before eligibility (Sec. 214).

-Prohibits states from providing CHIP to any undocumented immigrants (Sec. 214, 605).

-Increases the federal excise taxes on tobacco products, including raising the cigarette tax by $0.61 to $1 per pack, in order to fund CHIP (Sec. 701).

Link to Legislation: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:hr2:


House Passage: 01/14/2009 : Bill Passed: 289 - 139 (Roll no. 16)

Senate Passage With Amendment: 01/29/2009 : Bill Passed 66 - 32 (Record Vote Number 31)

House Concurrence Vote: 02/04/2009 : Concurrence Vote Passed 290 - 135 (Roll no. 50)

President Passage: 02/04/2009 : Signed Became Public Law Number 111-3


Sponsor:
Rep. Pallone, Frank Jr. (D-NJ)


Cosponsors:
Rep. Abercrombie, Neil (D-HI)
Rep. Barrow, John (D-GA)
Rep. Braley, Bruce (D-IA)
Rep. Capps, Lois (D-CA)
Rep. Castor, Kathy (D-FL)
Rep. Connolly, Gerald (D-VA)
Rep. Cuellar, Henry (D-TX)
Rep. Dahlkemper, Kathy (D-PA)
Rep. DeGette, Diana (D-CO)
Rep. Dingell, John (D-MI)
Rep. Edwards, Thomas (D-TX)
Rep. Engel, Eliot (D-NY)
Rep. Eshoo, Anna (D-CA)
Rep. Foster, Bill (D-IL)
Rep. Green, Raymond (D-TX)
Rep. Harman, Jane (D-CA)
Rep. Hinojosa, Rubén Sr. (D-TX)
Rep. Johnson, Henry Jr. (D-GA)
Rep. Kagen, Steven (D-WI)
Rep. Kilroy, Mary Jo (D-OH)
Rep. Lujan, Ben Jr. (D-NM)
Rep. Maffei, Daniel (D-NY)
Rep. Markey, Edward (D-MA)
Rep. Massa, Eric (D-NY)
Rep. Matsui, Doris (D-CA)
Rep. McMahon, Michael (D-NY)
Rep. McNerney, Gerald (D-CA)
Rep. Murphy, Christopher (D-CT)
Rep. Pascrell, William Jr. (D-NJ)
Rep. Rangel, Charles (D-NY)
Rep. Schakowsky, Janice (D-IL)
Rep. Sherman, Brad (D-CA)
Rep. Space, Zachary (D-OH)
Rep. Stark, Fortney (D-CA)
Rep. Stupak, Bart (D-MI)
Rep. Sutton, Betty (D-OH)
Rep. Towns, Edolphus (D-NY)
Rep. Tsongas, Nicola (D-MA)
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie (D-FL)
Rep. Waxman, Henry (D-CA)
Rep. Weiner, Anthony (D-NY)
Rep. Welch, Peter (D-VT)





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