House narrowly passes health care bill

[Frank]

Looking Forward wrote:

This is going to be another 'wait and see' program and if it fails, no doubt George W Bush will be blamed! I'm a lifelong Republican (and it's been a long life!) and anything that can improve my way of life and those of my children and grandchildren is welcomed. No, I am NOT going to resign from Republican Party. Sorry, guys and gals.

I can't help but noticing the contradiction. On one hand you welcome "anything that can improve my way of life and those of my children and grandchildren", but on the other you reaffirm your allegiance to the Republican Party.
By now all but the hypnotized at least privately realize the two positions to be mutually exclusive.
I realize that long held beliefs are difficult to overcome, and your political Party can seem like your family, but you need to at least consider that your family the Republican Party is not.
Actually, when it comes right down to it, they are the ones bellowing to take your grandkids to war, were responsible for the cuts and mismanagement of the VA, forcing rape victim employees of war contractors into secret private arbitration agreements, and have been blocking all efforts towards the very thinks you said you are for.

[Elitist]

Local Chico men write about current issues. Check them out I feel like a lot of people here would enjoy what they write.

http://elitistidiots.com/

[cheryl c]

Am i missing the boat on this new health care? It seems that obama is doing the right thing especially banning insurance companies from higher prices for based on medical history, most people can not help the "genes" they were born with and most people can not afford health insurance so by banning price raises ect. it only seems as a benifit to us! Raising children working fulltime just to afford health care is very hard!So if the goverment wants to "take over" our already failing health care system then let it! Nobody was doing a great job just the ionsurance companies were getting richer while we were getting poor. There are a few other countries who are goverment ran and they are happier!

[cheryl c]

axon wrote:

The taxpayer is already footing the bill. When a poor person presents at the ER, it's typically after a condition has worsened to the point where emergency intervention is required, with is much more expensive than prevention or early treatment. And the bill for that ER visit goes to Uncle Sam. It's simply cheaper for the taxpayer to pay for the insurance premiums instead of the ER visit. Finally, not all taxpayers will be footing the bill (as they do today); it will be taxpayers earning more than $500,000 per year. I'm guessing that insurance executives may fall into this bracket.
I don't know if this can improve our "lifestyle", but it will measurably improve the overall health of Americans, and cost less in the long run.
The US is the only modern nation that permits health insurance to be offered as a for-profit service. Interestingly, the cost of administering health care insurance in the US is over 20% of the total cost, whereas in other modern nations it is less than 2%.
This bill is not perfect, but it is, perhaps, perfectible. It's time for the insurance carriers to be held to a higher standard of service. This bill begins that process. Hopefully more progress with be made.
--Ax

amen!

[caine]

this is a farce--w/
no tort reform--see how much you like this bill when your loved ones get sick & have to wait mo.s to see a specialist--it'll take decades to cure this socialist BS when obama is kicked out after one term--hes worse than jimmy carter & will suffer the same fate-ONE TERM--thank god(not allah)

[Frank]

Jamie Leigh Jones is an American who was gang raped by her co-workers while working for a defense contractor in Iraq. Her employer tried to cover up the rape and prevent her from filing charges in court – by forcing her to use a private arbitrator chosen by the company. They had the right to insist upon an arbitrator, the company maintained, because a clause in their contract with Jones required it.

Last month, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) offered an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill to change this. His bill would forbid the Defense Department from entering into contracts with companies that force their employes to arbitrate claims of rape.

Thirty Republican Senators opposed Franken's amendment. Many of them had received large contributions from defense contractors and the Chamber of Commerce, both keen to lower the costs of “disputes,” apparently regardless of who it hurts.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-lessig...

[Puzzled]

Frank wrote:

Thousands of protesters came to Capitol Hill yesterday for Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) protest against health care reform, capping months of fear-mongering about the dangers of so-called “socialized” medicine. However, the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank notes that at one point, one of the protesters had a heart attack. Luckily, federally-employed medical personnel were able to quickly attend to him — even though they were part of government-run health care, which is supposedly quite dangerous:
More ominously, a man standing just beyond the TV cameras apparently suffered a heart attack 20 minutes after event began. Medical personnel from the Capitol physician’s office — an entity that could, quite accurately, be labeled government-run health care — rushed over, attaching electrodes to his chest and giving him oxygen and an IV drip.
This turned into an unwanted visual for the speakers, as a D.C. ambulance and firetruck, lights flashing, pulled in just behind the lawmakers. A path was made through the media section, and the patient, attended to by about 10 government medical personnel, was being wheeled away on a stretcher just as House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) stepped to the microphone.“Join us in defeating Pelosi care!” he exhorted. A few members stole a glance at the stretcher.
By the end of the day,“medics had administered government-run health care to at least five people in the crowd who were stricken as they denounced government-run health care.”
thinkprogress.org

This wasn't government run health care, this was care given in an emergency by medical personnel who happened to be on the scene. What does that have to do with the new health program? NOTHING!

[Looking Forward]

Frank wrote:

<quoted text>
I can't help but noticing the contradiction. On one hand you welcome "anything that can improve my way of life and those of my children and grandchildren", but on the other you reaffirm your allegiance to the Republican Party.
By now all but the hypnotized at least privately realize the two positions to be mutually exclusive.
I realize that long held beliefs are difficult to overcome, and your political Party can seem like your family, but you need to at least consider that your family the Republican Party is not.
Actually, when it comes right down to it, they are the ones bellowing to take your grandkids to war, were responsible for the cuts and mismanagement of the VA, forcing rape victim employees of war contractors into secret private arbitration agreements, and have been blocking all efforts towards the very thinks you said you are for.

You are entitled to your own opinion, Frank, however twisted it may be. Smile.

[vet sixties era]

Hey people it was a so called a two party vote so we can all blame "who" demos or repubs, no we blame the whole system both sides as they all celabrate their so called victory for us the people and say its a great day in the park.Lets see what this health plan is really going to do for us and lets see how many times they are going to tweek it before we can actually use this so called health plan.

[pity pater]

I'll probably get a insulting retort, but I feel I have to respond to Ax's previous post.

The Goverment doesn't automatically pay for all visits to the ER by the poor. If they are in the system (medi-caid medi-cal) they do pay the approved rate for the procedure, If they are NOT in the system, as a indigent, the provider may absorb the cost, or even past in on to the paying customers as a cost of providing care.

Even in the goverment reinbursment there is a portion that has to be dealt with that is not technically on the books. All consumers pay this in some form.

As far as the overhead being 20% for the insurance companies, a recent 60 minutes or 20/20 showed how easy it way for a single fraudulent operation to recieve millions in reimbursments from medi-care because of no/little oversight and huge loopholes in the payment system.

Fraud that even the administration confirms and admits will be very difficult to stop. An estimated 10-12% that we will never get back.

[Joe_Public]

Well congratulations to all the bleeding heart liberal jerkoffs who want to keep taking from everyone who makes more than minimum wage in order to support lazy, ignorant or illegal scumbags. This is a big step towards your dream of a government that takes care of you since you can't take care of yourselves. Enjoy the socialist existence you have created!

[pypr]

pity pater wrote:

I'll probably get a insulting retort, but I feel I have to respond to Ax's previous post.

The Government doesn't automatically pay for all visits to the ER by the poor. If they are in the system (medi-caid medi-cal) they do pay the approved rate for the procedure, If they are NOT in the system, as a indigent, the provider may absorb the cost, or even past in on to the paying customers as a cost of providing care.
Even in the government reimbursement there is a portion that has to be dealt with that is not technically on the books. All consumers pay this in some form.

There was also some ignorance in that post regarding the poor having to use the E-R. Medi-Cal, MediCare, Medi-Caid and County Medical Services Program (CMSP)enrollees have access to the rural heath clinics for medical services and primary care physicians. RHC such as the new Feather River Health Center on the Skyway receive a much higher reimbursement rate from the federal government than a private practice physician. They do not have to wait for hours to be seen at the E-R for minor problems. They go to the clinics.

[Joe Sixpack]

Joe_Public wrote:

Well congratulations to all the bleeding heart liberal jerkoffs who want to keep taking from everyone who makes more than minimum wage in order to support lazy, ignorant or illegal ****. This is a big step towards your dream of a government that takes care of you since you can't take care of yourselves. Enjoy the socialist existence you have created!

Well at least all of those low-income new hires at the super duper Walmart will be able to get PRIVATE insurance unlike the government-run insurance they have now.

[Elitist]

caine wrote:

this is a farce--w/
no tort reform--see how much you like this bill when your loved ones get sick & have to wait mo.s to see a specialist--it'll take decades to cure this socialist BS when obama is kicked out after one term--hes worse than jimmy carter & will suffer the same fate-ONE TERM--thank god(not allah)

Oh Caine, you show ignorance, and i'm sure you feel very blissful. You seem pretty happy with the way things are currently, but what if cost was less, more people were insured, and preventative care was happening? Too socialized for you?