Impeding changes to our Health Care system

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Right...starting in 2016, if you have an employer-based plan, you (and your employer) MAY have the opportunity for more options than currently provided. Employers will not be forced into the Exchange as McHaughey implied.

Most people can't just go to the Fantasy Insurance Exchange as you implied. That is false and misleading. People will be stuck with what ever their employer foist on them and stuck with the bill that the insurance companies force people to pay for substandard plans with high deductables. Again the bill does not fix what is wrong with costs of health care.



Now there's a fix! In 7 years.

For those 200+ million currently covered through an employer-based plan, the bill will::

a) end the practice of insurance companies denying coverage to anyone with pre-existing conditions.

b) prevent insurance companies from raising rates or dropping coverage for those who suddenly face a serious illness.

c) cap annual out-of-pocket expenses so that no one faces significant unanticipated expenses or goes bankrupt as a result of a medical crisis.

d) drop all copays for preventive care.

e) ends any existing lifetime caps on what insurance companies will currently pay.

[TheMercenary]

No controls on what insurance companies can charge or limits on deductability for all others in the plan.

It will:

f) end the antitrust exemption for health insurance companies so that they are no longer shielded from liability for price fixing.

g) place limits on the administration costs as percent of premiums, thus limiting premium increases.

h) end the market monopoly in many states, where choices are currently severely restricted, thus opening those markets to increased competition....and increased competition breeds lower costs for consumers.

[TheMercenary]

None of those things address my points.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

None of those things address my points.

I am still trying to figure out which of the provisions (a-e) and (f-h) that you think will not benefit consumers at the expense of the insurance industry that has been ripping us off for years.

Premium and deductable increases will also be limited in order for any company to participate in the Insurance Exchange...so that if the provider currently providing you coverage through your employer-plan wants to expand into the 30+ million market of the uninsured, you will benefit as well with those limitations.

In light of Merc's post misrepresenting the support of 20 physician associations for health care reform.

The following organizations (not a complete list) supporting the House bill:

AARP
AFL-CIO
AFSCME
AIDS Action Council
AIDS Institute
Alliance for Children and Families
Alliance for Retired Americans
American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology
American Academy of Dermatology and AAD Association
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Physician’s Assistants
American Art Therapy Association
American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence
American Association of Health and Disability
American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
American Association of Pastoral Counselors
American Cancer Society – Cancer Action Network
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Physicians
American College of Surgeons
American Counseling Association
American Diabetes Association
American Federation of Teachers
American Gastroenterological Association
American Group Psychotherapy Association
American Heart Association – American Stroke Association
American Medical Association
American Medical Student Association
American Mental Health Counselors Association
American Nurses Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Nurses Association
American Psychoanalytic Association
American Psychological Association
American Psychotherapy Association
American Public Health Association
American Society for Radiation Oncology
American Society of Addiction Medicine
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
American Thoracic Society
Americans for Democratic Action
Anxiety Disorders Association of America
Association for the Advancement of Psychology
Association of American Medical Colleges
Autism Society of America
Betty Ford Center
Campaign for America’s Future
Campaign for Better Health Care
Campaign for Mental Health Reform
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Center for Clinical Social Work/ABE
Center for Health Care Policy, Research and Analysis
Center for Health care Services (San Antonio, Texas)
Center for Rural Affairs
Child Welfare League of America
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Children Now
Clinical Social Work Association
Consumer Health Coalition
Consumers for Affordable Health Care Coalition
Consumers Union
CWA
Easter Seals
Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action
Ecu-Health Care, Inc
Families USA
Health Care for America NOW
Health Care for America NOW – Southern Oregon Coalition
Leadership Council of Aging Organizations
Medicare Rights Center
Mental Health America
NAACP
NAADAC – The Association for Addiction Professionals
National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc.
National Alliance for Medication (NAMA) Recovery
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National American Indian Housing Council
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
National Assembly on School-Based Health Care
National Association for Children of Alcoholics
National Association for State Alcohol/Drug Abuse Directors
National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders-ANAD
National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC)
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors
National Association of Drug Court Professionals
National Association of Mental Health Planning and Advisory Councils
National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Social Workers, Maine Chapter
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
National Breast Cancer Coalition
National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Congress of American Indians
National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare
National Council of Urban Indian Health
National Council on Aging
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
National Disability Rights Network
National Education Association (NEA)
National Farmer’s Union
National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
National Foundation for Mental Health
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Indian Health Board
National Medical Association
National PACE Association
National Patient Advocate Foundation
National Research Center for Women & Families
National Spinal Cord Injury Association
National Student Assistance Association
Native American Health Center, Inc.
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Partnership for a Drug-Free America
Partnership for Prevention
Rock the Vote
Service Employees International Union
U.S. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association
U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG)
U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce
United Auto Workers
United Cerebral Palsy
United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
United Neighborhood Centers of America
United Spinal Association
United Steel Workers

Quite a comprehensive and diverse list of health care professional organizations, patient advocacy organizations, consumer organizations, senior organizations, child advocacy organizations, worker organizations, minority organizations, religious groups.....

Real Americans...they just dont pass the Merc test, so they must all be bullshitters or socialists

[TheMercenary]

House narrowly passes landmark health care bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.

The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.

A triumphant Speaker Nancy Pelosi likened the legislation to the passage of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare 30 years later.

"It provides coverage for 96 percent of Americans. It offers everyone, regardless of health or income, the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will have access to affordable health care when they need it," said Rep. John Dingell, the 83-year-old Michigan lawmaker who has introduced national health insurance in every Congress since succeeding his father in 1955.

In the run-up to a final vote, conservatives from the two political parties joined forces to impose tough new restrictions on abortion coverage in insurance policies to be sold to many individuals and small groups. They prevailed on a roll call of 240-194.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091108/D9BR59EO0.html

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

House narrowly passes landmark health care bill

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091108/D9BR59EO0.html

This is just the first step but it makes me proud to be a Democrat.

Not simply because the overwhelming majority of Democrats voted for the bill, but also because it is a party that does hold you in contempt if you dont vote with that majority.

Another Democratic landmark health/welfare bill from which millions of Americans will benefit....like Social Security Act in 1935 and the Medicare Act in 1965....and to a lesser extent, even the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

Where are those Republican landmark bills...hmmmmm.

[TheMercenary]

As long as you spend more time hating Democrats and the government than helping the American people...you will be on the wrong side of the issue.

But you too will benefit from these Democratic landmark acts because Democrats even care about angry bitter old men like you.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

As long as you spend more time hating Democrats and the government than helping the American people...you will be on the wrong side of the issue.

But you too will benefit from these Democratic landmark acts because Democrats even care about angry bitter old men like you.

And you Demoncrats will tax and spend this country into bankruptcy for generations on end.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

And you Demoncrats will tax and spend this country into bankruptcy for generations on end.

Not until we finish redistributing the wealth.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Not until we finish redistributing the wealth.

"All will be well my people once your wealth has been evenly distributed. Trust us, we are your Government."
/
/

Feel better now?

Or perhaps you need to rant about Pelosi as well...the one you like to compare to Nazis...who brilliantly forged the consensus on this landmark bill.