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Puerto Rico Lobbies for Universal Health Care

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

This Ain’t Hell, a conservative-based political news blog, has produced a rather interesting video. Apparently, unbeknownst to a majority of Americans, particularly those within the mainstream media, a rally was held today in Upper Senate Park in Washington D.C. It consisted of residents of Puerto Rico lobbying for universal health care. The main speaker of the group, who gave his speech in both Spanish and English, expressed outrage that Puerto Rico was being left out of the federal health care reform debate, claiming that they were being treated like second-class citizens by their exclusion from the massive government-run plan.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is identified as an unincorporated organized territory belonging to the United States. This means, in short, that while anyone born in Puerto Rico after January 1941 is a citizen of the United States, via the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917, they are at the same time not granted full enfranchisement as mainland citizens are.

It is rather hard to feel too much sympathy for these people. There are a number of things to consider, taxes among them. While Puerto Ricans pay Social Security and local taxes, like every other citizen of the United States, they do not have to pay income taxes. What’s more is that they actually get federal money from the United States government. So while they complain they are being treated like second-class citizens in one area, they are actually treated at a level far greater then the average mainland citizen.

A far greater issue, however, is that while this group of Puerto Rican residents are lobbying for an expanded role in the affairs of the federal United States government, their nation as a whole is moving in precisely the opposite direction. This past June, the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization approved a draft resolution calling on the U.S. government to expedite a process that would allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their inalienable right to self-determination and independence.

You also have to wonder why the people of Puerto Rico are so adamant about being directly involved within the United States health care debate in the first place when they have wanted nothing at all to do with such other pertinent issues plaguing this country like bailouts and cap-and-tax. Hmm, could it be that they know that this is something they’d be getting for free, never having to pay for it? That the mainland citizens of the U.S. would be the ones stuck holding the bill?

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Obama Talks to Students about Health Care

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

On Tuesday evening before his speech on Education, according to CNSNews.com, President Obama spoke with 40 freshmen from Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA about health care reform.  President Obama took this time to “pitch” his reform ideas on the young minds.

Of course his actual speech was posted online before the broadcast because fears for the impressionable minds of those he was going to talking to were aired.  Yet nothing was released ahead of time concerning the topics he would be covering with the students.  The President spoke about health care from what he sees and hears from “ordinary folks”:

“Some of the stories are really depressing,” Obama told the 40 freshman, who were chosen to meet with the president during freshman orientation, according to school officials.

“You hear about people who are sick but don’t have health care, and suddenly they get a bill for $100,000, and there’s no way they can pay for it, and they’re about to lose their house. And you’re just reminded that the country is full of really good people who sometimes are going through a hard time,” Obama said.

“They just need a break.  They need a little bit of help.  Maybe the way things are set up right now isn’t always fair for people, and that motivates you, because you say, well, I can’t make everything perfect, I can’t prevent somebody from getting sick, but maybe I can make sure that they’ve got insurance so that when they do get sick, they’re going to get some help.”

When President Obama discusses health care with these students, however, the United States does not come out looking very smart,

in the 1940s and 50s, “most of the wealthy countries around the world decided to set up health care systems that covered everybody.  The United States — for a number of different reasons — organized their health care around employer-based health insurance.”

Obama continues on the tell the students all the wonderful benefits of Universal Health Care including that everyone will have health care and tells the students that the US has the money for it and will even save money by going to this system.  He never tells them how much it will cost, or the downfalls of this health care program.  He made the whole system sound amazing and flawless.

Most of his time with the students was not focused on health care, a lot of time was spent on his obstacles growing up, being president, etc.  You can Click Here to see the transcript from the time President Obama spent with the freshmen.

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White House Forced to Play Defense, Vow to “Punch Back Twice as Hard”

Friday, August 7th, 2009

Two anonymous Obama Administration (Emanuel Bros. & Co.) insiders reported to FOX News today that Democratic lawmakers on the Hill attended a closed-door meeting with top White House officials this week to ingrain on-point messaging and teach them how to respond to opposition at ever-controversial town hall meetings.

White House officials told those present that if there were any efforts to oppose Democratic leaders for their support of President Obama’s health care reform proposals, which would create a sweeping government overhaul of the health care industry, the Administration would retaliate.

White House aides David Axelrod and Jim Messina traveled to the Capitol for their presentation to Democratic senators. Senators saw videos of disruptions at events held by House members, and were told to organize their events more carefully as well as work with labor unions and other friendly groups to generate enthusiasm.

They also were urged to use these events to stress insurance reforms such as a limit on out-of-pocket expenses for those covered by insurance, a ban on coverage cancellation for the seriously ill and protections for small businesses.

Messina, the deputy White House chief of staff, also said any advertising attack would be met with a bigger response, these officials said.

“If you get hit, we will punch back twice as hard,” Messina told senators, according to two people in the room.

One can only wonder how they plan to “punch back twice as hard.” The Obama Administration has made it clear that they have no problem using taxpayer-funded resources to persuade, rather than inform, the public of his agenda. After all, an advisory was released straight from whitehouse.gov, the official website of the American presidency, that urged supporters to submit any “fishy” “disinformation” disseminated by those who oppose the President’s agenda.

It is apparent that the White House is aware their numbers are sinking. Here are a few Rasmussen Reports that offer a whole lot of bad news for Emanuel Bros. & Co.:

  • 71 percent of Americans believe that President Obama’s policies have added to the deficit, while only 5 percent say the deficit is down due to President Obama’s policies.
  • 54 percent of Americans favor a middle class tax cut over new spending for health care reform (34 percent would prefer health care reforms).
  • 48 percent (up from 29 percent a year ago) rate private American health care systems as “excellent” or “good,” while only 19 percent rate it as “poor.”

With their numbers plummeting and town hall meetings overflowing with opposition to Democratic proposals, it is wise for the Administration to do a bit of framing and messaging:

White House aides distributed briefing materials explaining to senators the points Obama is stressing, as well as how to answer commonly asked questions.

Democrats are also trying to attack their opposition from the outside, with the AFL-CIO (yet another union) to join the ranks of moveon.org, SEIU and Organizing for America to mobilize their supporters to crash meetings and counter anti-Obamacare groups.

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CAUGHT IN THE ACT: President Obama Admits His Secret Love, a Single-Payer System

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

As the debate over proposed health care reform legislation heats up during the press from special interests during Congress’s August recess, both experts and citizen journalists dig up archived clips to piece together what they believe are the intents triggering and potential outcomes resulting from the passage of a public option.

This YouTube clip, courtesy of Naked Emperor News, expose President Obama’s deepest feelings regarding health care reform: the elimination of private insurance and a shift to a single-payer system, where citizens join public rolls and receive equal (well, equally as bad) care. 

More and more videos like these are emerging with further evidence likely to be brought up during recess. Liberal Congressional leaders and the President himself are forced to justify their previous statements and hopefully, they won’t have to employ the Oracle at Delphi Robert Gibbs (White House Press Secretary) take care of it for them.

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House Committee Strikes Deals to Pass HR 3200, Clears Way for House to Debate Health Care Reform Bill in September

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

HR 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, passed through its final House committee Friday as it gained approval from Congressman Henry Waxman’s (D-CA) Energy and Commerce Committee. Democratic proponents squeaked a 31-28 victory just before the gavel fell to close Congress for its August recess.

Just days before, Congressman Waxman called off negotiations in his committee indefinitely, due to the inability of liberal Democrats to strike compromises with the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Democrats, who cited severe concerns with the context of the bill. Congressman Waxman and his liberal colleagues seemed to have struck deals with opponents of the legislation, surprising many conservatives who felt a bit of consolation by the letter signed by 40 Democrats that expressed their disapproval of the bill in its current form. According to Bloomberg.com,

 

“Waxman spent days negotiating a compromise on the broader legislation after a group of seven Democrats on the panel objected to the cost and structure of the measure. He and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally struck a deal with some of the lawmakers, who are also members of the coalition of self- described fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, on July 29.

That agreement reduced the number of people eligible for subsidies to purchase insurance, which the legislation mandates all Americans must have. Small businesses with annual payrolls of less than $500,000 would also be exempt from the mandate that companies provide workers with insurance or pay a fine.

Republicans expressed displeasure with the legislation. “I’m very, very disappointed; there is still a federally run plan,” said Representative Mike Rogersof Michigan.

Referring to the Waxman-led negotiations, he said, “The only thing that happened is that you allowed the Blue Dogs to pick the color of the lipstick going on this pig.”

After making the bargain with the Blue Dog members, Waxman and Pelosi faced another rebellion from Democrats. Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus were unhappy about agreed- upon cuts in subsidies for lower-income Americans and the requirement that the government-run insurer negotiate with providers.”

 

Some conservative strategists were alerted of the attempt to push HR 3200 through committee by Friday, July 31, when recess was slated to begin, explaining that they anticipated Congressman Waxman would attempt to get the bill passed through committee before they returned home to their districts for the month of August. This means HR 3200 will be up for a floor vote upon their return in September.

One GOP Hill staffer was not surprised by the efforts by liberal Representatives. He asserted that Congressman Waxman’s maneuvering was not simply reactionary but, instead, deliberate.

“Waxman called off the talks initially to convince the American people that things were stagnant until September,” he explained. “Then, he quickly forced something through, thinking people were going to lose interest in showing their disapproval of the bill.

Waxman knows that this is an unpopular piece of legislation and that if Americans were aware of what’s in this thing, they’re not going to be happy with it. August recess is going to be an important time for citizens to stay engaged in what’s going on with health care reform and stay just as vocal about their concerns.”

Indeed, HR 3200’s passage from the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee went almost unpublicized by the mainstream media. Americans did get some coverage, however,  and those who delivered it were not shy about their opinions.

Take, for instance, Bloomberg, who made their personal perspectives, despite their status a news source, abundantly clear for readers:

Legislation to overhaul the U.S. health-care system cleared its final House committee, setting up a September floor vote on a measure that may curb the profits of insurers and drugmakers and would extend coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans.

FOX News commentator Neil Cavuto offered another viewpoint, publishing an article, “The Sheer Arrogance of Rep. Waxman,” highlighting Congressman Waxman’s refusal to include a provision in the bill that would mandate that elected officials enroll in the public option. 

He’s not leaving his very nice congressional health plan, is he? He’s not bolting from a plan that gives him plenty of options and pretty much covers all those options, is he? No, he wants to stick with his. I can’t blame him.

And he wants to stick this thing with us. For that I do blame him.

Meanwhile, in the other chamber of Congress, members of the Senate dealt with the harsh reality of their inability to get anything passed through Sen. Max Baucus’s (D-MT) Committee on Finance. Sen. Baucus, who claimed time and time again that he was on the verge of getting legislation out of his committee, now must admit, just as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) did, that they will be unable to bring a bill to the floor before recess and thus, fail to meet President Obama’s deadline.

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Noisy Desperation: A Panicked SEIU Clings to Failing Health Care Platform

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Members of Acorn and SEIU rally in Baton Rouge, La. to support President Obama's health care reforms, but are interrupted by counter-protestors from local Tea Party organizations.

Members of ACORN and SEIU rally in Baton Rouge, La. to support President Obama's health care reforms, but are interrupted by counter-protestors from local Tea Party organizations.

Henry David Thoreau once claimed that most men lead lives of “quiet desperation.” James Thurber, an American writer many years after Thoreau, countered his sentiment by explaining, “Nowadays, men lead lives of noisy desperation.”

If either statement could accurately characterize the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), it must be the latter. While America’s policy-makers and interests groups gather inside the Beltway to shape health care reform legislation, the SEIU gears up its muscle and influence to cling to their only remaining hope- a government overhaul of health care.

Clinging Desperately to Universal Health Care

Why is the SEIU in favor of President Obama’s health care reform proposals, if other allies in the labor community, such as the United Autoworkers (UAW), oppose it? Why would the SEIU favor the public option, if their biggest membership driver is the ability of union bosses to “negotiate” benefits packages, including health care and pensions, for its workers?

Brian Johnson, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Worker Freedom, has the answer: desperation.

“The SEIU, unlike other organized labor, did not develop carefully-negotiated pension arrangements for their members,” Johnson said. “They’re dealing with the inability to pay out their pensions, since they’ve got liabilities of $1.5 billion and they only have around $1 billion in the bank. This means they’re $500 million in the hole.”

If they can’t get the public option passed, Johnson argues, they will have nothing to keep their members on the rolls. After all, the SEIU has spent millions to encourage the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), or Card Check, a measure that would require a public vote on the unionization of a work place. The result? Nothing.

After the waste of millions of dollars of members’ dues on the failed Card Check push, it is becoming increasingly difficult for leadership of the SEIU to justify spending more money on political action without any results for the people who pay them. That’s why, Johnson says, they need universal health care.

“This is their absolute last chance to bring something to their members,” he explained. “After they’ve spent so much time and money putting President Obama into office, it makes sense that they’d want something in return. And if they don’t get it, their members will be fed up and will start to leave organized labor.”

The American Thinker points out that in addition to needing a substantial credibility boost, the SEIU benefits from having a partnership with the White House on health care reform for the purposes of sheer numbers.

Eighty-three percent of the hospital workforce is yet to be unionized. Going state by state, hospital by hospital, or politician by politician is time-consuming and expensive. It’s easier to call on your partner, President Obama, to pass health care reform. Once the federal government is paying all the bills, one of the new reforms could easily be that all health care workers will now be represented by a service employees union.

Obviously, as the SEIU fights to keep its head above water financially, drawing in new members would, in the short run at least, alleviate some of the financial headaches they face. Pair their diminishing sphere of influence of unions overall, with a mere 8 percent of private employees unionized and 33 percent in the public sector, with the necessity of delivering results to their members, and you’ve got a recipe for an utter dependency on a public option passing.

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures (and a Lot of Them)

As the SEIU struggles to formulate an explanation for its members as to what they’ve been up to with all their money all these years, they are busy covering their tracks with some clever maneuvering on both policy and grassroots levels. Indeed, it is apparent that the SEIU is unsure as to how to direct their dwindling cash supply, but they’ve managed to sneak in behind the scenes to shape policy and rile up members to protest (as usual) in the streets of towns across America.

Inside the Beltway, one man is guaranteeing the SEIU will be allowed an unflinching place at the policy table. That man is Dennis Rivera, the 17-year leader of New York City’s 1199 SEIU and the chairman of the union’s national health care division. According to an article published in Crain’s New York, Rivera has been hard at work mobilizing activists on the ground and inserting union influence legislatively on behalf of the SEIU.

Dennis Rivera, the indomitable labor leader, was on Capitol Hill in late June to persuade members of a powerful House committee to include a public insurance option in its massive overhaul of the nation’s health care system

Crain’s New York explains that Rivera’s unique ability to build bridges between workers and those they normally oppose, such as corporations, has made him an invaluable resource for both the Obama Administration and the union he represents.

One part of Mr. Rivera’s considerable influence derives from the close ties that he and the SEIU have with the White House. SEIU’s February 2008 endorsement of the president is viewed as one of the turning points in his primary battle against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, and Mr. Rivera’s former political director at 1199, Patrick Gaspard, now heads Mr. Obama’s political operation.

“To some degree, Dennis is an independent actor, and to some degree, he’s working for the White House,” says David Nexon, senior executive vice president of the medical technology association. “That played into making the process a success and people wanting to get involved. It’s not too great to be on the wrong side.

Rivera previously served as a union organizer in his home country of Puerto Rico. He brought his techniques to America, according to Johnson, and was able to turn out 30,000 SEIU supporters in the streets of New York City. Now, Rivera enjoys a $10 million budget and a war room with a staff of more than 400, all courtesy of union members’ dues, to target lawmakers in the health care reform debate. Johnson considers Rivera to be “another union goon” who has used bully tactics, and millions of dollars from membership coffers, to advance a political agenda.

President Obama asked America to judge him based on those with whom he surrounds himself. Clearly, he is working with Rivera to advance health care policy that is quite friendly to his allies at the SEIU. Johnson believes that this sort of partnership helps to disguise the fact that the SEIU’s pensions are extremely underfunded, with 1 out of every 160 retired union members unable to cash out what is owed to them in their pension.

The SEIU continues to use their favorite method of persuasion- public protesting- to make their members feel as though they are part of a team effort. During Organizing for America events, created as an offshoot of the Obama campaign and funded by the Democratic National Committee to promote the President’s agenda, the SEIU and ACORN rally side-by-side, decked in their famous purple shirts and displaying the hostility they are known to exhibit. Moreover, they have begun hosting meetings in members’ homes to plan activism and view Obama’s speeches on health care reform.

Then, there’s all the new media activity that only a month ago seemed to transmit virally through the Internet, and now, remains a faint murmur in online buzz. HAARM, or Healthy Americans Against Reforming Medicine, was an attempt by the SEIU to parody the Right for their opposition to health care reform. They even went as far as to criticize healthcarehorserace.com, as well as groups like Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party Patriots. The site, along with the accompanying Twitter page, has been rather quiet lately, which causes many to wonder if their attempt at modernizing their approach for mainstream appeal proved fruitless.

And of course, they didn’t throw out their favorite tried-and-true “event crashing” tricks, as Brian Johnson can attest. At a meeting he scheduled on the Hill on behalf of the Alliance for Worker Freedom with around 100 elected officials, their staffs and representatives from business organizations, Johnson was interrupted by three uninvited guests from the SEIU.

When Johnson told them calmly that the meeting was an invitation-only event, they told him that they had received the invitation… from their (union) boss at the SEIU. Apparently, someone leaked the invitation to SEIU leadership and they sent out three members to watch over and participate in the meeting.

After Johnson told the SEIU members again they were not invited and should leave, they proceeded to sit down anyway. Johnson gave them one final warning and they didn’t budge. He called Capitol Hill Police, who then escorted them out of the building.

It is important to note that Johnson appeared the day before on the Glenn Beck Show (FOX News Channel) discussing Rivera and the SEIU’s role in the health care debate. It is unsurprising that they chose to force themselves into his meeting the next day after he spent the segment discussing the utter neglect of the SEIU to provide for their members and their re-prioritizing based on political expediency.

Today, the SEIU released a statement on their blog, lamenting they deserved to be at the meeting as it concerned labor relations and they were members of organized labor. The blog does not admit, however, that it was an invitation-only meeting and the SEIU was not on the guest list. If the roles were reversed, it is hard to believe that the SEIU would be even the least bit sympathetic to someone like Johnson if he decided to offer his professional input in their discussions on labor policy.

After the Noise

If President Obama’s attempt at liberal health care reform fails, what will be next for the SEIU? Will they return to pushing Card Check again, or will they take a back seat to other large, better organized unions? Will the 2 million members of SEIU revolt and demand their dues be returned to them for the failure of leadership to deliver upon any of the promises they made and the diminishing of their pensions? If this legislation fails, it might just not be President Obama’s Waterloo. It might be the SEIU’s, too.

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Hold Onto Your Hats! Sen. Max Baucus is Driving the Health Care Reform Debate.

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

Jeffrey Young from The Hill published a piece Saturday entitled, “Baucus in Driver’s Seat, Destination Unknown.” Young makes a pretty important observation: the person driving the health care reform debate is Sen. Max Bucus (D-MT), who serves as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

While most people expect the driver’s seat to be occupied by President Obama or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) or even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), they’re all wrong. Indeed, to Sen. Baucus goes the glory if it passes, and the blame if it fails.

If Baucus pulls it off, he might be remembered as the most important figure in the decades-long push for comprehensive healthcare reform.

If healthcare reform fails, or if Baucus is unable to secure some GOP support without alienating the left wing, Democrats from the Capitol Hill to the White House to the grassroots may pin the blame squarely on him.

Sen. Baucus hasn’t taken the task lightly. He and his staff have spent a year mulling over different policy proposals and parading those that made the cut to both the political inner circles and the general public.Still, despite his diligence to expedite the passage of the bill out of his committee, Sen. Baucus seems willing enough to stall as members of the group resist the haste encouraged by the President and Congressional leaders.

Yet Baucus seems unfazed by the pressure, a sign of his personal conviction that the slow, arduous bipartisan process he kicked off more than a year ago is the only path to healthcare reform.

Obama and Reid, especially, may not like it but in a Senate where 60 votes is the threshold for success, they seem to recognize that Baucus may be right.

Whether he is could be unknowable for months. In the meantime, the whole endeavor could collapse amid intra-party squabbles among Democrats, relentless criticism from Republicans and the release of pent-up anger from special interests that for now are (mostly) playing nice.

While Americans wait in doctors’ offices and in their living rooms glued in front of television sets, awaiting the pending health care reform debate, Sen. Baucus and his staff scrutinize legislation, attempt to form alliances both within and outside the Democratic Party and convince Americans that the time is now for health care reform— Sen. Baucus’ health care reform.

How strange is it for members of a democratic society to see quite plainly that the actions of one man, who is not even the head executive, dictate the lives of the more than 300 million Americans whose most intimate political issue is health care? This is why it is absolutely essential that ordinary Americans become backseat drivers- taking opportunities to voice concerns about each and every curve, roadblock and speed limit side ahead. After all, we want to make sure that we’re not just all along for the ride.

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Twitter User Reads Health Care Bill, Posts Findings

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

An email is circulating throughout political circles in the U.S. It details the findings of Peter Fleckstein, a Twitter user and blogger who is a self-described “husband, father of 2, former Marine and lover of the beach.” 

Fleckstein has begun to break down the more than 1,000 page health care reform bill (HR 3200) and has used the social networking site Twitter to share what he’s discovered. Below are his thoughts and assessments of the bill. So far, he has only gotten through about half of it.

Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Govt will audit books of ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benes u get
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC bill - YOUR HEALTHCARE IS RATIONED!!!
Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose UR HC Benefits 4 you. U have no choice!
PG 50 Section 152 in HC bill - HC will be provided 2 ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise
Pg 58HC Bill - Govt will have real-time access 2 individs finances & a National ID Healthcard will b issued!
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Govt will have direct access 2 ur banks accts 4 elect. funds transfer
PG 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan 4 retirees and their families in Unions & community orgs (ACORN).
Pg 72 Lines 8-14 Govt is creating an HC Exchange 2 bring priv HC plans under Govt control.
PG 84 Sec 203 HC bill - Govt mandates ALL benefit pkgs 4 priv. HC plans in the Exchange
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs for of Benefit Levels for Plans = The Govt will ration ur Healthcare!
PG 91 Lines 4-7 HC Bill - Govt mandates linguistic approp svcs. Example - Translation 4 illegal aliens
Pg 95 HC Bill Lines 8-18 The Govt will use groups i.e., ACORN & Americorps 2 sign up indiv. for Govt HC plan
PG 85 Line 7 HC Bill - Specs of Ben Levels 4 Plans. #AARP members - U Health care WILL b rationed
-PG 102 Lines 12-18 HC Bill - Medicaid Eligible Indiv. will b automat.enrolled in Medicaid. No choice
pg 124 lines 24-25 HC No company can sue GOVT on price fixing. No “judicial review” against Govt Monop
pg 127 Lines 1-16 HC Bill - Doctors/ #AMA - The Govt will tell YOU what u can make.
Pg 145 Line 15-17 An Employer MUST auto enroll employees into pub opt plan. NO CHOICE
Pg 126 Lines 22-25 Employers MUST pay 4 HC 4 part time employees AND their families.
Pg 149 Lines 16-24 ANY Emplyr w payroll 400k & above who does not prov. pub opt. pays 8% tax on all payroll
pg 150 Lines 9-13 Biz w payroll btw 251k & 400k who doesnt prov. pub. opt pays 2-6% tax on all payroll
Pg 167 Lines 18-23 ANY individual who doesnt have acceptable HC accrdng 2 Govt will be taxed 2.5% of inc
Pg 170 Lines 1-3 HC Bill Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from indiv. taxes. (Americans will pay)
Pg 195 HC Bill -officers & employees of HC Admin (GOVT) will have access 2 ALL Americans finan/pers recs
PG 203 Line 14-15 HC - “The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax” Yes, it says that
Pg 239 Line 14-24 HC Bill Govt will reduce physician svcs 4 Medicaid. Seniors, low income, poor affected
Pg 241 Line 6-8 HC Bill - Doctors, doesnt matter what specialty u have, you’ll all be paid the same
PG 253 Line 10-18 Govt sets value of Dr’s time, prof judg, etc. Literally value of humans.
PG 265 Sec 1131 Govt mandates & controls productivity for private HC industries
PG 268 Sec 1141 Fed Govt regulates rental & purchase of power driven wheelchairs
PG 272 SEC. 1145. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN CANCER HOSPITALS - Cancer patients - welcome to rationing!
Page 280 Sec 1151 The Govt will penalize hospitals 4 what Govt deems preventable readmissions.
Pg 298 Lines 9-11 Drs, treat a patient during initial admiss that results in a readmiss-Govt will penalize u.
Pg 317 L 13-20 PROHIBITION on ownership/investment. Govt tells Drs. what/how much they can own.
Pg 317-318 lines 21-25,1-3 PROHIBITION on expansion- Govt is mandating hospitals cannot expand
pg 321 2-13 Hospitals have oppt to apply for exception BUT community input required. Can u say ACORN?!!
Pg335 L 16-25 Pg 336-339 - Govt mandates estab. of outcome based measures. HC the way they want. Rationing
Pg 341 Lines 3-9 Govt has authority 2 disqual Medicare Adv Plans, HMOs, etc. Forcing peeps in2 Govt plan
Pg 354 Sec 1177 - Govt will RESTRICT enrollment of Special needs ppl! WTF. My sis has down syndrome!!
Pg 379 Sec 1191 Govt creates more bureaucracy - Telehealth Advisory Cmtte. Can u say HC by phone?
PG 425 Lines 4-12 Govt mandates Advance Care Planning Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Govt will instruct & consult regarding living wills, durable powers of atty. Mandatory!
PG 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Govt provides apprvd list of end of life resources, guiding u in death
PG 427 Lines 15-24 Govt mandates program 4 orders 4 end of life. The Govt has a say in how ur life ends
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An “adv. care planning consult” will b used frequently as patients health deteriorates
PG 429 Lines 10-12 “adv. care consultation” may incl an ORDER 4 end of life plans. AN ORDER from GOV
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The govt will specify which Doctors can write an end of life order.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 The Govt will decide what level of treatment u will have at end of life
Pg 469 - Community Based Home Medical Services=Non profit orgs. Hello, ACORN Medical Svcs here!!?
Page 472 Lines 14-17 PAYMENT TO COMMUNITY-BASED ORG. 1 monthly payment 2 a community-based org. Like ACORN?
PG 489 Sec 1308 The Govt will cover Marriage & Family therapy. Which means they will insert Govt in2 ur marriage
Pg 494-498 Govt will cover Mental Health Svcs including defining, creating, rationing those svcs

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America’s Governors Face Further Unfunded Liabilities

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Governors around the U.S. on either side of the aisle are pausing to examine what President Obama’s health care proposals mean for them. Their conclusion? More unfunded liabilities that have the potential to send states into a downward spiral of debt.

During what President Obama calls the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, states are scrimping to keep their infrastructure and social programs afloat. Throw in several million more in unfunded liabilities in the health care sector, and you’ve got a recipe for debt. And lots of it.

In layman’s terms, an unfunded liability is the amount of debt of a program that exceeds the program’s assets. Currently, the U.S. is burdened with $37 billion in unfunded liabilities in Medicare. According to Dr. Regina Herzlinger of the Harvard Business School and author of “Who Killed Medicine?”, the U.S. will go bankrupt by 2018 if the current Medicare crisis isn’t solved. Today, America’s youth are funding the medical care of America’s senior citizens, and sooner or later, that money is going to run out.

In the U.S., individual states distribute funding for local medical systems, like Medicaid. In Louisiana, for example, the problems are exacerbated by a charity hospital system that is struggling to recover post-Hurricane Katrina. Add all of that together, plus a recession, and you’re left with a giant mess.

According to the Examiner, these governors fear “that the federal government will hand them expensive new Medicaid obligations without providing money to pay for them.” President Obama’s visions for a public option and overall health care reform would straddle states with further responsibilities, and in turn, further debt. His proposals are angering governors from around the country, and not just on the Right.

“I think the governors would all agree that what we don’t want from the federal government is unfunded mandates.  We can’t have the Congress impose requirements that we are forced to absorb beyond our capacity to do so,” said Vermot’s Democratic governor, Jim Douglas.

Indeed, Governor Douglas’s assesment is correct. The Examiner explains that, “governors are already facing fiscal problems with the drop in tax revenues due to the recession while at the same time Medcaid costs are skyrocketing.  It is expected that by the National Governors Association that will states will face deficits of $200 billion over the next three years.”

Other Democratic governors who have voiced their unhappiness include:

  • Phil Bredesen, Tennessee.
  • Christine Gregoire, Washington.
  • Bill Richardson, New Mexico.
  • Bill Ritters, Jr., Colorado.

It is important to note that these governors are not simply Blue Dogs. Geographically, they vary. Ideologically, they vary. After all, Governor Richardson of New Mexico was once a liberal presidential candidate. But what is most important is that these governors must reconcile budgetary shortfalls somehow and if Obamacare passes, one can be sure that includes tax hikes, a formula for failure during a recession.

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Posted in The Players | Start the Discussion

Money Race: What Stalling a Vote Means for Special Interests in the Health Care Debate

Friday, July 24th, 2009

It is no secret that the political engine is fueled by money. Special interests range from corporations to professional organizations to activism groups to unions to wealthy individuals, all desiring to use their financial prowess to leave a lasting impact on American public policy.

And according to an article in today’s Washington Post, the ongoing health care debate is no different. Kick-started by President Obama’s recent push to pass his proposed legislation through as quickly as possible, the horse race heated up. But not long after, it came to a screeching halt when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced Thursday that he would not seek to fulfill President Obama’s request to have sweeping health care reform legislation passed by Congress’s August recess, but instead, stall until after their vacation.

What does that mean for special interests? Well, it’s time for them to pull out their pocketbooks and pony up. On both the Left and the Right, power players have come forward to dole out millions in contributions to their side of the debate. Here are just a few of the groups we at HCHR believe have made their mark on the health care debate in their respective political communities:

On the Left

  • Organizing for America (a project of the Democratic National Committee [DNC])
  • Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
  • Health Care for America Now (HCAN)

On the Right

  • Americans for Prosperity
  • Conservatives for Patients’ Rights
  • Association of American Physicians and Surgeons

While Congress is in recess, Americans can be sure that special interests will just be gearing up in the form of heavy media saturation, grassroots activism and round-the-clock policy research. While a Congressional recess means an opportunity for elected officials to meet with their constituencies, it also means an opportunity for special interests to meet with them, too, and ultimately, to persuade them to vote the way they believe America’s health care system should run.

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Posted in Miscellaneous, The Players | Start the Discussion

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