Articles Tagged ‘Washington Post’

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Get ready for $829 billion vote in Finance Committee

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced the Finance Committee will vote on health care reform Tuesday.

Voice of America, the nation’s tax-funded news service, reports that this vote comes after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported the Senate bill would cost about $829 billion over the next decade.

“The CBO report says the bill would result in reductions to the deficit,” VOA reports.

You had to click over to the New York Times to learn the “budget office said 25 million people — about one-third of them illegal immigrants — would still be uninsured in 2019.”

The percentage of nonelderly Americans with insurance would rise over the next 10 years from 83 to 94 percent.

Republicans still skeptical

Republican minority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, called the cost analysis “irrelevant.”

“The fact is, the bill it’s referring to will never see the light of day,” he said. “That’s because the real bill will soon be cobbled together in a secret conference room somewhere in the Capitol by a handful of Democrat senators and White House officials.”

If you read the Washington Post, you learned before any of this that Reid “blasted Republicans for opposing the Finance Committee’s measure, accusing GOP leaders of aiming to be ‘partisan protesters’ rather than ‘productive partners.’ “

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Washington Post’s department of Old News gets crusty

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Well, thank you Ceci Connolly for reporting the news from … 2006?

They did it again.  Front page.  You think they’d learn, but there she is in all her incredibly inept reporting glory.

Connolly really reals in the “ridiculous reporter” label with Tuesday’s front page story: U.S. Losing Ground on Preventable Deaths.

Apparently, she informs us, “lawmakers are grappling with a troubling question: Are Americans dying too soon? The answer is yes. When it comes to “preventable deaths” — an array of illnesses and injuries that should not kill at an early age — the United States trails other industrialized nations and has been falling further behind over the past decade.”

And Connolly’s basis for this assertion?

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) brought up, apparently repeatedly, a Commonwealth Fund study published in the journal Health Affairs titled  U.S. Health System Performance: A National Scorecard.

From September, 2006.

“Some lawmakers theorized that the rate could be related to trauma from guns and automobiles,” she volunteered. It’s easier than trying to dig up whether health care reform bills in Congress would do anything to address the underlying problem.

Unattributed gem:

But as many as 80 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, which means they have little access to a regular physician, checkups, preventive services, affordable prescription drugs, dental care or screening tests.

Connolly goes on to make the rounds of Profnet experts bemoaning the state of American health care without any connection to the debate now in Congress until the end.

Somehow it turns into an argument - however unsubstantiated - for a “government role” in universal coverage.

For Conrad, one of the key Senate health-care negotiators, the international comparisons suggest following the lead of nations such as Germany, France and Japan that achieve universal coverage through a blend of private employer-based insurance and nonprofit cooperatives, with a significant governmental role.

In tomorrow’s dead tree edition, she will be reporting with actual reporter Michael Shear (less opportunity to totally ham-fist it) on GOP support for reform.

Former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist; George W. Bush health and human services secretary Tommy Thompson and Medicare chief Mark McClellan; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger; and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg — a Republican turned independent — have all spoken favorably of overhauling the nation’s health-care system, if couched with plenty of caveats regarding the details.

And these Republican luminaries have, count them, zero votes on the bills in question.

Thanks Ceci, Maybe Obama will give you a white coat too.

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WashPost: Wyden and Rockefeller may vote against Finance bill

Monday, October 5th, 2009

In today’s Washington Post, Ceci Connolly reports that Senate Democrats Ron Wyden and Jay Rockefeller “have refused to pledge support” for the Senate Finance bill expected to come to a vote this week. Should the two liberal Dems vote “no” on the amended America’s Healthy Future Act, health care reform would be dealt a serious blow as Finance chairman Max Baucus would be forced to reopen negotiation on the final bill needed to move the reform debate into the next phase.

“More needs to be done to hold insurance companies accountable, to hold premiums down for the American people,” Wyden said in an interview Sunday. “I want to continue these discussions.” (From Democrats Wyden, Rockefeller Withhold Support of Panel’s Bill in the Washington Post.)

Wyden and Rockefeller’s opposition comes as a result of Finance Committee defeats of public option amendments proposed by Rockefeller and Democrat Chuck Schumer. The Baucus bill is currently the only one of five bills in Congress that does not include some form of a government-run public option health insurance plan.

As things stand, Harry Reid is running out of time and options in the getting a bill through the Senate. He has yet to retract his promise to go nuclear and attempt to pass a health care reform bill via budget reconciliation, but in order to do so he must invoke that process no later than October 15. If the Finance Committee is forced to reopen debate, there is little chance the Congressional Budget Office could score a new bill in time for Finance to hold another vote and give Reid a bill to merge with the late Ted Kennedy’s HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee over the next 10 days.

It was thought that Democrat proponents of the public option would allow the Finance Bill to pass out of committee and lobby Reid to drop the bill’s cooperatives in favor of Kennedy’s public option proposal before a floor vote in the Senate, but Wyden and Rockefeller have seemingly joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her ‘public option or bust’ approach to health care reform.

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Where are the Rasmussen poll results?

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

If Rasmussen reported that more people oppose Obamacare than oppose giving federal money to potentially criminal community organizations, you might think this would be big news.  But you won’t read about that in most mainstream papers.

Earlier this week, the Washington Post Wednesday was sure to report about:

picture-25

picture-15And you can be sure they’re following Rasmussen’s releases, because the NATO/Missile shield stories were all over the WaPo today and Friday, but opposition to Obamacare?  Nowhere to be found.

Unless you count Right-Wing Activists Find Cause For Cheer wherein Perry Bacon Jr. seems to hint at the poll numbers:

“Today, more Americans now oppose the Democrats’ plan than support it,” [Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)] said. Some polls back that assertion, while others suggest a plurality of Americans back the Obama health-care effort.

Some polls?

It’s called Rasmussen.

The missile shield results are all over your front page today, Mr. Bacon.

Even the Conservative Washington Times seemed to relegate Rasmussen to the blogs today, with Off the beaten path online: Obamacare sinking poll numbers… by Kerry Picket.

And Sean Lengell pointed out that the polls show any gains after the Obama address to Congress were short lived in Inside Politics.

NUMBERS GAME

Polls suggest that President Obama’s health care address before Congress last week had little lasting effect on the public’s opinion of his reform plans - an assertion supported by a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Results of a Rasmussen poll released Thursday - eight days after the speech - shows that 44 percent of voters support the administration’s health care plan and 53 percent are opposed. The findings were exactly the same as a Rasmussen survey taken just prior to the speech.

The New York Times seemed to think opposition to Obamacare was news in late August:
picture-32But not today.

The equally conservative, but usually scrappier Washington Examiner reports on the Acorn numbers - 51 percent of voters believe Congress should end all federal funding - but not on Obamacare.

Maybe it was just Friday. Time to phone it in and get ready for one of the last nice weekends of summer.

For more on the ACORN story, check out my post on how Jon Stewart and Conservatives finally found common ground and buried the hatchet for about 1 minute 12 seconds.

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Young Adults Face Disillusionment with ObamaCare

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Originated from Statehousecall.org

By Greg Scandlen

Oddly, the key population to be hit with the effect of mandatory coverage are young adults, which are also the biggest supporters of Obama and health reform generally. The recent Census Bureau survey notes that 28.6% of young adults from 18 to 24 years old are uninsured, as are 26.5% of those from 25 to 34. That is double the rate of those of age 45 to 64.

Many of these people are in very good health, so don’t feel a strong need for coverage, but in the proposals before Congress, they will not be allowed to benefit from their good health and will pay the same premium as people who are very sick.

These young people often have other priorities for their money. They are looking for a mate or starting a family. They are setting up their household from scratch and need to buy furniture, or save for the down payment on their first house. They are getting rid of the beat-up Toyota they used in college and buying a decent car to get to their new jobs. They are buying clothing that is suitable for the workplace.

They are also more supportive of ObamaCare than any other age group. The Washington Post reports, “According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll last week, young adults are more optimistic about the outcome of health-care reform than those age 30 and older, but they are evenly divided on the cost implications, with 32 percent expecting their costs to decline and 27 percent expecting an increase. About 52 percent of young adults support the idea of the individual mandate, about the same proportion as in other age groups. But in terms of the overall package, the under-30 group broadly supports the Democratic effort, with 60 percent favoring the proposed reforms vs. 42 percent among older adults.”

Man, if this thing passes, these folks are in for a rude awakening. But, I guess growing up involves a whole series of disillusionments. This will be just one of many for the new generation.

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Dems continue to eat their own over Baucus bill

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Lacking a public option, the Max Baucus health care reform bill unveiled Wednesday has attracted a storm of criticism - with the strongest words coming from the left.

Health Care for America Now, the union-funded “grass roots” reform advocacy group had strong words for the bill.

Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager, Health Care for America Now declared the bill a “failure”:

The Baucus bill is a gift to the insurance industry that fails to meet the most basic promise of health care reform: a guarantee that Americans will have good health care that they can afford. The Baucus bill would give a government-subsidized monopoly to the private insurance industry to sell their most profitable plans - high-deductible insurance - without having to face competition from a public health insurer.

Atlantic.com’s Marc Ambinder picked up the HCAN line, pointing out that the group “and it’s member organizations have accounted for almost all of the activist and advertising push behind President Obama’s health care reform effort this summer.”

Ambinder doesn’t go after any reaction from the insurance industry to HCAN’s portrayal.

Daily Kos’s McJoan pulls former insurance exec Wendell Potter out of the woodwork to take another un-rebutted swipe at the industry and Baucus.

Who cares what some guy named Wendell Potter says? Anybody who’s been paying attention to the healthcare reform debate, because Mr. Potter is a former industry insider, a former Cigna executive, who’s guilty conscience has led to him to spill the beans about the worst of the industry practices.

“The Baucus framework is just an absolute joke,” said Potter, Cigna’s former head of corporate communications who has been speaking out against insurance industry practices. “It is an absolute gift to the industry. And if that is what we see in the legislation, (America’s Health Insurance Plans chief) Karen Ignagni will surely get a huge bonus.”

McJoan has this to say:
None of this comes as a surprise–Baucus is the best Democratic friend the industry has. That’s who saw the draft of the bill first, and it’s basically who wrote the thing in the first place.

So we know Max Baucus is representing his friends in industry instead of the American people. We’ll see how the rest of the Senate Dems and the White House come down on this.

The mainstream media’s pandering to HCAN can be seen in their stories Tuesday about the group’s million dollar ad buy attacking the industry.

Neither the Washington Post nor the New York Times bothered to get an insurance industry response to the ad. The times came closest by quoting an American Health Insurance Plans spokesman on the public option, but not a rebuttal of HCAN.

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Senate Finance chairman unveils $856b health care bill

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Exactly a week after President Obama declared “the time for bickering is over” in a special address to Congress, the Senate Finance Committee has unveiled its much anticipated health care reform bill. A bill that took longer than any other on Capitol Hill to make its way to the public currently has no support from Republican members of the “Gang of Six” who have committed most of the summer to debating this bill. As a result, Baucus is expected to stand alone when he formally announces the bill called America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 to the media at noon in Washington, D.C.

According to Baucus, his bill - which runs 223 pages - will cost $856 billion over ten years, will not add “one dime” to the federal deficit, will not require new taxes, and will not include the controversial public option. What the bill will include is an individual mandate, a ban against insurance companies refusing or dropping insurance based on the health of consumers, specific language making illegal immigrants ineligible for insurance benefits, and will be centered around the idea of nonprofit cooperatives to increase competition among private insurers.

The most controversial aspects of the bill - in the early going at least - are the lack of a public option and the idea that middle-class American families will be expected to pay up to 13 percent of family income for health care insurance that meets a minimum standard of care.

Individuals between 300-400 percent of [Federal Poverty Level] would be eligible for a premium credit based on capping an individual‘s share of the premium at a flat 13 percent of income. (From page 24 of the bill.)

Three times the FPL for a family of four is estimated at $66,150 and 13 percent of that translates to approximately $8,600 per yer (or $717 per month) on health insurance. These numbers have already begun to draw ire from Democrats.

I don’t know very many working-class families who you can look in the eyes and say: ‘Do you have that kind of money in your checking account?’ — because they don’t. (Democrat Ron Wyden to The Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus.)

The bill still must go through the mark up process which begins September 22 and during which Finance Committee members can offer and debate amendments before the bill is merged with a bill from the late Ted Kennedy’s HELP (Health Education Labor and Pensions) Committee and makes it to the Senate floor for a vote. Once that happens, Senate leaders must determine whether to open the bill to debate on the floor and hold a cloture vote which would require the support of at least one Republican senator. Or, as suggested yesterday by Senate majority leader Harry Reid, the Democrats could “go nuclear” by invoking the arcane budget reconciliation process.

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MoveOn.org hosts “vigils” in support of public option

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Just a day after President Obama backed away from liberal Democrat calls for a public option insurance plan, MoveOn.org, the Internet-based liberal activist group, is set to host hundreds of  vigils across the country demanding inclusion of the public option in health care reform. According to the Washington Post, MoveOn.org anticipates as many as 50,000 to participate in 350 vigils later this evening - including one on Capitol Hill.

“Participants will light candles, hold pictures, and share the names and stories of those suffering under the current health care system to show the desperate need for a real public health insurance option,” MoveOn.org said in statement announcing the events. (From the Washington Post.)

This afternoon, MoveOn.org is hosting a kick-off “virtual vigil“. As of the writing of this story, more than 1,300 virtual candles telling personal or family horror stories or photos related to health care or health insurance had been “lit” on the website.

3856608606_1a836470f2_mNIK FROM ERIE, PA HAS JOINED THE VIGIL

“Tara McCullough-Saunders works as a nurse for a home health agency that does not offer insurance and she can’t find a job that does offer it” (TARA FROM GLENDALE, AZ HAS JOINED THE VIGIL)

The vigils are just the latest signal of a widening division within the Democrat party that puts the Obama White House at odds with the far-left wing of the party which elevated him to the White House last November and puts the President’s signature domestic policy item at risk of failing to come to a vote in 2009.

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Is an Individual Mandate Unconstitutional?

Monday, August 31st, 2009

Originated from Statehousecall.org

By Greg Scandlen

Two senior attorneys wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post that an individual mandate may be unconstitutional. They ask, “can Congress require every American to buy health insurance?” And answer, “In short, no. The Constitution assigns only limited, enumerated powers to Congress and none, including the power to regulate interstate commerce or to impose taxes, would support a federal mandate requiring anyone who is otherwise without health insurance to buy it.”

They go through some relevant case law and conclude, “The federal government does not have the power to regulate Americans simply because they are there. Significantly, in two key cases, United States v. Lopez (1995) and United States v. Morrison (2000), the Supreme Court specifically rejected the proposition that the commerce clause allowed Congress to regulate noneconomic activities merely because, through a chain of causal effects, they might have an economic impact. These decisions reflect judicial recognition that the commerce clause is not infinitely elastic and that, by enumerating its powers, the framers denied Congress the type of general police power that is freely exercised by the states.”

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How the media handles a political death

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

It hasn’t always been pretty - to see media bias in the light of a politician’s passing, especially a powerful player during a high stakes debate like Ted Kennedy and health care reform.

In the first reports, available now, the tune has been respectful after Mr. Kennedy, 77 died at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., even conservative-leaning outlets like FoxNews and the Washington Times.

These reports are more likely to point out the balance early in the story, humanizing the “Lion” as a man who’s “personal foibles and his celebrity sometimes outpaced his significant work in Congress,” - the Washington Times.

Fox mentioned his struggles with alcohol, the death of Robert Kennedy campaign aid Mary Jo Kopechne in a Chappaquiddick car accident, cheating at Harvard and his association with rape charges against his nephew William Kennedy Smith.

While more liberal outlets like the Washington Post - who’s online version stretches through four jumps - reserve most of that information for below the fold - after the first jump. Others only mention Kopechne.

On his legacy too, the Post paints broad strokes then goes on to devote paragraphs to each bill:

For decades, Kennedy was at the center of the most important issues facing the nation, and he did much to help shape them. A defender of the poor and politically disadvantaged, he set the standard for his party on health care, education, civil rights, campaign-finance reform and labor law. He also came to oppose the war in Vietnam and, from the beginning, was an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq.

While more conservative outlets like the Wall Street Journal open with specifics: the 1965 immigration law, Title IX sports gender equality, 1974 campaign rules, Americans with Disabilities act in 1990, “several minimum wage increases” and President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act.

Wait till this afternoon or evening, when our legions of pundits get their turn to prove that they have torn out their hearts to pawn for political capital.

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