Posts Tagged ‘healthcare reform’

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Watch Out For New Chamber of Commerce TV Ads Against Health Insurance Reform

Friday, March 12th, 2010

U.S. Chamber of Commerce building. (Image: NCinDC under CC 3.0)

If you live in a state represented by a conservative or moderate Democrat, be on the lookout for a new political commercial on cable TV. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which counts many businesses among its members, has spent at least $4 million on a media ad buy to convince those representatives to vote against reconciliation of the health insurance reform bill.

Their goal is to further stoke public discontent and anger, getting constituents to call Washington and warn their representatives about the consequences a yes vote would have on their re-election prospects this November.

According to the Chamber of Commerce, healthcare reform will harm the economy by imposing new taxes on businesses and mandating them to provide health insurance plans to their employees.

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States May Pass Laws to Stop Health Insurance Mandate

Friday, March 12th, 2010

(Image: Mr. T in DC under CC 3.0)

Healthcare reform is a very controversial issue. Many people are opposed to the tactics and approach being used by Democrats. One of the main points of contention is the inclusion of a mandate, which requires all individuals over a certain income level to buy health insurance. While supporters consider it a necessary evil in order to expand affordable health coverage to all (since consumers would no longer be able to take advantage of the system by waiting to buy coverage until they get sick, health insurance companies would have no choice but to approve people with pre-existing conditions), Republicans consider it an infringement upon states’ rights.

Several state legislatures have fought back against that provision. Virginia is planning to pass a law that would allow the state to opt out of the individual mandate, by not allowing any entity to require its citizens to buy health insurance. Florida is among the other 32 states–mostly Republican-led–that have considered such a measure, whether through the state government or public referendums.

These laws are likely to cause the issue to reach the Supreme Court. President Obama, who specialized in constitutional law himself, has dismissed concerns that the mandate may be unconstitutional. However, some conservative legal scholars believe that the purchase of an individual health insurance plan does not qualify as interstate commerce that the federal government can regulate.

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Scott Brown Warns Democrats Against Passing Healthcare Reform

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

(Image: Boston.com)

New Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown has largely stayed under the radar since his election in January, although the impact of his win has reached far and wide. With 41 seats in the Senate, Republicans can now use the filibuster. The Obama administration has now resorted to pushing for budget reconciliation to avoid that and pass affordable health insurance reforms.

Brown thinks that wouldn’t be a smart move. He sees his victory as a message America is sending to Washington: kill the current bill. Whether or not the newly proposed changes (which include a handful of Republican proposals) are any more appealing to him than the bill he previously ran against is unknown, but the process by which they would become law appears somewhat unseemly. According to Brown, his state will be especially hurt, largely because there has already been Massachusetts health insurance reform–they’ll be subsidizing other states that didn’t take those steps, when it should be each state’s individual decision. Like many GOP politicians, he believes that Democrats will face massive losses in the fall elections if they go it alone and ignore their wishes.

President Obama has said that healthcare reform can’t wait, and that he is willing to be a one-term president in order to achieve the goals that he feels have been neglected by previous administrations. Do congressional Democrats have the same lack of self-preservation?

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Health Insurance Companies Often Pay For Wasteful Claims

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

(Image: bfishadow under CC 3.0)

Did you know that many health insurance companies don’t bother to look into the details of many reimbursements? While the number of health insurance plans denying claims and leaving patients with the whole cost is more widely publicized, the other side of the coin is insurers who fail to catch obvious waste.

Some experts state that a health insurer may not bother to look into claims under $100,000. That means that thousands of dollars can fall through the cracks, and those numbers can add up. A woman with Georgia health insurance used one IV bag during a two-hour emergency room visit, yet her insurance company was charged $4,000 for 41 bags. The insurance company initially paid the amount in full!

Why do hospitals overcharge? Sometimes it’s a simple billing error. Quite frankly, many do it because they can. Most Americans have health insurance, and health insurance providers tend to ignore small expenses. Meanwhile, public health insurance provides lower reimbursement rates. They increase the sticker price less severely for uninsured patients, though they are still affected.

As an informed consumer, you should report potentially wasteful medical expenses, in order to save yourself money on health insurance rates in the future. Beware that they can be hidden in the bill statements.

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Rush Limbaugh To Leave America If Healthcare Reform Passes?

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

(Image: Belltown Messenger under CC 3.0)

Famous conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh is against the Democratic-led healthcare reform effort. Like many Republicans, he believes that the quality of medical health insurance plans and health care will deteriorate if the bill passes. He is also disdainful of the political process by which it may become law.

What will happen if Rush’s best efforts to stoke further opposition fail? According to Rush, he’ll give it five years. That’s when the majority of the provisions will take full effect. At that time, he’ll leave the United States in favor of Costa Rica. The Central American nation has fast become a favorite among American ex-pats. There are most likely existing health insurance structures available for them, which would be unaffected by the Obama administration’s actions.

Many celebrities, liberal and conservative alike, have threatened to move out of the U.S. in the event of an unfavorable political development (e.g. Alec Baldwin after George W. Bush’s re-election). For the most part, they’ve stayed put. Would Rush put his money where his mouth is if that situation came to pass?

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Rep. Eric Massa: Forced Out Over Health Insurance Vote?

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

(Image: Neeta Lind under CC 3.0)

Democratic Representative Eric Massa voted against the House’s initial healthcare reform bill, and would most likely oppose budget reconciliation to get it passed. That puts the New York politician in a minority, albeit a significant one, among his party. However, he stands alone in other ways.

There is no doubt that President Obama and Speaker Pelosi are pressuring representatives to act now, and attempting to convince those who opposed the legislation the first time to get on board. Massa, who represents a district in New York State, claims that the Obama administration (especially Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel) is forcing him to retire due to his “no” vote on reforming health insurance plans. Unlike most of those against it, he actually opposed it from the liberal side for being too limited to be effective.

His early resignation probably has more to do with the recent accusations of sexual harassment towards male staffers. According to Massa, those charges are a setup intended to clear the passage of the bill with one less vote. He plans to continue spreading the word in the media. Meanwhile, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs claims that he’s full of it. The saddest thing is that Massa’s admittedly hilarious stories–true or not–involving locker room confrontations with Emanuel will overshadow the plight of those without affordable health insurance.

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Pelosi Wants House To Finish Healthcare Reform ASAP

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

(Image: donkeyhotey under CC 3.0)

It’s down to the wire on health insurance reform: President Obama has set what he hopes is the final deadline for having a bill on his desk, Easter. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has pledged that her chamber of Congress will be done with its debate next week.

Pelosi is pushing for the House of Representatives to agree to the budget reconciliation workaround, which will allow the Senate to finalize passage with only 51 votes. She would like to have them pass the Senate’s existing healthcare reform bill by March 17th. The extra time prior to Capitol Hill’s spring break vacation is required in order to put together the budget- and tax-related provisions and modifications that can be passed separately in the Senate.

The package of changes is meant to appeal to leery House liberals, who believe that the more staid Senate bill doesn’t go far enough to make health insurance plans more affordable for Americans.

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Free Surgery For The Uninsured

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Image: SurgeryOnSunday.org

People who lack medical health insurance and are in need of surgery are in a major bind. Hospitals are less willing to offer charity care, due to their own budget struggles. In Kentucky, where one-third of working-age adults are uninsured, some doctors are working to change that.

Dr. Andrew Moore has launched an innovative program called SOS (Surgery on Sunday). Once a month, doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, and others donate their time and skills to provide free outpatient surgeries to the needy. There is a waiting list, but the order is based on the urgency of patients’ needs.

Most of the people they treat earn too much to qualify for government-provided health insurance like Medicaid, but are unable to afford individual health insurance on the open market. Some have pre-existing conditions–largely exacerbated by lack of care and treatment–that would make a health insurance plan even more costly.

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Health Insurance Reform Won’t Pass Before Easter

Friday, March 5th, 2010

(Image: crschmidt under CC 3.0)

According to many prominent Democrats, the chances of healthcare reform passing Congress prior to the Easter holiday are very slim. Despite President Obama’s recent prodding to move quickly and have an up-or-down vote using budget reconciliation, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer believes that the health insurance situation won’t be solved before Congress takes its spring break on March 29th.

What’s the reason for the delay? Many undecided Democrats in the House of Representatives want to closely examine the provisions for reconciliation with the Senate; if they approve the Senate’s bill, there will no doubt be strings attached that require near-immediate revision.

It may be too early for Republicans to celebrate. The bill has seen several delays and missed many deadlines, yet the affordable health insurance fight rages on. However, many rank-and-file Democrats just want to get the process over with–they want to steer the focus back to jobs before the mid-term elections. Further delay will only serve to jeopardize the possibility of re-election even more.

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Republicans use Calls to Try & Stop Health Bill

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

The Republican party is working to stop President Obama’s health bill from passing. They are robo calling voters and warning them that Congress is under pressure by the President to pass healthcare reform. The health bill is slated to help all Americans get more affordable health insurance.

Republicans say if passed, the health bill will be against the will of the people. Both parties agree that health insurance premiums are too high, but they can’t agree on how to go about reducing the costs.

Some Democrats say the Republicans’ phone calls are the usual scare tactics of the GOP party. You be the judge; Here is what voters are hearing:

ANNOUNCER: “Hello I’m calling from the National Republican Congressional Committee with a code red alert about an impending health care vote in Congress. Even though a majority of Virginia voters want them to scrap it, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama are planning to ram their dangerous, out-of-control health care spending bill through Congress anyway. What’s worse, Congressman Tom Perriello voted for this bill the last time it was up and might vote for it AGAIN. Perriello already voted for a bill that will kill jobs, raise the costs of health care, and increase taxes. Tom Perriello should be focusing on creating jobs, yet he might be the deciding vote that causes this massive new spending bill to pass. Please call Tom Perriello now at 202-225-4711 before it is too late and tell him to vote no on Nancy Pelosi’s dangerous health care scheme. Visit www.nrcc.org/codered to learn more. This call was paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”

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