BIG ISSUE OF THE WEEK: HEALTHCARE BILL PASSES HOUSE
Late Saturday night, the House of Representatives version of President Obama’s health care reform passed with a narrow victory. The final vote was 220 for the bill and 215 against it, which included every Republican except Louisiana Congressman Joseph Cao who crossed the aisle to help push the bill forward.
Included in the bill is the controversial “public option” which would allow for a government-backed health care insurance plan for those who cannot afford others. And as the bill heads to the Senate, the “public option” will further prove to be a sticking point for any hopes of bi-partisian support. Independent Congressman Joe Leiberman told Fox News this weekend “If the public option plan is in there, as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote.”
As a matter of support, President Barack Obama made a speech Sunday praising the bill’s passage as well as offering momentum for the crucial Senate vote. “Take this baton and bring this effort to the finish line,” the President said.
It is now in Senate leader Harry Reid’s hands who must summon a 60 vote majority to get the bill passed through the Senate, a tough call considering both Republican and conservative Democratic opposition. Reid had already warned that he may not get a vote this year, but Pres. Obama is still pushing for it.
TELL US: Do you think the bill will pass through the Senate? Will you be happy if it passes WITHOUT a public option? PLEASE ADD YOUR CITY/STATE
Image courtesy of mommylife.net
I hope it goes through
I thank God for the health care plan because so many of us do not have health care and we dying due the fact health care is to high for the mid class and the low income peolpe. I just want to say thank you for labor of love toward peolpe like me.
Clara Warren
Public Option/Government Insurance if become law will sink this country further in debt. 39 Democrats voted against the House Bill. It will go down in defeat in the Senate.
Another Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Amtrak, Post Office, Medicare stack with corruption, Social Security almost bankrupt. Do we need another inept government agency?
Anyone who has read TvOne blogs for more than a minute knows that the above post by “Rance” is not by Rance. It’s a fake. Sad people perpetrating a FRAUD!
AP
Actually, I happen to agree with this Rance. She or he is right on target. I almost fell out of my chair when I read it. I knew instantly though that this was not Rance. Not only was the rhetoric not there but the grammer and the Rance wording wasn’t there either.
Nonetheless, good job on what was said. This is a bad bill people plane and simple. 2000 pages, raises taxes on the wealthy, corporations and small businesses. This will not revive the economy. How do you revive something by taking more from it? What good is health care if you have no job?
This bill still doesn’t address the cost of medicine. It doesn’t address the cost of a hospital room. It doesn’t address the cost of an MRI. What does the bill do to reign in those costs? The Dems have made the insurance companies the boogeyman and that’s all they got. Hospital rooms and MRI’s will keep going up. Who is going to address that? Everyone blames insurance because they don’t want to pay those outrageous costs. Why don’t these politicians address all the issues in HC?
The bill will raise the deficit tremendously. That will weigh on the economy , thus weigh on the creation of jobs. Someone has to pay this trillion dollars back folks. That’s us and businesses.
I have a grand idea. Put all the non insureds on Medicare. If you are under insured then maybe the government should supplement your existing insurance. That sounds simple to me and should not cost a trillion dollars. Plus the elderly will be able to keep all of their benefits and not have $500 billion cut from Medicare. I prefer other solutions more on the Repub side but I know that will not get any play here.
Well said Larry. You made some good points.
Thank you, AP. That was posted by the cowardly and catty, Meonly, who only posts what he/she/it thinks under other people’s names.
I’m calling you out, Meonly.
Larry, you should know better. You and I never agree on anything.
BTW, I’m still waiting to hear the republican’s plan…even yours, Larry. I’ve heard many criticisms offered, but no alternatives.
This is true Rance. We struggle to find common solutions.
Repubs don’t believe in a public option.
1. They want to open state borders and allow companies and individuals to shop from the 1300 insurance companies across the country. Increases competition thus reducing cost of premiums.
2. Medical Savings accounts
3. Tort reform. This so that doctors and hospitals won’t create extra tests and charges just to make sure they aren’t sued.
4. Create a small business pools. Pool all those individuals who work for small businesses so that premiums aren’t so high for people who work for small businesses.
5. Allow states more leeway in creating ways to reduce costs.
The Republican plan is 250 pages long. I have only submitted part of the plan.
It is more market based than govt based.
Obviously, they, like the Dems, can’t do it alone. Unfortunately, that is what’s in play now.
Like I said above Rance, put the uninsured on Medicare and supplement the under insured. Does that take care of the problem? No. Only part of it. Not one, not even this current bill, addresses it all. That’s why we need to slow down, get together and make sure its all covered.
I am working on some questions about this current HC plan that was recently passed. It makes no economic sense at all. I will mention tomorrow night.
And it it has a section in it that will make it agaist the law for insurance companies to cover any type of abortions. not just the public option….funny nobody mentioned that…
And that was was on msnbc
Larry:
Clarify some points for me. You seem to be the ONLY one on this site with any sense of reasoning on this issue.
1. I operate a small business with five fulltime employees. Under this bill which will have irrepairable damage to the economy — can I be forced to offer health insurance coverage to my employees?
2. What if my employees decided thay that they can’t afford neither the so-called government insurance are private insurance, can they be penalize — something like not driving w/out insurance?
3. Under government health insurance, will they dictate the price doctors, hospitals charge similar to Medicare rules? Will employers be mandated to offer its emploees the choice of insurance carriers including Obamacare
4. Larry, tell me something, isn’t the Obamacare nothing more than creating a medical welfare system?
5. Should we trust Obama and his liberal thinkers to have a coruuption-proofed government health insurance system?
6. Any chance Obama, Reid and Pelosi and their family will opt for the government-runned health insurance?
Larry, a market-based plan would put everyone back at square one because the current market is driven by the insurance companies and their lobbyists.
And tell me why it would be more acceptable to put the uninsured on the government plan called Medicare, and supplement the under-insured, rather than implement a public option as proposed by the democrats?
Additionally, I imagine that if people were to purchase insurance from out of state, their savings would likely get eaten up through out-of-state fees, such as those colleges and universities charge to students who are not residents of the state. Currently, insurers can sell insurance only in those states where they’re licensed. The policyholder’s state’s regulations would not be applicable across state lines, therefore leaving policyholders vulnerable. Without those state regulations to hold isurance companies accountable, the “competition” could possibly become any fly-by-night operation out to scam people out of money. People could easily discover that they’ve paid for cheaper coverage from another state that is either nonexistent, or is simply too inadequate to cover their medical needs.
Mara, as an employer who may be unable to offer health insurance to her employees now – and would likely be unwilling, anyway – you should probably be more concerned with turnover. Unless you substantially pay your employees so that they can afford all of their own medical expenses out of pocket – which I doubt you’d do if you could, because you sound as though you’d consider that welfare – then a job without medical and dental benefits, is not attractive enough to keep anyone who can find a better option. Most employers realize that if they want to acquire and retain good people, they should offer them perks that add to the quality of their lives.
Mara,
Please forgive Rance. She is very much to the left. You have 5 employees and you are a small business. No way , under the current system, you can provide them with the health insurance they need. Yet you still have a right to earn a living and run your business. I understand.
The answers to the questions you asked are foggy at best. Of course, that’s done on purpose to keep us from getting the real scoop. But I have , to the best of my ability, tried to give you my opinion.
1. I don’t see how they can force you especially if its not affordable for you. But they will raise your taxes.
2. Yes. Everyone must have insurance. There will be a fine and or jail time.
3.I think they took the Medicare reimbursement rates off the table. There was too many people against that.
4. Obamacare is being put in place to run 1/6 of the economy. That will give them control and leverage over corporations and people to run things and put things into place as they see fit. Basically, they can control the flow of many things one being money. Cap and trade is next.
5. We should trust our good common sense.
6. Nope.
Rance, insurance companies are heavily regulated and must keep a reserve on cash. No way they can exist and be a flight of night operation. They would be shut down before they got started.
To answer you questions Rance: put uninsured on medicare rather than public option because it would cost less. 2. Open state lines which creates more competition thus reduces premiums. Competition reduces prices not govt.
Rance why don’t you answer my concerns about hospital rooms and MRIs. Why are they so high and where do the Dems address this in their grand scheme?
By the way, the public option if allowed to be in existence as the Dems would like would drive private insurance out of business. Then we would have a single payer system. How much , Rance, do you think it would cost for the govt. to insure 300 million people? How chaotic do you think that would be? Who would pay for that? Us. Government doesn’t make money they take it from the people in the form of taxes.
Larry, I addressed your questions about hospital costs in an earlier post, on a similar topic. Furthermore, you fail to accept that if there are 300 million people in the United States without healthcare, then our individual chances at remaining healthy are stacked 299.999 million to one. With those odds, we could more easily depend on winning the lotto.
It benefits everyone to make healthcare accessible to all, Larry, and with the number of pandemics that can possibly infect people, imagine how chaotic conditions will be with a bunch of sick people or carriers circulating who can’t receive treatment. These are the people you’re most likely to encounter in face-to-face contact, because they’ll most likely work in jobs where they serve the public. If you’re not willing to insure them, Larry, then what do you propose we do with them?
Rance, you comment make absolutely no sense. Apparently, you haven’t read the bill because there are no specificities in your comment regarding what is contained in the bill.
Reading your comment, I get the feeling that you see some grand scheme in the bill that your fellow 39 democracts who voted aaginst it didn’t see. iF this bill is so great, why did 39 democrats voted against it?
Mara, regardless…it passed, and with one gutsy republican vote.
Larry, Rance,
honestly speaking, for a lack of a good education politics are a little difficult for me to comprehend. So i am someone who gets easily bored with all this political mess and is just waiting on the sidelines for the results. As an honest working low-income mother with children, I’m sincerely concerned with everything effected by this recession so reading both your views on this topic helps me understand a lot better as to where we now stand. And you all are entertaining. Thank u both.
My fiancé just closed shop on our small business of 3 years. We’re feeling the change.
Imagine if you can Larry and Rance that you are poor and that you are from a poor family. Your mother, your sister or your daughter has brain cancer and they do not have insurance and do not have a home to mortgage or anyone to borrow from. What would you recommend that they do? What option do they have right now? I would like to hear either or both of your opinions as I am in this situation.
And what option would be best in the future if this were to happen to my daughter?
Wanda Sykes has it right!
Health care should be handled like the police and the fire department. We should have the right to it when we are in need.
I for one will be glad to see these rich greedy Insurance companies get buried with the dinosaurs!
Carlot, I’m very sorry to hear of your or your family member’s illness. Have you gotten a second diagnoses to confirm the cancer? The next thing I would recommend is that you speak to the social worker at the hospital where your cancer was diagnosed. He/she may be able to work on your behalf to get some treatment resources for you. Also, inquire with the American Cancer Society about additional resources:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/accesstocare/index.asp?from=fast
If there’s a cancer center in your city, visit them and ask what is available to you. Would you be willing to try holistic and experimental treatments? Ask about these too.
Do everything in your power to fight it, in conjunction with prayer for help beyond your power.
Carlot, Rance is right. I would also add write or call your representative and senator.