Health Care – Page 2 – Sanity First!

SHAMEFUL: Zika and the GOP

Here’s a story you probably don’t know. It’s sickening.

You do know that the destructive Zika virus is here. It’s infecting many thousands of people in South America and now it’s spreading in the U.S. There is no cure for the devastating problems it causes for mothers and their babies.

President Obama and Democrats in Congress wanted to act quickly. They put together a bill to combat this encroaching disease — a pure, Zika-fighting bill.

Republicans agreed, apparently, that action was necessary. But instead of agreeing on a bi-partisan compromise, they tacked on poison-pill provisions that they KNEW the Dems could never swallow. Their version blocked funds for Planned Parenthood and loosened environmental protections! As a result, they can now run TV ads saying “Senator So-and-So voted against protecting babies.”

So now there is no bill at all!

This is outrageous, and once again, the Democrats have done a lousy job of getting the public riled up about this grievous offense against women’s and children’s health.

Yes, a few media outlets have covered this shameful episode. This editorial from Columbus, Ohio (originally in the LA Times) makes the story quite clear and I hope you read it.

Republicans repeatedly play political games with people’s lives. Why do we stand for it?

Thanks for caring about the truth.

Ken

Obamacare and the failed GOP predictions

Here’s a headline that tells you everything you need to know about the Affordable Care Act. It comes to us courtesy of the non-partisan RAND Corporation:

Survey Estimates Net Gain of 9.3 Million American Adults with Health Insurance.

Millions of Americans now have the fundamental peace-of-mind that comes from knowing they have at least minimal health insurance. That is a huge, game-changing improvement over the previous situation.

The GOP, of course, told us that Obamacare would be the ruination of our great land. That’s why the GOP-dominated House voted more than 50 times to repeal it. (Talk about insanity!) But as Bill Maher recently pointed out…

They said Obamacare would use death panels. It doesn’t. They said it was a government takeover. And the insurance industry is making record profits. They said it covers illegals. It doesn’t. They said it was a job killer. It hasn’t been.

Have you noticed that the shouting about Obamacare has started to fade as the facts have come in?

And to be fair, as Maher continued…

Now for sure Obama also told a lie. He said everyone who likes their healthcare plan can keep it. And for about 2% of the population that did turn out to be false. The difference is he stopped saying it. He stepped up and said you’re right, my bad. Because he understands there is this thing called observable reality!

(Bill was on a rant about “Zombie Lies” that Republicans tell, lies that just won’t die even in the face of overwhelming facts.)

Want more truth about the success of the ACA? Look here.

The program is certainly not perfect, but it is a success.

Thanks for caring about the truth.

Ken

Please pass this message on.

“Hijacked by Crazy, Stupid People.”

Well, after a long hiatus, I’m back. I could not sit around without commenting on the outrageous conduct of Congressional Republicans.

First, some quick background. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was

passed by the Congress,
signed into law by the President,
upheld by the Supreme Court.

Then in the 2012 election, the American electorate was given a choice between a candidate who supported the law, obviously, and one who said he would shut down Obamacare “on day one.” That candidate, Mitt Romney, was soundly defeated. So “the American people” had spoken, clearly, about what they wanted, and the ACA is the law of the land.

The role of the opposition party, if they are not happy with this or any other law, is to work through the normal channels to bring about change. But in this case, a small band of radical Republicans threw a temper tantrum and threatened to deeply wound the American economy.

And they did. Yesterday, Standard & Poor’s estimated that the GOP-forced government shutdown sucked around $24 billion out of the economy – and the meter is still running. (Remember when the GOP was the party of “fiscal responsibility”?)

Sen. John McCain called the actions of the House Republicans a “fool’s errand.” He knew there was zero chance they could get what they wanted – the defunding of the ACA. Yet this small group of crazies persisted, and we will all feel the effects as the damage ripples through the U.S. economy and beyond, forcing interest rates up and holding GDP down.

As egregious as the shutdown was, even worse was the threat to allow the U.S., for the first time ever, to default on its obligations. Some radical righties argued that a default would not be harmful. They are idiots. Not one mainstream economist (and that covers a wide swath of economic thought and theory) agreed with that stance. Not one. Economists were, and are, horrified by the thought of a default.

But where were the “moderate” Republicans during all this? Almost all were strangely silent. That’s not merely my opinion. Listen to what one conservative thinker, Bruce Bartlett, a former advisor to both President Reagan and the first President Bush, thinks about the current situation:

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/53310099#53310099

As he said, the Republican Party has been “hijacked by crazy people, stupid people” and he cannot understand why more of his fellow party members are not standing up to them. (The whole 14 minute video clip is excellent. I hope you will watch it.)

What is my opinion is this: I don’t think it’s mere coincidence that the dumbing down of the Grand Old Party aligns with the rise of Fox News. That organization, watched religiously by millions, stokes paranoia and is not encumbered by facts and rational thought. And the rest of us pay the price.

Thanks for caring about the truth.

It Should Have Been a Knockout.

As great as the President did in the second debate, it should have been a knockout. The case for four more years is rock solid. Yet the Dems don’t seem able to match Repubs when it comes to pithy sound bites.

Here’s what I mean about going for knockout punches. At one point Mitt turned to the President and asked about oil production on Federal lands. (Yawn.)

In the same way, President Obama should have asked these questions…

“Governor Romney, thanks to the Bush tax cuts you paid only 14% in Federal taxes. That saved you millions of dollars. Please tell us how many jobs you created with those extra millions? How did your personal savings – much of which you sent overseas – help America in any way? “

“Governor Romney, when you ran for office in Massachusetts you campaigned as a ‘moderate.’ During the primaries you said you are ‘severely’ conservative. Which are we to believe?”

“Governor Romney, your position on abortion changed so many times that Ted Kennedy labeled you ‘multiple choice’ and you have continued to bounce from one position to another. Isn’t it true that you change your position just to get elected?”

“Governor Romney, the non-partisan Tax Policy Center said your tax cuts will cost the government $5 trillion over the coming ten years. You say you will offset those colossal tax cuts mainly by eliminating deductions and closing loopholes. That would be a massive shift in tax policy and vast numbers of Americans must feel the pain of those changes. Tell us specifically, who will feel the pain? Homeowners? Students? Business owners? Charities? The middle class? WHO?”

“Governor Romney, for the past six years you have done nothing other than campaign for president. You had plenty of time to form your thoughts. Yet a few months ago, when you were speaking to other wealthy people, you disrespected almost half of all Americans. That was no quick flub — you spoke at length about how you can’t be concerned with those people. Since you didn’t know you were being recorded, wasn’t speaking dismissively of 47% of Americans how you really felt?”

“Governor Romney, the main thrust of your campaign is that you know how to create jobs. Yet when you ended your one term as governor (with very low approval ratings) why was your state ranked third worst in the nation for job creation?” (All fact checkers confirm that Mass. ranked 47^th. Why is that not hammered home?!)

“Governor Romney, one of the TV ads your campaign runs the most claims that I gutted welfare reform. You approved that message. But governor, every fact checker in the country has said that ad is blatantly false. Why do you keep lying to the American public? How can we believe anything you say if you personally approve an ad that is 100% false?”

President Obama, and all the other Dem talking heads, should be labeling Mitt a “Master Flip-Flopper.” That phrase should have been repeated thousands of times. Mitt says only what needs to be said at the moment. He has no core beliefs. He has flipped on abortion, gun control, Afghanistan, healthcare, access to contraception, tax policy, and on and on.

And the President should come out aggressively and say, “Yes, as a matter of fact, you are much better offtoday. “ And then he should elaborate…

The stock market is up strongly and interest rates are down sharply.
Before any of my policies could take effect unemployment went all the way up to 10%. Now it is down to 7.8%.
Hundreds of thousands of our soldiers and their families are together tonight because I ended the war in Iraq … and we are winding down the war in Afghanistan.
Millions of students have (or will have) more financial help, at lower rates, than ever before.
Millions more Americans will have health insurance, and none of you will get jerked around by insurance companies.
As Joe Biden says, General Motors is alive and Bin Laden is dead!

And above all, the President and all Democrats must pound home the message that the Romney/Ryan plan of lower taxes for the rich and reduced regulation is exactly the same as George Bush and ALL Republicans – and those are the policies that brought us to the brink of a second Great Depression. We CANNOT go back to those disastrous policies!

Romney Debates Himself

Character counts.

During the debate last week Mitt Romney looked into the camera and flat out lied. That is not an opinion. During the entire campaign, Mitt has been saying over and over that he will reduce taxes for everyone. Obama must have been flabbergasted to hear his opponent suddenly declare “I will not reduce the taxes paid by high income Americans.”

The following video has been viewed more than a million times. It would be funny if the stakes were not so serious.

Watch the one minute video. http://youtu.be/cPgfzknYd20 Then come back and read the transcript. Both the video and transcript are from the wonderful Daily Kos web site. And because you’re busy, I’ve added my own emphasis.

Mitt Romney, 10/3/12: I will not reduce the taxes paid by high income Americans.

Mitt Romney, 2/22/12: There were so many misrepresentations in there it’s going to take me a little while. Number one, I said today that we’re going to cut taxes on everyone across the country by twenty percent—including the top one percent.

Mitt Romney, 10/3/12: The key to great schools? Great teachers. So I reject the idea that I don’t believe in great teachers or more teachers.

Mitt Romney, 6/8/12: He says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government.

Mitt Romney, 10/3/12: Actually, it’s a lengthy description, but number one, pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan.

Mitt Romney, 3/27/12: If they’re 45 years old and they show up and they say I want insurance because I’ve got heart disease, it’s like: “Hey guys, we can’t play the game like that.” You’ve got to get insurance when you’re well, and then if you get ill, then you’re going to be covered.

It’s mind boggling. This man is running for U.S. President. I have no idea how any of this is defensible.

Mitt vs. Mitt is a recurring theme. He was a “moderate Republican” when he ran in Massachusetts, but now he swears he is “severely conservative.” He spoke back then with passion about a woman’s right to choose; now he holds a radical right anti-abortion stance. And of course, he argued with skill about the merits of Obamacare, back when it was Romneycare.

Character counts. He won’t release his tax returns because, as Ann Romney said, it will provide “ammunition” to his opponents. (The gold-standard for transparency regarding tax returns when running for president was set by Gov. George Romney, Mitt’s father. George released 12 years of returns.)

Please, please pass this on to others. Or at least send the video link to people you know who will vote. Here’s the link again…

http://youtu.be/cPgfzknYd20

Thanks for caring about the truth.

Ken

Have a comment? Please post it on the blog! Thanks.

Debunking Obamacare Myths

No need for a big preamble here. Simply, this NY Times column does a spot-on job of debunking the major myths about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Pay particular attention to the section, “OBAMACARE IS A FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF HEALTH INSURANCE.” That is exactly what Mitt claimed minutes after the Supreme Court decision came down upholding the ACA. I watched him say that, looking directly into the camera, and I wondered, “what am I missing?” Nothing, it turns out. But facts seem to be irrelevant in the GOP anti-health-care campaign.

And just for fun … but with a tremendously serious message, check out this clip from The Daily Show; it hilariously exposes the truth about Mitt’s slippery effort to take make us believe he was able to “retroactively retire” from Bain when it suited his political needs. He wants credit for good stuff Bain did, but none of the blame for the bad stuff.

Be sure to watch both segments.

Thanks for caring about the truth.

Ken

Big Win for Obamacare — and the U.S.!

Yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Court to uphold all of the Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare) surprised just about every pundit out there. As with those who predict the stock market, it’s all just so much hot air.

A few hours after the decision was announced I received an email with the link below. I assumed it was an analysis of the decision, but it turned out to be the actual Court documents! It’s dense and boring, but I scanned it nevertheless.

For those who wonder why the AHCA has the “individual mandate” which requires virtually all Americans to buy health insurance, read this excerpt I’ve conveniently cut out for you. I’ve even highlighted some of the most relevant lines.

It’s all there in black (and red) and white. And it leaves little wiggle room for arguments against the mandate.

By the way, Romney said yesterday “Obamacare puts the Federal government between you and your doctor.” No it doesn’t. I fervently hope reporters will call him out for that outrageous statement.

https://www.sentinelgroup.com/main/SentinelBenefits/media/Sentinel-Benefits/Documents/SCOTUS-Opinion.pdf

Page 70

Federal and state law, as well as professional obligations and embedded social norms, require hospitals and physicians to provide care when it is most needed, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. See, e.g., 42 U. S. C. §1395dd; Fla.Stat. §395.1041(3)(f) (2010); Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. §§311.022(a) and (b) (West 2010); American Medical Association, Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, Code of Medical Ethics, Current Opinions: Opinion 8.11—Neglect of Patient, p. 70 (1998–1999 ed.).

As a consequence, medical-care providers deliver significant amounts of care to the uninsured for which the providers receive no payment. In 2008, for example, hospitals, physicians, and other health-care professionals received no compensation for $43 billion worth of the $116 billion in care they administered to those without insurance. 42 U. S. C. §18091(2)(F) (2006 ed., Supp. IV).

Health-care providers do not absorb these bad debts. Instead, they raise their prices, passing along the cost of uncompensated care to those who do pay reliably: the government and private insurance companies. In response, private insurers increase their premiums, shifting the cost of the elevated bills from providers onto those who carry insurance. The net result: Those with health insurance subsidize the medical care of those without it. As economists would describe what happens, the uninsured “free ride” on those who pay for health insurance.

The size of this subsidy is considerable. Congress found that the cost-shifting just described “increases family [insurance] premiums by on average over $1,000 a year.” Ibid. Higher premiums, in turn, render health insurance less affordable, forcing more people to go without insurance and leading to further cost-shifting.

And it is hardly just the currently sick or injured among the uninsured who prompt elevation of the price of health care and health insurance. Insurance companies and health-care providers know that some percentage of healthy, uninsured people will suffer sickness or injury each year and will receive medical care despite their inability to pay. In anticipation of this uncompensated care, health-care companies raise their prices, and insurers their premiums. In other words, because any uninsured person may need medical care at any moment and because health-care companies must account for that risk, every uninsured person impacts the market price of medical care and medical insurance.

The failure of individuals to acquire insurance has other deleterious effects on the health-care market. Because those without insurance generally lack access to preventative care, they do not receive treatment for conditions—like hypertension and diabetes—that can be successfully and affordably treated if diagnosed early on. See Institute of Medicine, National Academies, Insuring America’s Health: Principles and Recommendations 43 (2004). When sickness finally drives the uninsured to seek care, once treatable conditions have escalated into grave health problems, requiring more costly and extensive intervention. Id., at 43–44. The extra time and resources providers spend serving the uninsured lessens the providers’ ability to care for those who do have insurance.

Thanks for caring about the truth.

Ken

Please pass this message on.

And if you know of someone who should be reading these messages, please provide their email address.

The Truth About Obamacare

Here’s what you need to know about why we need the Affordable Health Care Act, sometimes called Obamacare.

The U.S. spends more, far more, on health care per person than any other industrialized nation.
Despite that, as Fareed Zakia points out in his strongly pro-Obamacare article in Time magazine, “We do worse than most other countries on almost every measure of health outcomes: healthy-life expectancy, infant mortality and–crucially–patient satisfaction. Put simply, we have the most expensive, least efficient system of any rich country on the planet.”
Republicans did nothing about this situation during all the years they were in power!
Prior to the AHCA, insurance companies could tack on a lifetime limit of payments. That means you could be in the hospital being treated for a life-threatening disease, and you are suddenly on the hook for all medical payments. After Obamacare, that can no longer happen.
More than 17.6 million children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage.
The controversial “individual mandate” that you heard about means that everyone is required to buy health insurance. (Poor people will get assistance in buying the insurance.) Right now, more than 30 million Americans don’t have that insurance, but if they go to an emergency room, they get treatment. Who pays? Everyone else! That’s exactly the kind of “free-loader” stuff that usually gets right-wingers angry, and in fact, the individual mandate was proposed years ago by the conservative Heritage Foundation, and prior to Obama, it had been proposed by many Republicans. But now that Barack wants it, they don’t! (Mitt Romney signed it into law when he was governor of Massachusetts.)
There are many more benefits of Obamacare. Check out this summary. And check this site out to learn about the myths and facts.

Right now the Supreme Court is considering whether to overturn all or parts of the Affordable Health Care Act, and Romney says if elected he would push to kill it.

It’s a crazy situation, and it’s another reason we need Obama, and Democrats, to win in November.

Ken