Comments on: More Health Care Tea Leaves From Harkin, Lincoln

By: marcos

marcos — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:10:38 +0000

I still haven’t read ANYWHERE a reasonable explanation for why we need an “opt-out” for a system that is entirely an “opt-in” to begin with.

Political cover.

By: bmull

bmull — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:16:59 +0000

There is no reason why start-up costs for health care reform have to come from within the system. Under those rules most businesses would never get off the ground.

If the government wants to tax employer benefits it should let everyone cash out those benefits, like the Wyden plan suggested. A 40% tax on hard-won benefits is anti-union and discriminatory against older, sicker workers, and those in high cost areas.

The ongoing savings from health care reform should come from a more cost-effective system. Single payer and Medicare drug price negotiation would save hundreds of billions of dollars per year with negligible effect on patient care. Barring that, a public option paying Medicare+5% rates is the only idea left on the tablet which could generate enough savings to ensure affordability. Congress can go round and round trying to avoid this reality but they will not be able to escape it.

By: ratfood

ratfood — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:08:54 +0000

Hypothetical… I would bet that if we were trying to reform health care this year and we had NOT already squandered a couple trillion dollars on two wars, all the same people would still be complaining about the cost.

By: KellyCDenver

KellyCDenver — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:50:47 +0000

Concur, but I’ll just add PAST time to pay the piper.

By: KarenM

KarenM — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:45:28 +0000

So many, many, many tax breaks over the past decade or so to the very, very rich. Even while waging wars (on credit), losing jobs (to overseas tax havens), eroding the social contract and the safety net (because we could no longer “afford” them, with the add’l defense spending, after all).

I think it’s time for the elites to suck it up and pay the piper.

By: OldFatGuy

OldFatGuy — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:41:40 +0000

Later in the call, Harkin gave a nod of support to the “opt-out” compromise,

Oh boy, more of THAT bullshit.

I still haven’t read ANYWHERE a reasonable explanation for why we need an “opt-out” for a system that is entirely an “opt-in” to begin with.