Comments on: Obama Meeting With Progressives And Caucus Leaders Focused On Triggers And Opt-Out

By: mikesong

mikesong — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:33:54 +0000

If Obama wants them to accept the opt-out, he’s smart. That’s the only thing that can pass.

If Obama wants them to accept the trigger, he’s stupid. And they’d be stupid to accept a policy and political disaster. Their hand is stronger than the few ConservaDem Senators who might hold up the bill – the CPC would win that game of chicken and actually kill a bill.

Therefore I hope Obama’s support for the trigger and the CPC’s opposition to the opt-out are both negotiating stances, because either would kill this bill.

By: rjrnab

rjrnab — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:42:12 +0000

The hegemonic rule of the rich who’ve led the ignorant with their channels
in our bedrooms, and propaganda in our media have spoke. There is an excess
of democracy, the size, and what the majority says is irrelevant. Obama must mobilize support from the leaders who butter their bread on both sides. His coalition must include the private-sector ‘Establishment’ besides his key Reagan Democrats in Congress, and the Executive Branch.

By: djfourmoney

djfourmoney — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:43:52 +0000

I agree copy Hacker’s Plan which is flawed but better and less stench. Medicare For All should be, SHOULD BE the bill we hold out for. I say LET IT FAIL, reboot this bullshit and we’ll start over AFTER the 2010 elections where Liberals will keep their seats and ConservaDems will LOOSE there. The Puppies on this site will be chewing up pants legs and we should start just as soon as the numbnuts that don’t vote for any of the progressive amendments are identified.

By: melana10

melana10 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:25:44 +0000

No public option go with single payer and the young population can start paying in with a teired system and those very rich republicans,bank ceo and
those bastards that make millions off of war can pay in.They have taken advantage of us long enough.I have written my state reps and said they’d bettter vote “no” I am with Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich on this one.
I get daily e-mail to donate to Obama or the DNC. NO MORE!!! Obama sending more troops at a cost of what 50,000 per soldier. Money keeps going to the middle east. We can’t afford health care but can support intrastructure of all these other countries? I am done.The middle class needs to bring these
Senators and Congressman down.Start making our list of who we will remove from office.Start with Lieberman and these blue dogs. Then start pulling our money out of these “too big to fail banks” Put our money in credit unions or our community banks.I have already done it. Let’s use our power and stop these people who have been too concerned about making money off of us and taking money from insurance companies to line their own pockets.
Obama and his side kick Rahm has sold us out.LET THE BILL FAIL!WE WANT SINGLE PAYER THAT STARTS NOW!!! Let’s start buying only U.S.A made products.Boycott companies that have taken our jobs!!! Watch how quick these idiots that have been elected then need us!!!Then watch them work for us!!! We have more power then we think but, must are we willing to use it!!!????

By: kwires

kwires — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:57:20 +0000

Now we finally know where all the resistance is coming from. Obama wants a fig leaf to pretend that we are getting the public option and still keep his arrangements with teh Insurance Industry. It is not Rahm, this is Obama pushing to neuter the public option. A public option trigger has no more chance of being executed than the trigger on the medicare part D plan. They are currently legislating to close the doughnut holes, why didn’t that problem and the skyrocketing premiums and drug costs trigger the “back up ” plan. Because the trigger is a feel good facade. Everyone gets to say the voted for the public option with the knowledge it will never see the light of day. This is a major betrayal.

By the way, Is it true that the DNC chair passed away? No one has heard from him for months. I am wondering if Obama might want to rename Howrd Dean to take his place.

By: marcopolo

marcopolo — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:34:19 +0000

I would add to that:

Carefully designed, closely monitored and effectively policed risk adjustment procedures (to offset the effects of ‘adverse selection’ – i.e. sicker patients ending up on any insurer’s rolls, public or private)

By: ralphbon

ralphbon — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:09:15 +0000

I’m pasting verbatim an EPU’d comment by Kip Sullivan to an earlier thread, which provides crucial context for the PO rating-structure debate:

This issue about whether the PO should be authorized to use this rate or that rate is irrelevant until it has been shown that the PO will be big enough to make any rate below the market average stick. The great debate about whether the House bill should authorize the PO to use Medicare plus 5% is a flaming red herring. Until PO advocates propose a PO that will achieve large size, there’s no point in authorizing the PO to pay providers below-private-sector rates. Authorizing the Dems’ pathetic little PO to use low reimbursement rates is like authorizing me to fly to the moon. Great, thank you for the “authority.” Now could you give me the tools to fly to the moon.

The decision by clinics and hospitals to accept PO-insured patients at rates even with or below the insurance industry’s rates will hinge on how big the PO is IN THE PROVIDER’S LOCAL MARKET (as opposed to nationally). Until we have some assurance that the PO in any given market will have enough market share to induce providers to accept below-average rates, there’s no reason to debate whether we want the PO to have the authority to charge this or that rate.

Incidentally, Medicare was never “authorized” to reimburse at rates below te private sector. Medicare just does it and gets away with it because it’s so big — and big UNIFORMLY across the country. So, if the PO is so “like Medicare,” why does it need “authority” to charge Medicare-like rates?

Similarly, there is no law that says providers have to accept Medicare patients. So if the PO is so “like Medicare,” why does it need the ridiculously vaporous “opt out” provision in HR 3200, or anything resembling a stick or declaration designed to make providers accept PO-insured patients?

This PO rabbit hole we’re in is sooo strange.

Kip

By: KarenM

KarenM — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:00:29 +0000

I just tweeted this post to the Obama’s twitter account:

@BarackObama: Want to know what your “base” really thinks about your efforts on health care? Read this: http://tinyurl.com/y8e877n Not good.

If anyone else has a twitter account, please feel free to use above or modify to suit yourselves. I’m about to post it on Facebook, too.

By: xargaw

xargaw — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:38:22 +0000

I agree with you. However, as someone that supported Obama with time and money, I am beyond disgusted. He has so betrayed us on healthcare. He has given the insurers and pharma almost everything and the citizens worse than nothing. Where is his support, his advocacy and his use of the bully pulpit for meaningful reform? He squeezes those that represenet the public interest and coddles the corportists. He has pulled the biggest bait and switch in history. In my own limited circle that is very mixed politically, there is a real sense of failure for any good reform. This is going to cost him and the Democrats dearly in 2010. The last time a pol flip flopped this bad was when Bush said he didn’t believe in nation building.

By: demi

demi — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:24:12 +0000

I Fuckin’-A love The Simple. Or, would that be The Obvious?
(If I’ve heard this option voiced in my house the last several weeks, I’ve heard it 25 times.) My mister’s a very smart person. You too, more than obviously. *g*