David, thank you so much for the tireless work you’ve done reporting this – and explaining what has been going on. Very much appreciated.

I second what Elliott said about your efforts David BUT will disagree with you regards whether the passage was a ‘good thing’.

What I know is that the ‘progressive’ caucus caved in their demands and that this had a lot to do with it: “In addition, Speaker Pelosi felt that offering a single-payer amendment would open the floodgates to amendments proposed to limit abortion funds, restrict immigrant access to health care and other regressive legislation.”

Yet after the ‘progressive’ caucus went along with Pelosi/Hoyer, here comes the Stupak amendment to the floor for a vote.

And people can say all they want about Obama indicating he’ll ‘take care of it’ but with the vote being what it was, Rahm’s love affair with ‘blue dogs’, and the conservatives in the Senate AND the need for the final bill to be passed, I’ll bet anyone here and now that the essence of the Stupak amendment WILL be in the final bill.

And passage of HR3962 was NOT worth the price women will have to pay for the House and Obama Admin’s incompetence in pushing through health insurance reform.

Much has been made by the Dem’s about increasing the ‘poverty level’ numbers regarding Medicaid eligibility BUT what no one is mentioning is that Medicaid is a ‘partnership’ with States and the most populous States have BIG budgetary problems and doing such does NOT give the States the necessary monies for such an increase in eligibility to be much of anything. For instance, in CA, because of the budget constraints, the following is no longer covered by Medicaid:
Effective July 1, 2009, and until the state law is amended, Medi-Cal will no longer pay for some benefits. Find answers to questions you may have regarding these changes on your benefits. If you don’t find an answer to your question below, please call 1-888-284-0623. This toll free number will remain available through September 11, 2009. After this date, please call (916) 636-1980. Have your Benefit Identification Card (BIC) number ready before calling this number.

Important: All the questions and answers provided here apply to the benefits that Medi-Cal will no longer pay.

These benefits are:

a. Acupuncture (use of small needles to treat pain and other problems)

b. Adult dental services

c. Audiology services (hearing exam)

d. Chiropractic services (manipulation of spine)

e. Incontinence cream and washes

f. Optometry services/Dispensing Optician/Fabricating Optical Lab (eye exam and eye glasses)

g. Podiatry services (care of the feet)

h. Psychology services

i. Speech therapy services

AND
Medicare Part B Premium Changes

As part of the effort to resolve the severe shortfall in the California budget, the Legislature and Governor adopted state law that ends Medi-Cal payments of the Medicare Part B premiums for some Medi-Cal beneficiaries as of November 1. This action will impact about 57,000 seniors and persons with disabilities who currently pay a share of cost of at least $501 for their Medi-Cal funded health care services. The federal Social Security Administration will begin deducting the Medicare Part B premiums from the Social Security checks of affected beneficiaries beginning with the check to be received in December 2008. A beneficiary who meets a share of cost of $501 or more in any one-month in which the premium was deducted from the Social Security check will be reimbursed retroactively for that month in a subsequent Social Security check. Beneficiaries with zero share of cost Medi-Cal, or those who have a share of cost below $501 per month, will continue to have their Part B premiums paid.

If you have any questions, please call 1-800-952-5294.

So ,thank you Obama and Pelosi for pushing through more faulty legislation that doesn’t really address the need for health insurance reform and sells out the sovereignty that women had won for their bodies.

I keep reading that 36 million more people will be covered, but isn’t that because of the freaking MANDATE?!? There will be high holy hell to pay for this. The bill deserves to go down in flames, but if it doesn’t, then the Democrats will.

I don’t understand celebrating this pile of dung. Sure, pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied. Great. Now the fun part. When the insurance companies have to start covering all these things they weren’t covering before, um, well, guess what happens to premiums? And especially guess what happens to them when there is no PO (or one like this one that is pile of shit), well the premiums are going to go up more.

This bill does NOTHING except make the insurance companies cover people and procedures they didn’t before, but makes sure they get paid handsomely for doing so. OK, the subisides for folks to buy that insurance I’ll agree is a plus, but it would’ve been a bigger plus had they been able to use those subsidies on a real, viable, strong PO.

Oh, and then there’s the Stupid amendment. I’ll bet anyone now that if a health insurance bill is signed by Obama, it WILL include the Stupid amendment.

I know it wasn’t Jane’s fault (bless her for all of her hard work), but the fact remains, we had a PLEDGE from progressives to vote NO, and I gave to that pledge as did thousands of others. The next time a fund like that is set up, how likely do you think it’s going to be we give again?? I know the answer for me. In fact, I want my $100 back.

Sorry folks, I’m NOT celebrating. I hope this bill DIES, and they either start over next year with single payer or nationalize the elections on that issue next year.

As always, YMMV.

There were 23 members who voted for Stupak, to restrict choice, and then against the health care reform bill. These 23 are simply moles inside the caucus, opposing key planks of the Democratic platform:

Altmire (PA), Barrow (GA), Boccieri (OH), Boren (OK), Bright (AL), Chandler (KY), Childers (MS), Davis (AL), Davis (TN), Gordon (TN), Griffith (AL), Holden (PA), Marshall (GA), Matheson (UT), McIntyre (NC), Melancon (LA), Peterson (MN), Ross (AR), Shuler (NC), Skelton (MO), Tanner (TN), Taylor (MS), Teague (NM)

Do not let Jim Cooper (D-TN05) off the hook just because he was crafty enough to vote for Stupak’s amendment while letting himself be forced into voting for H.R. 3962.

He issued a statement yesterday, before the vote last night, saying that he’s going to vote yea on H.R. 3962 in order to keep trying to fuck it up as it goes into conference.

This slippery asshole also voted against the Stimulus bill (The Recovery Act) a few months ago.

And we all know what “ending waste in Medicare” is shorthand for… I don’t believe any of the positive spin, not for a minute. Why are the Democrats ceding the next few election cycles to the Republicans immediately after winning the presidency and both houses?

Hooray for OldFatGuy and what he said.

AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen David Dayen and the Firepup freedom Fighters:

I have been askin’ this question for a couple a days and not received an answer: what are the prospects of gettin the Stupid Amendment quietly removed in conference if the Senate version doesn’t have it? And doesn’t a vote for this amendment make some a the Blue Dogs even more vulnerable to a primary challenge…what’s the chance of gettin a bunch of these mangy curs out of the caucus for good?

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, NOW WE GO GET THE OTHER HALF OF THE LOAF!!

I’ve made my own sense of the “reform” clear in a FDL diary entry: http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/13829

With respect to the idea that this “reform” reflects any sort of “incremental change” as David Dayen describes it, I can only retort that the “increment” in question can only refer to either, societally, the “incremental” step backwards in broad public expectations of populist reform, or to instead, economically, the “incremental” increase in the wealth that will now accrue to the barons of the health insurance and pharmaceutical corporations. This bill is for them first and probably for them alone.

With respect to “compromise” being necessary to address “political realities” in getting any bill passed, I think that, instead of the perfect being the enemy of the good, which proponents of this bill would tell us, we have something neither perfect, nor good, but simply bad. The root cause of the problems in our health care system is that the system we have is premised first and foremost on enhancing the privately-held wealth of figures who sit atop health and drug businesses. This “reform” starts with a requirement that the wealth of these figures, and the de facto health care cartel they operate, not be threatened at all, and concludes with legislation that makes it a crime not to buy the cartel’s products and services, with the only alternative being a predestined-to-fail government “option”. This “option” itself was designed specifically to insure that the health care cartel is in no way ever threatened.

The “change” hoax is being exposed. The national political leadership of the Democratic Party is being exposed. The myth of the populism of the “liberal feminist” figures like Pelosi is being exposed. That is the only silver lining in what otherwise looks like the last chance for a very long time to get a good health care system founded being squandered to cater to plutocratic interests and election PR.

You got it. I would benefit from the pre-existing, but I am hoping to hold on till Medicare. If this goes through we have a very good chance of wandering in the wilderness for the rest of my life at least.

Is this the best we can do?

Conventional wisdom is that when the bill comes back from conference committee it will cover far fewer than 36 million people. The millionaire tax will be largely or completely replaced by a tax on middle class benefits. The employer mandate will be gone. The public option will be an opt-in or a trigger.

The members who were wavering on the bill yesterday overwhelmingly had one concern: lowering fees on industry stakeholders. (Particularly the medical device industry which is positively rolling in cash and already had its fee reduced from 5% to a paltry 2.5%.) This does not bode well for reform.

The token “win” for progressives will be a softening of the outrageous Stupak language–which never would have been in the mix if Obama hadn’t allowed it to be.

My feeling is, so what if Blue Dogs vote against this bill. The bill is crap. All progressives members should join Kucinich and vote against it too.

“…and would pay for that through ending waste and subsidies in Medicare”

this is an amazing statement!

500 billion or so in savings that have heretofore been glibly ignored by all concerned?

This is sick!

I do believe that fund remains intact. It was to show “progressives” in the House we were capable of raising money for them. I seriously doubt any of that money will go to those primaried as a result of their votes on this.

Do not let Jim Cooper (D-TN05) off the hook just because he was crafty enough to vote for Stupak’s amendment while letting himself be forced into voting for H.R. 3962.

CORRECTION: I meant to write that this sleazy guy was crafty enough to vote “yea” on Stupak’s amendment while he let himself be forced into voting “yea” on H.R. 3962.

Don’t let Jim Cooper (D-TN05) off the hook just because he’s crafty, working hard to try to kill key parts of the supposed Democratic agenda that he later tells his constituents, whom he serves so badly, he’s happy they’re benefitting from when they become law despite his efforts to kill them.

He should never have been tapped to run as the Democratic candidate in TN-05 in the first place and his career as the rep for TN-05 should be ended unceremoniously, swiftly, and soon.

Reform, my ass.

Kill this monster.

Congress, don’t insult me or yourself by ever turning in a paper like this again. F minus.

Sickening.

Oh and keep digging your political grave, Orahma.

Reform is getting private profiteers out of Health Care. This is an attempted Power grab by a Party that’s but a perversion of its former self.

Why do you refer to anti-choice Democrats as pro-life? Tell the family of a woman who dies in a back alley abortion that. Language matters.

Taxation by mandate, instead of via the progressive tax code. What a sad day for this country.

David – why the long and thorough post about the health insurance reform bill with no mention of the individual mandate?!?

is that now another taboo topic that progressives are supposed to pretend does not exist?

You know the problem with you people? You don’t understand compromise. This bill ain’t half bad. Let’s get it passed and move on.

I’ve noticed lately a tendency by some commenters to fall into a practice I hadn’t seen anywhere but on reichwingnut blogs, namely the practice of chest puffing and saying, in essence, “You call yourself a progressive? I’m more progressive than you’ll ever be. Your beliefs and values are not those of a true progressive.” I thought it was pathetic when the reichwingers tried to out-reichwing each other. I think it even more pathetic to see it here.

I’m gettin’ real tired of your use of “you people.”

Um, “let’s get it passed” kinda sounds phony following “the problem with you people.” Just sayin’.

nm.

Made a response regarding that individual that’s probably better unsaid.

Been in a foul mood all weekend. Maybe I should go for a walk.

What a REVOLTIN’ development this is!

Our only hope now is that LIEberman really does kill it in the senate. But, knowing him, he probably loves the house bill.

To state the blindingly obvious, progressives lost this one, just as they lost the larger issue of the public option, because they weren’t willing to walk away. They were the ones with that power, and they didn’t use it. The 23 represenatives in that first list are Democrats no one of us will miss, and hopefully this is a way of getting rid of them. Unfortunately, that doesn’t address the larger issue, which is that the Democrats let a bad bill go through in the vain hope that it will be good enough.

good point! but after a good point like that, watch out for a little ad hominem, coming your way!

This bill sucks because the real bill was never offered up by Obama, for most likely one reason only: – maintenance of power through ndustry donations.

The insurance industry is but a middle man demanding 20% above standard cost for covering risk. No problem other than choice. Would we rather have a middleman offering cost plus 1%, or one offering cost plus 20%? Value says the former.

So, by standards of elementary school arithmetic; this bill sucks!

SD, there have always been a few of the “I’m w-a-y purer and more of a progressive than you are” types, even around here.

Think the concern trolls.

But yeah, the “you guys” types are just trying to demean us. Although actually “you guys” is probably considered somewhat polite when they could be spouting Rush level imprecations and names.

note a new ‘pwogressive’ taboo subject – the individual mandates! you can pretend they don’t exist on your blogs, but once people are compelled to tithe to the insurance cartel, the gig will be up, and blame will fall heavily on all apologists for the dreadful sham that was the Democratic health insurance reform act of 2009.

As we speak…

Book Salon up at the Mothership with David Kessler’s The Endo of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite hosted by Jill Richardson

My useless POS Congresscritter John F-ing Barrow voted against the bill. My contempt for the man knows no bounds.

Not to go on about the merits of compromise but everyone must have a bedrock set of beliefs on which we do not give in. I think you would agree with that and grant everyone that perogative.

The Stupak amendment I think abrogates such a belief, since it deprives a whole set of people their right to a medically permissible procedure. One which is their decision to make. This not a capricious reason for deploring this amendment and bill.

Another would be the very existence of that vile cockroach Lieberman.

I know it’s not what you mean by POS, but POS might very aptly stand for Point-of-Sale, referring to our bought-and-paid-for representatives.

It has not been taboo for me. I’ve stated that I thought it was immoral to require people to buy health insurance when the government doesn’t provide a working version of its own. That’s why I’m not happy with this bill. It will come back to haunt Democrats, but more importantly, it’s going to come back to haunt anyone who can’t afford to pay for crappy insurance.

Don’t forget one thing John, your numbers are falling everyday and I predict this health care reform will put the final nail of the GOP coffin.

President Obama and V.P. Joe Biden for 2012.

Start playing troll bingo. As long as hse’s going to hit the squares for us, might as well have fun.

I am so stunned by this . I cannot believe it’s the Democrats taking away the civil rights of wimmin. I worked very hard in the 70’s for wimmin to get this right, the gubmint didn’t just hand this to us, I’ll tell you!
I bet the Republicans couldn’t have done it more slyly than introducing this travesty on a Saturday night with no warning.
As for Obama’s promises, they are writ on water.

I really hope the whole thing fails. It’s even worse than I imagined it could be. And there’s no way I can think this is less than another bailout to the corporatocracy with a little Christian sweetner thrown in.

Another hideous bill which does not do anything for the American people, and tops it off with a loss of civil rights to boot.

I am a very down feminist today.

Tracking Your Representatives’ Health Care Cash

If you’re trying to understand all of the reasons why your representatives may support or oppose certain health care reform measures, we can add the money-in-politics puzzle pieces. Here’s a cool tool that brings together data from various parts of OpenSecrets.org to show how much money each current lawmaker has raised from various health-related industries and the health sector overall since 1989 (including the haul of President Obama, who tops every one of these lists). Sort by column to discover that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a member of the Senate Health Committee, is the top recipient of pharmaceutical cash, or that Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), has collected more money from health insurers than all other current members of Congress. Please note that this includes contributions from individuals and political action committees to both the lawmakers’ candidate committees and leadership PACs. Also, the health insurance industry numbers here are a combination of contributions from health and accident insurers, HMOs and other health services. . . .

–Open Secrets

My guess is that there’s absolutely no chance. Harry Reid is anti-choice. Barack Obama has a long history of ducking abortion-related issues, and Nancy Pelosi chose to let the Stupak Amendment come to the floor, but didn’t allow several that would have improved the bill. I don’t see any prospective defenders of choice, or family planning, in that group.

I’m not an insider. I only know the players based on what they’ve done in the past, but the past has been a good predictor of the present so far with this congress and this President.

I agree there is a need to distinguish progressives who are willing to compromise on traditional core values like abortion rights from those who won’t.

When Obama apologists like Booman are calling themselves Progressives something’s got to change. For instance, there is a post on his blog today arguing that the Stupak vote shows we live in a very conservative country and progressives need to suck it up. If that sounds familiar it’s because the White House said the exact same thing in their infamous “pajamas” rant a few weeks ago.

It makes the most sense for people like Booman to begin calling themselves Democratic Progressives, or Obama Progressives. Seeing as that is unlikely to happen, I guess I should start calling myself a Traditional Progressive.

i think it’s already been given to them:
http://www.actblue.com/page/theytookthepledge

Priceless.

Well, shit. Wrong again. Damn. *g*

Mebbe we can get our dough back. I still know a couple guys…

I’m just gonna keep callin’ myself a revolutionary.

My guess is that only when there are enough pro-choice Democrats in the House publicly claiming that they would vote down the final bill unless Stupak is removed. I’m a total outsider as well, but I don’t see any other way out of this.

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
— george orwell

oooooo, me likee. Thanks

And I just re-read 1984 not long ago, too. Also.

I really can’t stand the way democrats use the phrase “tax the wealthy to pay for it”

that’s NOT what’s happening here

what’s happening is the “failed tax incentive by the bush administration” is being invested in something that will give far more return

we are NOT “taxing” the wealthy we are REMOVING some (but not all) of the middle class assets the previous administration gave to the wealthiest people on the plante, agan, that is NOT “taxing the wealthy”

I want to start working on getting rid of dems that voted no. And also getting rid of Joe Liberman

nonviolent revolution!

I don’t think making fundamental change to the socio-economic system (the dictionary’s definition of “revolution”) requires violence. It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of disappointments and a lot of get up and do it again, but most of all a desire to do all that shit.

hey;

I remember the “bush economic stimulous” was supposed to be “temporay”

I also remember the adminsitration was fighting to make them permanent in the face of their epic fail

so what happened to the “temperary nature” of that failed “stimulous”?

I’m with you OldFatGuy. Would’nt it be interesting if someone at FDL set up a petition demanding our money back from the progressive caucus and pledged not to give them any more money?

Well, actually I think both are true. ;) It’s just that your wording points out another truth, which is that we’re essentially reversing something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Precisely right. The progressives could have held the bill up and the one who reallyneeded it, Obama-Rahma, would have been forced to move much farther in their direction. Even the progressives in congress don’t understand: this is about taking care of the sick not getting re-elected.

History says that sometimes a diamond (peaceful reform) sometimes a stone (violent revolution). If the two parties continue to support a plutocracy at all costs, the change that we can believe in will only come with violence, either marching in the streets or out an out warfare. Peace is what we should all want, but sometimes you just can’t get it.

when you take something back that wasn’t their’s in the first place it should be called “asset reclamation” instead of a tax

tax “incentives” need to give a positive return, the principle must be returned one way or another, if that postitive return is not realized it’s hardly a “tax” on those people who recieved those funds

but I understand your point so I’ll take it furthre

whether or not both are true wasn’t my point, the point is we can never win the discussion or the debate unless we point out that’s our money we’re getting back, not money that’s there’s that we are taking

it is a comletely differant discussion when those points are part of the debate

Gandhi and his followers certainly encountered their share of violence.

I will believe that violence will overcome violence when you can convince me that darkness will overcome darkness. M K Gandhi

I believe that.

Look I’m not celebrating but most of the public doesn’t know what’s going on here. Only ONE person at my job mentioned the vote. I didn’t ask any customers because I didn’t want to ask, plus the store in which I work is in a highly Republican District, California is a Blue State but it does have its pockets of ignorance plus I fact I didn’t know until I watched it today, Grey Davis was one of only 4 Democratic Governors in California since the late 1800’s and that’s no bullshit.

Also Jerry Brown has been on the state ballot 13 times since 1973

But I digress -

This Bill, its TRASH, but it can be recycled just like trash.

You can fix many of the “tiny” issues in Conference, not so worried about that.

What we need to focus on beyond the details like making sure the States have enough money to extended Medicaid to a largely segment of the population, we need to make sure ERISA Wavier gets put back in, so States like California can do the Progressive Reform that the Federal Government is unable to do because of moneyed interest.

I can’t keep saying it California is ready to DO IT again, March 2010 State Rep Mark Reno will bring it up for a vote again and just like last time it will pass and be sent to the Governators desk, we’ll see if 3rd time is a charm if not, then we need to hold Brown accountable and make him promise to sign it.

That will usher in Single Payer at the State Level and I’m sure others will follow. It will be up to other States to get Reps and Governor in line with the more Progressive States.

Massachusetts might do the same. So yes, extremely important. This is how it happened in Canada. First one province; the rest followed.

Everyone should write their Senators asking them to add the ERISA waiver language back into the final bill. This is how single payer started in Canada. First a province, then the rest followed. California, Massachusetts, Vermont…one of these days, they’ll come around.

Thank You Rep D.K. for seeing the burden this bill will put on all working Americans . If this bill becomes law all working Americans will be paying for #1. Medicare #2. Medicaid #3. insurance corporations . Three insurance policies . Because of present economic times many young workers do not pay corporate insurers . This biil will have the effect of a huge pay cut for most working Americans . I can not understand the elation in Congress over what they are attempting to do to poor Americans .

All 10 House members from MA are co-sponsors of HR 676, but all 10 voted for yesterday’s steaming pile of ordure, which is of the healthcos, by the healthcos and for the healthcos, with a thin veneer of “healthcare reforms” to make it acceptable. (And even those – ending pre-existing condition exclusions, for example – benefit the insurers, since they apply to all, thus affording a relative advantage to none, but all can raise prices, therefore profits, to pass on the inevitable cost increases.)

My own Rep., Mike Capuano, a good guy who voted against Iraq and the Patriot Act and is now running for Kennedy’s Senate seat, has agreed publicly that the House bill is a crock. But he also said it would be very hard to vote against anything called “healthcare reform”. thus his vote yesterday for a bill he knows is bad.

How bad? My guess is the wheels will start coming off in time to hurt the
Dems in 2010 and failed healthcare reform may do really serious damage in 2012.

This bill is not only morally wrong and grossly inefficient, it is also politically stupid.