The House just passed the Senate's edited version of the reconsolidated health reform bill, marking the end of a year-old polarizing debate. However, it is imperative that this legislation is kept in perspective. Although congressmen and women vehemently fought each other over small pieces of the bill, Americans need to remember that health care is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. Reforms are nice. Regulations are nice. Caps and changes and extensions are all nice. But real health reform will not have been achieved until every American has affordable and comprehensive health care insurance. Neither the current law nor the recently passed reconciliation do this. And until this real health reform is achieved, less Americans will be able to receive imperative surgeries and treatments, less will be diagnosed with illnesses by qualified doctors, and more Americans will become ill.
Read more »
A year ago, the American media was quick to declare the budding Obama presidency a result of a new, post-racial America. It sounded nice, as though the traditional biases held by average Americans had finally been dropped and America, now free of bigotry, would emerge victoriously as a completely accepting nation.
However, racial discrimination in America has not ended. Some of it, in fact, is aimed at the president who seemed to be above it all, like the often made- sometimes even by elected officials- claims that President Obama was not born in the United States, but rather, in Kenya.
“Barack Obama's presidency will not deal a death blow to racism. Racial inequality still affects the quality of the air we breathe, the quality of our health, the likelihood of being erroneously shot by police, the likelihood of being poor, of having little education and of being unemployed. Race is sticky and racism is real. Being black will still mean living poorer and dying younger,” wrote Mellissa Harris-Lacewell, an associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, in a piece for The Nation in 2008. In the piece, Lacewell talks of the great strides made by the African-American community, both separate from and due to the election of Barack Obama. Still, Lacewell acknowledges that his presidency will not mean a post-racial America. Rather, it will lead to a more racially-empowering America.
Another epithet the media likes to attach to America when referring to the Obama presidency is ‘post-partisan’. But as the health care debate has shown, Washington is anything but. The American people and their representatives are now more polarized than ever, partisan politics suddenly becoming imperative to survival in Washington. The media may wish to, in the future, about declaring America done with any terrible action or unfortunate habit.
Read more »
It has been nearly four months since the Senate passed their health care reform bill. And yet, despite this seemingly lethargic pace, the House of Representatives voted late last night, 219-212, to pass the Senate's version of the bill. Although this bill is unlikely to be the final piece of health care legislation this year- the promised reconciliation appears imminent- certain assumptions can be made about what reform will actually take place after its signing.
The bill will, over time, extend protections to all Americans who are currently being discriminated against by the insurance companies. 90 days after the bill goes into law, insurance companies will be unable to deny coverage to children with preexisting conditions. Some others denied health care insurance will, soon after, be able to buy plans in a high-stakes insurance exchange.
Eventually, insurance companies will be forced to declare a justify proposed rate hikes before being allowed to enact them. Medicaid will be expanded to include more of the uninsured. Employers will be under more pressure to provide insurance to employees. Insurance companies will be more regulated, and less able to drop customers while being forced to provide minimum care.
However, the reform bill is not nearly as reaching as it could- and should- be. The bill does nothing to provide viable competition for insurance companies, completely ignoring the possibility of a public option, even a reactive one. Despite limitations on companies' ability to raise rates, no plan is given to lower them. The bill offers a mandate, forcing all Americans to buy heath care insurance- but forces them to buy a private plan. By not providing a public option, the US government is forcing Americans to buy a private product.
The bill could act as a stepping stone to more sweeping reforms. It is potential- although unlikely- that the reconsolidated bill will make great strides to cover those still not insured under the current plan. Still, regardless of flaws, the recently passed bill is a step in the right direction.
Read more »
It seems determined now, regardless of incessant complaints made by congressional Republicans and issues brought forth by liberal Democrats, that the Democratic caucus will attempt to pass both the original Senate bill in the House and a reconsolidated version in both the House and the Senate. Certain elements of health care reform are unable to be passed through reconciliation without sixty votes, for instance, the bill's language on abortions and the public option, as these are not directly related to the budget. Having a viable government-based competition and choice for consumers could have been the best received government program in years. A comprehensive public option would have provided insurance to most, if not all, uninsured Americans.
Who killed the public option? Who is to blame for the future and current absence of competition and protection? Ultimately, the blame lies with for specific groups: congressional Democrats, congressional Republicans, the Obama Administration, and the American media. These factions of American politics are in no way solely blamable for the loss of a useful and imperative government program, yet all contributed to its demise.
Congressional Democrats did not set their legislative aims high enough, were unable to control their caucus, and did not make an attempt to dominate the national debate. Additionally, at town halls Democrats did not respond to their constituants concerns in a manner that clearly explained the facts of the debate. All too willing to make fruitless compromises, Democrats consolidated their original ideals to please a few conservative members of their party and far too many disinterested Republicans.
Congressional Republicans, on the other hand, encouraged obstructionism and propagated misinformation, often through right-wing radical groups. Seemingly unwilling to compromise, few Republicans even engaged with Democrats during the critical stage of the bill being drafted, and none were willing to vote for it.
The Obama Administration, like the Democrats, were weak with their message and unsure of policy aims. By initially staying out of the debate, Obama appeared to have allowed Democrats to consolidate the bill to its current form.
Finally, the media assisted various groups by not checking facts, allowing the propagating of misinformation, and using loaded terms like 'socialism', 'Communism', and 'government takeover'. The media's purpose of unbiased reporting and the perennial fact-checker was not fulfilled, and reporters' public fact-mangling only led to further debate.
These groups are not alone. Others had heavy hands in the death of the public option, like the 'Tea Party', but it is these elected officials and trusted informants who are the most responsible.
Read more »
Christopher Hayes
"[S]anity has, tentatively, provisionally prevailed."
Pres. Obama said during a Super Bowl pregame interview he plans to have a health care summit with lawmakers. Is Obama finally taking an active role in reform?
Read more »
Yesterday, following a long and poorly run campaign to recapture Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat, the Democratic Caucus lost their sixty seat super-majority. This super-majority was the Democratic key to health care reform, and potentially the only way to pass their extraordinarily ambitious agenda.
So what are the Democrat's options? The party could pass bills using the controversial method of budget reconciliation, but many Democrats don't wish to be seen as 'cheating the system' They could lower the ambitions of their agenda, but the Democratic base would react pugnaciously.
The Democrats are stuck between real reform and numbers, their agenda and an increasingly angry base. Only time will tell how the new Senate handles itself, but it's going to be a difficult ride either way. Without a filibuster-proof majority, health care reform's future seems incredibly bleak.
Read more »
2009 was filled with accomplishments and failures by Congress, but America's work is far from over. In 2009, both the Senate and the House of Representatives passed individual health care reform bills. In 2010, Congress needs to find consensus in a bill that will provide affordable healthcare to ALL Americans.
Last year, President Obama made plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, and Attorney General Eric Holder took preliminary steps towards prosecution of war crimes committed during the previous administration. This year, the President must follow through and truly work for human rights. In 2010, we as a country need to work for a healthy economy, and a healthy ecosystem.
There is so much left to do to fix our country's problems. We are nowhere near where we need to be, but if we focus on bipartisanship and results, we can get there.
Read more »
“Mr. President, this is for my friend, Ted Kennedy – aye," announced the ailing Senator Bob Byrd this morning while voting on the Senate Health Care Reform Bill, which passed along party lines- 60-39. The bill had no public option or any viable alternative to private insurance companies, no caps, and a mandate.
However, it is promising that a bill with some reform aspects was passed in the Senate, and the bill does have some good pieces. The bill prevents insurance companies from dropping patients if they become sick, and it limits ability to deny patients.
Read more »
Barney Frank
“Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table.”
All members of Congress who are planning to vote for the newly Lieberman-affected health care are essentially putting the attractiveness of passing a bill over cost-effective and productive content. This bill currently has no viable option as an alternative to private health care insurance, it does not extend Medicare to those over 55, and it does not seriously limit the powers of insurance companies, rather, it imposes weak regulation upon them and forces all Americans to purchase over-expensive private insurance.
The simple math of it is that the Democrats need sixty votes to pass health care reform in the Senate- their entire caucus. Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, and Kent Conrad are some of the few final senators needed to support the bill. Nelson and Conrad seemed willing to vote for the trigger public option and the extended Medicare bill, but Lieberman said he would vote with the Republicans against cloture. Because of Lieberman, the bill was watered down to its current, completely unproductive form.
If Lieberman proves unwilling to support the old bill- the one with extended Medicare and a public option, then he needs to be removed as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Read more »
Howard Dean
"Joe [Liberman] loves the attention."
From the idea of ‘death panels’ to the idea that the government will provide coverage to illegal immigrants when health care is reformed, there is much misinformation out in the public. According to a Gallup/NBC poll, of those who watch Fox News rather than MSNBC or CNN, 72% of believe the new plan will give coverage to illegal immigrants, 79% think that it will lead to a government takeover, 69% think that it will use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, and 75% believe that it will allow the government to make decisions about when to stop providing care for the elderly. Of the CNN/MSNBC viewers, at least 29% less believe each of these myths. News commentators on all channels are perpetuating these lies about the bill, leaving viewers unsure of the truth. As the facts become more and more confused, popularity for the already controversial bill goes down.
Will some form of health care reform be passed before the State of the Union adress in January? It seems that the HoR will not pass any reform without a public option, and the same will be extraordinarily difficult to pass in the Senate. So it is possible reform will happen this year, but is it just as if not more likely that partisan politics will continute to delay any true change.
Read more »
The next plan being optioned is a mixed plan, where the privately owned insurance companies and a government insurance option exist together. At the moment, this is the most popular plan among Congress and President Obama. This plan would allow citizens to choose between their current insurance and a government plan while enforcing more regulation on the insurance companies, like making it so the health care companies could not discriminate coverage from those with preexisting conditions. The mixed plan would not force anyone to move from their current heath care to government plans. The plan does have a negative effect- if many people switch from private insurance to public, the insurance companies may raise their rates dramatically in order to combat their loss of profit. Also, this plan is not one that would make money for the government, as they would have to pay for those with serious conditions and people with no health problems may stay with their current insurance, so the government would not be able to make money off of the system.
The final plan being proposed, although due to its partisan nature, not being seriously considered, is the single payer plan. In a single payer plan, the government would be the only health care provider. They would not turn away applicants based on current conditions, and the health care provided would be accepted everywhere. You would still get to choose your plan and your doctor. You would not, however, get to choose between a public and a private carrier, as the private option would be eliminated. Although this is not the popular or politically best plan, the single payer system is the most viable for the American consumer. The single payer system would, in the long term, lower our deficit because the government would be able to make some amount of money off the persons covered who did not have high heath care-related charges. Also, when the government is providing health care for all Americans, they can make and keep low rates since their interest is not profit-based.
Read more »
For many years, it has been a primary campaign promise of those running for elected office that they, if elected, would support efforts to reform the current health care system. In the nineties, President Clinton tried and failed to pass a reform bill. In 2009, President Barack Obama is trying again. There are three basic types of health care reforms being considered by the members of Congress; a non-government plan, a mixed system, and a single payer plan. All three plans being proposed have advantages and disadvantages, and plan choice is vital to good reform. The other issue at hand when considering the reform efforts is the large amount of misinformation being discussed by the public, and the final problem to be addressed before any reform is possible is the money being given to members of Congress from the health care providers in order to try to sway their votes.
The first plan being discussed is the non-government plan, mostly supported by Republicans and other conservatives. The first variation on this plan involves no real change to the current system, with the only real ‘reform’ being increased regulation of the health care industry. The main proposed change would be the ability of consumers to be able to buy insurance from any state. “[This system would not be real reform because] I don’t think that one state has secretly more awesome heath care than the others,” said Rachel Maddow on NBC’s Meet the Press. The other variation on this plan being offered is keeping the current system and simply adding in privately owned cooperatives as an option for consumers. This plan, while an interesting idea, simply takes far too long to set up into a viable system. It would be years before cooperatives would be well enough established to become a serious option for the average American’s heath care. The non-government option would create the least amount of completion for the insurance companies and is, unsurprisingly, the plan that these companies are pushing for.
Read more »
The Liberal Hype site claims no credit for any images featured on this site unless otherwise noted. All visual content is copyrighted to its respective owners. Liberal Hype is in no way responsible for, or has control of, the content of any external website links or embedded streaming videos. Information on this site may contain errors or inaccuracies. If you own rights to any of the content and wish to have it removed please contact at liberalhype@gmail.com. My Tangled Tale, Vinyl, The Dull Drama, First Draft Magician, and other partners are produced by respective owners, and Liberal Hype claims no connection to any information they publish.
Posts
