Impeding changes to our Health Care system

Unmentioned by Mr. Obama was that 20 other physician groups came out against his health-care takeover yesterday, which they wrote "will threaten patient access and harm quality." Led by the American College of Surgeons, these doctors argued the Senate's bill "will do little to fix" health care's "underlying problems, and may make them worse."

Right.

Those physician groups prefer the more comprehensive House bill over the Senate bill:

On behalf of the more than 74,000 members of the American College of Surgeons, I write to express the College's support for the....America's Affordable Health Choices Act (HR 3962)...

In addition, the College supports the goals of HR 3962 that collectively expand coverage, promote and incentivize high quality health care and help to ensure patient access to surgical care...

We look forward to working with you to advance these important pieces of legislation....

http://www.facs.org/hcr/dingell110409.pdf

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Talk about bull shit. The "exchanges" are pure fantasy.

Sounds like what the wingnuts said about Medicare 30+ years ago up until it was enacted and millions of seniors had access to affordable health care for the first time.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Redux

Sounds like what the wingnuts said about Medicare 30+ years ago up until it was enacted and millions of seniors had access to affordable health care for the first time.

Right. Tell that to those who note a 500 billion dollar cut to Medicare.

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Right. Tell that to those who note a 500 billion dollar cut to Medicare.

A more complete interpretation:

RNC: PROTECT MEDICARE AND NOT CUT IT IN THE NAME OF HEALTH CARE REFORM: President Obama and Congressional Democrats are promoting a government-run health care experiment that will cut over $500 billion from Medicare to be used to pay for their plan. Medicare should not be raided to pay for another entitlement.

FactCheck.org: As we noted in our article More ‘Senior Scare,’ the bill that’s currently pending in the House would indeed "cut" $500 billion or so from Medicare, but it would also increase expenditures in some areas. The net amount that would be taken from the program would be about $219 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That’s a 10-year figure, by the way. And any implication that seniors’ Medicare benefits would be cut is false. Rather, the bill calls for holding down payments to hospitals and other providers, other than physicians.

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/rncs-bill-of-rights/

Much of the cuts are to Medicare Advantage companies that have been overcharging by about 15% for years.....according to CBO and the Medicare Review Board.

[Griff]

The problem to be solved was covering people who could not afford coverage. Forcing people to buy coverage with money they don't have doesn't really address that. They should have gone for a full-blown single-payer system financed through a national sales tax. As it is the system will get a lot worse and the Dems will lose power before the government option can be grown into a useful replacement. This plays into the GOP's core value of forcing people to pay connected private industry for services they don't think they need. Health care should be either an actual free market or a government program as all half measures will be more expensive, more coercive, and less useful than either alone.

Originally Posted by Griff

The problem to be solved was covering people who could not afford coverage. Forcing people to buy coverage with money they don't have doesn't really address that. They should have gone for a full-blown single-payer system financed through a national sales tax. As it is the system will get a lot worse and the Dems will lose power before the government option can be grown into a useful replacement. This plays into the GOP's core value of forcing people to pay connected private industry for services they don't think they need. Health care should be either an actual free market or a government program as all half measures will be more expensive, more coercive, and less useful than either alone.

In the long term, I agree that a single payer system provides the best system.

But with 200+ million currently covered through employer-based plans, we cant get there from here....and the bills provide signficant cost containment and coverage guarantees for those as well as providing affordable coverage for those currently uninsured.

I think it is a big step forward.

[Griff]

I see a major failure that will leave the GOP's actual national socialist program in control.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Griff

The problem to be solved was covering people who could not afford coverage. Forcing people to buy coverage with money they don't have doesn't really address that. They should have gone for a full-blown single-payer system financed through a national sales tax. As it is the system will get a lot worse and the Dems will lose power before the government option can be grown into a useful replacement. This plays into the GOP's core value of forcing people to pay connected private industry for services they don't think they need. Health care should be either an actual free market or a government program as all half measures will be more expensive, more coercive, and less useful than either alone.

I have to agree. I think they should have gone all in or nothing and used a VAT or something similar to pay for it.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

I have to agree. I think they should have gone all in or nothing and used a VAT or something similar to pay for it.

Your team demonized that.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Griff

Your team demonized that.

Your mistake is that they are "my" team. I proposed the use of VAT or something similar a long time ago. The Republickins are the last people I want to fix Health Insurance.