Nice headline, and nice try by the radical left and the media, but it just ain't true. Dems have the votes to push this through if they want it. Just one little problem. Without any Repub votes the Dems then own this piece of shit, lock, stock and barrel. When it blows up, and everyone knows it will, it's all on them. If the Dems had the courage of their convictions they'd give a big F U to the Repubs and pass the bill. They don't, so they won't.
The left is out to get the blue dogs and any other dems who are not on board. Today, they're going after Evan Bayh, who's wife pocketed 2.1 million dollars from 06 to 08 sitting on health company boards. Now I don't want the kind of reform the dems are talking about, and I don't care how much health companies pay their board members, but just how is it that Evan Bayh's wife came to be selected to sit on boards of companies this size that pay this much? Of course, the whole story will be spun in a way to get Bayh's vote for Obama's plan, not simply pointing out how sleazy it is in general for companies to be buying a democratic senator's votes.
If I were a member of the party trying to shove this disaster down the throat of the USA, I'd want votes from the other side too.
The radical left will continue to chip away at what's left of the rational members of the Dem party. That's a given! You bring up a good point about Bayh and his wife in-particular. It demonstrates just how corrupt the system is, and surely in need of reform, top to bottom. We just need to do it in a fiscally responsible manner. THAT, will certainly be a challenge, given the current administration we have.
Obama can't be happy about this story. http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/...MD169MdLg.7ofisDL16CfNdF?mod=insurance-health YAHOO will be getting a call soon. We can't have this kind of stuff on the main page.
A little birdie sent this to me. Stunning is all I can say. At least somebody has read part of it even if congress hasn't. Walt Bruce rec'd this from his class list serve this morning... Subject: A few highlights from the first 500 pages of the Healthcare bill in congress Contact your Representatives and let them know how you feel about this. We, as a country, cannot afford another 1000 page bill to go through congress without being read. Another 500 pages to go. I have highlighted a few of the items that are down right unconstitutional. ⢠Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure! ⢠Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed! ⢠Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process) ⢠Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None. ⢠Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services. ⢠Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard. ⢠Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer. ⢠Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN) ⢠Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange. ⢠Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans) ⢠Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services; translation: illegal aliens ⢠Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan. ⢠Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically enrolled: you have no choice in the matter. ⢠Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed. ⢠Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages. ⢠Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government-run public plan. No alternatives. ⢠Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families. ⢠Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll ⢠Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll ⢠Page 167: Any individual who doesnât' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income. ⢠Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them). ⢠Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records. ⢠Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that. ⢠Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected." ⢠Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!) ⢠Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc. ⢠Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries. ⢠Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs. ⢠Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing! ⢠Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions. ⢠Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government. ⢠Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies! ⢠Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval. ⢠Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN. ⢠Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing. ⢠Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc. ⢠Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals. ⢠Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone). ⢠Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia? ⢠Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time. ⢠Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death. ⢠Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends. ⢠Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT. ⢠Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life. ⢠Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN. ⢠Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN. ⢠Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage. ⢠Page 494: Government will cover mental health services: defining, creating and rationing those services.
Himmler and the Gestapo would have been proud of such a masterpiece of control, intrusion and strong arm tactics.