Tag: Health Care

Does Carper Duck The Question? Let’s go to the tape.

Filed in National by on July 28, 2009 9 Comments

Here are the questions. View the tape an let me know in the comments section if Carper’s responses pass the smell test. MSNBC GUY: Why shouldn’t people believe that your (health care reform vote) has been influenced by the money you’ve gotten from Insurance companies? MSNBC Guy: But Senator you are under a lot of […]

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What Do The Blue Dogs Want?

Filed in National by on July 27, 2009 11 Comments

Paul Krugman lays it out. So what are the objections of the Blue Dogs? Well, they talk a lot about fiscal responsibility, which basically boils down to worrying about the cost of those subsidies. And it’s tempting to stop right there, and cry foul. After all, where were those concerns about fiscal responsibility back in […]

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Common Ground, Not So Much

Filed in National by on July 23, 2009 10 Comments

A group called Democrats for Life kicked out Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) because of his support of a bill increasing access to contraception. So much for the “common ground” argument.

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QOTD: Health Insurance Nightmares

Filed in National by on July 8, 2009 3 Comments

Read this story of lost insurance and then answer the following: What would you do? I would try moving to England.

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Fixing The Health Care Bill

Filed in National by on June 28, 2009 13 Comments

Ezra Klein has an idea… Health reform, remember, is a long game. The Senate Finance Committee will not write the health reform bill. They will just write their version of it. Then it will merge with the HELP Committee’s version. Then it will be amended on the floor of the Senate. Then it will be […]

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Why Delaware Needs Health Reform

Filed in Delaware by on June 27, 2009 5 Comments

Health Care facts and figures, from HealthReform.gov (thanks, HHS Secretary Sebelius!) DELAWAREANS CAN’T AFFORD THE STATUS QUO Roughly 575,000 people in Delaware get health insurance on the job, where family premiums average $14,579, about the annual earning of a full-time minimum wage job. Since 2000 alone, average family premiums have increased by 108 percent in […]

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Psssttt…Jay…We’ve Been Telling You This For Months

Filed in National by on June 26, 2009 11 Comments

Jay Rockefeller is “getting it.” On Thursday, Rockefeller admitted he expects little bipartisan support. “There is a very small chance any Republicans will vote for this health-care plan. They were against Medicare and Medicaid [created in the 1960s]. They voted against children’s health insurance. “We have a moral choice. This is a classic case of […]

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Ho Hum, Another Private Health Insurance Scam

Filed in National by on June 25, 2009 13 Comments

Truly shocking news. Health insurers have forced consumers to pay billions of dollars in medical bills that the insurers themselves should have paid, according to a report released yesterday by the staff of the Senate Commerce Committee. And health insurance companies claim they can’t compete with a public option… seems to me they can’t compete […]

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Obama Reminds Republicans Of Their Free Enterprise Mantra

Filed in National by on June 23, 2009 38 Comments

This has to hurt.  But I guess having your own words used against you never feels good. Why would it drive private insurance out of business? If private insurers say that the marketplace provides the best quality health care; if they tell us that they’re offering a good deal, then why is it that the […]

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Funny What We Can “Afford”

Filed in National by on June 22, 2009 5 Comments

Via Balloon Juice. Yes, the Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary cost estimates for Senate plans were higher than expected, and caused considerable consternation last week. But the fundamental fact is that we can afford universal health insurance — even those high estimates were less than the $1.8 trillion cost of the Bush tax cuts. Krugman And […]

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Health Care: Why Is A Public Option Considered Controversial?

Filed in National by on June 22, 2009 8 Comments

There are new polling results out from the New York Times that show an overwhelming majority of Americans support a public, Medicare-like option for health care reform. In bad news for Republicans, only 18% trust Republicans to reform health care while 57% trust Democrats. According to this poll even a majority of Republicans want a […]

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The Bought Off — Health Care Edition

Filed in National by on June 22, 2009 18 Comments

See the details here. Make sure to look at the entire thing — there are great spreadsheets and other data here. But as you listen to the back and forth of the health care discussion, be familiar with the Bought Off and treat their commentary accordingly: TOP 10 SENATE RECIPIENTS: McCain, John (R-AZ) $251,834 McConnell, […]

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Comment Rescue — Why Not Single Payer?

Filed in National by on June 21, 2009 19 Comments

Friday, Geezer asked a very good question that I didn’t have time to get to in the Frank Luntz thread. His question: Why should we be for a non-single-payer “reform” plan? Before I get to that and ask you guys to weigh in, I want to put up some resources to look at and to […]

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