Chamber of Commerce Lies About Health Care Reform

4 minutes ago

On March 9, 2010, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published a blog post falsely claiming the Democratic plan for reforming health care would increase premiums, increase the deficit, and kill jobs.  In reality, the plan would reduce the deficit, lower premiums, and create up to 4 million American jobs.

The Chamber Falsely Claims Reform Will Increase Premiums

U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

Your health care costs will increase. The bill will do very little to control costs (iv), while simultaneously taxing the health industry -- taxes consumers will pay (v) -- and forcing Americans to purchase more expensive health insurance. [U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 3/9/10]

PolitiFact: "For Most People, Premiums Would Stay About The Same, Or Slightly Decrease."  According to PolitiFact.com: "The CBO reported that, for most people, premiums would stay about the same, or slightly decrease. This was especially true for people who get their insurance through work. (Health policy wonks call these the large group and small group markets.) People who have to go out and buy insurance on their own (the individual market) would see rates increase by 10 to 13 percent. But more than half of those people -- 57 percent, in fact -- would be eligible for subsidies to help them pay for the insurance. People who get subsidies would see their premiums drop by more than half, according to the CBO. So most people would see their premiums stay the same or potentially drop." [PolitiFact.com, 1/27/10, emphasis added]

CBO: House Bill Will Result In Lower Costs For American Families.  The Congressional Budget Office estimated that in 2016, premiums will be $5,300 for an individual and $15,000 for a family of four in the Exchange.  Without reform, the average family premium is expected to grow to $24,000. [CBO, 11/2/09; House Education and Labor Committee, 11/2/09]

CONTINUED

Chamber of Commerce Lies About Health Care Reform | Media Matters Action Network

Don't shoot the messenger. It's an old cliche, but it's true.

Unfortunately, shooting the messenger has become the main strategy of the people trying to stop us from taking action on climate change. And it needs to stop.

Just a couple of days ago, a columnist excoriated my friend Vice President Al Gore, insinuating that his warnings about the crisis of climate change were somehow self-interested -- ignoring his lifetime of dedication to this issue.

And maybe even worse, the last months have seen a sustained attack on scientists. Rush Limbaugh called them "liars" and "skunks" and said that they should be "named and fired, drawn and quartered."

And all of this to create an atmosphere in the media that there's some broad dispute over whether climate change is real, let alone worsened by man-made emissions.

Well, we have to defeat the campaign tactics of distract, divide, and distort --  we need to stand up and say, "Enough!" Tell the media that you demand honest reporting about what's really going on.

Take a moment, go to TruthFightsBack, and write a letter to your local newspaper demanding real, probing, and fact-based coverage of the science of climate change.

I know something about people taking lies and distortions to attack someone personally. I chose a life in the public eye, and I can take it. But scientists are just doing their jobs. They don't deserve to be the targets of campaigns to distract from reality.

And that reality is - simply - that every major scientific body that has looked at the evidence has come to the same conclusion. They all conclude that the climate is changing in dangerous ways, and human activity - our pollution, our emissions - is pulling us in a dangerous direction. This is simply not in doubt anymore.

So, take a moment to raise your voice for the truth. Follow this link to send a letter to your local paper and tell them that you want reporting on real debates, not phony attacks:

http://www.truthfightsback.com/StepUpForScience

We started TruthFightsBack.com to fight for the truth, and that's what we're going to do. I hope you can join us.

Thank you,
John Kerry

Today we're taking it to the streets.

The insurance companies are having a conference in Washington, DC to plot how to kill health reform. Thousands are gathering as we speak to perform a citizens' arrest. Even though you can't be there in person, you can help us hold the insurance companies accountable for their crimes.

We've obtained the fax numbers for the offices of the insurance companies. With your help, we can shut them down!

Chris Shiflett, guitarist in the Foo Fighters, has recorded a video to deputize you into the citizens' posse so you can help us arrest the insurance companies:

Click here to watch the video. We'll automatically send a free fax of a wanted poster with an insurance CEO's face on it to the insurance company offices.

Even if you can't be with us in person you can help us arrest their fax machines and shut them down! Imagine - thousands upon thousands of wanted posters showing up at the offices of the insurance companies.

The insurance companies have committed awful crimes against the American people:

• They violate contracts by selling you insurance and then denying you care¹
• They launder money through other front groups - including tens of millions through the ultra right-wing Chamber of Commerce²
• They pervert our democracy by bribing public officials by spending millions per day on corporate lobbyists³
• And 45,000 people die every year because they don't have insurance⁴

It's time to arrest them, and you can help. Click here to deputize yourself and we'll automatically send a fax to the insurance companies to let them know we're coming after them!

Today we're arresting the insurance companies. Tomorrow we're taking our message to Congress with a citizens' lobbying day on Capitol Hill. We'll tell Congress that they need to listen to the people, not insurance company criminals, and pass health reform that works for us - now!
President Obama has called for an up-or-down vote on health reform by Easter. Congress is already gearing up to meet the deadline.⁵

It's time to stand up together and stop the insurance companies.
Click here to help us arrest the insurance companies right now! We'll automatically send them a fax!

To your health,
Levana Layendecker
Health Care for America Now

The Obama administration believes it gained a valuable boost last week in getting health care passed when a 50th Democratic senator informally announced he would back reconciliation fixes to the bill.

Not that there remains any doubt that the Senate has the will to get legislative changes passed by an up-or-down vote -- rather White House officials view the news as the surest sign of commitment that the Senate will make alterations to adapt reform more to the liking of House Democrats.

"It is a sign of momentum," one top Obama aide told the Huffington Post.

As it stands now, the major health care hurdle confronting Democrats is in the House of Representatives, where a handful of lawmakers remain skeptical about passing the Senate bill pro forma. For weeks, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) has looked for a formal commitment from Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that the chamber will use reconciliation to pass amendments to the bill. At one point, there was discussion of the Senate actually amending its bill before the House voted on it -- though that was scuttled due to the rather crude parliamentary reality that you can't change legislation that isn't yet law). At another point, talk spread that Reid was circulating a letter, to be signed by 50 other Democratic senators, pledging to use reconciliation to change their bill.

At the time, Reid's office insisted that was just a rumor. But with freshmen Alaska Democrat, Mark Begich, becoming the 50th Senator to say they will back reconciliation, the practical purpose of such a letter has been achieved.

Whether Pelosi can now use that sign of commitment to reconciliation fixes to persuade her caucus to back the Senate bill remains to be seen. Members, undoubtedly, will be pleased to see some of the backroom deals stripped from the language. And added subsidies for insurance coverage as well as a deferred date for the start of the excise tax makes the legislation more palatable to voters back home. But other side issues that can't be changed through reconciliation, such as abortion, still present a threat to passage and are keeping congressional aides cautious.

"[P]art of this deal will be making sure the House believes we can fix the things they want fixed," said one Senate aide. "But the real uphill battle is if she has the votes to pass the bill to begin with."

White House Optimistic That House Has Health Care Cover

Robert P. Watson, Ph.D. Coordinator of American Studies
Lynn University
Email: rwatson@lynn.edu

I am always being asked to grade Obama's presidency. In place of offering him a grade, I put together a list of his accomplishments thus far. I think you would agree that it is very impressive. His first six months have been even more active than FDRs or LBJs the two standards for such assessments. Yet, there is little media attention given to much of what he has done. Of late, the media is focusing almost exclusively on Obama's critics, without holding them responsible for the uncivil, unconstructive tone of their disagreements or without holding the previous administration responsible for getting us in such a deep hole. The misinformation and venom that now passes for political reporting and civic debate is beyond description.

As such, there is a need to set the record straight. What most impresses me is the fact that Obama has accomplished so much not from a heavy-handed or top-down approach but from a style that has institutionalized efforts to reach across the aisle, encourage vigorous debate, and utilize town halls and panels of experts in the policy-making process. Beyond the accomplishments, the process is good for democracy and our democratic processes have been battered and bruised in recent years.

Let me know if I missed anything in the list (surely I did).

1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending
2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices
3. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women
4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
6. Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information
7. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier's family
8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act
9. Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible
10. Limits on lobbyist's access to the White House
11. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration
12. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date
13. Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan
14. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
15. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
16. New federal funding for science and research labs
17. States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards
18. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect
19. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
20. New funds for school construction
21. The prison at Guantanamo Bay is being phased out
22. US Auto industry rescue plan
23. Housing rescue plan
24. $789 billion economic stimulus plan
25. The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying
26. US financial and banking rescue plan
27. The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed
28. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards
29. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops
30. The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010
31. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols
32. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic
33. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions
34. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office
35. Successful release of US captain held by Somali pirates; authorized the SEALS to do their job
36. US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast
37. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles
38. Cash for clunkers program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulated auto sales
39. Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government
40. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
41. Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program
42. Instituted a new policy on Cuba , allowing Cuban families to return home to visit loved ones
43. Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
44. Expanding vaccination programs
45. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters
46. Closed offshore tax safe havens
47. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals
48. Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs; the new policy is to promote in-sourcing to bring jobs back
49. Ended the previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry's predatory practices
50. Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources
51. Lower drug costs for seniors
52. Ended the previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings
53. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel
54. Improved housing for military personnel
55. Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses
56. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals
57. Increasing student loans
58. Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program
59. Sent envoys to Middle East and other parts of the world that had been neglected for years; reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy
60. Established a new cyber security office
61. Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force; this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc.
62. Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts
63. Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness
64. Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient
65. Students struggling to make college loan payments can have their loans refinanced
66. Improving benefits for veterans
67. Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access than previous administration
68. Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud
69. The FDA is now regulating tobacco
70. Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules
71. Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific and environmental rules, regulations, and reports
72. Authorized discussions with North Korea and private mission by Pres. Bill Clinton to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons
73. Authorized discussions with Myanmar and mission by Sen. Jim Web to secure the release of an American held captive
74. Making more loans available to small businesses
75. Established independent commission to make recommendations on slowing the costs of Medicare
76. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court
77. Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care for veterans
78. Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000
79. Renewed loan guarantees for Israel
80. Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan
81. Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan
82. New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid, development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by Afghans
83. Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production
84. Returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and private living quarters
85. Paid for redecoration of White House living quarters out of his own pocket
86. Held first Seder in White House
87. Attempting to reform the nation's healthcare system which is the most expensive in the world yet leaves almost 50 million without health insurance and millions more under insured
88. Has put the ball in play for comprehensive immigration reform
89. Has announced his intention to push for energy reform
90. Has announced his intention to push for education reform.......

Oh, and he built a swing set for the girls outside the Oval Office

While Sarah Palin is busy telling Americans that the current healthcare bill is government takeover of healthcare, it seems in the past she found the Canadian system better than what she had in Alaska. The GOP has elevated the definition of hypocrisy. Their evilness with regards to what is best for America is without precedent in our country.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- who has gone to great lengths to hype the supposed dangers of a big government takeover of American health care -- admitted over the weekend that she used to get her treatment in Canada's single-payer system.

"We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada," Palin said in her first Canadian appearance since stepping down as governor of Alaska. "And I think now, isn't that ironic?"

The irony, one guesses, is that Palin now views Canada's health care system as revolting: with its government-run administration and 'death-panel'-like rationing. Clearly, however, she and her family once found it more alluring than, at the very least, the coverage available in rural Alaska. Up to the age of six, Palin lived in a remote town near the closest Canadian city, Whitehorse.

Officials at several hospitals in that area declined to give out information on patient visits.

Palin Crossed Border For Canadian Health Care

Senator Mark Begich is open to using reconciliation for health reform.  From a letter to a constituent:

Thank you for contacting me regarding health care reform.

The reconciliation process is a budgetary tool used to address spending and deficit issues with a simple majority vote.  The budget reconciliation process has been used 22 times by both parties since 1980.  Action to clean up the health reform bill will further reduce the deficit.

Comprehensive health care reform has already passed the Senate with 60 votes.  If the House passes the Senate bill, the President could sign that version of comprehensive reform into law. I believe reconciliation would only be used as a tool to take out special backroom deals and to eliminate concerns raised by many Alaskans I've talked with.  The President has proposed narrow changes which I support, including completely closing the coverage gap for seniors' prescription drugs, eliminating the special Nebraska funding provision, providing additional federal financing to all states to help pay for the expansion of Medicaid, and strengthening the Medicare waste, fraud, and abuse provisions.

Again, thank you for contacting me.  As the 111th Congress moves forward, please continue to be in touch with your thoughts and concerns.

Sincerely,
Mark Begich
U.S. Senator

That makes 50 Senators publicly open to using reconciliation to finish health reform without any maybes.  There will be a reconciliation fix to the Senate health bill, as long as the House first passes one.

Open Left:: Mark Begich open to reconciliation for health reform--that makes 50 without any maybes

It's a truism that when the parties battle, some independents and non-political people turn off to both parties. But that hides the fact that there are winners and losers in the battle for public opinion. One big loser is health insurance companies, but they are only marginally less trusted than Republican Congressional leaders.

This Gallup poll released yesterday notes:

Americans remain more confident in the healthcare reform recommendations of President Obama (49%) than in the recommendations of the Democratic (37%) or Republican (32%) leaders in Congress. But these confidence levels are lower than those measured in June, suggesting that the ongoing healthcare reform debate has taken a toll on the credibility of the politicians involved.

Take a look at the numbers (click for bigger pic):

But take a look at the expanded graph for who the real losers are:

Republican leaders, 32. Health insurance 26. Losers.

Hey, you can take my word for it. I'm a doctor, and I come in at 77. And I'm telling you, health reform needs to pass. And I am far from alone. CONTINUED

Daily Kos: Gallup: Obama Retains More Trust Than Republican Leaders On Health Reform

ABC has fact checked whether the Senate bill pays for abortion. It does not. LISTEN.