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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]
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.
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:
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:
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."
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).
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.
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. SenatorThat 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
| If we ever needed a great example of how Washington is broken, we got it this week. One Republican Senator spent days using every procedural trick he could to delay an extension of unemployment benefits in the worst economy we've had in decades. Only the overwhelming attention to the issue caused the other side to finally stand down and allow the vote to go forward. One thing we can be sure of: we'll get the same games around legislation for clean energy reform to address the climate change crisis. And this is just too important to play games around. We need the good jobs that'll come from building the new clean economy, and our planet desperately needs us to stop polluting the air. But we saw this week that when the pressure intensifies, we can break through the obstruction and games to get results. But only you can bring that pressure. So please, take a moment and call your Senators and let them know that you want action. Call the Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121, and they'll connect you to your Senator. When you call, be polite but firm in your resolve to see action on this critical issue. Tell them why this is important to you, and that you demand that they support immediate action on clean energy and climate change. They need to know that you care about this. Look, this isn't as partisan an issue as many we've seen. I've been working hard with Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, on the legislation, and I've had productive meetings with other Republicans. But we need to raise the level of urgency across the board to get the result we need. We need to protect our climate from carbon pollution. And reforming the way we create energy will repower our economy, creating investment and good jobs and putting our country back in control of our own energy again. This is a critical step that we have to take. So make that call today. Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senators. They need to hear from you. Thank you, |