Monday, February 22, 2010

Will this be the final Health Care battle?

The President’s Proposal puts American families and small business owners in control of their own health care. | The White House

Everyone should read and study this document. It seems to me that all the relevant issues are addressed, compromises have been made, and both Republican AND Democratic proposals have been incorporated. This is a document that all should support. It will make for an interesting televised meeting on Thursday .. Stay tuned.

My favorite snippets from the proposed legislation:

It makes insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for tens of millions of families and small business owners who are priced out of coverage today. This helps over 31 million Americans afford health care who do not get it today – and makes coverage more affordable for many more.
Tax cuts... hmm.. I'll betcha they won't be as popular as you'd think with all the tax cut nuttery going around. After all, its tax cuts for the middle class.... Who's gonna have to pay?
Amusing......

It sets up a new competitive health insurance market giving tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress will have.
Not exactly a public option and most definately a poor cousin to the BEST system out there, the Single-Payer, but it's compromise after all.

It brings greater accountability to health care by laying out commonsense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.
I love the use of keywords like, "accountability" and "commonsense." Do Democrats have any commonsense? (Just kidding folks.... )

It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.
A no-brainer.. really!

It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years – and about $1 trillion over the second decade – by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

More key words: waste, fraud, abuse, reduce the deficit....

Ya gotta wonder though at the AP's coverage of this proposal as they put out an alert on my iPhone this morning. It sounded seriously like a last-ditch, desperation heave into the end zone of public policy. Here's the AP description from the headline today, "Obama puts forward last-ditch health care plan." And from the opening paragraph:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Making a last-ditch effort to save his health care overhaul, President Barack Obama on Monday put forward a nearly $1 trillion, 10-year compromise that would allow the government to deny or roll back egregious insurance premium increases that infuriate consumers.
I missed the part where the AP became yet another shill for right wing talking points.... Doesn't it sound like to you a really scary 1 Trillion bill? How far down in the article will it say that the proposal seeks 1 Trillion in REDUCTIONS IN THE FEDERAL DEFICIT! Republicans have already announced their opposition. (That's a stunner....) and Pelosi is looking forward to talking it over with her congresscritters....

I'm just hoping that Mr. Obama has the courage to, by God, just get this bill passed. Damn the torpedoes!

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