ANybody elsew watching the health debate?

[VinnieKulick]

Some of the people talking seem really well informed and have a lot of common sense.

Some, (McCain, Biden) don't know what they're talking about, or are so confused they seem incompetent.


Leave it to the President to show America how fucked up their leadership actually is.

[vanitybinge]

So you want to know if I'm turning off my laboriously hand-picked PunkOffNDie playlist to watch a bunch of geriatric old money on CSPAN argue about my hospital bills?


FINE. I'll do it THIS time.

[vanitybinge]

They should do this more often. I feel like I understand both sides much better.

Here's the way I'd like it:

FIRST, I would call for immediate emergency coverage for all jobless Americans who currently have no insurance or have just lost it, and need immediate care until the bill is passed..

Guaranteed health care for all americans - for it
Free market option to buy your own insurance - for it
maintaining the right to fire your IP and/or hold them accountable - for it
must accept applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions - for it
regulations against dropping coverage when you're sick or dying - for it
regulations against dropping coverage when you lose your job - for it
mandatory purchasing for all americans, regardless of income - NOT for it
Interstate shopping available - for it
Providing options for worker pools similar to Congress - for it
Whatever they said would save $150B a year - for it (I believe it was interstate shopping)
Doing it all at once and not incrementally - for it

This way, requiring employers to provide insurance wont be necessary. Worker's comp is obviously needed in case you get hurt on the job.

I would also consider medical malpractice a federal crime.

that could work well, without being "too Socialist"

(I might change this up as we talk about it)

[bane]

They should do this more often. I feel like I understand both sides much better.

Here's the way I'd like it:

FIRST, I would call for immediate emergency coverage for all jobless Americans who currently have no insurance or have just lost it, and need immediate care until the bill is passed..

Guaranteed health care for all americans - for it
Free market option to buy your own insurance - for it
maintaining the right to fire your IP and/or hold them accountable - for it
must accept applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions - for it
regulations against dropping coverage when you're sick or dying - for it
regulations against dropping coverage when you lose your job - for it
mandatory purchasing for all americans, regardless of income - NOT for it
Interstate shopping available - for it
Providing options for worker pools similar to Congress - for it
Whatever they said would save $150B a year - for it (I believe it was interstate shopping)
Doing it all at once and not incrementally - for it

This way, requiring employers to provide insurance wont be necessary. Worker's comp is obviously needed in case you get hurt on the job.

I would also consider medical malpractice a federal crime.

that could work well, without being "too Socialist"

(I might change this up as we talk about it)

I'm interested to hear how you plan to pay for all that?

[VinnieKulick]

Guaranteed health care for all americans - against it
Free market option to buy your own insurance - for it
maintaining the right to fire your IP and/or hold them accountable - We already have that with the free market. Don't like our IP, stop paying the premiums and start getting a new one.
must accept applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions - for it
regulations against dropping coverage when you're sick or dying - for it
regulations against dropping coverage when you lose your job - Against it. If your employer is paying the majority of your heath care costs, and you aren't valuable enough for them to retain your services, they shouldn't have to be required to keep paying your premiums
mandatory purchasing for all americans, regardless of income - NOT for it
Interstate shopping available - for it
Providing options for worker pools similar to Congress - for it
Whatever they said would save $150B a year - Instead of this, can we eliminate the $500 Billion Obama claims he can cut by eliminating fraud and waste?
Doing it all at once and not incrementally - Against it. Start with the most pressing matters first, the pre existing conditions. Then, one by one, set up a panel of both parties to address each issue, and make a seperate bill for each issue, and insure it can be funded without adding to the deficit.

I would not consider medical malpractice a federal crime. Not all "malpractice" is due to doctor error. A lot of it is equipment failure, patient's bodies not cooperating and plain old bad luck. If something is so obscene that it requires attention from the AMA or the licensing boards, then let THEM handle it.

[MickeyG]

There must be some of these issues where both sides agree, and then a bunch where they don't.

Why can't some bright spark just write a bill with just the things that both sides agree on and get the fucker passed? We have to start somewhere. All the wasted time on this already is a disgrace and congress and the Senate should be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves.

They can argue over other bills with the contentious issues in them later on. Just do something for the good of the country for once, you fucks.

[Thebottomline]

Some of the people talking seem really well informed and have a lot of common sense.

Some, (McCain, Biden) don't know what they're talking about, or are so confused they seem incompetent.


Leave it to the President to show America how fucked up their leadership actually is.

I was impressed by McCain. I just watched a small clip from over at CNN and it showed McCain speaking and he was bringing up about campaign promises (meaning that campaing promises should be kept because thats what got Obama elected) and how the debate was all supposed to be aired on espn but most of the deals were behind closed doors and some states got special interest and that wasn't fair to the American people as a whole. Obama's response to McCain was retarded saying that they are no longer campaigning against each other. Obama totally missed McCains point. McCain was doing his job by also speaking for the people of his state who he talked to in town hall meetings.

[vanitybinge]

I'm interested to hear how you plan to pay for all that?

I'm clueless. These are the ideas that were being discussed around the table. I'm just pointing out which ones I caught and my opinion on them.

Guaranteed health care for all americans - against it
-Why?

maintaining the right to fire your IP and/or hold them accountable - We already have that with the free market. Don't like our IP, stop paying the premiums and start getting a new one.
-As long as that song remains the same, we're on the same page.

regulations against dropping coverage when you lose your job - Against it. If your employer is paying the majority of your heath care costs, and you aren't valuable enough for them to retain your services, they shouldn't have to be required to keep paying your premiums
-I was directing that more towards those who have an individual plan and become unemployed. Obviously, if you're fired, the boss shouldn't have to keep you under their IP.

Whatever they said would save $150B a year - Instead of this, can we eliminate the $500 Billion Obama claims he can cut by eliminating fraud and waste?
-Can you elaborate?

Doing it all at once and not incrementally - Against it. Start with the most pressing matters first, the pre existing conditions. Then, one by one, set up a panel of both parties to address each issue, and make a seperate bill for each issue, and insure it can be funded without adding to the deficit.
-Makes sense

I would not consider medical malpractice a federal crime. Not all "malpractice" is due to doctor error. A lot of it is equipment failure, patient's bodies not cooperating and plain old bad luck. If something is so obscene that it requires attention from the AMA or the licensing boards, then let THEM handle it.
-Machines, bad patients, etc., this is all determined in the court. There's so many doctors accused of personal shafting, I think they should feel a harsher law in that regard.

[JakeYonkel]

I actually got REJECTED by Blue Cross in an application for medical insurance today!

I'm covered by my wife's plan through her job but I could have saved $200 a month on my own.

Aw, heck. C'mon Barry, Jake needs insurance.

[Landshark2000]

I was watching this morning while I got ready for work, and thought it went better than I had expected. Obama looked like a marriage counselor who was trying to meditate the fighting couple (except for the fact that he was not-so-secretly banging the wife). J/K

All and all, except for Pelosi's anticipated vacuous babble, and Reid's anticipated dickheadedness ... both sides were pretty cordial, well informed, and really seemed to care about this issue. I was surprised at how most conducted themselves on both sides.

Personally I feel that addressing the fraud, bullshit lawsuits and accepting people with pre-existing conditions should be dealt with first, then tackle the rest. This is too big an issue to try to tackle all at once. I know there are legitimate malpractice lawsuits, but so many are fraud, and are either driving good doctors out of business or driving costs up. Fix Medicare, address fraud, make sure people can be insured, even when sick. Then take on the other stuff...

Just my $ .02

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

I actually got REJECTED by Blue Cross in an application for medical insurance today!

I'm covered by my wife's plan through her job but I could have saved $200 a month on my own.

Aw, heck. C'mon Barry, Jake needs insurance.

Danger Danger is a preexisting condition, Jake. Surprised you didn't know that.

[vanitybinge]

Personally I feel that addressing the fraud, bullshit lawsuits and accepting people with pre-existing conditions should be dealt with first, then tackle the rest. This is too big an issue to try to tackle all at once. I know there are legitimate malpractice lawsuits, but so many are fraud, and are either driving good doctors out of business or driving costs up. Fix Medicare, address fraud, make sure people can be insured, even when sick. Then take on the other stuff...

Just my $ .02

You're right about the fraud, when it comes to bad doctors vs gold-digging patients, the issue is hairer than a pirates asshole. Something needs to be done, wether its more cameras in the hospitals or more thorough record keeping of all procedures, as well as a flag on the medical record for anyone who's been caught trying to cheat the hospital.

[JakeYonkel]

I actually got REJECTED by Blue Cross in an application for medical insurance today!

I'm covered by my wife's plan through her job but I could have saved $200 a month on my own.

Aw, heck. C'mon Barry, Jake needs insurance.

Danger Danger is a preexisting condition, Jake. Surprised you didn't know that.

[Crazy Levi]

Obama and the democrat leadership will not do this. They are insistent in ramming through their comprehensive bill regardless of what the mood in the country is. Good luck in November.

Kissing Republican ass won't help them in the polls either. I think ramming it through, Bush Style, is certainly the way to go. They really have nothing to lose and playing "not to lose" has fucked the Democrats for a decade.