Thursday, December 1, 2011

Despite GOP Claims, U.S. Health Care Nowhere Near ‘Best’ in the World | NationofChange

Despite GOP Claims, U.S. Health Care Nowhere Near ‘Best’ in the World | NationofChange:
by: Wendell Potter
Excerpt:
"Last week, the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) released the results of its most recent study of the health care systems in its member countries, including the U.S., plus six others, for a total of 40. And those results are illuminating.
If Boehner and his fellow Republicans had characterized the U.S. system as the most expensive in the world, they would have been right on target. But they would have been way off base by calling it the best."
Last week, the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) released the results of its most recent study of the health care systems in its member countries, including the U.S., plus six others, for a total of 40. And those results are illuminating.
If Boehner and his fellow Republicans had characterized the U.S. system as the most expensive in the world, they would have been right on target. But they would have been way off base by calling it the
Last week, the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD) released the results of its most recent study of the health care systems in its member countries, including the U.S., plus six others, for a total of 40. And those results are illuminating.
If Boehner and his fellow Republicans had characterized the U.S. system as the most expensive in the world, they would have been right on target. But they would have been way off base by calling it the best.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Sunday, October 30, 2011

How many dreams fall prey to health care costs? | StarTribune.com

How many dreams fall prey to health care costs? | StarTribune.com:
This has great arguments and stories supporting the need to separate my access to health care from what job I have.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Heart Failure Care Influenced by Insurance Coverage

Heart Failure Care Influenced by Insurance Coverage: "Heart Failure Care Influenced by Insurance Coverage"

If "Insurance" wasn't part of our system of how to access health care, we wouldn't have to worry about "coverage".

Yes, let's put health care on the table | StarTribune.com

Yes, let's put health care on the table | StarTribune.com:
This is a great argument for states to do their own thing for universal single payer health care.
'via Blog this'

Friday, October 21, 2011

ANALYSIS: Republican field shies away from history on insurance mandate | iWatch News

ANALYSIS: Republican field shies away from history on insurance mandate | iWatch News:
Single Payer is still the best bet but still not passable. This article shows how flip flopping has become the norm. I certainly would prefer a model that provided that all citizens were guaranteed health care and not one that 'mandated' that you buy an insurance policy. I am going through trying to figure out which Medicare Supplement to get and the annual review of Part D coverage. No wonder most people don't switch even if they can save money. It is a nightmare. And then you get all that paperwork every time you go to the doctor. All that crap is intended for one purpose -- to provide profit for insurance companies. We really need to get them out of our health care and out from between us and our doctors.

'via Blog this'

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Editorial: Precious few ideas on long-term care | StarTribune.com

Editorial: Precious few ideas on long-term care | StarTribune.com:
We really need to address this long term care issue when reforming how our health care is paid for.

'via Blog this'

Friday, September 16, 2011

Premiums will drop for private Medicare plans, Obama administration says - The Washington Post

Rather than continuing this subsidy to big insurance companies the Advantage Plans should be scrapped and just have all Medicare coverage be via fee for service plans - at least until we have a true Single Payer system.
[The article will also be available at this link in case the Post deletes it.]

Monday, August 29, 2011

Age, wage to play big roles in health cost

 
The pros and cons of the new law are mentioned here. Interesting that WI Gov. Walker's people in the office giving this report are mentioned as opposed to the new law. This law is complex, hard to understand and will continue to rankle people on all sides of the issue. A simple single payer system would fix this. But, how do we overcome the cash cow resistance to such change generated by the insurance industry?

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Non-Profit in Name Only

This article shows how the non-profit insurance companies talk and act like a for-profit one and how the new law has them salivating over the money which it drives in their direction.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Health Care Plan - LTE

Letter to Editor LinkLove this quote from the LTE:
"As I see it, the Paul Ryan Republican Tea Party health care plan is to put us in the basement of our outhouses and make us think we will come out with a new suit on! "
Ryan and his billionaire supporters think we're too dumb to see what they have us wearing.  I think it's time for us to uncover what they are trying to hide -- their real motivation and the real outcomes that will adversely affect the vast majority of us.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Report: Systems to catch Medicaid fraud inadequate

Click Here for article: Report: Systems to catch Medicaid fraud inadequate

It is always interesting to note that this medical vendor fraud issue always comes out relative to Medicare/Medicaid government payments. The majority of such fraud relates to the private insurance companies --the ones we all use and those same ones actually handle/pay the bulk of the Medicare/Medicaid medical bills. Those private insurance company problems with fraud are hidden from us - even when it affects our personal premiums and our tax burden. They hide it for business reasons -- competition. They hide it the same as credit card companies and banks avoid public notice of fraud. If all the medical bills were paid with the same system, monitoring and investigation would be much easier. With literally hundreds of medical bill payers out there (not including all of us individuals paying bills) the complexity just aids the fraudulent vendors.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Specialists Often Turn Away Kids With Public Insurance: Report

Specialists Often Turn Away Kids With Public Insurance: Report: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
"Two-thirds of kids with public insurance were unable to get a doctor's appointment, compared to 11 percent of privately insured children. Kids covered by Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) who did receive appointments also faced far longer average wait times -- 42 days to see a specialist compared to 20 days for kids with private insurance."

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Medica plan may be glimpse of future | StarTribune.com

Medica plan may be glimpse of future | StarTribune.com:
Excerpt:

"John Naylor, Medica's vice president of sales and account services, said the new plan moves from a "cost shift" to a "cost share" model.

"Employers are making decisions behind the scenes about the level of benefit and the kind of contribution they'll make," he said. "Maybe they'll lower their benefits or find ways to lower cost, or you as an employee take on more. 'My Plan' offers a way for employers to control costs, but to give me as an employee more flexibility and choice."

Simeon Schindelman, Medica's senior vice president of commercial markets, said the company spent about a year working on the program, based on feedback from some of its 200 brokers as well as businesses."

I wonder about getting feedback from "brokers as well as businesses" and not from providers and patients/employees. This seems like just a new twist on the high deductible models.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Plain Talk: Ryan’s plan plays into hands of insurers

Plain Talk: Ryan’s plan plays into hands of insurers: "There’s a much better way. Don’t destroy Medicare as Ryan would have the U.S. do, but extend it to everyone from the day they’re born to the day they die. For the inflated prices we’re now spending for health care, we could cover every American and still save money — more money than the Ryan “reform” could ever do."

Monday, May 30, 2011

Barbara Quirk: Vermont is leading the way on health care

Barbara Quirk: Vermont is leading the way on health care:
"Indeed, single-payer health reform is supported by a majority of Vermont residents, and although the current legislation falls short of that standard, it goes a long way to ensure high-quality, comprehensive and affordable care.

The Vermont plan, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will be overseen by a five-person board. It is a Canadian look-alike model.

This is not a new idea for Vermont. In 2006, legislation was passed providing the foundation for health care reform. Each year since then Vermont’s administration and legislature have worked collaboratively to pass additional legislation that clarifies and enhances the 2006 act."

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Medicare and Mediscares - NYTimes.com

Medicare and Mediscares - NYTimes.com: Krugman takes on Ryan. Here's an excerpt. See full column for details. "Then people who actually know how to read a budget proposal started looking at the plan. And that’s when everything started to fall apart. "

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Security gaps pose a risk in digitalizing medical data - Washington Times

Security gaps pose a risk in digitalizing medical data - Washington Times:-
A lot of money and effort is going into this electronic records push. Not only is it questonable that it will work are intended and whether it will save money but we also have to watch what it will mean for our privacy (assuming we still have any). Article in at above link and can also be accessed via this one.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Bill Berry: While Americans shout about health care, Canadians love theirs

Bill Berry: While Americans shout about health care, Canadians love theirs:
An Excerpt:
"This kind of stuff ought to be required reading for a long-overdue discussion about health care in America. The trouble is, we Americans don’t talk about health care. We just shout at each other. Special interests fan the fire by throwing bales of money on it — and meanwhile, living, breathing human beings fall through the cracks every day. In a country with so much concentrated wealth, this is shameful."
If link doesn't work, try this.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Take Action MN's View

Take Action says we have a corporate take over of public health care programs, that the rural areas and communities of color are hit hardest and they propose we need a new model of how health care is funded that takes the profit out of how decisions are made.  This article was well worth sharing.

Friday, April 22, 2011

UnitedHealth's 1Q profit climbs 13 percent

UnitedHealth's 1Q profit climbs 13 percent:
Rising profits, rising CEO pay, much via public tax funded programs. Is this what we want in health care payment reform? I guess it is what I'd want if I were a United Health investor or big shot manager. BUT.........................
(If link to article above doesn't work, try this.)

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Ludicrous and Cruel - NYTimes.com

Ludicrous and Cruel - NYTimes.com: Voodoo Economics -- mentions Medicare and health care costs and points out the added cost of the middle man if vouchers are put in requiring going to the private market. In case you reached your limit on viewing NYT articles or this link expires, the column can be viewed at this link.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Plain Talk: How corporate spin sets public agenda

Plain Talk: How corporate spin sets public agenda:
Great column on Potter's book.
An excerpt: "Specifically, “Deadly Spin” describes how the health insurance industry has been able to demonize any plan to improve health coverage for Americans, including so-called ObamaCare, which for the first time expands health coverage to millions of citizens who have had to go without in our terribly broken health system.
Potter insists that much of the vehement anti-health care reform rhetoric trumpeted by Republican politicians and “angry” tea partiers is being orchestrated and underwritten by for-profit insurance corporations. While those corporations assure consumers they really care about consumers’ health, the truth, according to Potter, is that millions die as a result of inadequate health care, and it’s all aimed at increasing profits."
If above link to article doesn't work, try this one.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Winona Daily News Editorial on HMO's running Medicaid

Our view: Making sure Minnesota gets the best deal:
These comments talk about transparency and accountability. It mentions how HMOs hide behind the idea of not having to reveal "Trade Secrets". In Minnesota HMOs, by law, are to be non-profits. However, they operate as "for profits" are are beholden to the big boy "for profit" - United Health. All states should be pushing for reducing the political control the big multi-million dollar HMO/insurance CEOs have of the legislative process.
If the link to the editorial doesn't work, a copy is here.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Dr. Frank Bures: Doctors overwhelmed by needless regulation

Dr. Frank Bures: Doctors overwhelmed by needless regulation:
If the above link to the article doesn't work, try this copy.

This local Doc's comments on the red tape he has to deal with and how it raises cost are worth considering in the efforts at reform. An excerpt:
"In order to implement the process, immense expense will be incurred to the benefit of the medical computer companies, such as Cerner, which has Winona in its grip. Every time there needs to be a change, it’s an “upgrade,” leading to additional cost. This adds to the charges you and I pay for “medical care.”

The private insurers have followed suit, and have cleverly twisted it further to their advantage to add even more layers of insurance cost, siphoning off real dollars that could be spent for true medical care.

This is a small fraction of the complexity that has become everyday life

for doctors. The insurers, private or public, the administrations of hospital groups, the bureaucrats assigned to monitor “health care” have become entirely self-serving and self-perpetuating."

Monday, March 7, 2011

Editorial from Mass. : Official’s single-payer comment worth longer look - Watertown, MA - Watertown TAB & Press

Editorial: Official’s single-payer comment worth longer look - Watertown, MA - Watertown TAB & Press

"It sounds strange, but one way to rein in health costs may be to get the private sector to become as efficient as the government."

Minn. Senator Wants To Kick HMOs Out of Public Health Plans

Created: 03/06/2011 10:44 PM KSTP.com

State Senator, John Marty, (DFL) Roseville, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS  that he plans to introduce legislation this week that would eliminate seven HMOs from delivering public health care plans like Meidicaid and Minn-Care.  Marty says HMOs spend three billion dollars of your tax dollars every year on public health care plans and do not open their books to state auditors. According to HMOs, they made a 109-million dollar profit on those programs in 2009 alone. Marty says, if HMOs are unwilling to submit to state audits, then he wants them removed from the process entirely.
Marty says the state of Connecticut faced a similar issue with HMOs refusing to submit to state audits, so the governor in that state kicked them out of the public programs. The Minnesota Council on Health Plans declined our request for an on-camera interview, but in a written statement the HMOs say they have delivered high quality health care at an affordable price to low-income Minnesotans for 25 years. They also said there are better options to transparency and efficiency than having government take over health care.

[Full newspaper article and series of KSTP stories in this document.]

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Power Point Presentation on the Need for Reform

United Health's incredibly wealthy CEO Helmsley flustered by protesters

MN Progressive Project:: United Health's incredibly wealthy CEO Helmsley flustered by protesters

This article on what Take Action did at a speech by Helmsley is great. We need more of this.
If the above link doesn't work, try this one.

A Union Guy, a Teabagger and a CEO

"A unionized public employee, a teabagger, and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table there is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the teabagger and says, "Look out for that union guy -- he wants a piece ...of your cookie."

Seems to relate to the Wendel Potter article in NYT in above link.  If that link doesn't work, try this one.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

When Democracy Weakens - NYTimes.com

When Democracy Weakens - NYTimes.com: This column covers what is at the heart of why we can't move faster to reform our health care payment system. If this link to the NYT doesn't work for you, try this link to a copy.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

15 Executives Who Get Paid Millions To Deny You Health Care Coverage | Wall St. Cheat Sheet

15 Executives Who Get Paid Millions To Deny You Health Care Coverage | Wall St. Cheat Sheet:
[If that link doesn't work, the article can be viewed at this url.]
This shows the exorbitant salaries insurance execs are getting. Even the so called non-profit HMO ones are at our health care trough way too big time. You can search and find examples in your area like this:
Michael Morrow, Blue Plus (subsidiary of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of MN): $1,800,962
Mary Brainerd, HealthPartners: $1,583 ,080
David Tilford, Medica: $1,198,541
Nancy Feldman, U Care: $658,027
Then look at how administrative costs/salaries at hospitals and clinics have skyrocketed. That cost of health care has risen much, much faster than the pay of doctors and other providers. Salary at even small non-profit hospitals often exceeds half a million. These high exec. salaries seem driven by the corporate culture in the country which says you have to pay them like pro-athletes and movie stars in order to make money for the company. Reform of CEO pay levels is right up there with the need to reform campaign contribution laws.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Rationing is not the only alternative | StarTribune.com

Rationing is not the only alternative | StarTribune.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
This is a good response from a PNHP doc regarding whether and how we ration medical care.
An excerpt: "

It is highly misleading to tell the public that our choice is between continued high numbers of uninsured people or rationing. Our choice is continued high numbers of the uninsured vs. cutting the enormous administrative waste and corporate profit out of our system with a single-payer system that allows us to lower the prices we pay for medical services, drugs and devices to levels paid in other countries."

In case the article is dropped from the Trib. website it is available here.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Review of Impact on Medicare Program for Investment Income That Medicare Advantage Organizations Earned and Retained From Medicare Funds in 2007

Report Office of Audit Services Office of Inspector General

This report could help with information concerning how the insurance companies are wasting our Medicare money and how Congress keeps screwing up the simplicity of how Medicare was intended to operate.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Medicare for All - Race to the One

Article Link
The column below is well worth repeating. Makes me think of the possibilities of a contest between MN and WI for a Race to the One -- a one payer system providing universal access to medical care.
*****************

Insurance company profits vs. care for all

Cap Times editorial | Posted: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 7:00 am
Americans are divided over the question of how best to reform a dysfunctional health care system.
But the new Republican majority in the House entertains no doubt about what must be done: The for-profit insurance industry must be restored to its “proper” place as the decider of who gets care -- and how much they will have to pay.
In the first major vote of the new Congress, the House voted 245-189 in favor of repealing the modest health care reforms approved last year.
A total of 242 Republicans -- including Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan, James Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri, Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble -- voted for repeal. So too did three conservative Democrats.
A total of 189 “no” votes were cast by Democrats -- including Wisconsinites Tammy Baldwin, Ron Kind and Gwen Moore.
House Speaker John Boehner claimed that the vote represented the will of the American people.
But did it?
Survey research suggests that, while Americans overwhelmingly support health care reform, they are not sure the reform cobbled together by President Obama and the last Congress is the proper fix. According to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, the country is split three ways: 33 percent for complete repeal of the measure adopted last year, 35 percent for partial repeal, and 30 percent for no repeal.
Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, however.
What about the tens of millions of Americans who are dissatisfied with the current law but who recognize that the whole debate about repealing it is a political show primarily designed to satisfy talk-radio hosts while exciting insurance industry campaign donors?
The Americans who oppose repeal but refuse to buy into the fantasy that the health care system has been sufficiently reformed are right. And there are a lot of them. According to the Associated Press poll, 43 percent of Americans want the government to do more to re-engineer the existing health care system.
That’s millions more than favor the repeal proposed by Republican leaders.
That level of support for more radical reform is the great untold story of the current debate.
The American people are not fools.
Substantial numbers of them understand that what is called “Obamacare” by Republicans is a compromise proposal that, at most, addresses the worst abuses of the nation’s for-profit insurers and health providers while outlining a framework for genuine reform.
Unfortunately, Congress did not take the next and necessary step toward a system that provides all Americans with high-quality health care while holding down costs, which now eat up 17 percent of GDP.
Rather, House Republicans used their new majority to push for a return to the bad old days when insurance executives were deemed to have an absolute right to their multimillion-dollar bonuses but children and others with pre-existing conditions were deemed to have a right only to beg for charity.
If the House debate on repeal of health care served a purpose, it was to illustrate the deep divide between those who believe the highest priority is to preserve insurance industry profits and those who worry about sick kids.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, summed up the whole charade with her usual precision when she invited House Republicans to consider their responsibility to represent not just corporations but the common good. “So I would argue that my good friends -- some of them are new and I appreciate their newness -- I appreciate their desire to keep a commitment to constituents -- but when you come to the Congress, you have to govern, you have to look at the whole of America,” she declared during the debate on repeal. “And therefore, looking at the whole of America, you need to look at the crux; the crux is saving lives.”
The congresswoman bluntly rejected the notion that repeal is the economic necessity Republicans suggest. Instead, she proposed, preserving reforms that protect the most vulnerable is a life-and-death necessity. “Frankly, I would just say to you, this is about saving lives. Jobs are very important; we created jobs,” explained Jackson Lee. “But even the title of their legislation, H.R. 2, ‘job-killing’ -- this is killing Americans if we take this away, if we repeal this bill.”
That’s a credible argument, to be sure.
But what of real reform? What about the changes that might get to the heart of the matter of ending the profiteering that makes health care so expensive and inaccessible?
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, brought the right perspective to the debate when he reminded the House that “everyone knows that health insurance companies make money by not providing health care. After all, they are in the insurance business. They are not charities. With as many as 129 million Americans suffering from pre-existing conditions, insurance companies want Congress to repeal health care reform. The provisions which require covering people with pre-existing conditions would eventually cut into insurance company profits.”
Kucinich warned: “Repeal means Americans will continue to pay more for insurance but get less -- that is, if they can afford health care insurance in the first place.”
But the co-author (along with Wisconsinites Baldwin and Moore) of legislation that would extend the Medicare system to all Americans, regardless of age, did not stop there.
“The very idea of health care reform solely within the context of a for-profit system has been more than problematic. Today, 50 million Americans have no health insurance. What are we going to do for them?” asked Kucinich. “Rather than waste time on debating how much reform insurance companies will permit -- if any -- it is time to change the debate. It is time to end the for-profit health care model. It is time for not-for-profit health care — single-payer, universal, Medicare for all — with an emphasis on wellness and personal responsibility.”
Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Minnesota health CEOs taking a whack at Medicaid | StarTribune.com

Minnesota health CEOs taking a whack at Medicaid | StarTribune.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
HMOs and hospitals (many of whom are owned by HMOs) recommending cuts to care and cuts to non-hospital providers does not look good. The HMOs actually need to be taken out of the system in order to save money. No record has ever been made of whether or not it is cheaper for the tax payer to use the HMOs or not. That would usually mean it is not cheaper and the HMOs are using their millions of campaign contributions and lobbying money to keep from being held accountable. Red tape wastes time and money. I can tell you that when a vendor needs to deal with five plus HMOs to process bills for poor people it is much more expensive than dealing with one pay source. They all have different paperwork, processes, what and how the cover care and different auditing methods. It all drives up the cost and takes money from actual medical care. Funneling tax money to 7 and 9 figure incomes of HMO CEOs is not my idea of good government policy. I guess it is good for the campaign coffers of our elected reps. I just wish they remembered who they were elected to represent.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Vital Signs: Wendell Potter tells of health insurance industry’s dark side

Vital Signs: Wendell Potter tells of health insurance industry’s dark side: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
I think it is important that we learn from Potter and use his story. The full article is in the link and this is an excerpt:
"This week’s vote to repeal the law in the Republican-controlled House is a “smoke screen” to mask a more sinister threat, he says: that critics will peel away the best parts of the bill rather than kill it outright.

They’ll go after the clause that allows parents to cover their children until they are 26, he warned the crowd. They’ll try to pump up the share of premiums for-profit companies can put into overhead instead of patient care. They’ll try to discriminate against the elderly. They’ll push for exemptions and waivers. And they’ll blast reform as a “one-size-fits-all” failure while demanding “greater flexibility to meet the needs of Americans” because this is the kind of simplistic jargon politicians fall for. “It may not surprise you that many lawmakers are not very smart,” Potter says, getting a laugh."

Friday, January 21, 2011

Push for Safety Oversight of Electronic Medical Records Is Moving at a Crawl

Push for Safety Oversight of Electronic Medical Records Is Moving at a Crawl:
This link is an interesting article I found that references the issues and research on electronic medical records. A piece not referenced that I wonder about is how the profit motive drives data systems. I have found that discussions about new and improved electronic data systems for health care providers seem to always start and end with how they help enhance revenue. I understand that - given our current system. What I don't understand is not mentioning that purpose in reviews of what is going on and whether or not the systems are doing what is intended. The big insurance companies and big medical vendors don't like to share much. I have been in meetings with some and the issue of protecting corporate secrets that could affect competitive advantage keeps any real communication and sharing at arm's length. Given the affect the financial bottom line has on decisions regarding electronic data systems and sharing of information, how can this whole electronic records push ever accomplish all the pie in the sky promises? No matter how great the outcome might eventually be we can't afford to do this right anyway. Seems like an expensive smoke and mirrors gimmick to distract us from the real issues.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Paul Krugman: It’s not harmony we seek; it’s an understanding of boundaries. | StarTribune.com

Paul Krugman: It’s not harmony we seek; it’s an understanding of boundaries. | StarTribune.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
I believe that what Krugman says is at the heart of the health care debate. An excerpt from his column:

What are the differences?

"One side of American politics considers the modern welfare state -- a private-enterprise economy, but one in which society's winners are taxed to pay for a social safety net -- morally superior to the capitalism red in tooth and claw we had before the New Deal.

It's only right, this side believes, for the affluent to help the less fortunate.

The other side believes that people have a right to keep what they earn, and that taxing them to support others, no matter how needy, amounts to theft.

That's what lies behind the modern right's fondness for violent rhetoric: Many activists on the right really do see taxes and regulation as tyrannical impositions on their liberty.

There's no middle ground between these views. This deep divide in American political morality -- for that's what it amounts to -- is a relatively recent development."

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Editorial: Health repeal antics are a waste of time | StarTribune.com

Editorial: Health repeal antics are a waste of time StarTribune.com
A comment on this editorial:
Sad - Politics as usual.  All the hype about 'government takeover', 'death panels', etc. are and were very well planned out gimmicks created by the insurance company lobby.  Just as they successfully did regarding Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage Plans they created (bought) an insurance company bailout law.  If we don't stop having a system that links my ability to get health care to the job I have and if we don't remove the middle man insurance moguls from how health care is paid for, we will never be able to afford this and it will fail.  The insurance multi-millionaire execs are salivating at all the money they will make off of us tax payers with the investment they made in buying politicians.  Sad!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Wendell Potter: The Health Care Spin Continues

Wendell Potter: The Health Care Spin Continues: I encourage you to read this by following the link. Here's an excerpt:
"In his new book, Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care And Deceiving Americans, he writes, “If you are among those who believe that the U.S. has the best healthcare system in the world--despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary-- it’s because my fellow spinmeisters and I succeeded brilliantly at what we were paid very well to do with your premium dollars.”

“And if you were persuaded that the health care bill President Barack Obama signed into law in March 2010 was a ‘government takeover of the health care system,’ my former colleagues and I earned every penny of our handsome salaries.”

The talking points are designed to be simple, catchy, and memorable. Think government takeover of healthcare, death panels, and socialism.

Do you like this? Click here to get Truthout stories sent to your inbox every day - free.

“And you have to say them over and over and over again. And if you hear them often enough, you think it’s true,” says Potter. “That’s why people, even today, think that the legislation created death panels. Obviously it never had anything approaching that kind of provision. People think this legislation is a government takeover of the healthcare system. In reality, it props up our private healthcare system. It guarantees that these private insurance companies are going to be profitable for years and years to come. It will require us to buy their products and it doesn’t include a public option, which we needed to have.”

- Sent using Google Toolbar"