Democrats Press House to Expand Health Care Bill

[Hissyspit]

Source: New York Times

Democrats Press House to Expand Health Care Bill

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: July 23, 2007
WASHINGTON, July 22 — After a rare bipartisan agreement in the Senate to expand insurance coverage for low-income children, House Democrats have drafted an even broader plan that also calls for major changes in Medicare and promises to intensify the battle with the White House over health care.

Charles B. Rangel, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, is among those calling for change.
President Bush has threatened to veto what he sees as a huge expansion of the children’s health care program, which he describes as a step “down the path to government-run health care for every American.” The House measure calls for changes that the administration will probably find even more distasteful, including cuts in Medicare payments to private health plans. Like the bill approved last week 17 to 4 in the Senate Finance Committee, the House bill would increase tobacco taxes to help finance expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

House Democrats hope to portray the issue as a fight pitting the interests of children and older Americans against tobacco and insurance companies. The White House says the Democratic proposals would distort the original intent of the children’s program, cause a big increase in federal spending and adversely affect older Americans who are happy with the extra benefits they receive from private health plans.

- snip -

The proposal comes as health care has risen to the top of the domestic agenda. Presidential candidates from both parties are searching for ways to overhaul the health care system, control costs and address the needs of the uninsured.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/washington/23health.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[rodeodance]

1. a bandaid for now---------hopefully a cure later

[Mojorabbit]

2. I am tired of tobacco taxes

It penalizes a small segment of the population. We spend an inordinant amt of money on the military industrial complex. If we cut some of these boondoggles by half, ie star wars, etc... we could fund so much.

[fencesitter]

3. good luck!

"President Bush has threatened to veto what he sees as a huge expansion of the children’s health care program, which he describes as a step “down the path to government-run health care for every American.”

That is "step up", asshole.

[donkeyotay]

4. Searching for ways to overhaul the system, but not wanting to do anything

to upset their corporate sponsors. How is it that people who "believe in the market" and think the free market can solve anything want to mandate that the entire population buy really crappy health insurance? Supply-demand. If you make everyone by this product, what happens to the price? They say it will go down because the pool of buyers is larger, but if that happens at all, it will be temporary. The price will go up, and the corrupt, immoral bastards running these companies will continue to deny coverage to leverage profits.

I just saw Sicko, and boy am I pissed.

edit: spelt checker didn't work

[sandnsea]

5. wrong fight

We should be fighting the service industry that won't pay their employees enough to pay for their own health care coverage. The tobacco industry has nothing to do with why parents can't buy their kids insurance. It made sense to do it once, to cover the cost of smoking and health care, but now it's being looked at as a cash cow and that never works in the long run.

[Vinca]

6. And who's going to fight for the self-employed, the older Americans,

the Americans with a history of any illness - I could go on and on and on - who cannot afford to buy insurance? And, if you think about it, "insurance" for anyone who isn't wealthy is nothing more than a large pile of feel-good baloney. Insurance companies first try not to pay for anything - excluding, in particular, most preventive procedures - then they agree to pay a percentage AFTER the poor person has had to hold bake sales to pay the large deductible and co-pays. If a person of average means is struck with a very serious condition they will lose everything they've worked for all their lives, even if they have purchased health "insurance." The fight must be for universal, single payer, health CARE for all Americans. Nothing less will do.

[sandnsea]

7. Cigarette taxes aren't going to pay for all of that

That's part of the point. We can't keep dumping this on smokers. They can't pay for health care for everybody.

You have to present the problem in a manner that the broadest number of people can relate to in one way or another. Everybody wants children to see a doctor. Everybody should have to pay for it.

[Vinca]

8. Agreed, but it doesn't hurt to make the stuff that's bad for you more

of a stretch to buy. I don't care how health care is funded - X% on income taxes, X% of a sales tax on everything or just taxes on booze, cigarettes and junk food. The Republicans have created a tax phobia in this country (which, of course, is the reason for the Chinese credit card to fund Dubya's war). I think most people would be surprised at the savings from universal health care and would see more cash remaining in their possession. I figured it out that the cost of private insurance (which I can't afford) and the deductible associated with it, tacked onto what I currently pay for income taxes, would amount to a 75% tax. That doesn't even take into account co-pays and the 20% of any illness insurance doesn't cover. There's no way universal coverage with an associated tax hike would come anywhere close to that amount.

[sandnsea]

9. Oh gee, why don't people vote for Democrats

Oh because they're sick of Democrats demonizing the only pleasures they have and then taxing it all up the wazoo.

This is the wrong way to pay for health care or get people to even think about wanting single payer health care. Every time Democrats do this, they send the message that we're going to have to live in a sanitized world free of anything that could be considered evil or uhealthy and the only fun thing we can do is put on our helmets and padding and go for a ride in our electric car that tops out at 15 mph. That's the perception. I cannot understand why the leadership doesn't get it.

We were doing better when we were fighting Walmart. I think the only reason we stopped was because it was hurting Hillary because she was going to have to answer to being on its board.