Sebelius: Health Care For All Will Take Years

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(06-16) 07:10 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says covering the uninsured will take several years, even if Congress passes a bill and President Barack Obama signs it into law this fall.

Sebelius said in a question-and-answer session with The Associated Press Tuesday that "it won't start the day after the bill passes."

--CLIP
Sebelius said the first step would be to cover people who are eligible for existing government programs. She said after that, it could take until 2011 or 2012 to set up insurance purchasing pools and start covering the rest.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/16/national/w071021D45.DTL

[mbperrin]

1. Figures. TRILLIONS for bankers and brokers in DAYS, YEARS for

healthcare for Americans, if ever.

Well, my dad always said to expect the worst and you would rarely be disappointed....

[avaistheone1]

6. Within 72 Congress and the Senate committed that money to the banksters and Wall Street.

Fuck Sebellius.

All she is doing is carrying water for the insurance industry.

[WriteDown]

17. You nailed it.

And here's more.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3925222#3925255

[Bozita]

2. If Americans took to the streets like the Iranians, it wouldn't take nearly that long.

You could trim that estimate down to days.

[pattmarty]

7. Yeah, you're right. Fat chance it'll happen, though.

[WriteDown]

18. Too many...

Are more concerned with their flat-screen TV's and gaming consoles.

[shadowknows69]

11. Too many of us are too freaking unhealthy to do it

Believe me I'd be marching every day about something but I can't walk more than a block without my spine giving out so it wouldn't be much of an effort.

[Delphinus]

21. What would need to happen for us to do that?

Take to the streets?

Seriously ... does anyone ever wonder?

[pattmarty]

26. Oh, I don't know, maybe if "they" took off American Idol????

:sarcasm:

[LibDemAlways]

24. Americans are used to being told "no" and accepting it without

much protest. It begins with all the little crap we're subjected to on a daily basis. How many people try to use a coupon in a store and are told, "That expired yesterday" or "That's only good on Mondays before 5. You need to read the fine print." We become conditioned to being screwed in all kinds of little ways, so that when it comes to the big stuff we've already been beaten into submission. "No, sir. I'm sorry, but you can't have health care." But, but....uh, ok.

[Autumn]

3. A lot of us don't have

years left to wait.

[shadowknows69]

12. +1

Said same thing in post 10 Autumn.

[pattmarty]

27. Amen to that. I'm 62 yo.

[Soylent Brice]

4. let's sum all this up

first they say no to national HC, and arrest anyone trying to get near any hearings.

then they try to apepase with a co-op BS option

now they say, "oh well, uh... even if we do this it'll still take, uh... years, YEAH - YEARS!"

to me it sounds like they're in the last throes of putting up any kind of fight. they will have to cave to public demand eventually, as long as we keep the pressure on.

[LibDemAlways]

5. If Sebelius and her family were uninsured, you can bet she'd

be working 24/7 to expedite it and get them covered. It's clearly not something she takes personally.

[closeupready]

14. Yep. You nailed it. Sebelius doesn't give a diddly-squat whether sick people get care or not.

n/t

[Vinca]

8. Why? Open up Medicare and we all apply online.

18,000 deaths a year, Madame Secretary . . . and that is probably a very conservative number.

[snappyturtle]

23. You say open up Medicare which is fine with me but take a look at

this page from the Office of Personnel Management. This premiums chart is for a bunch of non-postal healthcare programs (fee for service) available. Seems to me that the government has had lots of experience in finding alternatives for government employees to choose from, why not us? Notice at the top of the chart columns for annual and bi-annual payments; especially notice what the government pays of the total premium due! WE'RE subsidizing THEIR insurance; time for ours too. imho

http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/rates/nonpostalffs2009.pdf

[area51]

25. Or ...

100,000 deaths per year. And that's not counting all the people who are being disabled by not being able to get timely healthcare.

[nichomachus]

9. Fine -- give us a timetable

Tell us what exactly what we can expect and when. We want "milestones" and "deliverables" -- just like they do in business plans -- and we want penalties for non-performance.

Don't just try to blow smoke up my ass by telling me we'll get "somthing" in "years." When "years" come, Sibelius and Obama will be collecting their huge pensions and doing speaking engagements and who will answer for the unfilled promises?

[WriteDown]

16. Oh, I can tell you the time table...

First it will be more than 4 years, then it will be more than 8 years if B is re-elected.

[shadowknows69]

10. Some of us may not have years Kath.

But don't worry yourself. There's only 50 million of us. By the time you get round to it there will be plenty less, making your job so much easier.

[Bozita]

13. This new thread in GDP will get your juices flowing. ... Guaranteed!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8474126

[Demeter]

15. What Incredible BS

It should take 6 months, tops. And that's just if everybody has a card issued. Otherwise, it should be walk-in, get service, bill the govt.

This isn't rocket science.

[undeterred]

19. It will take years for all the uninsured to die off

so that we are no longer a problem.

[quidam56]

20. Profit Care is more important than Patient Care in America

We MUST have health care reform this year. As a former health care giver, I am sad to see Profit Care is now more important than Patient Care. http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=62 In East Tennessee and southwest Virginia what the heath care system is selling is nothing at all like what really is their "acceptable standards " on public record in Greeneville, TN Federal Court, cases no. 2:04-cv-375. Apparently it's legal to lie about health care and legal to run false and misleading advertising about health care in TN & VA.

[aquart]

22. Funny. The banks got their money right away.

Maybe this should tell her what they're planning to do is an inadequate mess.

[slipslidingaway]

28. "to set up insurance purchasing pools" :( n/t

[Romulox]

29. the mandatory insurance premium will, no doubt, begin immediately, however! nt