Via James Pethokoukis. h/t Instapundit
“I need a crash cart, stat!” The political prospects for major U.S. healthcare reform have taken a decided turn for the worse in recent days (at least from the point of view of many Democrats). And you don’t need to be some totally plugged-in Washington insider to understand that.
God I hope so.
Posted by: Jamie Lockett | Monday, June 22, 2009 at 06:57 PM
they are going to take their plane right into the flight deck.
Posted by: mark l. | Monday, June 22, 2009 at 07:05 PM
Health Care Reform's not dead yet. The House Dems just released their plan, which does include a public plan. Since most American's actually want the health system fixed and strongly support a public option, Senate Dems will eventually come around.
Posted by: Nishner | Monday, June 22, 2009 at 07:18 PM
Not dead yet, it's in the ICU
But when this scheme collapses in congress, you can knock another 5 pts off his already-wavering poll #s.
There's not a lot of good news on the horizon for Obama, for the simple reason that he doesn't have any idea what he's doing... and the policies he favors are unlikely to work.
When all this pork and welfare fails to create any actual economic gains, the Dems face a massacre in Nov 2010- just 17 mos from now. Obama will be neutered from then-on, and the worst of his harebrained proposals will be over.
Posted by: Reaganite Republican | Monday, June 22, 2009 at 07:39 PM
La Raza is demanding that illegals be covered.
Posted by: lala | Monday, June 22, 2009 at 09:20 PM
God I hope so,too. Under Obamacare when my than 84 yr. old Mother broke her neck she would have been written off as too old to justify the momey. Thank God a year and half later she is doing wonderful and living her life with dignity.
Posted by: oldtimer | Monday, June 22, 2009 at 10:46 PM
Today there was an oped in the NY Post by a doctor who said he no longer takes Medicaid patients and limits his amount of Medicare patients. He treats some prior Medicaid for free rather than to bother with all the paperwork and the low reimbursement. He goes on to say that he has trouble finding specialists to take on his Medicare people.
Posted by: lala | Monday, June 22, 2009 at 10:53 PM
"Under Obamacare when my than 84 yr. old Mother broke her neck she would have been written off as too old to justify the momey"
That's a lie.
The majority of Americans want a public option, Obama wants it, the House Dems want it. Senate Dems who are on the fence will soon come around. Get used to it, there's gonna be a public option.
Posted by: Nishner | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 10:28 AM
The stats say at least 75 percent of people in the US are HAPPY with their health care. One govt payer will drive the other insurance companies out of business because the govt payer will determine which procedures to pay, which ones not to pay, what drugs to reseach and finance, etc.
There are over 1000 choices of insurance. WHY THE HECK DO WE NEED A GOVT PAYER? We have Medicaid and Medicare, both of which price fix everything. [another story there]
Nishner: You show either feigned ignorance or your head is in the sand.
No, it is NOT A LIE. If you control costs, then you must ration care.
Check out the wonderful...fantastic...excellent...health care in Oregon.
Gee, why isn't is on the front page of every paper as our model?
Figure it out, Einstein.
Please provide the name of a country where SOCIALIZED medicine is working...OH...THERE ISN'T ONE...!!! But, hey, if we throw enough money at it...I'm sure it will work..give me a break. It's about the power.
All of us who have paid for our insurance all of our working lives are going to subsidize a conglomerate government insurance program that will, in essense, provide us the means to KILL ourselves, but not to prolong our lives. Hey, we all have to sacrifice here. Soylent Green, anyone??
And if you think that people are going to want to become doctors...I don't think so. The lawyers are going to destroy the health care system along with our country.
It's disgusting.
REFUSING TO BE CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT...EVER!!!
Posted by: Charlotte | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 10:56 AM
"Get used to it, there's gonna be a public option."
Nope.
Because the Republicans will insist that that "public option" pay its own way and receive no government subsidy.
At that point, the lying Obama Party and its shills like you will be caught out in your attempt to use taxpayer subsidy of a so-called "public plan" to force private insurers out of business.
Posted by: North Dallas Thirty | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 12:11 PM
If the Democrats want, they can pass Health Reform without a single republican vote. And since republican are basically a wholly owned subsidiary of the insurance companies, that's probably what's going to happen.
Posted by: Nishner | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Gee, the government always runs things so efficiently...so well...so fantastically. I think of the Post Office, or Medicare, or Medicaid. All of those wonderful examples of fantastic efficiency....NOT!!!
While it is true the Dems can pass this thing without any Repub votes, there is something to be said about having it shoved down one's throat.
Oh, and IF there are no Repubs except the RINOs who vote for the health care bill then the Dems are actually going to HAVE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for the mess it's going to be. The government media drones won't be able to lie them out.
Even though they [our hallowed fantastic wonderful masters...oh, I mean, Dems] won't have to use it.
Isn't that rich?
Posted by: Charlotte | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 01:13 PM
The public actually wants a public plan.
Our health care system is a mess. It's more expensive than any other system in the world without providing better care while leaving a huge portion of our population uncovered.
So if health care fails, I guess Republicans can take the responsibility for torpedoing it - again.
Posted by: Nishner | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 01:21 PM
No, Nishner, the public (according to the polls) DOES not want a public plan. Most people are happy with their insurance, their doctors, and their medical care.
Our health care is the best in the world. There is NOT a huge portion of our population that is "uncovered". The number keeps growing and growing out of people's mouths, but there does not appear to be any concrete data out there to substantiate the numbers that keep growing. Oh, I forgot, we are supposed to worship and not question our masters...just like the Iranians, huh?
Are we allowed to only count people who want insurance but can't get it? There are a lot of people out here who can AFFORD insurance, but let the government payer (Medicaid) pick it up for them. Our tax dollars at work....how fun.
Any citizen of any country in the world can walk into a US hospital and be treated. Period. There is not any rationing of care...now.
Keep your head in the sand, Nishner. Blame the Repubs for everything. Keep up the government media line.
How about some MEDICAL PRACTICE tort reform? That would definitly help. Not holding my breath about it, though.
Posted by: Charlotte | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 03:11 PM
"The public actually wants a public plan. "
So what?
Why should we let "the public" tell us how to live, how long to live, and to hand over ever more of our lives to the benefit of others? Are we to bow and scrape whenever "the public" calls upon us?
Are we free? Or slaves?
Posted by: Rob Crawford | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 03:32 PM
"Americans overwhelmingly support substantial changes to the health care system and are strongly behind one of the most contentious proposals Congress is considering, a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/health/policy/21poll.html
No rationing of care? Really. Familiar with recicssion? That's when you pay your health premiums, get sick and the insurance company decides it doesn't want to actually cover yo anymore.
"Health Net has agreed to pay about $1.95 million to California hospitals to settle claims related to the rescission of patients' individual insurance policies, the San Fernando Valley Business Journal reports."
....
Last year, Health Net reached a separate agreement with the California Department of Insurance to offer coverage to 926 rescinded members and pay $25 million in fines.
http://www.californiahealthline.org/Articles/2009/5/28/Health-Net-Settles-With-California-Hospitals-in-Policy-Rescission-Suit.aspx
According to a new report by congressional investigators, an insurance company practice of retroactively canceling health insurance is fairly common, and it saves insurers a lot of money.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105680875&ft=1&f=1001
Define huge. Most people would call 40+ million pretty damn huge.
Posted by: Nishner | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 04:48 PM
"An investigation by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations showed that health insurers WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group and Assurant Inc. canceled the coverage of more than 20,000 people, allowing the companies to avoid paying more than $300 million in medical claims over a five-year period.
It also found that policyholders with breast cancer, lymphoma and more than 1,000 other conditions were targeted for rescission and that employees were praised in performance reviews for terminating the policies of customers with expensive illnesses."
....
"One employee, for instance, received a perfect 5 for "exceptional performance" on an evaluation that noted the employee's role in dropping thousands of policyholders and avoiding nearly $10 million worth of medical care."
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rescind17-2009jun17,0,3508020,full.story
Posted by: Nishner | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 05:50 PM
"It's more expensive than any other system in the world without providing better care while leaving a huge portion of our population uncovered."
Nimrod shows up again to share his medical expertise!
What no link to the half-assed WHO report you used the last time you showed up here to make this dumbass claim!
Way to link the NYT poll in your argument. That Pravda media rag is almost as unbiased as the WHO.
Do you have any real world experience in healthcare or do you parrot this bullshit like a little Xerxes talking point machine!
And your point that congress can just pass this attack on liberty if they want is laughable. Please, please, please let the Democrats in congress pull that stunt! 2010 is going to be a major reality check for you and your fellow Xerxes minions!
Oh that's right it's all that evil Bushie's fault! Keep up the good work, your kind is destined to be a distant memory in American politics real soon now!
Only the Dems could be so stupid to lose control of both houses and POTUS with such flair!
Posted by: SacTownMan | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 06:21 PM
Nice rant - miss your meds today?
How about John Hopkims?
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical School estimate the United States spends 44 percent more per capita than Switzerland, the country with the second highest expenditures, and 134 percent more than the median for member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Posted by: Nishner | Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 07:06 PM