By a vote of 220-215 the House passed the $1.2 trillion health care plan. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against it, as did every Republican except for Joseph Cao of Louisiana.
Cao replaced William (dollar bill) Jefferson (D-LA) in a special election in a heavily democratic New Orleans district. Jefferson was indicted for bribery and corruption charges. He’s the House member with $90,000 cash in his freezer.
Cao didn’t lose it for Republicans. Neither did Owens, the Democrat that just got elected in New York’s 23rd district. Pelosi had the necessary 218 votes, just 218 votes, without them. It is important to note, however, that Owens campaigned against this health care bill in New York. He wouldn’t have won the election had he been honest (there’s a shocker) with his constituents. So within 24 hours of being elected to the House, he broke 4 campaign promises. Being against the health care bill was one of them. He also indicated during his campaign that he was firmly opposed to cutting Medicare benefits, taxing health care benefits, and increased taxes on the middle class in any way. No doubt his constituents will remember his vote and betrayal next time around.
Pelosi wouldn’t have had those 218 votes if the Stupak amendment were not passed. Which it did. Proposed by Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), the amendment to the House health bill bars federal funding for most abortions and passed on a vote of 240-194. Democrats split 64-192 against the amendment, but 176 Republicans voted in favor of it while none opposed it and Jon Shadegg (R-AZ) voted present.
For those of us who reject socialized medicine and the government takeover of a sixth of the U.S. economy, and the piling on of $1.2 trillion of debt, over and above the $8 to $10 trillion in debt already incurred by Obama’s plans and policies, there is one last chance to defeat this government takeover. The Senate still has to approve it.
It will also be interesting to see how the Stupak amendment gets neutered in the Senate and what the Democrats who oppose federal funding of abortions will do if it does.
The rubber meets the road in the Senate. We will soon see which Democrats will turn on their constituents and lie like Owens did, or are bought off with earmarks. The 2010 election can’t come soon enough.
The health bill that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is bringing to a vote (H.R. 3962) is 1,990 pages. Here are some of the details you need to know.
What the government will require you to do:
• Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires you to enroll in a “qualified plan.” If you get your insurance at work, your employer will have a “grace period” to switch you to a “qualified plan,” meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there’s no grace period. You’ll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit.
{Despite what President Obama says, you can’t keep your plan if you like it. This is how the private insurance industry will rot on the vine. In this respect, this new plan is the same as the old plan, H.R.3200}
• Sec. 224 (p. 118) provides that 18 months after the bill becomes law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will decide what a “qualified plan” covers and how much you’ll be legally required to pay for it. That’s like a banker telling you to sign the loan agreement now, then filling in the interest rate and repayment terms 18 months later.
Protestors wave signs in front of the Capitol on Thursday.
On Nov. 2, the Congressional Budget Office estimated what the plans will likely cost. An individual earning $44,000 before taxes who purchases his own insurance will have to pay a $5,300 premium and an estimated $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, for a total of $7,300 a year, which is 17% of his pre-tax income. A family earning $102,100 a year before taxes will have to pay a $15,000 premium plus an estimated $5,300 out-of-pocket, for a $20,300 total, or 20% of its pre-tax income. Individuals and families earning less than these amounts will be eligible for subsidies paid directly to their insurer.
• Sec. 303 (pp. 167-168) makes it clear that, although the “qualified plan” is not yet designed, it will be of the “one size fits all” variety. The bill claims to offer choice—basic, enhanced and premium levels—but the benefits are the same. Only the co-pays and deductibles differ. You will have to enroll in the same plan, whether the government is paying for it or you and your employer are footing the bill.
• Sec. 59b (pp. 297-299) says that when you file your taxes, you must include proof that you are in a qualified plan. If not, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt from this requirement.
{Seems Joe Wilson was right after all.}
• Sec. 412 (p. 272) says that employers must provide a “qualified plan” for their employees and pay 72.5% of the cost, and a smaller share of family coverage, or incur an 8% payroll tax. Small businesses, with payrolls from $500,000 to $750,000, are fined less.
Eviscerating Medicare:
In addition to reducing future Medicare funding by an estimated $500 billion, the bill fundamentally changes how Medicare pays doctors and hospitals, permitting the government to dictate treatment decisions.
• Sec. 1302 (pp. 672-692) moves Medicare from a fee-for-service payment system, in which patients choose which doctors to see and doctors are paid for each service they provide, toward what’s called a “medical home.”
The medical home is this decade’s version of HMO-restrictions on care. A primary-care provider manages access to costly specialists and diagnostic tests for a flat monthly fee. The bill specifies that patients may have to settle for a nurse practitioner rather than a physician as the primary-care provider. Medical homes begin with demonstration projects, but the HHS secretary is authorized to “disseminate this approach rapidly on a national basis.”
A December 2008 Congressional Budget Office report noted that “medical homes” were likely to resemble the unpopular gatekeepers of 20 years ago if cost control was a priority.
• Sec. 1114 (pp. 391-393) replaces physicians with physician assistants in overseeing care for hospice patients.
• Secs. 1158-1160 (pp. 499-520) initiates programs to reduce payments for patient care to what it costs in the lowest cost regions of the country. This will reduce payments for care (and by implication the standard of care) for hospital patients in higher cost areas such as New York and Florida.
• Sec. 1161 (pp. 520-545) cuts payments to Medicare Advantage plans (used by 20% of seniors). Advantage plans have warned this will result in reductions in optional benefits such as vision and dental care.
• Sec. 1402 (p. 756) says that the results of comparative effectiveness research conducted by the government will be delivered to doctors electronically to guide their use of “medical items and services.”
Questionable Priorities:
{Gimme a A. Gimme a C. Gimme a O. Gimme a R. Gimme a N. Enter ACORN?}
While the bill will slash Medicare funding, it will also direct billions of dollars to numerous inner-city social work and diversity programs with vague standards of accountability.
• Sec. 399V (p. 1422) provides for grants to community “entities” with no required qualifications except having “documented community activity and experience with community healthcare workers” to “educate, guide, and provide experiential learning opportunities” aimed at drug abuse, poor nutrition, smoking and obesity. “Each community health worker program receiving funds under the grant will provide services in the cultural context most appropriate for the individual served by the program.”
These programs will “enhance the capacity of individuals to utilize health services and health related social services under Federal, State and local programs by assisting individuals in establishing eligibility . . . and in receiving services and other benefits” including transportation and translation services.
• Sec. 222 (p. 617) provides reimbursement for culturally and linguistically appropriate services. This program will train health-care workers to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their “right” to have an interpreter at all times and with no co-pays for language services.
• Secs. 2521 and 2533 (pp. 1379 and 1437) establishes racial and ethnic preferences in awarding grants for training nurses and creating secondary-school health science programs. For example, grants for nursing schools should “give preference to programs that provide for improving the diversity of new nurse graduates to reflect changes in the demographics of the patient population.” And secondary-school grants should go to schools “graduating students from disadvantaged backgrounds including racial and ethnic minorities.”
• Sec. 305 (p. 189) Provides for automatic Medicaid enrollment of newborns who do not otherwise have insurance.
The 2009 election season has ended, but not without some lessons learned, especially as relates to those elusive and much sought after ‘independent’ voters.
We know at least two facts about them. Since they were instrumental in electing Barack Obama in 2008, they are not racists. And since they elected Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey in 2009, they’re not socialists either.
We also learned something about the state of the Republican Party.
What played out in New York’s 23rd congressional district was also instructive of the power of conservatism in the electorate. An unknown conservative just two months ago, came within a few percentage points of winning. And when you factor in the fact that the incumbent RINO had the support of the RNC, up until she quit and supported the Democrat(ic) candidate, he didn’t do too bad. His financial and political support came not from the RNC, but from other conservative Republicans outside the district and state.
The Republican Party has something to learn, or re-learn, as well. What happened in upstate New York is the beginning of a real conservative movement, whether within or outside of the Republican Party. It is the Republican Party that has strayed from its conservative roots. And it is the Republican Party that needs to return to them instead of being Democrat-Lite. The 2009 political season over. The next one is the big one.
The contrast between how the Left handles opinion, Joe Lieberman’s opinion, and corruption is amazing. The short version is this, disagreeing with Obama’s policies is far worse than being ethically or legally corrupt.
Take Charles Rangel (D-NY) for example. Never mind for now the other Democrats that are under ethics probes. But remember too what Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) said after gaining the majority in November 2006. She said she was going to “drain the swamp” of corruption on Capitol Hill. A leaked document tells a different story. From the Washington Post . . .
Two and a half years into Pelosi’s reign, more than 25 Democrats have been targeted for ethics reviews by the two ethics bodies, while just seven Republicans appeared to be under scrutiny, according to the document.
Corruption? Eh, no biggie. But disagree, you’ll be piled on by the Left like those at Democrats.com. There, Bob Fertik says Lieberman must have his committee chair position yanked. But not for Rangel.
Fertik neglected to say what committee he wanted Lieberman yanked from. Lieberman Chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Fertik is all bent out of shape over Lieberman’s decision to not support the Public Option on health insurance reform. The funny thing is though, yanking his chairmanship position is not going to change his vote. But seeing the far Left get bent out of shape for Lieberman representing his constituents is amusing.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Now Fertik is calling for a ‘donor strike‘ for all Democrats that don’t support the socialist option. Good luck with that.
Stepping into a hot topic in Pensacola, that being consideration as to the form of leadership the city government should have, The Lunch Counter comes down on the side of a strong mayoral system. It is what Pensacola needs. There is a long record of the effectiveness of running a city, this city, by committee. It is too cumbersome and politically lazy. The number of years the Mayor vs Commission form of government has been discussed is testament to the need for this kind of change.
This ship, Pensacola, needs a rudder.
A mayor with vision and drive can make things happen, if we will only let him, or her. And if it turns out that we elected the wrong person, we have the ability to elect the right person. To borrow a phrase from the recent past, YES WE CAN.
It worked fine for New York City under Rudy Giuliani and in Philadelphia under Frank Rizzo. There’s no reason it can’t bring Pensacola to where it belongs too.
Is it a sign of the times? One could only hope and, time will tell. Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman gets a boost as Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava bows out of New York’s 23rd Congressional District race.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had said Scozzafava is exactly the kind of candidate the party needs to rebuild itself for a new Republican Revolution. However, Hoffman and his backers attacked Scozzafava as too liberal to represent the GOP. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and former New York Gov. George Pataki endorsed Hoffman.
Right. And General Colin Powell said that John McCain was the kind of leader America needed, before he voted for his opponent. Newt couldn’t be more wrong in his thinking. I don’t know where this comes from. He certainly didn’t believe this in ’94. You don’t build the Republican party by adopting planks of the Democrat platform. You do it like Reagan did by convincing Republicans, Democrats, Independents, everyone, that there’s a better way for America which happens to be 180 degrees from our present course. Stick to the principles that made us. Contrary to what the current administration is saying, conservatives believe that ‘the status quo’ means protecting and defending the Constitution, not supplanting it in an attempt to literally ‘remake America.’
Obama’s version of ‘status quo’ is a focus group tested phrase he assigns to problems either real or imagined (mostly imagined), used as a pejorative to condemn all that has made America the greatest country in the world, freedom, liberty, and a free enterprise market-driven economic system. His plans and policies are direct attacks on all three.
Hopefully, what is happening in upstate New York is the beginning of a real conservative movement, whether within or outside of the Republican Party. It is the Republican Party that has strayed from its conservative roots. It is the Republican Party that needs to return to them instead of being Democrat-Lite.
No true conservative condones the Chicago-style politics, the back room deals and quid pro quo with special interest groups and industries like is rampant in the Obama administration. Which, curious enough, is exactly what Obama is accusing his detractors and predecessor of doing.
Whether Crist is following Obama’s lead in the Chicago way of dealing with political opponents, or Crist’s true colors are beginning to show, it doesn’t really matter. What it shows is Crist is getting desperate, and dirty.
Red State details some facts of the smear campaign that Crist and his comrades in the Florida Republican machine are waging against Marco Rubio. And, of course, it includes Hitler.
Forget about the money. China has it. One thing they don’t have that we do is President Obama. And right now we’re in need of some leadership.
Right now, two of the most important challenges the President is saying he faces are the economy, to which he has inextricably tied health insurance reform, and, the safety of our troops fighting overseas, particularly in Afghanistan.
It is difficult to believe him when he says those things are tops on his list when he continues to do fundraisers around the country, takes time for golf and recreation, and uses his bully pulpit to berate private industry and groups like the Chamber of Commerce who happen to disagree with his policies, instead of showing the leadership required to make the tough choices that he needs to make.
That making a decision whether to support his generals in the war zone, one of which is heading the NATO forces there, or support his political far-left base represents a tough choice is at the same time frightening to me and revealing of him. But apparently it is because we’re quickly approaching 60 days since Gen. McChrystal asked for more troops to carry out his mission in Afghanistan and still no decision. It’s not like this war was sprung up on him or anything. It has been ongoing for all of the 9 months he has been Commander in Chief. But, since he has only met with the general twice in that length of time, it is also hard to believe that even he thinks it is important, let alone tops on the list.
For President Obama, economic recovery now means health insurance ‘reform.’ Never mind those trillions and trillions of debt owned by China, and those stimulus packages that failed to stimulate the economy or fix what they were supposed to fix. Let’s just focus on health insurance reform. Obama’s other top concern for the country.
Where is his leadership on that? Why is he not using his bully pulpit to lay out his plan, telling us and Congress what he wants instead of beating up on his detractors? It’s a rhetorical question. It’s because there still isn’t a plan. One day it’s this, the next day it’s that. One day it’s public options, next day it’s consumers choice. It’s the Baucus bill, no it’s the house bill, no, it’s the Kennedy bill. And oh, did I mention that all of those bills have one thing in common. They aim to ultimately take control of what private sector health care remains (17- 20% of the private sector economy) after they absorb the rest of it into Medicare, which is already bankrupt. But never mind those silly details, just pass the bill. There’s no need to see it in writing first.
This isn’t leadership. This is his attempt at community organizing on a national, and global scale. Coming from someone who was touted to be, despite all the evidence to the contrary, so experienced and the right man for the job (after Hillary that is), what we see is not much different than a circus barker. And empty suit. Not a leader at all.
From his words and deeds, it is apparent that this is exactly what he thinks of himself. It is no more evident than in his radio interview in 2001 in Chicago where he displays his contempt for what America’s founding fathers had created, and a Constitution that is full of ‘negative rights.’
Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many “czars” appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent?
MARCO RUBIO will be here Tuesday evening at 6 PM at Hidden Creek Country Club in Navarre. The evening is being put on by the Santa Rosa Federated Republican Women’s Club. The cost is $25.00/ticket and they do have a few tickets left. Rubio’s popularity is rising and he is an excellent speaker so it should be a most entertaining and informative evening. If you are interested in going please call Kay Addison at 983-8594. Hope to see you there.
Brought to you as a public service by the VRWC and The Lunch Counter.
Oh, that would be the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy of course.
