Healthcare

The House passed the Senate version of Health Care Reform and it was signed into law yesterday. Now the Senate begins to deal with it. We are seeing amendment after amendment (many absolutely absurd) being added by Senators in an attempt to slow down the process once again.

Additionally, we have 14  States and their Attorney Generals suing the Federal government over the implementation of the Health Care Bill saying it is unconstitutional.

When it comes to legislation for the people, we guess Washington gridlock is not enough - we now have to deal with State and legal gridlock.

How ineffective and inefficient is this process? We are spending more time and money debating this issue than the reform will save.

Just give us an effective and efficient government for We The People on the National and State levels!

We leave you with this - thanks to Thom Hartman:

“A politician looks to the next election.”

“A Statesman looks to the next generation.”

As Congress gets down to finally determining how to act (or not act) on the existing Senate and House Health Care Reform legislation, we get an uneasy feeling and don’t have a clue on what will be happening. Where is all the transparency that we were promised?

All the rhetoric from both sides of the debate still leaves us feeling empty. When everyone says we need reform, why is this issue still not resolved? In the fall of 2008, Congress was able to OK $800 Million for bank bailouts in about 3 days!

Why do the major elements of the legislation being discussed not take effect until 3 or 4 years from now? How many people will die or be economically devastated waiting for legislation to be implemented?

We just don’t get it. It seems simple to enact legislation that takes effect now enabling every American to become part of the Medicare program - that’s the kind of reform we expected.

We watched and listened intently for seven hours yesterday as President Obama and a number of Senate and House lawmakers discussed Health Care Reform and the Health Care Reform bills generated by Congress.

What was apparent to us is that everyone in the room agreed that health care needs to be reformed. What also was apparent to us was that our lawmakers are at an impasse on how to deal with this most complex issue. At the continual urging of President Obama to deal with issues, many wanted to scrap a year’s worth of work and start over - our tax dollars being wasted again.

Why do some people in Congress continue to ignore the fact that health insurance companies made record profits in their last reporting quarter while covering less people? Where is the Accountability when CEO’s of these companies are making hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries, bonuses and stock options? Where is the Transparency so that all of us know what is happening with lawmakers and who is influencing them?

In the two weeks prior to the Health Care Summit over 3,000 registered lobbyists were “working” Washington - that’s six lobbyists for every lawmaker. This gives us some insight as to the impasse and the ineffective process we continue to see from Washington in dealing with the major issues facing our country. As President Obama stated, the American people don’t much care about the process of Congress, they care about results!

It’s very interesting to see how Washington is dealing with the Health Care Reform issue today.

After the wonderful private insurance  folks have hit us with another round of double digit rate increases, it appears the folks in Congress are rising to reintroduce the Public Health Care Option.  A big thank you to the private insurance companies for getting Congress to address what the majority of the people in this country want!

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders says it all below.

Sanders Signs Letter Supporting Public Option

BURLINGTON, Vt. February 17 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today added his signature to a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring a public health insurance option before the Senate for a vote.

“At a time when there is deep skepticism and mistrust of the private insurance industry, when just last month a major health insurer in California announced it would raise its premiums by a whopping 39 percent in one fell swoop, the American people have made it clear that they want the option to buy their insurance through a Medicare-type, government-run public insurance plan,” Sanders said.

“The public option is not just important for the individual consumer, it is an important mechanism to provide competition for the private, for-profit health insurance industry, to keep them honest, and to lower the overall cost of health care in our country,” Sanders added.  “I am very pleased to join with my Senate colleagues to urge passage of a public health insurance plan using the budget reconciliation process.”

Sanders is a member of the Senate health committee.

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) spearheaded the effort to revive the public option.

“Although we strongly support the important reforms made by the Senate-passed health reform package, including a strong public option would improve both its substance and the public’s perception of it,” the letter stated. “The Senate has an obligation to reform our unworkable health insurance market — both to reduce costs and to give consumers more choices. A strong public option is the best way to deliver on both of these goals, and we urge its consideration under reconciliation rules.”

Contact: Michael Briggs (202) 224-5141

OK folks - the snow storm is gone. Let’s hope this time off enabled Congress to clear their respective heads and get down to the business - not as usual, but in the best interest of the people of this country.

Quit playing games and do your jobs to address the issues of jobs, the economy, health care reform, and an energy policy for clean, renewable energy.

Take a look at this release from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders - tell me we don’t need health care reform!

It Never Ends: Health Insurance Profits Soar

WASHINGTON, February 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today blasted the country’s five largest health insurance companies that posted $12.2 billion in profits last year, 56 percent more than in 2008.

“In the midst of the worst recession in memory, with working families struggling to keep their heads above water, insurance companies are siphoning more and more profits out of American consumers,” said Sanders, a member of the Senate health committee.

“These horrendous rate increases will not only impact millions of individuals, but make our entire economy less competitive,” he added. “This outrage is more evidence, as if any were needed, that we cannot stop fighting to reform the health care system in the United States.”

Health Care for America Now conducted a study of public records and found that WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group, Cigna Corp., Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. covered 2.7 million fewer people than they did the year before.  Some of the insurers actually cut the proportion of premiums that went to medical care and put more into salaries and profits.

The companies’ 2009 profits soared while insurers raised premiums and denied coverage to millions of Americans.

WellPoint’s profit margin of 7.2 percent was the highest of the five big insurers.  Anthem Blue Cross, a California subsidiary of WellPoint, has come under fire for jacking up premiums by as much as 39 percent this year on some individual health policies.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius insisted that the company justify the rate increase in detail. “Look,” Sen. Sanders said, “insurance companies are ripping off the American people from coast to coast. It is absolutely appropriate for the secretary of Health and Human Services to call them out on that.”

Contact: Michael Briggs or Will Wiquist (202) 224-5141

Today the White House released the fiscal year 2011 Budget. The numbers call for a $3.8 Trillion dollar budget that projects an estimated $1.2 Trillion dollar deficit.

Some key areas getting financial attention are: Job Creation; Small Business tax credits; support of  our Educational system, the military and clean energy. We agree that addressing each of these will begin to put a fix on issues that have all too long been ignored. Not much being said about Health Care as it relates to this budget - we wonder why.

Now the real question - What will Congress do to, and with this budget?

President Obama talks tonight about the State of the Union - our country.

All of us who feel the pain of an economic meltdown; lost jobs; either no health care or out of control health costs; an educational system being short changed by just about every State; a fractured energy policy that should be based upon clean, renewable energy generation to lessen foreign dependence and two wars that take our lives while continuing to drain our resources - we pretty much know the State of the Union these days.

President Obama, tonight we hope to hear you say your administration and the 535 people in Congress are going to start acting in the best interest of the people who sent you all to represent us and not special interest lobbyists.

Please, we do not need anymore 2,000 page bills that cover everything but the core issue. Give us legislation that is straight forward, deals only with the issue and requires a simple yes or no vote by Congress. Then and only then will we have real Transparency and Accountability of our elected representation.

Now is the time to deliver on the promise to change the ways Washington does business. Do this for our children and grand children - they will all thank us for being part of the solution rather than the problem.

Could this be the Audacity Of Hope that you wrote about?

The week started off with the Massachusetts Senate election where voters sent a message they are not happy with the ways of Washington. We have recently had three State elections (Virginia and New Jersey Governor races) where the voters have elected the challenger, not the incumbent.  This is sending a clear message We The People are not happy campers.

Next comes President Obama taking a strong position with the banks calling for Banking Reforms. We believe this action is needed. There must be accountability when large financial institutions make high risk financial moves with the money in retirement funds and the deposits of We The People that is being insured by government - in reality our tax dollars. The gamble they made and lost has put a scar on this Country that will not heal for some time.

Then we have the Supreme Court’s controversial decision, Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, to view corporations in the same light as individuals in the context of financial support for candidates running for political offices. We have Congress scrambling to draft legislation in an attempt to water down the potential effects of increased campaign spending by corporations, lobbyists and special interests. Once again We the People are being put in the position of not being represented the way our founding fathers envisioned.

Yesterday the Speaker of the House comes out and says the House does not have the votes to pass the Senate version of the Health Care Bill, which in our view does little to solve the Health care issue. Apparently, a lot of other folks in Congress agree with us as we now have Congressional gridlock with the Health Care Reform issue. We The People once again are the recipients of either not having access to quality health care, increasing costs, limiting coverages or all of the aforementioned.

We have got to find a way to get Washington to be responsible to the people of this country - we are running real low on confidence and thin with our patience!

As Congress continues to debate the Health Care Bill, Illinois Senator Roland Burris submitted another response on Health Care Reform. Senator Burris offers a number of  points for our consideration.

Let’s pay particular attention to the last sentence of Senator Burris’ note. Our question is: Why don’t we have every single person in the Senate and House with this same mind set?

Dear Bob:

Thank you for contacting me about healthcare reform. I appreciate the benefit of your views.

As your United States Senator, one of my top priorities is to ensure that my constituents have access to affordable, quality healthcare. Today, nearly 3.5 million Illinois residents, 30.8% of the under 65 population, lack health insurance. Those who remain covered face rapidly rising premiums. A Kaiser Family Foundation report found that average insurance premiums have more than doubled in the past nine years, and the New America Foundation projects that, by 2016, coverage costs for an average Illinois family could top $25,000 a year.

In the face of these challenges, I support reforms aimed at improving efficiency and access while reducing cost. A focus on prevention and primary care will help Americans avoid getting sick, saving billions on costly specialist and emergency treatments. Increasing competition in the insurance market, through a public option, will put pressure on insurers to reduce administrative costs, marketing, and high profit margins. This will result in a higher percentage of premiums spent on treatment and a better overall value for consumers. Expanded access to health insurance, provided through affordability credits, will eliminate the $1,200 “hidden tax” that the average insured Illinois resident pays in additional premiums to subsidize expensive emergency care for those who currently cannot afford insurance and bring premium costs within reach for millions of middle class families.

The pending reform effort has received the support of many of the nation’s most prominent medical, consumer, and senior groups. The American Medical Association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the American Federation of Hospitals, Families USA, and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) all support reforming our health system, because they know that we face a crisis. As costs skyrocket, more people lose the coverage they need. Patients suffer, and businesses lose productivity. Insurers, hospitals, and doctors lose customers, and the entire healthcare system begins to break down. Currently, 14,000 people lose their insurance every single day. This is not acceptable in America.

A number of groups that profit from the current inefficiencies have spread false rumors about reform. I would like to take this opportunity to correct some of the misinformation.

“Government Takeover”: Some believe that a public insurance option will mean the end of private health insurance. On the contrary, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that if insurance reform passes with a public plan option, the number of people covered by private, employer-sponsored coverage will actually increase.

Rationing: Rationed care will not happen with reform. In fact, the bill takes a number of steps to prevent insurance companies from making your coverage decisions. Insurance reform will restore your doctor’s ability to treat patients properly, without deferring to insurance company bureaucrats who deny coverage and treatments.

Medicare: Rumors abound that reform jeopardizes existing Medicare coverage. The truth is, cutting waste, fraud, and abuse will assure the security of the Medicare trust fund for years to come. In addition, insurance reform will end cost sharing for preventative care, cut the prescription drug “doughnut hole” in half, and lower Medicare premiums.

Abortion: None of the reform proposals being considered would mandate coverage of abortions. Current federal law preventing government funded abortions; except in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the life of the mother; will remain unchanged. All versions of reform include a “conscious protection” clause, which allows doctors the right to refuse to perform an abortion, if doing so conflicts with their values.

Federal Employees: The Senate reform bill requires all Members of Congress and their staffs to enroll in the public insurance exchange. I fully support this proposal, as I believe that we Senators should have a personal stake in the reforms we propose.

Cost: President Obama has repeatedly stated that any reform must not increase the federal budget deficit and must control growth in medical spending. The Senate reform bill reduces our federal budget deficit by more than $100 billion over the next ten years, and takes important steps toward paying for quality, not merely volume of service, in our healthcare system.

Investing in reform now will ensure stability in coverage. President Obama has made very clear that reform will protect Americans’ right to keep their current health insurance policy, but changes will slow the rate of increase in premiums, offer protection and options for those who lose their jobs, and help those who cannot afford insurance.

I will continue to listen closely to what you and other Illinoisans have to say about matters before Congress, the concerns of our communities, and the issues facing Illinois and the nation. My job is not about merely supporting or opposing legislation; it is also about bridging the divide that has paralyzed our nation’s politics.

Sincerely,

Roland W. Burris
United States Senator

A Happy New Year to All!

We would like to thank the folks in Washington that actually represented the People and not the lobbyists over the past year.

Our wish for the New Year and the next decade is that the 535 people in Washington craft legislation that is intended to be in the best interests of the people that elected them. The issues of getting our Economy back on track; an Energy Strategy that is meaningful to us now and future generations; a Health Care system that truly gives the people quality care while putting a stop to costs that are out of control; supporting an Educational System that will turn out the next generation (s) of world leaders in every field; and a peaceful decade that reduces or eliminates the pain and costs resultant of Wars that Nobody Wins.

Our New Years wish is that the House, Senate and Administration spend our money as if it were theirs and dedicate our money to expeditures of the aforementioned issues and not lobby driven special interests.