The Mother of All Public Options

Heard that phrase this week? It was spoken by Rep Anthony Weiner when describing the buy in option to Medicare for those aged 55 to 64.

That option was introduced this week by Sen Reid as the solution to getting the public option out of the bill and getting more people covered. But. At what cost? What would those premiums be? How much would be subsidized by we the tax payers?

You can give a pig a bath, put him in a nice suit, but, the rascal is still a pig and will look and smell like one before too long. Such is this bill. They (Democrats) can disguise it, perfume it, and appeal to our "moral core" but their deal still smells.

Folks, don't let them pass this stinker. Call your congressman and senator and let them know this is a bad deal for everyone.

Here's a link to the contact information for your Senator, Congressman, Governor, State Legislator, and Twitter links!

Senate Health Care Reform Debate - Harry Reid (D) NV

So if you can't beat them with the facts, sling mud that's irrelevant. That's what Mr Reid from Nevada did on the Senate floor today. Chastising the Republicans for what he said was their call to "slow down" he compared it with to civil rights/slavery and women's right to vote.

Will this kind of rhetoric get any Republicans to vote the Democrat's way?  Will it sway moderate Democrats to abandon their committments to refusing tax payer dollars for abortion? Will it convince anyone that a public option is in the country's best interest?

Amendments to the bill keep coming up and getting defeated. Yesterday the Ensign Amendment - putting limits on lawyers' fees on contingency cases - failed. Even the Lincoln Amendment, proposed by a Democrat, failed. It would have limited the ability of insurance companies to deduct executive pay from their taxes. That was a move designed to punish the private insurance sector and pave the way for a total government takeover of the insurance industry. Surprised the Dems could not get that one passed.

Here's the clip of Sen Reid's lame argument:

Health Care Reform and MediCare

Senior Citizens should keep an eye on the debate and the bill. The bill presently cuts many areas of Medicare. One of the cuts includes payments to doctors. Some amendments are in the works to postpone the cuts to doctors providing care to Medicare patients. But if payments to doctors are cut, the unintended consequence would be an exodus of doctors providing care to seniors. Fewer doctors, longer waits for appointments and more out of pocket expenses for those who can least afford it.

The Medicare Rights Center, a non-profit consumer service organization, has reported that eight states are having a tough time finding doctors who will accept Medicare patients. This started in 2002 when payments to doctors were cut by 5.4 percent. Those states include Texas, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and New Mexico. The survey done by the Center said that the reason doctors gave the patients for not accepting them was the lower payments.