David Frum has offered a Republican reaction to the new health care bill that outlines "next steps" for Congress. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

By almost any definition, David Frum is a conservative, Republican member of the political community. A conservative activist and former economic speechwriter for President George W. Bush, David Frum has written several books about the Republican right and is a well-known commentator on U.S. and Canadian politics. So when David Frum outlined in his CNN.com column today how yesterday’s health care reform vote was the “Republican Waterloo,” it raised eyebrows. A vocal opponent of payday loans for the government through deficit spending, David Frum outlines what he suggests Republicans do to “recover” from this “devastating” vote.

David Frum argues against repeal of the new health care bill

First and foremost in his column today, David Frum points out exactly how bad an idea repealing the new health care legislation would be. Any repeal would require a presidential signature, and the earliest President Obama will be out of office is two years after the next mid-term election. By the time Republicans may be able to secure a repeal vote in both houses of Congress, they are not likely to receive a presidential signature.

Repealing the entire new health care bill would be exceptionally bad politics. Repealing the health care bill would involve removing many of the new consumer protections that are very politically popular. Medicare recipients that receive prescription drug coverage, Americans with pre-existing conditions that can now get coverage, and new Medicaid recipients would combine to create a formidable political force.

David Frum’s plan for Republicans

Despite arguing against a full repeal, David Frum does outline several steps he thinks Republicans should take to respond to the new health care bill. These include changing the method of funding, possibly using carbon taxes. His plan also includes encouraging reducing the regulation of policies inside health care exchanges and removing the fine for large employers that do not purchase health care coverage.

Finally, David Frum argues that Republicans need to quit defending the employer-based health care system, pointing out that employer-based health care inherently supports a conflict of interests between employers and employees — in essence, asking employers to provide payday advances on health care they should have no hand in.

About David Frum

David Frum’s political commentary has never been limited merely to the Republican party. He has written at least six books on everything from the conservative majority to the presidency of George W. Bush and how conservatism should change. He works as a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and manages a conservative group blog at FrumForum.com.

The new health care bill gives a shot in the arm to underinsured and uninsured Americans. Image from Flickr.

The new health care reform bill passed the House last night on a 219-212 vote. While the bill is not yet law, the changes of this health care reform are sweeping and will take about 10 years to fully implement. The bill will be paid for with everything from payroll loans to the government borrowing money from the national debt – but the Congressional Budget Office estimates that in the end, the bill will save the U.S. Budget a significant amount of money each year. To read more about the effects of the health care bill in 2010 and 2011, see New health care bill summary Part 1.

Summary of the new health care bill 2012-13

No major changes will occur in health care in the year 2012 under the new health care bill. In 2013, many of the new taxes and fees that will pay for the new health care bill will go into effect. This will provide funding for the 2014 fiscal year updates to the health care system.

These taxes will include new Medicare taxes on individuals who earn more than $200,000 a year. The wage tax, dividends and interest tax, and a small tax on medical devices will also be implemented. In 2013, the new health care bill will also implement a test system in Medicare in which payments are made based on the quality, rather than quantity of health care services. Health insurers will also be barred from charging different premiums to customers based on gender.

Summary of the new health care bill in 2014

In 2014, the majority of Americans will gain benefits from the new health care bill. Exchanges will be created so individuals without employer-provided health care or small business can shop for health care coverage – and insurance companies will be barred from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions. Medicare will also expand to cover all Americans with income up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ( about $27,000 per year for a family of 4). Small businesses will also receive a tax credit to help them provide coverage to their employees. The insurance industry will also be required to pay an annual fee to help pay for the exchanges that will cover all citizens that cannot otherwise receive insurance.

In addition to providing subsidies and guaranteed coverage for most citizens, the new health care bill will also require that most people have health insurance. There will be a fine for not carrying insurance of some sort. An independent Medicare board will also be created to help curb Medicare costs if the costs rise more quickly than inflation.

Summary of the new health care bill in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018

In 2015, the new health care bill will simply continue the new coverage, taxes and fees that are created in previous years. In 2016, the penalty for individuals who do not purchase health insurance will rise to a $695 minimum. In 2017, businesses that have more than 100 employees will be allowed to participate in the state insurance exchanges, if the state government allows it. In 2018, an excise tax will be imposed on so-called “Cadillac plans” that generally provide more than $27,500 worth of coverage for a family.

Sources:

Wall Street Journal
Lexington Clipper-Herald
My Fox Tampa Bay
Onion Kid
The Seattle Times
Wikipedia – Poverty article
Washington Post

The new health care bill injects money and regulation into the health insurance industry. Image from Flickr.

Yesterday evening in congress, the health care reform bill, HR 4872, passed the house of representatives on a 219-212 vote. An incredibly sweeping change, the new health care bill has many pros and cons. With more than 2,000 pages in HR 4872, the basics of the new health care reform bill are extensive. In short, the U.S. government will be attempting to provide health care insurance for most Americans without those individuals needing to take out a payday loan to pay for that coverage. The  effects of the new health care bill will be split over 10 years. The first two years will be covered below – to see the effects the new health care bill will have from 2012 – 2018, see Part 2.

New health care bill not yet law

The new health care bill passed the House on Sunday, but it is not yet law. First, the new health care bill must go back to the Senate for reconciliation. This means that some major provisions of the new health care bill may change – though the pros and cons of the majority of new health care bill are likely to remain the same. Once the bill is reconciled through the Senate, it will go to President Obama’s desk to be signed. At that point, the new health care bill would become law.

The timeline of the new health care bill

Because there are many details involved with the new health care bill, the timeline of implementation for the bill is currently set at 10 years. This is assuming that the new health care bill provisions are not repealed or changed in subsequent legislation. The cost of the health care bill is estimated to cost about $100 billion a year, but that cost is estimated to be more of a cash loan – the cost savings from altering the health care system are estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to be more than twice the yearly cost.

Summary of new health care bill in 2010

In the year 2010, there would be three major changes to health care. First, insurance companies would no longer be allowed to deny coverage to children with pre-existing illnesses. Second, children would be able to stay on their parent’s insurance policies until they turn 26 years old. Third, Medicare recipients who fall into a specific coverage gap will get a $250 rebate.

Other changes include an excise tax on indoor tanning, which will increase the cost of that service. Also, individuals that have not had health insurance for 6 months will receive a subsidy to enroll in high-risk insurance pools run by the states. All new insurance plans sold must exempt preventative care and screenings from deductibles. Finally, small businesses with fewer than 25 employees would receive up to a 35 percent tax credit for providing health insurance to their employees.

Summary of the new health care bill in 2011

In 2011, the new health care bill will make changes focused mostly on preparing for later updates. The new health care bill will set up a long-term care insurance program. Individuals who pay premiums into this system for at least five years will become eligible to receive support with daily living assistance.

The senior citizens that fall into the “medicare doughnut hole” – a coverage gap – will get a 50 percent discount on some drugs. In 2011, a new fee on drug makers will also be implemented to help pay for the upcoming changes. The fine on withdrawing funds from a Health Savings Account for non-medical expenses will increase by 5 to 10 percent. Employers will also need to start including the cost of health care on employee’s W-2 forms.

To read more about the continuing effects of the new health care bill, see Health Care Reform basics Part 2.

Sources:

Wall Street Journal
Lexington Clipper-Herald
My Fox Tampa Bay
Onion Kid
The Seattle Times
Wikipedia – Poverty article
Washington Post

This is Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas' 2nd District. She wants a "Great White Hope" to counter Obama's black ways, apparently (Photo: commons.wikimedia.org)

Ever heard the expression “Great White Hope” before? The phrase entered popular culture when boxing promoters in the early 20^th century where desperately searching for a white fighter who could defeat African-American heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. Yet it has so many other applications.

If you squint hard enough, it could mean nothing more than holding out for a great hero to ride in and save the day. However, appropriating the image of heroism and purity and permanently attaching them to the color white is bound to set people on edge. When it comes to politics in America, it’s painfully obvious that such an image is closely tied to the racism that runs rampant in this country. Such racism’s origins are partly religious in nature, but secular circles are no less guilty when all things are considered.

Cultural poverty

I see it as no mere coincidence that a Caucasian Republican politician who is admittedly “upset” over the Democratic control of Congress and the health care reform package President Obama (who is not Caucasian, incidentally) would call for a “great white hope” to counter that dragon on the doorstep. The politician is Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, and racism is alive and well. It is a kind of cultural poverty that a fax payday loan could never revitalize. Such a paucity of spiritual funds requires boatloads of paradigm smashing and empathy training.

[apply_button float="right"]

However, if your problems are merely budgetary in nature, click the button to apply for a fax payday loan now.

Does she think it’s OK because Glenn Beck paved the way?

Yes; Glenn Beck has made the statement that Obama hates white people. Beck labeled him a racist and has stood behind his statements. He’s lost a bevy of high-level sponsors because of it, too. I wonder if that makes him cry at night like a little sad-faced clown?

The Christian Science Monitor points out that such political foot-in-mouth disease runs rampant through this country. Virginia Senator George Allen called a man from Indian a “macaca,” which could mean either a monkey or a city in South Africa. Guess which one people chose to go with? Joe Biden said this of Obama in 2007 when he was an opponent in the presidential race: “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” A dream only a believer in the great white could come up with, eh Amtrak Joe?

Now comes Lynn Jenkins

Clearly she is another Republican who is unhappy about her party’s lack of power lately. She wants someone to step up and go toe-to-toe with Obama… a “great white hope.” She draws that racial line as many unthinking racist clones have done before. If I were a Caucasian conservative (I only meet half the requirements), I’d be disgusted by Jenkins’ reference. Even if she didn’t intend to sound racist, she should know a bit more about incendiary rhetoric, particularly since she’s an elected official who holds a high office. If I were one of her constituents in Kansas’ 2^nd District, I’d wonder if I’d made the right choice in electing her. Such language is political anathema. If she didn’t understand that, then Lynn Jenkins isn’t educated enough to be a political official.

Throw it in reverse, Lynn

Now she’s backpedaling. Apparently she doesn’t have the star power of a Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, so she has to play by the rules of intelligent discourse. Damage control has begun, but Ms. Jenkins is not doing it herself. Oh no, that would be much too dangerous for a graduate of the Sarah Palin School of Interviewing. Jenkins’ spokeswoman did the apologizing for her. Not a moment worthy of praise. There’ll be no fax payday loan waiting for you!

Related Video:

(Just to show you stupidity isn’t color blind)

Something about a reaping? (Photo: Eyehook.com)

Death by ferrets may be in your future, or cardiac arrest. Admittedly, it could be a freak game show accident. Whatever the case, you’re going to want to know what your risk of dying is, because it always pays to be prepared. That’s where Death Risk Rankings comes in. The results may be more conventional than ferrets and game show accidents; in fact, it’s mostly statistical. Know your odds, know your most likely means of death. If you like, get some fast cash and wager on those odds… just be sure not to bet against yourself. Not only would that be unintelligent, but in this case it would be unconscionable.

It needn’t be a self-fulfilling prophecy, however

FOX News reports that with Death Risk Rankings, you can get the odds on whether you’ll die next year or on any date you specify. Answer a few questions and the odds of your death will unfold before your very eyes! This is something you must know. If you need fast cash to keep your ISP from shutting you down, apply here… you must live long enough online to know how and when you’ll die!

Created by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Death Risk Rankings takes the answers to your questions and compares it with publicly available information from U.S. and European databases. Such things as mortality risks by gender, odds of death by age, death causes and odds of death by geographic region are all cross-analyzed against the data you provide Death Risk Rankings. Afterward, you’ll know the most probably cause of your death, as well as the probable time.

Hayley Mills and Lindsay Lohan are not in danger (immediate danger, at least)

If you’re one of the twins from “The Parent Trap” and you want to know which of you is more likely to die of breast cancer, Death Risk Rankings can help. It’s a beautiful thing. Keep in mind that the results at Death Risk Rankings are tailored to groups of society rather than individuals, so please don’t sue if unstable angina fail to strike you down at the predicted time. There are many variables in play. For instance, you could consume a bad pastry or contract a rare monkey disease. Who can say? Accidents do happen.

But don’t you just want to know?

That kind of knowledge warms the cockles like fast cash in the bank.

“It turns out that the British woman has a 33 percent higher risk of breast cancer death. But for lung/throat cancer, the results are almost reversed, and the Pennsylvania woman has a 29 percent higher risk,” explained Paul Fischbeck, Death Risk Rankings developer.

Economics professor David Gerard told FOX that “Most Americans don’t have a particularly good understanding of their own mortality risks, let alone ranking of their relevant risks.” In this way, Death Risk Rankings should prove to be a useful. Know if that Slip ‘n Slide will kill you, or whether you have a date with kidney failure. It could change the way you look at taking care of yourself.

By the numbers

According to Death Risk Rankings research, FOX reports the following benchmark data:

A 20-year-old U.S. woman has a 1 in 2,000 (or 0.05 percent) chance of dying in the next year, for example. By age 40, the risk is three times greater; by age 60, it is 16 times greater; and by age 80, it is 100 times greater (around 1 in 20 or 5 percent).

The risk becomes exponentially greater. However, Gerard takes some of the sting out of that octogenarian sentence by reminding us that “At 80, the average U.S. woman still has a 95 percent chance of making it to her 81st birthday.” You’ve come a long way, baby… what’s a little thing like Death Risk Rankings going to do to stop you now?

What about men? They die too, don’t they?

If you are indeed a zombie, you're throwing off the Death Risk Rankings curve. Stop it! (Photo: glyphjockey.com)

Yes, indeed they do, and Death Risk Rankings is there to cover the carnage. While studies by fast cash lenders show that men take advantage of fast cash more often than women, that doesn’t seem to save them from having a “much higher annual death risk” than females. The dark tale, as told by Death Risk Rankings:

For 20-year-olds, the risk is 2.5 to three times greater for men. Men are much more prone to accidents, homicides and suicides, and the risk of dying from heart disease is always higher for men than women, peaking in the 50s when men are 2.5 times at greater risk of dying.

Men have accidents. Women have cancer.

Women in their 30s and 40s show a higher instance of cancer than men, according to Death Risk Rankings. Racially, African-Americans are statistically more prone to heart disease and cancer than Caucasians. They’re also “twice as likely to die within the year as their white counterparts,” which could reflect socio-economic disparity and affiliation with negative peer groups. Yes, gang violence is what I’m talking about. It happens to all races, but Death Risk Rankings indicates a greater statistical chance that African-Americans will die in that age group. But Caucasians have a much higher (as much as three times greater) instance of suicide.

Young people tend to be more prone to death by accident. Death Risk Rankings doesn’t speculate as to why. I think it’s the psychological burden of knowing that some of them were accidents themselves. Whoops!

So large, no coffin would hold him

Obesity is a huge problem in the United States, much more so than in Europe per Death Risk Rankings. Fast cash on burgers and fries here would loosely translate to fast cash for a cup of coffee, maybe some tapas and real conversation (as opposed to texting or Facebook updates). Thanks to our horrible diets, Americans are generally more predisposed to diabetes (three times higher than Europeans, in the 60-year-old age range). If you love to supersize, Death Risk Rankings will make you a statistic.

Adding info to the health care reform debate

Yes, you knew this was coming. The statistics that indicate just how many people are failed by America’s imbalanced health care system – including those who may have taken care of themselves but still faced illness and could afford no insurance, you Social Darwinists – are right there, waiting to be exposed by Death Risk Rankings. Creator Fischbeck and Gerard see it as a useful tool in helping Congress decide.

[apply_button float="right"]

“We believe that this tool, which allows anyone to assess their own risk of dying and to compare their risks with counterparts in the United States and Europe, could help inform the public and constructively engage them in the debate,” Fischbeck said.

Get fast cash here. Check Death Risk Rankings to see how quickly you’ll need to spend it

Related Video:

Rep. Barney Frank (Photo: commons.wikimedia.org)

For people who don’t have payday loans and installment loans to rub together, the concept of obtaining suitable health coverage is foreign. President Obama’s plan – should it maintain the single-payer element – will seek to level out that disparity.

In light of this, the raging debate over health care reform continues on at town halls across the nation. Supporters of change are now taking the fight back to belligerent protesters who seek to squash debate over affordable care for all. Not all Democratic politicians have been prepared for the vocal minority they’ve had to face, but if the Representative Barney Frank town hall is any indication, the fight is in good hands.

Working the room

One of the more colorful members of Congress, Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts gave as well as he got at his recent town hall meeting on the health care topic. His responses were not only appropriately forceful, but entertaining. CNN reports that the two-hour meeting in Dartmouth, Massachusetts featured a rousing chorus of boos from the pre-coached (and in some cases pre-paid) protesters the moment that Rep. Frank took the podium, but Frank quickly proved that he could handle a tough crowd.

“You want me to talk about it or do you want to yell?” Frank asked numerous times as the uncivilized mob betrayed signs of their lack of intelligence or good breeding. Frank rebuked them when necessary, yet he was still able to address the important issues, no matter how much the dull, unwashed ghosts attempted to rattle their chains.

“Disruption never helps your cause.”

Mr. Frank called a spade a spade when he remarked that the heated rabble and their canned protests made it look “like you’re afraid to have rational discussion.” But perhaps the most offensive element that these protesters continued to try to bring to the debate was the inflammatory comparison between President Obama’s stance on health care and the tyrannical fascism of Nazi Germany. If you ask me, I’m sure the people who believe this (if they even make up their own minds) and brought it to the Barney Frank town hall did so because Frank is Jewish. “Ooooh, that’ll throw that Jew boy off,” they may have thought. But perhaps “thought” is too strong a term for the cranial activity of such protesters. They’re one coconut shy of being a doorstop.

And Frank knows this as well as you and I do. “When you ask me that question, I’m going to revert to my ethnic heritage and ask you a question: On what planet do you spend most of your time?” he asked. “You stand there with a picture of the president defaced to look like Hitler and compare the effort to increase health care to the Nazis.”

“Contemptible” free speech

Yes, the protesters have the right to say such things, even if they have no educated understanding of what it is they’re truly revealing about themselves and their complete inability to grasp the importance of historical events. Rep. Frank knows there’s no reasoning with someone who hasn’t had the pleasure of reason’s acquaintance: “Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table,” he said to the Hitler invoker. “I have no interest in doing it.”

No free coverage for illegal immigrants

Despite the pathetic attempts of protesters to cloud the issues and silence those who would speak the truth about the president’s intended reform, Barney Frank forged ahead with his discussion of a range of topics that the reform bill would cover. One rumor he squelched is that illegal immigrants would have free care mandated by Obama’s program. Taxpayers can rest easy on that one. Furthermore, he addressed parts of the bill regarding non-discrimination based upon pre-existing health conditions.

Some cheered, others kept their minds closed

[apply_button float="right"]

I understand that the opposition believes that chaos tactics are the only way for them to fight back in this desperate hour for their corporate health insurance masters, but they make themselves look like fools when they shout maniacally – even when they are given the opportunity to speak. There is no rationality on display in such instances, and the Barney Frank town hall is yet another example of their mob mentality.

“What’s the matter with you all?” Frank asked them. “I don’t know if you get angrier when I answer the questions, or when you don’t think I do.”

In the end

Once their bankrollers spit them back out after the debates are over, will the “average Joe” protesters be in need of payday loans and installment loans to buy themselves some civility? If so, they are welcome to apply here… just click the button above. The Barney Frank town hall showed that there’s no reasoning with such people. Rep. Frank remained resolute and trudged on.

Related Video:

(CLICK HERE if you missed part one of this article)

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few (Photo: newsinfo.iu.edu)

Our health care system is irretrievably broken. It’s been said that in a country where 45 million or more need but go without health insurance, that is tantamount to human rights violations on a massive scale. Those who will die soon and cannot function without extensive medical care or those at any age who demand intensive care in order to be able to get up and move away from their hospital beds eat up a tremendous amount of money.

It is understandable that they would want to fight for whatever the system would give them, and their families would want the same. However, if a youngster in an animal family is less able to hunt to run to escape predators or hunt for food, does the mother make the whole brood stop in order to save the one? No. That one gets left behind so that the many can survive. Do educated people think this means that nature is cruel and animals need sensitivity training? Is nature wrong? Absolutely not. And from a human perspective, the needs of the few should not prevent 45.7 people in need from obtaining public health care.

The old method

Traditionally, doctors felt they could achieve social justice one patient at a time. However, America’s current circumstances had not been foreseen. It’s time for a paradigm shift. Emanuel spoke out in the Hastings Center Report that medical care “should be reserved for the non-disabled, not given to those who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.” Sounds draconian, and it is draconian. But serious decisions have to be made. In order for a democracy to function properly, we need educated, participating citizens. If people are uneducated and are either not willing or unable to participate, they should not reap the lions’ share of benefits provided by taxpayer dollars.

McCaughey completely misses out on that last all-important point when she says that Emanuel is suggesting that we “don’t give much care to a grandmother with Parkinson’s or a child with cerebral palsy.” He is, but you are ignoring the larger context. Your portrayal is hence irresponsible to thinking readers, Ms. McCaughey.

Here come the cuts

The current health care bill calls for $100 to $500 billion to be cut from Medicare over the next 10 years (depending upon the source consulted). Since the war hawks will not stand for defense spending to be cut and too many uneducated “citizens” refuse to accept tax increases but want the world on a string anyway, where’s the money going to come from for general universal healthcare and prevention? Medicare is a good place to cut, or at least the way it is structured should be changed so that artificially prolonging life does not rob those in need of care in order to remain productive citizens. That’s what Dr. Emanuel thinks, and so does Dr. David Blumenthal.

Blumenthal argues that it is “debatable” in most cases whether the timely care Americans get is worth the cost. What do you want, America: get it fast like an order of fries, but the cost is too high and the quality of the care is empty calories? Obamacare aims to combat the cost and quality issues. As HealthCareReform.gov puts it, the president wants to control rising costs, guarantee doctor choice and assure high-quality care “for all Americans.” You won’t be excluded, but there will have to be limits. No more dangerous excursions like the out-of-control spending bus that is Medicare. Hospitals that practice upcoding will have to be held responsible.

Obamacare’s promise

• Reduce long-term growth of health care costs for businesses and government
• Protect families from bankruptcy or debt because of health care costs
• Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans
• Invest in prevention and wellness
• Improve patient safety and quality of care
• Assure affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans
• Maintain coverage when you change or lose your job
• End barriers to coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions

Doctors and hospitals

Do they need to do what they’re told? Clearly the idea of the government being able to tell doctors what level of care they can provide patients rankles many. But what if the government team itself is populated by doctors? And considering how often hospitals intentionally over bill Medicare programs, might it not be time to start cracking down on corruption in the places the general public hasn’t been pointing fingers? Perhaps Rick Scott and his hospital group’s $1.7 billion fine for cheating taxpayers (which the company copped to) should be a sign to the people that medical administrators and the doctors who work for them may not be very innocent. The reckless flow of money has to stop or America will go down in flames in a few more generations.

That’s what Obama is fighting against: the death of the American empire

McCaughey considers these to be “dangerous views.” But I say its dangerous for things to remain as they are. The overall health of the nation will continue to decline for as long as massive amounts of money are funneled out of Medicare due to cheating hospital executives and the artificial prolonging of life when clearly no healthy life is possible outside of the safety net of intensive medical care. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, said one Vulcan who was frequently reminded by a bellicose medical officer that he wasn’t human. I say that keeping universal health care with a public option away from the masses who cannot afford insurance but are otherwise productive citizens… is inhuman.

Legislators who would block a taxpayer’s access to payday loans and cash advances are also taking part in an inhuman act: stifling individual liberty and a person’s ability to decide for themselves. Apply here.

Related Video:

(a dissenting voice, for comic relief)

Rahm and Ezekiel Emanuel (Photo: exposeobama.com)

The battle over health care reform is making monkeys out of people on both sides of the political fence. There are thugs who make it their business to scream, bluster and whine in the most bellicose way possible so that people interested in intelligent debate are drowned out. There are others (even those in support of change) who resort to physical violence in order to make sure that opposing ideas are suppressed. There is no debate here; there is no practice of democracy. It does not embrace the ideals that America was founded upon.

I am not in the minority of Americans when I say that America should welcome change in the health care system; however, the minority of belligerents who scream at town hall meetings just happen to be the squeaky wheels. And you know what they say about squeaky wheels. Perhaps they’ll drown in the grease. Or at least use payday loans and cash advances to buy a boat to float above the muck.

Yes, it’s time to get tough

I will pay higher taxes if it means a public option for healthcare. I will also pay higher taxes to cover college education the way Scandinavian countries do it, but that’s another story for another time. The point I would impress upon your minds here is that the current system isn’t working, and little changes here or there won’t bridge the massive divide. Difficult changes must be made.

Betsy McCaughey writes in an op-ed piece for the New York Post entitled “Deadly Doctors: O Advisers Want to Ration Care” that the decisions about who will receive care would be placed “in the hands of presidential appointees” under Obamacare. They would be in charge of determining what individual plans cover, what your doctor can decide and what seniors will get from Medicare.

Medicare… part of the problem?

The last point regarding Medicare seems to have riled the most people. I’ll discuss McCaughey’s position on that more in a moment, but I have to say that America is facing a real problem. The Baby Boomer generation is living longer because of advances in health care. We now have more people aged 55 and up than ever before in the history of this nation, and that number only increases. If we aren’t already there, the time will come soon when there are more over-55s in America than there are those under 30 or 35. In some cases, it’s true that wisdom comes with age, but it’s also true that from an evolutionary standpoint, the glut of those middle-aged and older create a possible ticking time bomb.

Time bomb?

Clearly, it is a biological imperative that if a species is to survive, it must reproduce. People with a lessened ability to perform sexually – generally those of age – decrease the odds that the human species will survive. Furthermore, for those women who do become pregnant over the age of 40, the known risk of children being born with birth defects also increases. For instance, take a look here and you’ll notice an interesting chart that illustrates just how much the odds of Downs Syndrome or chromosomal abnormality increase the older the birth mother is. And offspring who are born with such birth defects require more resources from either the individual or the state (frequently the latter, in terms of disability money). Thus, a system is created where it is much more difficult for the biologically vigorous to ensure the biodiversity of the human race.

Yes, the aged and those with birth defects are people. Yes, they deserve to live with dignity. Yet are they a drain on a system that is overtaxed unless serious change is enacted? Yes.

Hippocratic Oath? Outdated.

McCaughey expresses fear that people like Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel (Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s brother)  and Dr. David Blumenthal are going to slay old people and those with mental illness or birth defects while they sleep. This is ridiculous, of course. These two key health advisers for the Obama administration recognize that we aren’t going to get through health care reform without getting our hair mussed, but they aren’t Nazi murderers the way the uneducated would have you believe. Emanuel put it succinctly when he told Health Affairs that

Vague promises of savings from cutting waste, enhancing prevention and wellness, installing electronic medical records and improving quality are merely “lipstick” cost control, more for show and public relations than for true change…

Savings on health care, writes Emanuel in the AMA Journal, will require that doctors begin to view their patients in a different light. That Hippocratic Oath has been taken “too seriously, as an imperative to do everything for the patient regardless of the cost or effects on others.”

CLICK HERE for a taste of real social justice. And if you need payday loans or cash advances, apply here.

Related Video:

Rick Scott, multi-millionaire lover or Medicare fraud (Photo: open.salon.com)

If you’re wondering who is primarily responsible for organizing the barbaric efforts to sabotage the Democratic town halls across the nation, wonder no longer. The man’s name is Rick Scott, and he is in charge of the Web site Conservatives For Patients Rights. He is a multimillionaire ex-hospital CEO whose company was charged with the largest case of financial fraud committed against the government in United States history.

Yes, the former CEO of the Columbia/HCA hospital system was at the helm during a span of 10 years when his company defrauded Medicare for $1.7 billion dollars. They were found guilty and that amount has been repaid – yet the conservative GOP pick Rick Scott to lead them into battle for responsible medical spending? Payday loans with no faxing and short term loans used responsibly help in a pinch, but I’m talking responsibility on an entirely different level.

Something stinks here, and the people deserve to know

According to various sources, Scott’s company was so brazen that they stamped certain documents with warnings that those documents should not be shown to Medicare auditors!

The practice that appears to have gotten Rick Scott’s company in trouble is something known as “upcoding.” Essentially, hospitals under Rick Scott’s watch were treating patients for minor ailments, then charging the Medicare exorbitant fees for much more serious (imaginary) illnesses. In addition, they reported the costs for things like employee functions, holiday parties, catering and other things unrelated to the expense of treating patients. Knowing this, would you trust Rick Scott to tell you what is or isn’t too expensive when it comes to health care? And the man’s level of honesty! He told CNN’s Rick Sanchez (see video below) that he “had no idea” about upcoding.

Who funds Medicare, by the way?

It’s you! Taxpayers! If you didn’t know before, you know now. Rick Scott was at the helm of a company that stole massive amounts of money from the American people. And he is against Obamacare because he (and likely his buddies in the industry) want to maintain the status quo. Use your brain. If you know there’s going to be a Democratic town hall about healthcare in your area, organize like-minded friends and go there, if for no other reason than to fight back against the mob organized by dishonest multi-millionaires like Rick Scott.

Oh, here’s a little tidbit that you can think of what you will. Scott, a lawyer, was once a co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball club… with George W. Bush.

Wait, receive bad care and pay handsomely… what’s not to hate?

According to Washington Post coverage, Scott is “using $5 million of his own money and up to $15 million more from supporters” to fund the screaming guerrilla resistance to any government-run program. Yet Scott had no problem working for a company that defrauded Medicare… which is in fact government-run insurance.

What people like Rick Scott and GOP poller Frank Luntz (who produced the 28-page memo that was recently discovered by the mainstream media) do distracts from the real issues on the table, said one senior Democratic staffer to the Post. Supporters of Obama’s plan point out the issues like long waits and shoddy care that the opposition point out are already problems in the U.S. under a private system. However, people also are receiving the benefit of either paying through the nose for care or staying home and developing long-term health problems because they don’t have insurance in the first place.

We deserve better than Rick Scott and his toadies

As if Americans would begin to die on the vine, Scott’s disciples claim that a health care system patterned after those in Canada or Great Britain would invite disaster. However, the Obama plan seeks a uniquely “American solution,” said Sen. Max Baucus to the Post. In all likelihood, this will mean a combination of the public and private system.

Single-payer insurance may be off the table, but that doesn’t mean that a reasonable compromise can’t be reached. However, leaving things mostly as they are now is entirely unreasonable, and Rick Scott should be ashamed for suggesting anything like that, considering his history. $1.7 billion isn’t a drop in the bucket, and upcoding is a serious problem that must be stopped. It’s not a situation where it’s only cheating if a hospital gets caught… it’s stealing money from the American people, people who sometimes need payday loans with no faxing, or short term loans.

If you’re in that situation, you can apply here today.

(Photo: votingfemale.wordpress.com)

You would expect that people would be able to hold a civilized discourse with elected officials when it comes to arguing the merits or drawbacks to an important piece of legislation. However, when it comes to universal healthcare with a public option in America, it appears that productive discussion is beyond the mental faculties of the maddening handful of people who instead shout and scream until town hall meetings are shut down.

Considering how similar the tactics of these hooligans have been across the nation at the various town hall meetings, it seems like these people have been organized. No, it doesn’t just seem like it… they have actually been organized and paid for! No short term loans or payday loans here – they’re receiving cash stipends. In some cases, they’ll probably also receive jobs within the Republican Party, much like protesters at the Florida Bush-Gore recount did.

“Shut it down!”

According to “The Rachel Maddow Show,” a leaked memo from a group called Right Principles was intercepted by the Web site Think Progress. This memo indicates that these town hall protests against Democratic senators speaking in support of public option health insurance are being orchestrated, even scripted. They are instructions on how to shut down the town hall meetings.

Here are some sample instructions given to the supposedly “average Joe” voters:

You need to rock-the-boat early in the Rep’s presentation, Watch for an opportunity to yell out and challenge the Rep’s statements early. If he blames Bush for something or offers other excuses — call him on it, yell back and have someone else tallow-up with a shout-out. The goal is to rattle him.

When the formal Q&A session begins get all your hands up and keep them up…. The balance of the group should applaud when the question is asked, further putting the Rep on the defensive.

And who produced that memo?

Bob MacGuffie, a man who works for a Washington DC lobbying firm called Freedom Works. Freedom Works is run by Dick Armey, who is the former Republican majority leader. Apparently Freedom Works doesn’t actually believe in freedom, however, or they’d understand that both sides should be FREE to speak. Shouts and attempts to intimidate are not characteristics of an honest organization.

Intimidation? Yes. It isn’t just shouting. According to Maddow, one congressman from New York named Tim Bishop had to be escorted to his car by five police officers after his town hall event came to a screeching halt. It would have been unsafe to do otherwise.

If you need to purchase your own security detail, short term loans and payday loans can help. Apply here to protect yourself from hooligans!

This is not politics

This is not even representative of reasonable members of the public that might have questions about President Obama’s proposed universal healthcare with a public option. There are people who are being advised and likely paid to be boorish and cause distraction. It’s a cheap tactic that should only serve to swing momentum back to the Obama camp in a form of political judo. Their bluster will be turned against the GOP, particularly since the highest ranked Republicans in the Senate are stepping forward to endorse this hooliganism.

Maddow compares the scare tactics with what “deathers” are doing. These are the people who are attempting to frighten uninformed or easily manipulated Medicare patients that Obamacare is a plot to “kill old people.” The amount of idiocy that goes into concocting such an idea is staggering.

But don’t take my word for it. Check out the videos below, and see not only how this desperate attempt at organization is taking place, but also how it relates to the controversial Florida recount in the Bush-Gore race.

Related Videos:

Birthers probably wonder if his medical license is from Kenya, too (Photo: Examiner.com)

Sen. McCain has already made it known that he didn’t approve of the original $1 billion allotted for the Cash For Clunkers bill, so he definitely doesn’t approve of funneling $2 billion more into it. He will do all he can short of a filibuster (the GOP can’t pull that off since the Democrats have a super majority) to stop the additional funding. Good luck, John. By running out of money so quickly, it could be argued that Cash For Clunkers has been an overwhelming success. That is, the Obama administration got what they wanted in less than two weeks, when they had allotted several months to get thousands of gas-guzzling cars off the road. Now, if I can convince you to try no fax payday loans and short term loans when your budget needs a bridge to payday – and do it in that little time – this little venture here would be equally successful.

The auto industry definitely needed a boost

And cornerstones of the American economy (like Ford Motors) got it in July, largely thanks to the Cash For Clunkers bill. I don’t care how long it took Cash For Clunkers to achieve it’s goal… it was successful. And I now believe that it shouldn’t be extended, because too many taxpayers will come to depend on such a program over time. I like the description that it was supposed to “prime the pump” for automotive industry sales, not become a permanent fixture. Whether people are going to truly be able to afford the Cash For Clunkers bill vehicles they’ve obtained is another matter.

But did Cash For Clunkers help the Obamacare movement?

And by Obamacare, know that I’m referring to the current effort to reform the healthcare system. Clearly, the amount of time and money that would be involved in making the Cash For Clunkers bill program a success was underestimated. That has led to scores of conservative commentators saying that if they miss the cost estimate on something like Cash For Clunkers, just imagine was the Obama administration will do with health care reform.

An interesting blog post by Robert George on the NBC Bay Area Web site points out the above alternative view of the Cash For Clunkers goings on. What if the costs for universal health care are being underestimated? We know that Americans were quick to lap up the Cash For Clunkers deal. If we’re talking taking care for oneself, would that be even more in demand? Apply for no fax payday loans and short term loans while you think about it.

Not so much

Americans show every day just how much they care about their vehicles versus their own bodies. Constant washing and maintenance, pushing their credit to the limit, all part of that love affair with the automobile. Yet the majority of people in this country don’t take proper care of themselves. Smoking, overeating, lack of exercise, damaging the environment and having it come back to them in a big way with a rise in skin cancer due to ozone holes… and that’s just the beginning.

But George spins this as fiscal irresponsibility. It’s a common argument against Obama’s health care plan, and the fact that Cash For Clunkers ran out of money as quickly as it did won’t help dispel that notion. $1 trillion over 10 years for Obamacare? Seems unlikely, but whatever the case, we must be willing to pay for the health of our population. Trim the fat from anywhere; I’d suggest obsolete defense contracts that are left on the books merely because they keep people close to Republican congressmen and women employed.

It won’t make Obama’s battle any easier

If Obamacare is going to make it as it needs to, Democrats are going to have to remain unified behind the notion that there will be areas to cut. There have to be, considering how many taxpayers we have. That money has to be going somewhere, and if we can cut out the pork projects, I’m sure there’s enough money to make universal healthcare a reality.

Related Video (apparently, there they were feeling the aftershocks of the Baja California quakes):