Posted on 10/10/2009 10:05:05 PM PDT by socialismisinsidious
States of Personal Privilege (Healthcare Bill more fair to some)
Wall Street Journal ^ | 10/10/09 | Kimberley Strassel
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 6:29:35 AM by cowtowney
How good is Sen. Max Baucus's health reform bill? So good that Democrats have made sure some of the most costly provisions don't apply to their own states.
The Senate Finance Committee is gearing up for a final vote next week, and Chairman Baucus now appears to have the Democratic votes to pass his bill. Getting this far has of course meant cutting deals, and those deals, it turns out, are illuminating. The senators are all for imposing "reform" on the nation, so long as it doesn't disadvantage their constituents.
80% Marginal Tax Rates After Health Care Reform?
TaxProfBlog ^ | 10/8/2009 | Paul L. Caron
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 7:22:32 AM by SonOfDarkSkies
N. Gregory Mankiw (Harvard University, Department of Economics) speculates that marginal tax rates under the Baucus health care "concept" could be as high as 80%:
ObamaCare vote Tuesday; stealth plan exposed
Email | Steve Elliott
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 8:21:34 AM by Man50D
Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org Alliance
We just learned that the Senate Finance Committee will vote on its sketchy version of ObamaCare on Tuesday.
It's all part of the Reid/Pelosi/Obama plan to ram through a final healthcare bill that was written behind closed doors with little or no public debate.
But the key first step is getting ObamaCare passed through the Finance Committee on Tuesday. If Chairman Baucus fails on Tuesday, it would be a serious blow to the Democrats' stealth plan. Here's why...
Baucus Health Care Bill is Financed on the Backs of Seniors
Washington Examiner/The Lid ^ | 10/9/09 | The Lid
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 9:11:00 AM by Shellybenoit
Much of the Baucus version of the Obamacare bill is being paid for by raiding the wallets of America's seniors, many of whom are on fixed incomes and cannot afford the extra expense.
Half the tab of the Bausus is being paid for via cuts to Medicare. Another provision in the bill would tax the manufacturers of medical devices and replacement parts. Of course those higher costs will be passed on to consumers. Most, Among the items selected be taxed are products mostly used by Seniors including Pacemakers, Hip joint replacements, Powered wheelchairs, Hearing aids, and Prosthetic heart valve rotators.
Baucus Bill Would Cost More than $2 Trillion
CATO@LIBERTY ^ | October 8, 2009 @ 12:34 pm | Michael F. Cannon
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 11:25:33 PM by FreeKeys
Sen. Max Baucus’s (D-MT) health care overhaul would cost more than $2 trillion. It would expand the deficit. But he has carefully and methodically hidden those facts – so well that he has completely hoodwinked nearly all the major media.
Where's the Health Care Bill?
Human Events ^ | 10/9/2009 | Brian Darling
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 3:39:42 PM by Heartlander2
As you read this, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and officials of the Obama administration are in a room at the Capitol rewriting health care policy. The American people aren’t invited. Only a few lobbyists, Obama czars and liberal Senators have even been allowed to see this bill.
U.S. healthcare reform gathers steam in Congress
Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 10/9/09 | John Whitesides
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 4:48:01 PM by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama's push for healthcare reform gathered steam on Thursday as a Senate panel scheduled a key vote for next week and Democrats in the House of Representatives moved closer to unveiling a bill.
The Senate Finance Committee will vote on Tuesday on its healthcare plan after budget analysts gave the bill a rosy report card, estimating it would meet Obama's goal of reducing the budget deficit over 10 years.
Senate committee health care vote planned Tuesday
NY Post ^ | October 8, 2009 | Associated Press
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 7:34:20 PM by Scanian
WASHINGTON -- Senate leaders on Thursday announced a climactic Finance Committee vote next week on health care legislation, even as Democrats and Republicans kept feuding over its cost and breadth of coverage.
New DNC Ad "Republican Support" Uses Words Of Republicans To Push Health Care (Video)
hotairpundit ^ | 10/9/09 | talkradio03
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 9:07:32 PM by Talkradio03
Democratic National Committee's new ad uses Republicans against Republicans, this is why they used to love McCain so much, he would agree with the other side....(Video of Ad)
Could Obamacare Be Repealed? Encouraging signs from the states.
National Review Online ^ | October 08, 2009 | Stephen Spruiell
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 9:38:14 PM by neverdem
In the early 1990s, eight state governments imposed “guaranteed issue” and “community rating” regulations on health-insurance companies operating in their states. Guaranteed issue means that insurance companies cannot deny coverage except in rare cases, such as those involving fraud. Community rating means that insurance companies are restricted in their ability to charge higher rates based on things like gender, age, or medical history. All the versions of Obamacare being debated in Congress would impose guaranteed issue and community rating on the nation.
A "Yes" Vote On Cloture Crushes Medicare and American Medicine
Hugh Hewitt ^ | 10-8-09 | Hugh Hewitt
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 7:31:16 AM by radioone
Eight Democratic senators stand between the Medicare and the destruction of the senior health care program as well as the ruin of American medicine generally.
Bigger savings seen from limiting medical lawsuits
Associated Press ^ | October 9, 2009 | RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR (AP)
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 2:56:20 PM by keepitreal
WASHINGTON — Limits on medical malpractice lawsuits would lead doctors to order up fewer unneeded tests and save taxpayers billions more than previously thought, budget umpires for Congress said Friday in a reversal that puts the issue back in the middle of the health care debate.
The latest analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that government health care programs could save $41 billion over ten years if nationwide limits on jury awards for pain and suffering and other similar curbs were enacted. Those savings are nearly ten times greater than CBO estimated just last year.
CBO says tort reform reduces deficit
The Washington Times ^ | October 9, 2009 | Jennifer Haberkorn
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 4:18:26 PM by jazusamo
Bolstering what is likely to be one of the Republicans' key health care reform arguments on the Senate floor, Congress' budget scorekeeper ruled that medical malpractice reform could reduce the federal deficit by $54 billion over 10 years.
Tort reform has been one of Republicans' top health care reform proposals, but it hasn't been strongly embraced by Democrats. President Obama, in his address to a joint session of Congress last month, said he would consider tort reform legislation as part of his health care plan.
Read the health bill! Not as easy as you think(AP shills for dems)
The Associated Press ^ | ERICA WERNER
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 6:55:20 PM by mdittmar
Read the bill! It was a rallying cry at angry health care town halls this summer and has evolved into something of a political movement.
Many Americans are demanding that lawmakers actually read the comprehensive legislation they've written — or at least make it publicly available — before voting on it.
Insurance Mandates Draw Flak From Both Sides
wall street journal ^ | 10/9/2009 | JANET ADAMY and GREG HITT
Posted on Friday, October 09, 2009 9:14:49 PM by tobyhill
Proposals that would require Americans to buy health insurance -- central to legislation circulating in both houses of Congress -- are under fire from both ends of the political spectrum, with some liberals saying the penalties are too harsh for those who refuse and conservatives denouncing the whole concept.
Health-Care Bill May Not Get Single GOP Vote in the House
The Washington Post ^ | 2009-10-10 | Ben Pershing
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 1:07:52 AM by rabscuttle385
The House is inching closer to voting on a comprehensive health-care bill, even as the chamber appears so divided that the measure may not attract a single Republican supporter.
The final vote, likely in late October, is impossible to predict, but lawmakers and aides from both parties said this week that there is a strong chance the GOP will be unanimous in its opposition. Such a result would mark the second time -- the first came on the economic stimulus package in February -- that the entire House minority rejected one of President Obama's top domestic initiatives.
Paying the Health Tax in Massachusetts [Romneycare]
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 2009-10-10 | Wendy Williams
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 2:45:33 AM by rabscuttle385
Cape Cod, Mass.
My husband retired from IBM about a decade ago, and as we aren't old enough for Medicare we still buy our health insurance through the company. But IBM, with its typical courtesy, informed us recently that we will be fined by the state.
Why? Because Massachusetts requires every resident to have health insurance, and this year, without informing us directly, the state had changed the rules in a way that made our bare-bones policy no longer acceptable.
Unless we ponied up for a pricier policy we neither need nor want—or enrolled in a government-sponsored insurance plan—we would have to pay $1,000 each year to the state.
To Pay for Health Care Plan, 59% Say No New Taxes on Those Earning Under $250,000
Rasmussen Reports ^ | October 6, 2009
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 7:39:48 AM by reaganaut1
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of U.S. voters favor putting a provision in the health care reform plan that would prohibit any new taxes, fees or penalties on families who make less than $250,000 a year.
54% Favor Middle-Class Tax Cuts Over New Spending on Health Care
Rasmussen Reports ^ | October 9, 2009
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 7:46:17 AM by reaganaut1
Most members of the Senate Finance Committee were relieved this week to find that their health care reform plan will cost under $900 billion over the next 10 years and is actually projected to bring the federal deficit down by $81 billion.
But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most voters continue to favor middle class tax cuts over spending more money for health care reform.
(Pres__ent's) Weekly Address: New Momentum for Health Reform (Includes transcript)
White House Blog at whitehouse.gov ^ | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10TH, 2009 AT 12:01 AM
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 8:40:39 AM by cc2k
Weekly Address: New Momentum for Health Reform
Posted by Jesse Lee
The President goes through the leading conservative and Republican figures who have come out one after another urging passage of health insurance reform. After a summer of intense debate, cooler heads begin to prevail to make progress for the American people.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Washington, DC October 10, 2009
Is the Individual Mandate the poison pill in ObamaCare?
Patriot Room ^ | October 10, 2009 | Bill Dupray
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 10:10:40 AM by Bill Dupray
The reason you never see a federal law requiring you to individually purchase something you don't want is because there is no authority for the government to do that. The United States has a Constitution. This is not Europe, although the Democrats sorely wish it were (and govern as if it is), where governments can can do whatever they want to their citizens. Our government is, by design, restricted in what it can order us to do. Ordering Americans to purchase health insurance is patently unconstitutional. The fact that the mandate is in every Democrat plan is simply a poison pill waiting to undo all the liberals good intentions.
Health-care frustration (Canada's Sainted Universal Care - Epic Fail)
The Bugle-Observer (Woodstock, NB) ^ | October 10, 2009 | Jim Dumville
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 12:09:53 PM by buccaneer81
Kidney patient must make three trips a week to Saint John for dialysis, while a unit sits idle 10 minutes from her home A1 By Jim Dumville
Helping her mother travel more than 1,200 kilometres each week to secure life-saving medical procedure, while the necessary medical equipment sits only a few kilometres away, has become a major source of disbelief and frustration for a Woodstock businesswoman.
Obama's Health Plan Offers Medicare Cuts, Tax Increases First, Benefits Later
FoxNews ^ | Saturday, October 10, 2009
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 12:31:18 PM by Joiseydude
Under the Democratic bills, federal tax credits to help make health insurance affordable for millions of low- and middle-income households won't start flowing until 2013 -- after the next presidential election. But Medicare cuts and a sizable chunk of the tax increases to pay for the overhaul kick in immediately.
Wait for benefits is 3 years if health care passes
AP on Yahoo ^ | 10/10/09 | Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar - ap
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 1:55:28 PM by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON – Sixty years is how long Democrats say they've been pushing for legislation that provides health care access for all Americans. They'll have to wait another three if President Barack Obama gets a bill to sign this year.
Under the Democratic bills, federal tax credits to help make health insurance affordable for millions of low- and middle-income households won't start flowing until 2013 — after the next presidential election. But Medicare cuts and a sizable chunk of the tax increases to pay for the overhaul kick in immediately.
Obama points to growing momentum for health-care reform (RINO's)
Market Watch ^ | Oct. 10, 2009 | Kate Gibson
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 12:46:36 PM by AuntB
President Obama on Saturday urged Congress to "rise above the politics of the moment" and adopt healthcare legislation, saying the effort has gathered momentum in recent days, with Republicans, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Senate Majority leader Bill Frist, endorsing reform.
Obama: Time for final health care push
politico.com ^ | Oct. 10, 2009 | JOSH GERSTEIN
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 2:12:36 PM by Free ThinkerNY
Declaring that the drive for health care reform is “in its final days,” President Barack Obama is trying to push legislation over the finish line by touting what he says is an unprecedented outpouring of bipartisan support from former Republican lawmakers and officials for an overhaul of the nation’s health insurance system.
Democrat: Tort reform to be a part of final health care bill
Legal News ^ | 10-10-09
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 5:42:20 PM by Ja7430
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)-The health care overhaul bill congressional Democrats hope to send President Barack Obama this year will very likely contain some measure of tort reform, a Sacramento-area congresswoman told Legal Newsline on Saturday.
A dangerous secret to the Baucus health bill
Fortune ^ | October 9, 2009 | Shawn Tully
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 8:13:01 PM by neverdem
Two in a series: Hidden in the Senate's health-care bill are huge incentives for corporate America to stop covering their workers. If that happens, the deficit could skyrocket.
Now that the Congressional Budget Office has concluded that the health-care bill proposed by Sen. Max Baucus will shrink the federal deficit over the next ten years, its champions are heralding the legislation as a model of fiscal responsibility.
But the CBO's comforting analysis relies on a big assumption that's highly questionable, an assumption that virtually no one on either side of the debate -- politicians, pundits, even economists -- is even challenging.
The assumption is that America's employers will keep providing coverage for their workers. But, in fact, the Baucus bill severely undermines the employer rationale for offering insurance. Economist Michael Tanner of the conservative Cato Institute points out two main reasons.
Obama praises Republicans who support health reform (fortunately, none sit in Congress today)
AFP on Yahoo ^ | 10/10/09 | AFP
Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 10:02:05 PM by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama on Saturday praised Republicans who expressed support for his health care reform, saying it was time for Congress to "rise above" political posturing and pass his proposals.
"That is the spirit of national purpose that we must summon right now," Obama said in his weekly radio address.
"Now is the time to rise above the politics of the moment," he continued. "Now is the time to come together as Americans."
Let’s all call our politicians on Monday, and tell them to vote NO!
bump
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