Posted on 06/14/2009 1:13:33 PM PDT by reaganaut1
Republicans on Sunday continued to express strong concerns over the Obama administration’s plan to reform health care and its call for a public insurance option.
“I think that, for virtually every Republican, a government plan is a non-starter,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We know that, if the government gets in this business, pretty soon nobody else will be in the business.”
Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican of the Senate Finance Committee, added that that he had not determined whether the spending cuts Mr. Obama has outlined were realistic.
...
Mr. McConnell, from Kentucky, said similar plans in other countries have led to delays in medical care, and that improvements to the system could be made with litigation reform and government incentive for wellness programs.
...
Paying for Mr. Obama’s plan includes cutting more than $200 billion in expected reimbursements to hospitals over the next decade, a proposal that Mr. McConnell called “extremely controversial.”
“You’re going to hear from every hospital in America and virtually every doctor pushing back, because they’re having a hard time dealing with the cuts that have been imposed already,” he said.
Even before Mr. Obama made his reform plan the focus of his Saturday radio address, the president of the American Hospital Association, Richard J. Umbdenstock, told his members across the country that Congress might cut provider payments. Mr. Umbdenstock asked hospitals to “push back” against the proposed cuts.
Senator Grassley, speaking “Fox News Sunday,” questioned the figures the White House has attached to its cost-saving plan.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Not sure why Dodd was there ~ but Fur Shur both these guys are getting old and Chris was able to handle them with no problem at all. In fact, he's the only talking head show guy who knows how to handle old people. He will go far in this business.
Now, to the point ~ Dodd kept telling us that the Obama plan will focus on preventive medicine and that will save BILLIONS. Grassley kept telling us the numbers don't add up and Dodd kept agreeing with him, but never failed to add in the old "but we will save BILLIONS with preventive medicine.
Made me wonder if Dodd realized that one of the more powerful "preventive medicine" tools is to CUT ALCOHOLICS OFF! Just dry 'em out.
Somebody's got to get to Chris Dodd and let him know what's coming.
McConnell: “We know that, if the government gets in this business, pretty soon nobody else will be in the business.”
This would be like if you set up a lemonade stand and sell lemonade for 5 cents and your neighbor sets one up and gives lemonade out for free, unless people are dropping like flies from the “free” lemonade, you’ll lose all but your most loyal customers and you’ll have to raise your prices on them in order to stay in business - eventually, the increase will be too much, even for them.
There’s no such thing as ‘free lemonade’ :-)
.... and more importantly, no such thing as ‘free healthcare’. And people _will_ eventually, be dropping like flies from ‘free healthcare’. That’s happened wherever it’s been tried. Although the State Run Media will be proclaiming it a complete success!
Forcing people to buy insurance is not considered a government plan?
In actual fact, they are "regressions."
Many insured have little say on who their employer selects, and many upon many unsuspecting peeps will have their health insurance quickly CONFISCATED as employers (think public employees and union members here) cut costs by converting to the alleged public "option".
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My vision of Obama's plan? Long waits, behind illegal aliens to be seen by a surly nurse practitioner who hates you because you are keeping her from her break.
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I think that, for virtually every Republican, a government plan is a non-starter
I think for anyone that has a brain Government healthcare is a non starter.
You like the DMV,then Government healthcare is for you.
You like Amtrak,then Government healthcare is for you.
You think the Post Office is efficiently run,then Government healthcare is for you.
You like freedom,liberty the US Constitution and the principles that America was founded on? Then Government healthcare is the last thing on this planet that you want.
Wait until its free and then see How much it will cost?
Not only in dollars ,just look at Schools that take Government Money,or Car companies or Dealers or Banks ,or Insurance Companies, schools teach Kindergardeners about homosexuality,CEOs are appointed by Politicians.
In Health Care reform WE are the car dealers,when you are to old you are refused care because it costs to much,when you are younger they will mandate behaviour in order to qualify for care, FREE? RI-——ght!
Extremely controversial. Ya think?
The country is in too much debt so increase spending astronomically.
There isn't enough health care to go around so cut spending by hundreds of billions.
I guess I'm just too dumb to understand economics or even simple math anymore.
Then, he's taking over the Indian reservation facilities (that's the Sand Hill's Nebraska thing Sebelius revealed yesterday).
This morning we learned from Chris Dodd that the Obamistas really do intend to seize expenditures regularly made for Medicare and divert those funds to other programs.
Next, federal government employees and retirees will find themselves paying their insurance share PLUS taxes on the remainder, into a federal fund tapped by everybody.
It will spread from there to state and local government employees, welfare recipients, medical research facilities and doctors receiving federal grants (to create cures for cancer, etc.)
There's already a lot of money spent on medicine by the federal government ~ some for care, some for purchase of private insurance as part of employee's incomes, or deferred incomes, and for medical research.
All of that will be put into one pile to make it look like the impact on the private sector is minimal.
You know those surly postal clerks you run into every now and then? Imagine all of them sick because they can't get to a doctor due to the thousands in line ahead of them. No doubt they are the kind of sweethearts Obama will want everybody to turn into.
I wonder why the stupid GOP can’t get out the message - “If they can save money why not prove it with Medicare /Medicaid?” This is typical of the GOP they can’t get out a good message - cap and trade is a $300 per month tax on home electicity and gasoline...end of story. They can’t learn anything from business because most have been politicans too long and their staff are politicans too.
G.O.P. Senators Question Obama’s Health Reforms
G.O.P. Senators Question Obama’s Health Deforms
There.. typo fixed.
“G.O.P. Senators Question Obama’s Health Reforms”
They had better do a helluva lot more than that!
Please forgive my ignorance, because every day under 0bama's radiant brilliance I just get dumber and dumber, but isn't he saying that instead of increasing health care he is going to create a life style program and it's going to be done by taking funding from current health care spending?
Help me, I must be way off base here.
I'm going to have to kidnap both a doctor and a pharmacist if this plan is put into effect.
So my real problem, being a conservative, is that I'm still thinking and the solution is to drop that and get back to my tax-earning duties and let the Queen Bee, 0bama, direct the hive?
He's cutting health care per individual to add more individuals.
If he's going to add 50 million consumers into the system without increasing the number of providers that was already a given. Factor in that he is decreasing providers by chasing out the ones with consciences about killing other humans (as a service.) It would only make sense that the quantity of services available to the individual would have to decrease.
Now that we have pared down the treatment side to nearly nothing I guess it does make sense to forget about it altogether and take the capital spent there and put it into a "Don't ever get sick" program.
I'm going to have to kidnap both a doctor and a pharmacist if this plan is put into effect.
Ah, yes! Beat 0bama to the punch so to speak. Look on the bright side. The best ones will be running away from this in a panic so they will be easier for you to catch.
Invest in funeral homes NOW or if you can, open one up. Business will boom under Obamacare!!!
Biden admits that they didn’t know what they are talking about in unemployment predictions. But now we are supposed to fall for the healthcare predictions?
Part of Obamacare will have to be providing education for future doctors because the ones in practice now will retire. I guess they can give the standard civil service exam and make an applicant a GS-MD. Health care provided by the same folks who work at the post office with the same lovely attitude.
Drug cartels may be ahead of you on this.
I get so tired of Left wing nut jobs saying ... but ... but... you will still be able to choose your current provider even if this passes...
BULL
Most people that have insurance don’t go and choose it... they get whatever plan their employer provides.
And once a “free” plan is offered by the government... guess how long it will be until YOUR company decides to switch to the “free” government plan and pocket the savings?
I also here the Libs saying that government health care wont be rationed and the elderly and diabled wont be treated worse... yeah right... so your telling me that if I was brain dead and on life support the government isn’t going to be pulling the plug ASAP regardless of what the family wants? Or that the government is going to pay for 20 rounds of chemo for a 90 year old?
We need to kill this whole idea now and forever.
44% of US physicians are over the age of 55yrs..
http://www.massmed.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home6&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=30002
Excerpt: “A review of the AMA Physician Characteristics Data, which are displayed in the accompanying appendix and used in the Index shows that in 1992, 30.5 percent of physicians with a Massachusetts registration were 55 years of age or older. In 2008 this ratio increased to 41.1 percent. Without doubt, this increase is most disturbing and must be accorded greater attention, especially in light of the rapidly emerging shortage of physicians. This is also an emerging issue for the U.S. as a whole as the percentage of physicians age 55 and over has increased from 34 percent in 1992 to 44 percent in 2008.”
No plans to minimize their retirements in the face of high pressure incentives. Last year, a doctor I know in MS stated that the contract administrator in his state was behind in payments 8 months to him and other doctors. Similar situations have occurred in many other states. Also, there may be more self-employed doctors than salaried hospital staff doctors, and, information is most lacking on them.
Point is there are suggestions that in a hostile financial environment a highly significant number of MDs may be forced out of practice. The waiting lines where the govt assigns waiting lines will be long...Sat. appointments at the local school gym anyone?
I’ll do them one better than that: I question every thing the POS does.
You don't even need to go out of the category. Medicare and Medicaid are the two stellar examples of how it doesn't work and both are bankrupt.
Although of course, you're right on the others.
Good point. Also 'hospices,' where people who are rationed out of care, will go to die slowly. Something my grandparents used to dread - 'poor houses' - they'll return.
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