Posted on 08/10/2009 8:08:30 AM PDT by koraz
Dear Friend,
Anyone that's watched the news in the past few days knows that health insurance reform is a hot topic — and that rumors and scare tactics have only increased as more people engage with the issue. Given a lot of the outrageous claims floating around, it’s time to make sure everyone knows the facts about the security and stability you get with health insurance reform.
That’s why we’ve launched a new online resource — WhiteHouse.gov/RealityCheck — to help you separate fact from fiction and share the truth about health insurance reform. Here's a few of the reality check videos you can find on the site:
CEA Chair Christina Romer details how health insurance reform will impact small businesses. Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes tackles a nasty rumor about euthanasia and clearly describes how reform helps families. Matt Flavin, the White House's Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy, clears the air about Veteran's benefits. Kavita Patel, M.D., a doctor serving in the White House's Office of Public Engagement, explains that health care rationing is happening right now and how reform gives control back to patients and doctors. Bob Kocher, M.D., a doctor serving on the National Economic Council, debunks the myth that health insurance reform will be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. There's more information and a number of online tools you can use to spread the truth among your family, friends and other social networks. Take a look:
We knew going into this effort that accomplishing comprehensive health insurance reform wasn't going to be easy. Achieving real change never is. The entrenched interests that benefit from the status quo always use their influence in Washington to try and keep things just as they are.
But don't be misled. We know the status quo is unsustainable. If we do nothing, millions more Americans will be denied insurance because of pre-existing conditions, or see their coverage suddenly dropped if they become seriously ill. Out-of-pocket expenses will continue to soar, and more and more families and businesses will be forced to deal with health insurance costs they can’t afford.
That's the reality.
Americans deserve better. You deserve a health care system that works as well for you as it does for the status quo; one you can depend on — that won't deny you coverage when you need it most or charge you crippling out-of-pocket co-pays. Health insurance reform means guaranteeing the health care security and stability you deserve.
President Barack Obama promised he'd bring change to Washington and fix our broken, unsustainable health insurance system. You can help deliver that change. Visit WhiteHouse.gov/RealityCheck, get the facts and spread the truth. The stakes are just too high to do nothing.
Thank you, David
David Axelrod Senior Advisor to the President
Matt Flavin, the White House’s Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy, clears the air about Veteran’s benefits.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/07/military_veteransgroups_healthcare_073109w/
Six major veterans groups have warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that they will oppose a national health care reform bill unless major changes are made to protect veterans and their families.
In a July 30 letter, the groups said that HR 3200, the America’s Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009, could increase veterans’ health care costs, limit their treatment options, deny coverage to their families and “threaten the quality of health care offered to veterans through the VA health care system.”
Kavita Patel, M.D., a doctor serving in the White House’s Office of Public Engagement, explains that health care rationing is happening right now and how reform gives control back to patients and doctors.
Correcting the Untruths About Obama’s Health Plan!
Obama says: “But keep in mind - I mean this is something that I can’t emphasize enough - you don’t have to participate. If you are happy with the health care that you’ve got, then keep it.”
Defend your HealthCare
THE TRUTH: The health bills now before Congress would force you to switch to a managed-care plan with limits on your access to specialists and tests.
Two main bills are being rushed through Congress with the goal of combining them into a finished product by August. Under either, a new government bureaucracy will select health plans that it considers in your best interest, and you will have to enroll in one of these “qualified plans.” If you now get your plan through work, your employer has a five-year “grace period” to switch you into a qualified plan. If you buy your own insurance, you’ll have less time.
And as soon as anything changes in your contract - such as a change in copays or deductibles, which many insurers change every year - you’ll have to move into a qualified plan instead (House bill, p. 16-17).
When you file your taxes, if you can’t prove to the IRS that you are in a qualified plan, you’ll be fined thousands of dollars - as much as the average cost of a health plan for your family size - and then automatically enrolled in a randomly selected plan (House bill, p. 167-168).
It’s one thing to require that people getting government assistance tolerate managed care, but the legislation limits you to a managed-care plan even if you and your employer are footing the bill (Senate bill, p. 57-58). The goal is to reduce everyone’s consumption of health care and to ensure that people have the same health-care experience, regardless of ability to pay.
http://www.defendyourhealthcare.us/images/website_rebuttal.pdf
Bob Kocher, M.D., a doctor serving on the National Economic Council, debunks the myth that health insurance reform will be financed by cutting Medicare benefits.
“The $156 billion in Medicare Advantage cuts over the next decade proposed by Mr. Obama will force many seniors to go back to traditional Medicare at greater expense. A new study for the Florida Association of Health Plans found that because Medicare Advantage plans have richer benefits and lower deductibles and copayments than traditional Medicare, seniors in that state would face dramatically higher payments if forced to give up their Medicare Advantage plans. Cost increases would range from $2,214 a year in Jacksonville to $3,714 a year in Miami.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203517304574306303720472842.html
Also, interesting post at #20 regarding the mandatory end of life counseling written in HR 3200.
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for the ping, nutmeg. David Goebbels Axelrod is a crock of clinton.
BTW, I think we need to switch from the communist comparisons and use the National Socialist Party, NAZI, when speaking of these people. My reason is that communist references are often too subtle for the uninformed. The sheeple need to see the similarities to nazi propaganda.
Info ping
That’s the problem with discussing the issues with them: their focus is getting SOMETHING, ANYTHING, huge passed ASAP, and if “discussing” it allays your fears, and if “adjusting” terminology garners your support, they’ll do it - despite the fact that the core axiom is absolutely anathema to our values.
We need to make clear we don’t want to “discuss” it (well, they don’t want to either, they just want to ram it down our throats), we DON’T WANT IT in any form.
Hence their insistence on setting the Terri Shaivo (sp?) precedent.
The notion that negotiating one’s “nutrition and hydration” is acceptable in law is absolutely unacceptable morally. It’s cheap, it’s simple, it’s normal - and anyone questioning that is so morally impaired as to be unworthy of being part of the overall discussion.
Why can’t they just work on real tort reform and actually fix a majority of the problem and then get rid of the illegal aliens and get rid of 90% of the rest of the problem. I mean, seriously, how hard can it be to actually do the right thing instead of the political power-grab thing?
Since you’re doing such a good job of keeping us informed, I figured you could use a humor break on this.
The American Medical Association has weighed in on Obama’s new health care package. The Allergists were in favor of scratching it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves. The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.
Meanwhile, Obstetricians felt certain everyone was laboring under a misconception, while the Ophthalmologists considered the idea shortsighted. Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!”, while the Pediatricians said, “Oh, grow up!”
The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while the Radiologists could see right through it. Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and the Internists claimed it would indeed be a bitter pill to swallow. The Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would “put a whole new face on the matter”.
The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea. Anesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and those softy Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.
In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in Washington.
Very funny!! Thanks for sharing.
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