Hey Kids, let's play a fun new game called "Can You Spot the Liberal?"
Posted on 09/12/2009 8:00:42 AM PDT by engrpat
WASHINGTON – Roger Raines, 66, of Sacramento is worried that he will lose access to his doctors if President Barack Obama has his way.
He has survived male breast cancer, diabetes and congestive heart failure. And he pays $480 a month to a private insurer to supplement his Medicare, getting extra benefits by enrolling in an increasingly popular program called Medicare Advantage. He doesn't want to be pushed into the regular Medicare program.
"If they cut from Medicare Advantage, I won't be able to keep my own doctors," Raines said Friday.
Fears of Medicare cuts are providing more fuel for the already hot national debate over health care. While Obama is promising to make no cuts in traditional Medicare benefits, it's clear that big changes could still be in the offing.
So far, Obama has been hazy in saying exactly how he would save billions by going after the always-nebulous waste and fraud in Medicare. But he has been very clear in saying that he wants to get rid of $177 billion in subsidies for Medicare Advantage.
"Insurance companies basically get $177 billion of taxpayer money to provide services that Medicare already provides," Obama said at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire last month. "And it's no better. It doesn't result in better health care for seniors. It is a giveaway of $177 billion."
Obama said it would make more sense to use the $177 billion to provide coverage to the uninsured than to subsidize insurance companies.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Obama did reveal that he is killing that program.
Who will get great healthcare? Union members, blacks, hispanics and millionaires. Everyone else will get far less healthcare or none at all.
He said he was going to spread the wealth. Most people didn’t know what that meant. WE DID!
If this man isn’t part of the Democrat voter base, Obama will see to it that he dies from disease.
Obama is the master of waste and fraud and lies he is delusional with his healthcare program it’s just another lame Obama and company idea to have a little more control over the people.If the feds can’t run Medicare with-out being billions in the rat hole how can they run a huge program like healthcare program.
Contrary to what 0 says, Medicare Advantage does provide more coverage to seniors, ie I have vision and dental insurance through my Advantage policy, AND the premium is a few dollars less than Medicare.
Yup. Take from the hard working White middle-class and give it to those who won't work.
When the President said “Our time has come”, who do people think he was talking about?
A chance to get out of government run healthcare? The guy should be thrilled.
“And it’s no better. It doesn’t result in better health care for seniors. It is a giveaway of $177 billion.”
This arrogance epitomizes in a nutshell the dangers of government-run health care. Obama effectively is saying he knows better than 20% of seniors what is good value for the money. They evidently are too “stupid” to choose wisely, hence a government expert, such as himself, needs to remove their ability to make a choice. This is why he favors handing over to various panels of experts: a) how much to pay doctors; b) what benefits to be covered; c) what treatments are “effective” etc.
In reality, the “one-size-fits-all” benefits package (designed by experts!) that is included under Medicare has been rejected by the 90% of seniors who have opted to supplement it with a private health insurance plan. Rather than rely on this poorly fitting “defined benefits” approach, it would be WAY more efficient to give seniors a “defined contribution” towards coverage and then allow them to select from among hundreds of private plans (the way President Obama and members of Congress get to do under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program). That way, they get to pick 1 plan that fits their needs instead of having 2 separate plans and all the attendant excess paperwork associated with first having Medicare pay its share of a bill and then having the private plan figure out what it owes on the remaining balance etc.
But of course, this sensible approach has been rejected repeatedly by Democrats who can’t stomach the thought of “privatized” Medicare.
Obama is destroying the country as fast as he can. The stupid dolts hate Profits. Last time I checked the loot they get comes from taxing profits. What kind of idiot can’t figure that one out.
This is yet another lie, it is better and makes a lot of sense to boot. It simplifies things and for people that need it and provides real value added which is what the private sector does best at reasonable cost. Maybe he considers this the waste part of the waste, fraud and abuse he is going to take care of if somebody just lets him? LOL, I'd say he was just a moron but...
This is a perfect example of how far away from reality this guy resides. He's so convinced that the core of college age radicals that helped him stuff ballot boxes and the apathy of independents will keep him going that the doesn't even realize what the actual democrat base is.
I honestly think this guy is so much of a narcissist that he lives in his own fantasy and can't understand what people tell him unless it's part of his fantasy plans. What kind of numbskull that isn't insane makes 9/11 into a special “National Socialist Volunteer Day”? You may think that any run of the mill communist would, but I doubt it since even Castro & Che weren't swapping holidays and remembrances around until they'd been in power a few years and had purged their own party.
No, HusseinO is a special case of dictator wannabe, and like the rest of the democrat-liberal-progressive crowd, he is as inept as he is sure of himself. The unreality he lives in, though, puts him head and shoulders above the rest of the “never been there, never done that, still know what's best” crowd; that's his absolute faith that his sheer personal glow will make up for anything else and sway everyone to agree with him. He needs to change his name to "King Julian" to honor the Disney character that's exactly like him.
I'll say it again, I don't think he can make Thanksgiving without having a very public breakdown or very public display of unbalanced behavior, probably a tantrum. He may not even make Thanksgiving at the rate he's going. Although people don't realize it yet, just running this guy for the president killed the democrat party, and if he does go over the edge while in office they won't even limp along through another presidential election. That's the only thing good I can actually say about HusseinO, he finally killed the party of secession, the KKK, FDR, and LBJ, when the republicans and “independents” haven't been able to.
Regards
Seniors were the only demo group that Obama did not carry in the 2008 election. Perhaps because they were on to him, perhaps because this demo group has the fewest minorities.
Whatever, I never suspected that this would be followed by proposals that would accelerate their demise.
The real surprise for me is the fact this is in a McClatchy paper. They spent most of '08 covering for Obama, nothing negative was allowed to appear in their papers. McClatchy has a huge investment in Obama and democrats so I am surprised to see this.
I agree but wonder is we will see him actually go over the edge or will it be behind closed doors and covered up by the MSM.
Medicare advantage is “popular” because it has been shown to work.
The “public option” needs to change all that, of course...
I'm 66 and missed the COMMIE indoctornation that has been going on in the public schools for the last 35+ years and the constant drum beat about how worthless White males are.
I held my nose and voted for McCain.
Same age and same vote. When I went to school in Tucson, AZ, we were taught what a great and grand country is this and how we will all should be proud to be Americans. Guess those days are over.
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