Posted on 08/04/2009 3:45:39 PM PDT by Cindy
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/series26.aspx
#
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=337386320532288
“Land Of The Fee”
By INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Wednesday, September 09, 2009 4:20 PM PT
SNIPPET: “To keep ObamaCare alive, Montana Democrat Max Baucus has proposed a Rube Goldberg scheme of fees and fines on insurers and the uninsured designed to forcibly bring everyone into the loving and protective arms of the nanny state.
To help finance his Plan B, Baucus would impose annual fees of $6 billion on health insurers, $4 billion on medical-device makers, $2.3 billion on drug manufacturers and $750 million on clinical laboratories, among other taxes.
How this will cut health care costs we’re not sure. These fees and taxes punish medical innovation and those who bring us lifesaving medicines that reduce hospital stays, obviate surgeries and extend lives. And these costs will inevitably be passed on to consumers.”
SNIPPET: “It’s hard to see how Baucus’ plan, like its ObamaCare twin, will make us any healthier or health care any cheaper. Like Obama’s example of service, the post office, we’ll get less service at higher cost while waiting in a line that gets longer.”
Quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2336896/posts
Doctors DC Rally 9-10-09 Report
Attendee report | Sept 10 2009 | self
Posted on September 10, 2009 7:21:55 PM PDT by JustSurrounded
My sister just reported back to me from the doctors’ rally in DC this evening. She went with her husband and 3 teenaged daughters. Here is what she reported:
It was a great, well-behaved crowd of about 1000 — mostly doctors and some nurses. They came from across the country and all sorts of practices. She said the speakers were just folks ... that they did not appear to be professional speakers. They were just doctors, speaking from the heart. They told of personal experiences of government interference in individual care and practices and the consequences.
There were a couple of cameras filming, apparently one marked CNN. There were two identified congressmen there, but she didn’t have names.
The major points seemed to be to:
1. Get government out of medicine 2. Clean up the malpractice mess 3. Hold the news media accountable for their reports/actions.
There were chants of “Liar. Liar. Liar.” And, in response to “who has the best healthcare in the world?” “USA USA USA”.
There were many hand-made signs. Some of her favorites were:
Yes, you ARE a liar!!!
Socialism is the equal distribution of misery.
They thanked the teapartyers for helping make the protest possible, and there were a dozen or so of them around (identified by yellow shirts).
Some websites for some of the organizations mentioned include: www.physiciansforreform.org, www.takebackmedicine.com, www.teapartypatriots.org, and www.docs4patientcare.org. Looks like the last two websites may have video of the rally posted shortly.
Letter I sent my elected representatives:
Dear ####
Please vote NO on the health care bill package President Obama is trying to push on America. We can’t afford it and neither can the future generations.
My husband and I would like to see:
1. tort reform.
2. the ability to purchase insurance in any state.
3. the deductible (high or low) of our choice.
4. medical savings account.
Growing up in a low-income home, I do know that there are many options for people who cannot afford health care. There were then; there are now.
Thank you for reading this.
http://onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=679040
“Healthcare Rx - to start with, tort reform”
Allie Martin - OneNewsNow - 9/14/2009 5:40:00 AM
SNIPPET: “Dr. Richard Land is president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. He acknowledges that healthcare is in need of reform — however, he does not believe in President Barack Obama’s proposal.”
SNIPPET: “Last week, Dr. Land delivered petitions to Capitol Hill signed by 1. 3 million people who oppose the president’s healthcare plan.”
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=337818314299940
“Health Reform: The Grimmest Of Fairy Tales”
By THOMAS SOWELL | Posted Monday, September 14, 2009 4:20 PM PT
SNIPPET: “Many years ago, as a small child, I was told one of those old-fashioned fables for children. It was about a dog with a bone in his mouth that was walking on a log across a stream.
The dog looked down into the water and saw his reflection. He thought it was another dog with a bone in his mouth — and it seemed to him that the other dog’s bone was bigger than his. He decided that he was going to take the other dog’s bone away and opened his mouth to attack. The result was that his own bone fell into the water and was lost.
At the time, I didn’t like that story and wished they hadn’t told it to me. But the passing years and decades have made me realize how important that story was, because it was not really about dogs but about people.
Today we are living in a time when the president of the United States is telling us that he is going to help us take that other dog’s bone away — and the end result is likely to be very much like what it was in that children’s fable.
Whether we are supposed to take that bone away from the doctors, the hospitals, the pharmaceutical companies or the insurance companies, the net result is likely to be the same — most of us will end up with worse medical care than we have available today. We will have opened our mouth and dropped a very big bone into the water.
While I was told a story in my childhood to help me understand something about the real world, today adults are being told things to reduce them to childish thinking.
The most childish of all the things being said in the august setting of a joint session of Congress last week was that millions of people can be added to the government’s health insurance plan without increasing the federal deficit at all.
If the president of the United States could do that, it is hard to imagine what he would do as an encore.”
http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnHawkins/2009/09/15/10_more_you_lie_moments_on_health_care
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
“10 More ‘You Lie’ Moments On Health Care”
by John Hawkins
http://townhall.com/columnists/JohnHawkins/2009/09/15/10_more_you_lie_moments_on_health_care
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/54104
“Government-Run Health Care Would Ration Care for Disabled Children, Parents and Lawmakers Warn”
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer
SNIPPET: “(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday shared a personal story that shows why he is passionate about protecting the most vulnerable in society — and why a government-run health care program would not only fail to offer that protection, but could end up rationing care for some people, including children with disabilities.”
#
Note: The following text is a quote:
THE BRIEFING ROOM
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release September 17, 2009
September 17, 2009
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
SUBJECT: Demonstration Grants for the Development,
Implementation, and Evaluation of Alternatives
to the Current Medical Liability System
As part of my Administration’s ongoing effort to reform our health care system, we have reached out to members of both political parties and listened to the concerns many have raised
about the need to improve patient safety and to reform our medical liability system. Between 44,000 and 98,000 patients die each year from medical errors. Many physicians continue to
struggle to pay their medical malpractice premiums, which vary tremendously by specialty and by State. The cost of insurance continues to be one of the highest practice expenses for some
specialties. And although malpractice premiums do not account for a large percentage of total medical costs, many physicians report that fear of lawsuits leads them to practice defensive
medicine, which may contribute to higher costs.
We should explore medical liability reform as one way to improve the quality of care and patient-safety practices and to reduce defensive medicine. But whatever steps we pursue, medical
liability reform must be just one part of broader health insurance reform — reform that offers more security and stability to Americans who have insurance, offers insurance to Americans who lack coverage, and slows the growth of health care costs for families, businesses, and government.
In recent years, there have been calls from organizations like The Joint Commission and the Institute of Medicine to begin funding demonstration projects that can test a variety of medical liability models and determine which reforms work. These groups and others have identified several important goals and core commitments of malpractice reform that should serve as a starting point for such projects. We must put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable injuries. We must foster better communication between doctors and their patients. We must ensure that patients are compensated in a fair and timely manner for medical injuries, while also reducing the incidence
of frivolous lawsuits. And we must work to reduce liability premiums.
In 1999, the Congress authorized the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which is located within the Department of Health and Human Services, to support demonstration projects
and to evaluate the effectiveness of projects regarding all aspects of health care, including medical liability. I hereby request that you announce, within 30 days of this memorandum,
that the Department will make available demonstration grants to States, localities, and health systems for the development, implementation, and evaluation of alternatives to our current
medical liability system, consistent with the goals and core commitments outlined above.
This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its
departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees,
or agents, or any other person.
You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA
# # #
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/09/20090916b.html
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The New Numbers – Health Insurance Reform Cannot Wait
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today released a new state by state analysis of last week’s U.S. Census numbers regarding the uninsured. The results are sobering and confirm that health insurance reform cannot wait another year.
“These numbers only serve to further confirm a reality that far too many American families live with every day,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Our health care system has reached a breaking point. The status quo is unsustainable, and continuing to delay reform is not an option.”
The facts below underscore the urgency of health insurance reform.
Nationwide, the number of uninsured has increased from 39.8 million in 2001 to 46.3 million in 2008.
With the exception of Massachusetts – which enacted its own version of health insurance reform in 2006 – every state in the nation has seen its uninsured population grow or remain unacceptably high from 2001 to 2008. These numbers don’t even include those who have lost their insurance in the recent recession or have had coverage gaps of shorter than a year.
In nearly every state, private coverage is eroding with the percentage of people covered by employer-based coverage decreasing.
The new numbers also drive home the frightening reality that losing health insurance could happen to any of us.
Across the nation, more and more working Americans are uninsured, left without protection from health care costs.
Even among high-income households, the ranks of the uninsured are rapidly growing.
“In states across the country, we’ve seen the health care coverage situation go from bad to worse,” Secretary Sebelius added. “And it’s clear that losing insurance isn’t a problem that plagues only the poor or the unemployed – it could happen to anyone.”
To learn more and view state by state data, visit http://www.healthreform.gov/healthcarestatus.html.
###
“FOX News Poll: Americans Prefer Current System to Obama’s Health Care Plan”
SNIPPET: “More Americans would rather Congress do nothing than pass President Obama’s plan: 46 percent to 37 percent of people polled say they prefer the current health care system to the one the president has proposed.”
By Dana Blanton
FOXNews.com
Thursday, September 17, 2009
SNIPPET: “Most Americans see no upside for their family in the health care reforms being considered in Washington and don’t believe President Obama when he says his plan won’t add “one dime” to the federal deficit. The majority of Americans believe they will have to make changes to their health care coverage if the president’s plan is passed.
These are just some of the findings of a new FOX News poll released Thursday.”
Video:
“OBAMA ‘07 REVELATION: HEALTH CARE REFORM REQUIRES TAX HIKES — SAVINGS JUST A THEORY”
(Added September 17, 2009)
YES WE CAN Read H.R. 3200 and track the legislation here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-3200
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204518504574418862005735026.html
SEPTEMBER 17, 2009
“Kill Grandma or Terrorists Win
The latest argument for ObamaCare.”
By JAMES TARANTO
SNIPPET: “It is Obama who is endangering national security by failing to prioritize it.”
blog:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/sorry_honey_but_truth_trumps_t.html
September 18, 2009
“Sorry honey, but truth trumps the race card”
By Kyle-Anne Shiver
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/09/18/one-woman-michelle-obama-will-not-mention/
“One woman Michelle Obama will not mention”
By Michelle Malkin • September 18, 2009 05:52 PM
SNIPPET: “Yes, First Lady Michelle Obama is now aggressively crusading for her husband’s health care takeover under the guise of championing woman who have been “crushed” by the system.
One woman Mrs. Obama won’t be spotlighting?
The mother of Dontae Adams.
***
I’m re-printing my June 19, 2009 blog post and column again here in its entirety to get the message out about Michelle Obama’s role in creating a health care horror story she won’t be publicizing. I repeat: What have you done for Dontae Adams, lately, Mr. and Mrs. O?”
Blog:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/death_talk_for_seniors.html
September 21, 2009
“Death talk for seniors”
By Rita L. Marker
SNIPPET: “First, the bad news. For the first time since 1975, Social Security recipients are being told they won’t be receiving an annual cost of living increase in their monthly benefits. At the same time, their Medicare premiums will go up, so monthly checks will actually shrink next year. Not to worry, though. Here’s the good news. Seniors may not have to live on such meager funds for long because the government is going to help them plan how they want to die.
This benevolent plan is in Section 1233 (p. 424) of the health care reform bill known as “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009” (HR 3200). It didn’t just show up on the doorstep of health care reform, but was packaged and delivered by Compassion & Choices (C & C), the assisted-suicide advocacy group previously known as the Hemlock Society.
Under Section 1233, a doctor would be paid for having an “advance care planning consultation” with a patient. The consultation wouldn’t be mandatory, at least for now. But if the doctor wants to get paid for it, the consultation’s contents are very specifically prescribed. For example, each consultation “shall include” an explanation of legal documents such as living wills and durable powers of attorney, and information about the “continuum of end-of-life services.” Patients need not be ill but, because they are over a certain age, their doctors will suggest that it’s time to talk about death.
So, if George, a healthy 70-year-old marathon runner, goes to the doctor because of tendonitis, his doctor will have the all-important discussion with him, reminding him that he’s not getting any younger and that it’s time to decide how he’ll die. Sure, George may or may not be adversely affected by this. But consider Clara, an 84-year-old widow who needs a hip replacement. If the doctor tells her that the government health plan won’t pay for her surgery but will pay for pain pills, and then tells her it’s really time to discuss her end-of-life options, what message is she getting? Isn’t it likely that Clara will acquiesce, if her doctor suggests that she “choose” to forgo treatment for any future illnesses so she won’t be a burden on her family?
To hear proponents of Section 1233 talk about it, one would think that people have no access now to information about advance directives. But for years, federal law has required that patients be provided with general information about advance directives.
In 1992, Congress passed the Patient Self-Determination Act. It requires every health care organization receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds to do the following: at the time of admission, provide a written summary of a patient’s rights under state law to make health care decisions, including the right to have an advance directive; ask all adults entering for treatment whether they have an existing advance directive; and document the existence of an advance directive in the patient’s medical record.
Cheerleaders for more advance care planning claim that physicians won’t tell their patients about options regarding available treatments and the right to accept or reject them unless they receive reimbursement for doing so. But physicians already have a responsibility to provide that information to patients so they can give or withhold consent to available treatments. This is known as informed consent.
Yet there are calls for more details about end-of-life planning. Perhaps those who are advocating this are unaware that, beginning in 2009, doctors have been required to discuss end-of-life planning, including advance directives, with all Medicare patients at their initial “Welcome to Medicare” physical exam.
With all of these current requirements, isn’t paying doctors to have another talk with grandma just a bit of, shall we say, overkill? Is foisting yet another death planning chat with her really necessary? And what would be part of the compulsory “end-of-life continuum” discussion?”
Blog:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/09/killing_granny_1.html
Home —> Articles
September 21, 2009
“’Killing Granny’”
By Cliff Thier
SNIPPET: “A virulent moral blindness has seized hold of a substantial slice of America’s educated elite. Convinced they know better, they argue for a shallow, illogical, and horrifying vision of people as disposable.
I was wrong last week when I declared that Newsweek’s cover showing a baby next to a headline declaring that we’re all born racist was evidence that the mainstream media had hit bottom and destroyed itself. It was intellectual arrogance on my part that led me to underestimate the determination of Newsweek’s editors to find new deeper bottoms to hit.
This week’s Newsweek cover exceeds the sheer breathtaking ugliness of last week’s cover: “The Case for Killing Granny.” Alongside a photo of an electrical plug. The cover story is penned by Evan Thomas, (Andover, Harvard, Virginia Law), currently teaching at Princeton, alongside Peter Singer, who believes newborn infants can be killed because they lack “rationality, autonomy, and self-consciousness” and thus don’t qualify for personhood.”
Blog:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/198917.php
September 22, 2009
“If the White House Isn’t Employing the World’s Largest PR Firm to Use the NEA to Astroturf their Agenda ...(bumped)”
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