Schumer Offers Middle Ground on Health Care

[groundloop]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — In an effort to defuse the most explosive issue in the debate over comprehensive health care legislation, a top Senate Democrat has proposed that any new government-run insurance program comply with all the rules and standards that apply to private insurance.

The proposal was made Monday by Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the third-ranking member of the Senate Democratic leadership, in a bid to address fears that a public program would drive private insurers from the market.

Calls for a new public plan have provoked more political passion than any other issue in discussions of how to revamp the nation’s $2.5 trillion health care system. The Senate Finance Committee begins to wrestle with the idea at a meeting on Tuesday, where it will examine ways to expand coverage.

President Obama campaigned on a promise to create a public plan, in an effort to compete with private insurers and keep them honest. But insurance companies and Republican lawmakers say a government-run plan could drive private insurers out of business and eventually lead to a single-payer system run by the government.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/health/policy/05health.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

---

To hell with middle ground - drive the f'ing insurers out of business. Their greed is a mojor part of the problem.

I've got a personal stake in this, we're fighting an insurance company which won't pay for an operation my wife needs. Their appeals process is a joke, the insurance company is the judge of the appeal. Those greedy bastards need to be driven out of business.

[pleah]

1. I don't trust Schumer at all.

:-(

[lsewpershad]

21. What's the matter with

this Pr..k. Is he suggesting that the public insurance should, like their private counterparts, be concerned only about the bottom line, PROFITS. My god, when are OUR so-called representatives and senators going to look after OUR interests.

[cascadiance]

32. Wasn't Schumer the senator that helped drive Paul Hackett away from running for congress?

Paul Hackett is the template of the kind of guy that I want to see start running as a Democrat in those so-called red states where "liberal" Democrats aren't supposed to be able to win.

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2006/02/14/190/60903

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pachacutec/12-reasons-not-to-trust-c_b_33908.html

Hackett may be conservative on some issues like gun ownership, but he's not a toadie for corporate interests either. THAT is the kind of congress critter we need to run as a true "moderate" Democrat. All of the "moderates" now that are in office are so in bed with corporate America and not really representing people's interests that it is pitiful. It's these so-called "moderates" that are working against the people's interests on issues like these where corporatist America is fearful for their lives...

[avaistheone1]

49. Yes, he was - along with other members of the DLC.

[angstlessk]

2. does that include stockholders who demand by law to be paid from profits by

denying treatement to ill patients?

[billyoc]

3. "Middle Ground" == "Make it as expensive as private insurance."

Fuck you, Schumer.

[dflprincess]

24. In other words

"set it up to fail".

[jsamuel]

28. exactly

[Ticonderoga]

4. To hell with Schumer

when I saw him on the streets of NYC cheerleading the massacre of innocent Palestinians during Israel's last Great War Crime. That changed everything for me.

[PassingFair]

5. The time to push for a public option is NOW.

www.standwithdrdean.com

Call your senators and congress people.

It's only an issue if we MAKE IT ONE.

[eridani]

41. Correction. Now is the time to push for SINGLE PAYER

A public option is Plan B.

[rocktivity]

6. DING DING DING! Groundloop, you're our grand prize winner!

To hell with middle ground - drive the f'ing insurers out of business. Their greed is a major part of the problem.

Profit-driven health care, coupled with the insurers' ability buy off pols like Schumer, IS the problem!!!

America survived driving the gaslight and horse-and-buggy companies out of business. It's called PROGRESS.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Ian David]

7. Schmuck Schumer can go Schfuck himself. n/t

[ima_sinnic]

8. the phrase "middle ground" gives me hives

it means wishy washy, noncommittal, unprincipled, whatever way the wind blows.

fuck you schumer.

[L0oniX]

11. LOL ..."hives" and your avatar.

[EC]

9. Repuges are speaking from both sides of their mouths

one side they are saying people don't want a public plan, that they are happy with what they have. the other side is saying a public plan would be sooooo popular that it would drive private insurers out of business...so which is it?


Of course we know it's the later...after-all who wouldn't want the same health care our government officials get?

[L0oniX]

10. Screw the HMO & health insurance sociopaths.

[Javaman]

12. Another massive give away to the insurance corps under the guise of helping americans.

chuck can go fuck.

[salguine]

13. So let's get this straight...a public plan that would be forced to play by the same rules

that private insurance companies would give us...what? A public health insurance program that ALSO would fight tooth and nail to withhold healthcare?

Sheeeeeit.

[bemildred]

14. That's not the idea Chuck, the idea is to use the public plan as a CLUB to bankrupt the HMOs. nt

[Robbien]

15. Schumer doing the loser game again. Start in the middle and settle to the far right

Compromise from the middle and go to the far right pro-corporate position which is exactly where Schumer and his Chamber of Commerce buddies want to end up.

[antigop]

17. Yep. n/t

[Jefferson23]

16. Take your idea and shove it Schumer.

[SandWalker1984]

18. Don't get mad -- get even!

Take action!

First, contact Schumer's office and let him know if he insists on supporting this corporate sham, YOU will make a point of supporting his political opposition next election. Now is the time to play hardball.

Second, contact your senators and reps and let them know you are AGAINST the Schumer plan.

Third, contact Howard Dean's group that is supporting single payer plan. Another contact is Senator Bernie Sanders of VT, who is also for single payer & let him know you are with him.

If enough angry voters contact Congress, we can keep the insurance lobbyists from rolling over us.

[groundloop]

22. Unfortunately

I am represented by the 3 most useless excuses for politicians in Washington - Chambliss, Isakson, and Gingrey. Contacting them will do nothing (but I'm still going to just to let off some steam and get another form letter from them to add to my collection).

I'm all for putting pressure on Schumer and the others who will play a part in this decision.

[sazemisery]

34. Ecuse me, I take that prize

I have Coburn, Inhofe, and Boren as my representatives in Washington.

[MasonJar]

19. Drive the, out of business. If they had been honest brokers of health

insurance, this would not be an issue. They should reap what they have sown. To keep the public health insurance plan to the rules and regulations of the private must be an exceedingly low bar, since the latter seem to have virtually no restrictions on their insidious greed.

[MasonJar]

20. Everyone sign the Dean petition and contribute if you can. It may be

one of the most important events of the last year that Howard Dean was snubbed by Barack Obama. He is, like Al Gore, a much more formidable force as a private citizen. Go, Howard. Go, Al. Two incredible statesmen of the world!!!!!!!

[Frank Booth]

23. This isn't a "middle ground" at all! Look at the priniciples Schumer has proposed:

¶The public plan must be self-sustaining. It should pay claims with money raised from premiums and co-payments. It should not receive tax revenue or appropriations from the government.

¶The public plan should pay doctors and hospitals more than what Medicare pays. Medicare rates, set by law and regulation, are often lower than what private insurers pay.

¶The government should not compel doctors and hospitals to participate in a public plan just because they participate in Medicare.

¶To prevent the government from serving as both “player and umpire,” the officials who manage a public plan should be different from those who regulate the insurance market.

Schumer and his fellow kleptocrats are trying to gut the program so severely that it will provide no benefits over private insurance and will have many disadvantages.

This is a huge deal. Once this gets passed the political will to make further changes will be gone and, even worse, since the program is guaranteed to suck, it will "prove" that government "shouldn't be involved in health care." Schumer, Baucus, Specter and their cronies could set health-care reform back decades if this goes through.

[mvd]

27. Then how can it be a public plan?

This should be unacceptable to President Obama.

[Iowa]

25. This isn't about Schumer...

It's about a sell-out Democratic party. The very idea that the people have any representation is a sham. If we had representation, a turd like Schumer would be hammered by his colleagues for suggesting this. He's playing a role that is approved by the party. Nobody should be surprised by this.

The ONLY solution we have is the demise of the Democratic party so that a genuine party of working people can rise up in its place. The Republican party is the party of the plutocracy, and the Democratic party is the only thing standing in the way of strangling the ideology that drives the Republican party.

[freddie mertz]

46. By George, I think you've got it!!

With a handful of exceptions, the Dem party has been bought and paid for long ago by the same corporate goons that control the Repugs.

Only presidential leadership has the power and visibility to change the game.

And on health care, we are getting none of that.

[TheCoxwain]

26. FUCK MIDDLE GROUND ... Schumer - you should have gotten a brain transplant along with your hair

transplant ...

[mike_c]

29. it's a poison pill strategy at work....

Schumer is trying to sabotage any possible public plan by requiring it to be just as bad as private insurance. It's important to note the difference in motive, however-- private insurance is bad because the insurance corporations are greedy and they view sick and injured Americans as resources to be mined for profit, while Schumer's motive is simply to sabotage the effectiveness of a public plan that could genuinely reform health care in America.

With colleagues like this, democrats don't need republicans.

[Frank Booth]

42. Exactly right.

And the media will run with the faulty claim that "government-run health care doesn't work."

Schumer, Baucus and the rest of their ilk don't represent us. They represent money, whether it's an insurance company or an investment bank.

[wryter2000]

30. A public system will drive private plans out of business

Would you pay your premiums to companies who deny you care so that they can make a profit? Or, would you pay them to a government-run, non-profit, low-overhead public insurance system?

As Howard Dean has said, all you have to do is create a government insurance plan and the public will opt for that. The for-profits will lose all their business. except for rich people who want to pay for frills.

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. There are rules for private insurance companies??

[PHIMG]

33. The public option already is a compromise.

The solution is Single Payer.

This is what we get for leaving this issue to bought off politicians.

If we want real healthcare reform - total comprehnsive reform for everyone with no out of pocket costs and no self rationing on your ability to make copayments, we need to DEMAND single payer.

When the people lead the leaders will follow.

Thousands are dying every year and people like Schumer want to compromise with the insurance industry that is killing them.

HEALTHCARE YES. INSURANCE COMPANY GREED NO!

Single Payer in 2009. YES WE CAN!

[whathappened]

35. fookem

them wineney ass insurance companys can kiss my ass , my wife hurt herslf and had to go on disability , she has to wait tell oct to get her medicare , she had insurance for low income up tell last month , they canseled her , reason the little bitty increase we got in jan on our s.s. put us over the limit by maybe 30 bucks , now she is sitting unprotected with out any kind of health insurance , no med coverage , we are fooked big time right now , it is bleeding us dry trying to pay for her meds and doctor care , what a bunch of asses , did'nt they all get there cola pay and insurance for free with out fear of loseing it cause some dumb ass some where down the line forgot to increase the cut off dollar amount to match inflation , can ya tell this is a sore subject for us

[fascisthunter]

36. Why Should I Pay a Bunch of Parasitical Middlemen

for health care????? How about everyone give me money and give me the option of canceling one's coverage whenever I find a way to do so... sound good to all of you?

Another whore for the wealthy... thanks Scum-er.

[dpbrown]

37. There is no middle ground - Single Payer Now!

Insurance companies ARE the problem.

[lumberjack_jeff]

38. "comply with all the rules and standards that apply to private insurance"

I've gotten attuned to recognizing "bend over" framing when I see it.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

39. "The aspens turn in clusters, because their roots connect them."

[lumberjack_jeff]

40. Peel back the onion a bit, and this is a good thing.

If medicare for all weren't being actively considered, there'd be no desire for compromise suggestions.

[xxqqqzme]

43. Will this 'middle ground'

plan also be adopted by the senate & house members as their coverage? I think NOT!

[yurbud]

44. ''rules and standards for private insurance''? Do they have any that they don't make up themselves?

[annabanana]

45. Middle ground my ass..

His "plan" is a complete betrayal of the concept of a public plan. What's the point of having the government involved if you aren't going to USE the leverage of the government to drive down costs?

[Habibi]

47. Thanks for this.

What a bought and paid for ass ferret. I fired off a letter to him. I don't do that nearly often enough.

[Overseas]

48. But Chuck, you guys say we have the best system in the world. Surely no one will choose the

public option. Surely no one will want it.

Only the most desperate people would choose the public option because medical-care-for-profit is just so wonderful. If it weren't great you all would surely have changed it by now, right?

[Doctor_J]

50. Middle ground means "insuring a few more people without pissing off the Insurance Lobby"

Insurance execs - aka profiteers of death - are going to find the revolution very uncomfortable.