Kennedy: The man at the center

[babylonsister]

The man at the center


A year ago, when Kennedy was rushed to MGH by helicopter, time and hope seemed fleeting. But he has rallied remarkably, reserving his energies for one last fight. He is, again . . .


Senator Edward M. Kennedy was rushed to a helicopter at Barnstable Municipal Airport to be transported to Massachusetts General Hospital on May 17, 2008. Senator Edward M. Kennedy was rushed to a helicopter at Barnstable Municipal Airport to be transported to Massachusetts General Hospital on May 17, 2008. (Steve Heaslip/Cape Cod Times)

By Susan Milligan and Lisa Wangsness
Globe Staff / May 10, 2009


WASHINGTON - The Kennedy family pictures and keepsakes were all there, in their usual places, having been quietly moved into a new office space on the Capitol's main level, closer to the Senate floor, so as not to tax the senator's strength.

And when Democratic members of the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee filed in for a rare group meeting, Edward M. Kennedy was already there, sparing his visitors the sight of his faltering gait and his trembling hand leaning heavily on the cane his father once used.

But the Kennedy who greeted his colleagues last month was still, against the odds, a man in command.

A winter in Florida had improved his coloring, but a year of brain-cancer treatments had left him weaker, thinner - and yet more determined.

On this April day, he wasted little time before asserting control. The assembled senators were his top lieutenants on healthcare, the intensive focus of much of his Senate career. Kennedy saw a chance to complete the circle of his life's work, and the allies now arrayed before him had been chairing hearings and drafting possible changes to the healthcare system while Kennedy conserved his strength.

Tom Harkin of Iowa, who has worked closely with Kennedy on disability rights, was charged with improving disease prevention measures. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, a key emissary to the Finance Committee, which is also involved in the bill, was assigned to find ways to cover all Americans. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland brought her toughness and tartness to the question of how to ensure the quality of care.

"He was all questions," recalled Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who was at the meeting. "I was impressed by how eager he was, how up to speed he was." At one point, Kennedy proudly pointed out a new photo on the wall, a picture of himself sailing. It had been taken just a couple of months earlier.

For the 77-year-old Kennedy, the photo was a symbol of sorts - of challenging the odds. Given a grim diagnosis last May 20 - a malignant glioma in his brain, a fast-growing tumor that has taken the lives of many of its victims in a matter of months - Kennedy made a difficult decision: He would battle the tumor with aggressive, exhausting treatment, following the advice of the best doctors he could find.

more...

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/05/10/the_man_at_the_center/?page=full

[JDPriestly]

1. Three questions not answered in the article:

1) Where does Kennedy stand on including a single-payer government subsidized option in the health care reform this time around?

2) How do the health insurance companies propose to insure everyone if there is no single-payer government subsidized program?

3) Has anyone thought of a way to have single-payer without government subsidies? and as a corollary, Has anyone thought of a way to continue our current healthcare program without government subsidies considering how many people are not jobless and presumably either without health insurance or soon to be without health insurance?

[snowdays]

2. The plan comming out of the commitee is the Kennedy plan although

he has handed the day to day work to Baucus. It is modeled after the Massachusetts state plan.

[snowdays]

3. 2. Baucus is talking of taxing health employee benefits.

[JDPriestly]

4. I understand that the Massachusetts plan has not worked well.

[snowdays]

5. That -plan reminds me of NCLB--where they keep making exceptions,

and use 'creative' methods to label drop outs---so it looks like it is a success--and congress and media for the most part say YAHOOOOOOOOOO AND THROW MORE MONEY AT IT--WHICH IS WHAT THE WH WANTS TO DO UNDER ARNE DUNCAN -