What the health-care summit taught us

[Lasher]

The Republicans simply don’t want to pass comprehensive health-care reform. That is the main lesson of today’s health-care summit. It started, as Steve Stromberg pointed out earlier, with the Republicans wanting to talk more about process than about the content of the various health-care bills. It approached an end with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) delivering the core Republican message: “Scrap this bill.”

<snip>

And good for Obama for asking Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) if he would really rather have catastrophic care than comprehensive health coverage. Barrasso said it would lead him to be a better health-care consumer, which makes you wonder whether Barrasso will agree to dump what he now has. But Obama then made the central point of the whole day. Speaking of the uninsured, he said: “We can debate whether we can afford to help them. We can’t say they don’t need help.”

That’s the issue.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/02/what_the_health-care_summit_ta.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

"The Republicans simply don’t want to pass comprehensive health-care reform." Well duh. If you needed to learn that lesson you haven't been paying attention.

[terrell9584]

1. That may be true

But I don't want any plan passing that has an individual mandate. I understand that it would open up a pandora's box for the government to trample upon personal rights and I understand the basic tenant that the government should have no right to force you to buy a product from a private company as a precondition for living in the United States.

[Lasher]

5. That ship has already sailed if you drive a car.

And if you live in Massachusetts today you have to buy health insurance. I'm opposed to the individual mandate but I don't agree that it's a slippery slope or that it's unconstitutional.

[BirminghamExaminer]

2. I live in a state where I don't have the choice to buy catastrophic ins.

Not only that, but I only have two choices. I pay $587 a month for myself. I was furious when one of the Republicans suggested that people who were poor couldn't afford health insurance because they were smokers and ate fast food.

It was abundantly clear that not only are the GOP purely obstructionist, they each seemed totally out of touch with the average American. Chuck Grassley is just ignorant enough to believe that the people who attended his health care forums were typical people representing a fair part of the population of Iowa. When someone suggested people have health care savings accounts I wondered how in the world he thought people who have lost their homes, their jobs and their health insurance could possibly save enough money to cover a future catastrophic event. These people actually believe that the average American can afford to have a health savings account. They are completely out of touch and it seems clear that their main goal is to "bring down the president." I for one, am disgusted that the GOP have no intention of trying to do their jobs, ie., represent the people who elected them. They are interested in 1. Money (and a lot of it comes from lobbyists) and 2. Re-election. I wouldn't even put public service at number 3 for them. They've forgotten that they are servants to the public. It's disgusting. They are repulsive.

[damyank913]

3. I completely agree...

The Dems need to break out the steam roller and quit with the bipartisanship. Elections have consequences and the cons are stalling. It's so obvious...

[Lasher]

6. Alabama has the individual mandate?

I didn't know that.

[MarjorieG]

4. To them, gov't takeover is any regulation. Followers who parrot don't understand that.

[Doctor_J]

7. we learned that every concession to the Repukes is a disaster

for Dems, for the Prez, for the US.

Stop appeasing

[Lasher]

8. Maybe members of the administration should have looked in on DU during the past 13 months.

They might have learned some things that could have helped them prevent The Wasted Year.

[Puzzler]

9. I really like this one reader's comment:

(with apologies to "donaldb2", the writer of the comment)



What I do not understand about this entire debate is that those opposed say the market operates better. I actually tend to believe that argument when you are actually talking about consumers purchases goods or services from people that provide the good or service.

The Health Insurance industry provides no health care to anyone, not a person gets their healthcare from an insurer, it is a fallacy. In fact, the principal ways insurers turn a profit is not paying your medical bill. That is indeed their goal. It has nothing to do with what you and your doctor feel is the best course of action, that does not make them a profit, not paying for service does.

Health insurance companies do not prescribe one prescription, take one temperature, check one patients blood pressure, change out one bed pan, conduct one bypass surgery, take one xray, they provide no service what so the only reason the exist is to profit from your need for healthcare, my need, everyone's need for healthcare.

When you and your doctor decide that the experimental procdure is the only thing that might save your life, guess who will step between you and your doctor, that is right, the private insurance company. Millions have been consigned to death that way for the past 30 years, it is time to end this practice. Private insurers are the Death Panels...

[Lasher]

10. I couldn't agree more. You and the rest of the industrialized world have got it right.

And we in the US have got it wrong. But we're still gonna kick your asses Sunday if you manage to beat Sweden tonight.

[katty]

11. 2 elephants in the the room: GOP and Healthcare lobbyists

[DanteR_CCBC]

12. Too Bad

I think it's too bad that the republicans are against Obama on the healthcare issue. I think that it would really be beneficial to people in the country. Although the production costs may be a lot and the costs consumers may pay will be a lot it would really help the general health of the country. People would have the potential to be cured from diseases and sicknesses that were thought to have been uncurable. But costs is a big issue and the question that remains is what is the government more concerned about costs or the well being of the american people.