Turning back Reagan: The first major expansion of the social safety net since the sixties

[andym]

This HCR bill is the first major expansion of the social safety net since the 60's. Reagan was against Medicare and Reagan Republicans have been essentially undefeated since the 80s in lessening government's role. This bill represents a real reversal in that trend, although it relies more on regulations than on the creation of new government agencies However, the lower income citizens of the country should benefit, especially those who will receive significant subsidies under this plan.

But it is only a beginning. All of the heavy lifting in this bill still uses the private sector to pay for health care, which is inefficient and wastes money. There is a great need to follow this up with the creation of an efficient government-run health organization that could be made into a single-payer solution. At the moment Rep Alan Grayson's bill that would allow a Medicare buy in is the next best hope. Please help him get support for HR4789

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-4789

The only way it can be passed with the current congress is through reconciliation, in order to bypass the need for 60 votes in the Senate. Therefore it must be attached to other reconciliation legislation (or rewritten to save money by for example charging some percentage over cost to in effect lower the deficit/save medciare.)

How could this lead to single-payer? Once millions of people have bought into Medicare and are satisfied with the service, health care companies will be forced out of business in competing with the more efficient Medicare program, bringing even more people in. Eventually, all that would be necessary is legislation that converts the buy-into a program run by taxes, such as HR676.

[eridani]

1. Mass murderers standing between us and our health care is NOT a social safety net n/t

[andym]

2. Perhaps the bill will begin will turn these criminals into members of a chain gang. nt.

[eridani]

4. By given them a trillion dollars of our tax money?

We'll just have to wait for the next window of opportunity. That will occur when people realize that not much is going to change.

[andym]

6. By beginning to ensnare them in a chain of regulations that limit their profit.

The next opportunity you mention may very well be in the next few months. We need to at least open Medicare as Rep Grayson suggests. I just don't see how the insurers could compete with Medicare. It's far better than the original idea of a public option, and it would scare the wits out of the insurers. Unfortunately it will also scare the wits out of the hospitals and doctors who will oppose it strongly.

Btw,it would not be impossible to completely destroy the insurers entirely by regulations. Here is one example of a trojan horse for insurers:
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/andym/18 The essential idea was to force them to offer a generous defined basic plan with a low cost capped maximum price (premiums + copays).

[andym]

3. To support Rep Grayson, please sign the petition here

http://salsa.mydccc.org/o/30019/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=17

[Juche]

5. Medicare part D might be included as an expansion since the 60s

That was an expansion, but it was an expansion to people who already had medicare. It didn't add new entitlements IMO, it just made the old ones better.

Also I don't know if this bill is really a social safety net bill. It is more a bill designed to reform health insurance to eliminate the worst aspects of it. There are subsidies for buying insurance, but its not really a social safety net program like medicaid IMO.