Healthcare law backers plan counteroffensive

[cal04]

The White House and supporters of the overhaul are poised to challenge intense negative publicity against 'Obamacare' with a massive ad campaign.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-health-ads-20100826,0,560089,full.story

After months of being pummeled by Republican attacks on the new healthcare law, the Obama administration and its allies are striking back in an attempt to stem public disaffection with the health overhaul ahead of the November election.

A nationwide, multimillion-dollar ad offensive — organized in consultation with the White House and funded by sympathetic groups and wealthy individual donors — is set to kick off in the coming days. At the same time, dozens of leading consumer advocates, patient associations and medical groups, working independently and alongside the Obama administration, are scrambling to put together initiatives to tout the law's benefits.

(snip)
Supporters of the healthcare overhaul think Americans will warm to the law when they begin to see benefits this fall — such as expanded coverage for young adults, an end to preexisting condition exclusions for children and greater access to preventive services.

"Ensuring Americans understand how (the law) benefits them is a critical step in making it a reality for all," said Stephanie Cutter, who is heading the administration's healthcare campaign.

[daleanime]

1. Sure....

we get all that in exchange for guaranteed profits for the insurance companies, what a deal.

[John Q. Citizen]

2. We have to pay off the mafia to get health care, apparently.

[phasma ex machina]

4. "guaranteed profits for the insurance companies"

No amount of spin can reverse America's perfect understanding.

[area51]

10. +1

Each day, 273 people die due to lack of health care in the U.S.; that's 100,000 deaths per year.

We need single-payer health care, not a welfare bailout for the serial-killer insurance agencies.

We don't need the GingrichCare of mandated, unregulated, for-profit insurance that is still too expensive, only pays parts of medical bills, denies claims, and bankrupts people. Republinazi '93 plan:

"Subtitle F: Universal Coverage - Requires each citizen or lawful permanent resident to be covered under a qualified health plan or equivalent health care program by January 1, 2005."

"We will never have real reform until people's health stops being treated as a financial opportunity for corporations."

[daleanime]

11. Hell yea...

:grr:

[MisterP]

5. how dare you focus on the big, problematic things instead of the little, reverse poison-pill ones?

I bet all y'all Firebaggers focused on the 1.3 million dead in Iraq, and not on all the wonderful purpled fingers and satellite dishes that the corporate media and the miltiary were so kind as to parade before us!

:sarcasm:--yes, it's needed

[daleanime]

6. I just can't stand it...

they had no problem passing money to corporate friends, couldn't move it fast enough even with a shovel. But now they want to pay for their stupid wars with the sweat of generations of American workers! I could spit blood!:grr:

[dflprincess]

3. Because they think we're so damn dumb that we'll fall for the line

that expanding "coverage" is the same as having access to care - as our premiums go up and fewer services are covered.

They can point to covering more "preventative" services but most of what is commonly called preventative are actually screening tests that don't prevent anything. They can catch a problem early, but if you can't afford the follow up to the screening test, you're still out of luck. It can cost several thousand just to find out the funny spot on mammogram is benign. And if you have crappy "coverage" (which more of us have), you'll be paying a chunk of that out of pocket - if you can afford it.

The same is true for expanded coverage for young adults and preexisting condition exclusions - just great if you have the money to pay for it. If you don't too bad, this is all the "reform" you're going to get.

I wonder how many of the "wealthy individual" contributing to this campaign are health insurance and pharma executives. They are the ones who won big with when the insurance bill passed.

[Mimosa]

7. And don't forget this miraculous wonderfu coverage doesn't start until 2014

Which is why when I called to try to see if I could make adjustments in my policy the BC/BS rep almost laughed at me. I was told if my partner and I tried to make changes in our policies we wouldn't be accepted because pre-existing conditions are still excluded until 2014.

This sounds 'little' unless a person is in the same boat as we are. We are paying 5 bucks short of $900 a month for $10,000 deductible, 70/30 in network policies. No Rx coverage. Why is this? because we are both over 55, in GA. We have no options. But we may need to drop health insurance because we can't afford it. We never could. $900 a month prevents us from keeping up with our self -employed taxes or even being able to save for a 'rainy day' or our old age.

We might get by. But there will be people who die because for 4 years there is no care. Or later, after 2014, some will be in the same boat as my partner and I. Unable to afford health insurance, falling deeper into an abyss. But afraid to stop it.

[dflprincess]

12. I hear you

My brother is 55 and dealing with lung cancer. Because he used up all his PTO and FMLA time his employer let him go. I've been picking up the COBRA for him. As of June 1 his employer switched to a high deductible plan ($2000 deductible, then 80/20 to I don't know what point) this is actually a bargain as he's still on a group plan so it's "only" costing me $395/month. I checked on what high risk plans Minnesota might in the hopes of saving a few bucks but have but discovered he doesn't qualify for any because he is eligble for COBRA and has not gone 3 months with no coverage (yeah, that would be good for someone with cancer). Even if he did qualify, the cheapest "coverage" was still about $400/month with the kind of deductibles you describe.

When he was FMLA I was paying his share of the employer premium & that was running about $350 - but 3 of his kids were still on the policy then (Minnesota lets kids stay on their parents policy until age 25). Fortunately, they are all over 18 because I had to throw them off the bus when he went to COBRA. Family coverage would have cost $1200/month/

This has been going on since March when he went out on leave. It has really driven home to me how the for middle man system we use really harms the rest of the economy. I had been toying with the idea of finally buying a town house and, while I might have changed my mind about that, I will guarantee that I would have made some upgrades to my furniture even staying in my apartment. But, I'm not going to use credit for that and most of my extra income is not going to a health insurance company rather than to more productive parts of the economy.

[Winterblues]

14. $10,800. a year plus $10,000. deductible plus 30% co-pay

How much medical attention would one require to reach those amounts yearly? Unless one had a severe ailment such as cancer they would be way money ahead to drop their insurance and just pay as they go. My wife had to do that last year as she is in the same boat..If she can only hold out for two more years, she will be eligible for Medicare..

[girl gone mad]

8. Catapult the propaganda.

[Selatius]

9. They're attacking in the wrong direction.

Republicans aren't the problem when it came to passage of the bill. It was right wing Democrats who turned a good bill into a bill that does not go far enough.

[TheKentuckian]

13. Far enough is a side line. The fundamental structure is suck ass even from a market based

perspective. Much less if you don't see market solutions being effective tools for this sort of issue.