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So now the Gvmt. is taking away Medicare benefits?

Faster horses

Well-known member
THIS ADMINISTRATION JUST WON'T GIVE UP.
Don't they care that the American people don't want their
socialized medicine and that's why they've 'hit a roadblock'? :mad: :twisted:




AP - The nation's hospitals will give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care plan, a concession the White House hopes will boost an overhaul effort that's hit a roadblock in Congress.
 

MsSage

Well-known member
White House, hospitals reach deal on health care
Deal with hospitals comes as Obama health plan bogs down in Congress
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press Writer
On Wednesday July 8, 2009, 3:51 pm EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's hospitals agreed Wednesday to give up $155 billion in future government payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, even as Congress got bogged down trying to pay for the plan.

Vice President Joe Biden announced the agreement at the White House, with administration officials and hospital representatives at his side. "Reform is coming. It is on track; it is coming. We have tried for decades to fix a broken system, and we have never, in my entire tenure in public life, been this close," Biden said.

The deal also allowed hospitals to limit the damage to their budgets. The Obama administration agreed to forgo bigger cuts under discussion, the American Hospital Association said in a memo to members.

On Capitol Hill, another significant source of funding appeared to be off the table. Democratic senators rebelled against a proposed tax on health insurance benefits favored by some senior members of both parties. Leaders on both sides said they will keep working on a bipartisan deal -- even if it takes longer than they had hoped.

In a firm message to lawmakers, Biden added, "We can't wait ... and the entire Congress knows it."

Obama has set an ambitious timetable for legislation, with the hope of signing a comprehensive bill this fall. But lawmakers returned Tuesday from their July 4 break with deep misgivings about the benefits tax -- a key element in the discussion -- and questions about many parts of the complex legislation.

Under a proposal in the Senate, workers would have to pay income taxes on the value of their health insurance, once it exceeded a certain level yet to be determined by Congress. Republicans have favored such a tax as a way to slow medical costs. Yet Democratic resistance appears to have stopped it.

"I don't see it as having any viability," Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., told reporters Wednesday after a floor vote.

Senate Democrats are "pretty much ruling it out," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, a moderate who has been negotiating across party lines. "We have to really, I think, go back to the drawing board on some the issues and try to see where we can achieve greater cost savings."

Time is running out: Lawmakers may be more reluctant to vote on the a charged issue of health care next year, when all House seats and one-third of Senate seats are up for election.

One Democrat, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana, has long championed a tax on health benefits as the best way to pay for health care while simultaneously restraining the growth of the cost of coverage in the future. But the idea has strong opposition from organized labor, a core Democratic constituency. House Democrats have also been highly resistant, and Obama himself campaigned hard against it in last year's presidential race.

The deal with the hospitals -- the one bright spot right now for Obama -- may also be on shaky ground. Officials said it's linked to the Senate Finance Committee legislation that Baucus is negotiating, and whose prospects are uncertain. It would follow concessions from drug companies and an announcement by Wal-Mart last week that it would support an employer requirement to help pay for health care.

Hospitals would also get something out of the deal -- the administration agreed not to push for deeper cuts.

"The administration has agreed that the total amount of hospital spending reductions will serve as a cap on such cuts throughout the legislative process, including conference committee deliberations, when the House and Senate work to create one reform bill," the American Hospital Association said in a memo to its members.

Hospitals also won an understanding that if the Finance Committee's legislation includes a public health insurance plan, it would reimburse hospitals at above the rates Medicare and Medicaid pay, which hospitals have long complained are insufficient.

Some of the $155 billion in projected savings touched off a controversy within the hospital industry.

About $50 billion would come from reducing federal payments hospitals receive for providing care to uninsured and low-income patients. Those payments are now made through the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

But public hospitals and children's hospitals, which serve many low-income patients, said such cuts would harm local communities. The National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems and the National Association of Children's Hospitals, which were not directly involved in the talks, said in a joint statement: "Such reductions could severely damage safety net providers if not carefully crafted."

"This is essential funding that supports trauma centers, burn care units and medical training," said Melissa Stafford Jones, president of the California Association of Public Hospitals.

House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio criticized the hospital deal, saying it was negotiated out of public view. "The administration and congressional Democrats are literally bullying health care groups into cutting back-room deals to fund a government takeover of health care," Boehner said in a statement.

Associated Press writers David Espo, Erica Werner and Alan Fram contributed to this report.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio criticized the hospital deal, saying it was negotiated out of public view. "The administration and congressional Democrats are literally bullying health care groups into cutting back-room deals to fund a government takeover of health care," Boehner said in a statement.



Watch this guy. I think he's on top of things.
 

fff

Well-known member
Faster horses said:
THIS ADMINISTRATION JUST WON'T GIVE UP.
Don't they care that the American people don't want their
socialized medicine and that's why they've 'hit a roadblock'? :mad: :twisted:




AP - The nation's hospitals will give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care plan, a concession the White House hopes will boost an overhaul effort that's hit a roadblock in Congress.

Except for the small, tiny, little, itsybitsy fact that americans DO want a public option. And they're happy to tell pollsters:

Overall, 69 percent of respondents, who were registered Democrats, Republicans and independents, say Americans should have the option to enroll in a government-run health care option, but only 29 percent say they would want to use public health insurance themselves. That may be because most in the poll say they are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their own health care coverage.

and

When presented with the option of a government-administered health insurance plan similar to Medicare to compete with private health insurance companies, 72 percent are in favor and just 20 percent oppose. Even 50 percent of Republicans favor that option
 

MsSage

Well-known member
I can get a poll to say anything I want it to.........
I can runone here and then on another site and get 2 totaly different tallys.

PLease you can not really believe polls fff?????? :roll:
 

fff

Well-known member
MsSage said:
I can get a poll to say anything I want it to.........
I can runone here and then on another site and get 2 totaly different tallys.

PLease you can not really believe polls fff?????? :roll:

Both of these quotes are from respected pollsters, not FOX News and were NOT online polls. A simple GOOGLE search will turn up many polls from many agencies that Americans overwhelmingly support a public option for health insurance (in the 60-80% range). But I didn't post all the comments because I don't want to beat a dead horse here. (Pun intended) :lol:
 

Tam

Well-known member
fff said:
Faster horses said:
THIS ADMINISTRATION JUST WON'T GIVE UP.
Don't they care that the American people don't want their
socialized medicine and that's why they've 'hit a roadblock'? :mad: :twisted:




AP - The nation's hospitals will give up $155 billion in future Medicare and Medicaid payments to help defray the cost of President Barack Obama's health care plan, a concession the White House hopes will boost an overhaul effort that's hit a roadblock in Congress.

Except for the small, tiny, little, itsybitsy fact that americans DO want a public option. And they're happy to tell pollsters:

Overall, 69 percent of respondents, who were registered Democrats, Republicans and independents, say Americans should have the option to enroll in a government-run health care option, but only 29 percent say they would want to use public health insurance themselves. That may be because most in the poll say they are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their own health care coverage.

and

When presented with the option of a government-administered health insurance plan similar to Medicare to compete with private health insurance companies, 72 percent are in favor and just 20 percent oppose. Even 50 percent of Republicans favor that option


They're also happy to tell pollsters they don't want to pay for it. :wink:
Yes, "Have a Piece of Government Cake, but Don't Eat It" is the message coming out of a new poll from Quinnipiac University examining Americans' opinions of health care reform. Overall, 69 percent of respondents, who were registered Democrats, Republicans and independents, say Americans should have the option to enroll in a government-run health care option, but only 29 percent say they would want to use public health insurance themselves. That may be because most in the poll say they are very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their own health care coverage.

Although the idea of a public option is popular, attitudes become murkier on how exactly to pay for a government health care potion. By a slim margin, 49 percent to 45 percent, respondents say they would pay more in taxes for a reformed health care system, but 72 percent say they would not be willing to pay more than $500 per year. Also, 63 percent oppose the idea of taxing a person's employer-sponsored health care benefits to pay to improve the system. White House adviser David Axelrod refused to rule out a benefits tax during an interview last Sunday on "Meet the Press."

"Seven out of 10 voters aren't willing to chip in what amounts to the price of a cheese pizza per week – without extra toppings – in order to finance an overhaul," said Paul Brown, assistant director of polling at Quinnipiac. He also said Americans' personal satisfaction with their own health care complicates reformers' efforts. "That presents a challenge to those who want Americans to pay more to reform the system."

Finally, by a 14-point margin, a majority said the primary goal of health care reform in Congress should be to reduce costs for everyone, rather than to provide coverage for everyone.

69% said they should have the option but 72% said they will not pay over $500 for that option. :wink:
 

Tam

Well-known member
bump so fff has a chance to explain why she didn't fill us in on the rest of the story about the poll taken by these respected pollsters. :? :wink: :lol:
 
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