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In 2006, a majority of voters - angry, disgusted and alarmed with our country's direction under Republican control - swept Democrats to majorities in Congress. They were then lulled into accepting the Party's self-serving rhetoric that if only voters delivered Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate and the presidency in 2008, they would be able to restore sanity and the rule of law to our nation.
Unfortunately, this turned out to be an intentional and cynical lie in the spirit of Lucy's duping the ever gullible Charlie Brown into hoping that just this once she might not laughingly yank the football away at the last second, leaving him flat on his back in the dust (again).
The AG of Michigan, Mike Cox, a Republican who is running for governor, has joined the lawsuit against the new healthcare reform bill. However, the governor, a Democrat, is not pleased:
Senate Majority Leader Maggie Hassan(D-Exeter) has an op-ed in Foster's Daily Democrat outlining the reasons for and the goals of her bill to try to streamline the cost of delivering health care in New Hampshire.
She opens with the fact that gall bladder surgery at Frisbee Memorial Hospital in Rochester can cost twice that of the same procedure at Alice Peck Day Hospital in Lebanon. Then these fees can change depending upon which health insurance company one uses and what discounts the company has negotiated with the hospital. This puts the large insurers at an advantage over smaller ones.
New Hampshire's health care costs are among the highest in the US. Hassan asks whether there is a way to control costs without sacrificing quality. And how is it sensible to charge the uninsured more for the same procedure than those with insurance?
Everyone that's been following the health insurance reform agenda has become aware that monetary awards to the victims of medical malpractice are a burr under the Republican saddle. Partly, I'd wager, that's because one of the primary objectives of the party of 'NO' is to say "no" to social responsibilities of all kinds. So, to their way of thinking, if a person chooses wrongly and ends up with a negligent doctor or nurse, it's his/her own fault. After all, that's what personal responsibility is about. Whatever the fates impose (flood, drought, asphyxiation or drowning on a board) is the individual's own fault.
Clearly, some people don't agree and because our society has determined that the law is an appropriate buffer between man and the fates, we have a cadre of lawyers.
In New Hampshire, the influence of that cadre on medical matters is growing, as the most recent offering from Abramson, Brown and Dugan attests.
Looks like the retiring senior Senator from New Hampshire can't decide if as his last hurrah he should don the mantle of publicity hound or ambulance chaser. His last-minute injection of CPR into the health insurance reform discussion suggests the latter.
CPR, in typically clever conservative lingo, stands for Coverage, Prevention and Reform. It doesn't mean what you might think it means, just as urban renewal didn't mean that urbs would be made new, but rather that inconvenient residents would be removed.
I was not able to speak with Congressman Hodes when I called him yesterday to express my opinion that I believed the best option for health care reform was to pass the Senate bill intact. The intern I spoke to was very polite and understanding but not able to answer my questions. I think it is imperative we find out exactly where our Reps (Carol and Paul) stand right now.
(1) Are they inclined to support the Senate HCR bill? (If they oppose it, which is a legitimate stand, but not one I support, then what do they offer as an alternative?)
(2) Is the Nelson language really be enough to kill her or his vote? (Again, legitimate, but if they voted for the House bill then why would this be an issue?)
As Dean pointed out, having no HCR bill is not an option. Lives are literally in the balance. If the Democrats want to maintain a majority and have any credibility with the American people then they have no alternative but to pass reform. It really is that simple.
It should be pointed out that Ezra and others have raised the possibility of a new Plan B. They include some variation of the following.
1. Expand Medicare (Allow coverage and/or buy-in for those between 50-65)
2. Raise Medicaid to 200% of poverty line.
3. Bar pre-existing condition denials and policy rescission
4. Close the Medicare Part B donut hole
5. Surtax on wealthy to pay for it.
That seems to be a reasonable fall back position and something most Democrats would buy into. Unfortunately it would do nothing to start bringing down costs for health related services and insurance. But the good news would be that coverage would be significantly expanded without adding to the deficit.
