Senate Vote Imminent - One More Hurdle to Go

Early this morning, the Senate plans to vote on the health care plan that does not include the public option, something that many Senators promised that the bill would have. I will explain the public option a little later in this note, and why it is so important to so many Senators. Actually the bill has two more hurdles, the vote today in the Senate, and finalized by the House before reaching the President's desk for signing next year by either late January or February.  What is supposed to happen is that the bill should make quality health care available and affordable to all Americans, but the House must ratify the Senate bill next month. There still are vast differences between the two bills, but it is almost a slam dunk that the bill will be passed by Senate. It may not be as easy for the House to accept all the changes that were imposed in the bill after the House ratified its version the last time. What are the changes that the House would accept another version of the bill since they have already gave its blessing to the bill before going to the Senate? With all of the changes, the doubt is there that it may not pass as easy as it did the last time. Manipulation of the bill between the House and Senate has radically changed the face of the bill. Still, now all it will take is a simple majority in the House next year, and the Health Reform Bill will become law. This most likely will not happen until the House goes in session again after the holidays on January 12, but further preparations by the House staff will begin even before the dawn of the new year. So now even after the vote today, there will still be two versions of the bill, and the Congress must iron out the differences and get the bill in it's finality form so that the House can ratify it next month. imminent
As usual, there is severe opposition to the bill, most recently by one House Democrat named Louise M. Slaughter, who represents the 28th Congressional District of New York. She happens to be the very first woman who chaired the House Rules Committee and who has a specialty in microbiology. She sincerely believes that the Senate bill that most likely will pass today is not the same bill the House voted successfully on just one month ago. There have been too many changes since then.  It seems that some of the Senators, headed by Nancy Pelosi, will do anything to to bill to get it passed. Louise Slaughter believes that the present House version which will not be voted on today is better than the Senate bill, and better represents a step toward giving 36 million Americans decent health care coverage. She worries that "millions of Americans will be forced into private insurance company plans, which will be subsidized by taxpayers. hat alternative will do almost nothing to reform health care but will be a windfall for insurance companies. Is that any surprise that stock prices for some of those insurers are up recently?" as she has reported in a recent CNN news story.
So the bottom line here is that she "does not want to subsidize the private insurance market" as she claims, and does not want to support the bill as it stands without the public option. Without it, there would not be any competition within the health insurance industry. With it, the reform bill would truly "lower costs and improve in the deliver of health care services and force companies to offer rates and services that are reasonable," according to Slaughter.
The editor of this blog also believes that the public option is a necessity, and that without it, the President's bill may just go down in flames next month. The bill is so very crucial to President Obama's future success as President. The criticism is becoming an all out war against President Obama, but he continues to support the Congress in their actions in the efforts to create a health care reform bill. Why? because of his desire to provide a bill that Americans can afford, but also because now he will become the only President in recent history to pass a bill that contained major health care reform, or for that matter, an health care reform bill.
President Obama has been President of the United States for a little over one year now, and still has three to go in his first term. But he has already mandated his Presidency with his actions and what he as done already most likely will make or break his chances to retain the Presidency in the elections of 2012.
People like Senator Joseph Lieberman, and independent for the state of Connecticut opposes the bill supports the present bill without the public option, while others like Majority Whip Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois support the public option. The public option is the one thing that can make or break the health care reform bill.
So what is it? It is an insurance plan that would compete with private insurance plans in an internet based exchange or market place, enabling citizens and small businesses to purchase health insurance meeting the minimum federal standard. If you have other employer plans or state insurance plans such as Medicare, you would not be eligible to obtain coverage from the exchange, and ultimately would not be able to obtain this form of federal health insurance. The federal government's health insurance plan would be financed entirely by premiums without subsidy from the Federal government. It would require the repayment of "seed money" to the Treasury over a ten year period. The Senate bill today that most likely will pass today most likely will have a difficult time in passing next month in the final vote of the House.  The changes of a bill to reach President Obama's desk in the mind of the editor of this blog is very slim.
Of course I am hoping that a bill can be created that both Democrats and Republicans alike can support, but unfortunately the entire Republican base now opposes it, so only by Democratic majority will the bill pass. The President must corral a few of the opposing Democratic Congressmen who favor many of the Republican principles for it to finally pass and become law.  These conservative Democrats will make or break this health care reform bill. The changes are that if the bill becomes law and becomes unfavorable by Americans, President Obama will loose his credability and become the first President to claim a 'lame duck' status in only his 2nd year in office. But now it is too early to tell.
Many people say that President Obama is doing too much in such little time, but he argues that there are just too many changes to make. It is the opinion of the editor of this blog that he is taking his chances now in an attempt to get as much done as possible before he looses his power and support and no longer has the ability to persuade, Congress to act in his favor.  For now, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he is right, and things turn around with the economy and the new health reform bill is a big success, then he has a very good chance to be re-elected.
It takes a very special person to become President of the United States. No one should ever under estimate the job that a President has to do. He is responsible for the welfare of the country and in some respects of the entire world, because he is known as the leader of the free world. It is a monumental burden that one person excepts as President. We now can all hope that President Obama continues to be guided in the right direction so the country can prosper again, and this country will once again regain its status as the giant and a leader of free countries.

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Obama visits Capital Hill to Help Push Health Care Bill

The time has come, as the House of Representatives are beginning their debate on the issue that's been at the top of everyone's mind lately, health care. It is unknown as to how long the debates will take, but already the Representatives are mowing over one very sensitive issue, abortion funding. The legislation put forth from the House Democrats apparently is heading towards being amended, as restriction on abortion funding seems to be a path that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are considering.

President Obama visited Capital Hill as he met with the Democratic caucus, in an attempt to push forward the health care plan. He is hoping that this legislation will become law by before the end of the year, but there just seems to be so much to talk about. The health care legislation is now towering over 2000 pages, but the representatives in the house may have to postpone the vote on the bill from Saturday to Sunday. But there is a very significant development here. Democrats not favoring abortion convinced Democratic leaders to enter in an amendment that would ban most abortion coverage from the public option and within "the exchange". The only exceptions here would be with cases of rape, incest or if the mothers life is in danger. As long as taxpayer spending is not allowed, it looks as if anti-abortion Democrats will support the bill.  With elections of State Representatives coming up next year, President Obama would love to get his health care legislation off of the table, so that he could concentrate on other issues.
President Obama does not plan to rest. It is without a doubt that he will be the one President in U.S. history that has attempted to accomplish, or has accomplished more things in office than any other President in U.S. history.

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An $896 Billion Heath Care Bill is unveiled by House Democrats

Finally after many months of preparation and changes the House Democrats presented the finalized heath care bill, containing 2,000 pages which now represents a combination of three different versions of the legislation. Passed by the House committees, the $894 billion bill which should be on the books for the next 10 years, is intended to extend insurance coverage to at least 36 million uncovered Americans, which is the claim of Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House. That is the initial cost of the bill, but to include Medicare changes, the cost should exceed $1 trillion, according to a recent CNN discovery.
The majority of Americans will now have health insurance, approximately 96%. Subsidization would be provided for poorer Americans along with creating health insurance exchanges. These exchanges would provide an avenue for small groups of individuals to purchase health insurance coverage. Out of pocket expenses will now be capped and insurance companies would no longer be able to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.
The initial $894 billion to $1 trillion price tag is supposed to save the Federal government at least $30 billion over the next 10 years. Again, this is the claim by the office of Nancy Pelosi.
As expected people with higher incomes, specifically with incomes over $500,000 annually, will have to accept a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge. As an example, a person who makes $750,000 annually would have an income tax surcharge of $33,750. A millionaire would pay a minimum of $45,000 tax surcharge.
Medicare expenses are to be cut by 1.3 percent each year.
As expected, the republicans tore into the bill, and claim that it will not create jobs, but destroy them. Another claim by the conservatives would be that the bill will do little to stop the cost of health care. The response by the republicans was expected, as the words "government takeover" now is spreading throughout the republican ranks, according to Republican representative from Indiana, Mike Pence.
In a worth while claim, the republicans are also concerned about the existing "donut hole" gap of prescription drug coverage. These are costs left uncovered by the Medicare program before coverage for catastrophic issues start. Still, the leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi has openly stated that there are plans to reduce or close this gap.
Also included in the final bill is the Public Option. where providers of health insurance would be able to work out reimbursement rates with the federal government. This is another claim by the Democratic majority, but it is still in debate within the Republican representatives and the conservative Democrats of the House. It is a watered down version of the public option, as to most liberal of Democrats originally wanted a 5% increase over reimbursement rates for providers and hospitals to Medicare rates. The original public option plan did not fly well even with Democrats representing rural areas, and believe that their districts would be shortchanged by such an option. So the proposed pubic option has been modified not to include the 5% increase.
Apparently excluded from the bill that is now created, does not consider a public option that would allow certain states to opt of of the plan if they wanted to. It appears that the hard nosed Democrats are laying it out on the line, as the creation of nonprofit heath care cooperatives is also not included in the bill, a modification that was supported by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada.
What are the chances of such a bill becoming law? If moderate House Democrats support it, and a few conservative Democrats tag along, it would be possible to pass such a bill in the House. This could happen with virtually no support from the Republicans. If it happens, it will be a very unpopular move according to many people, especially from the conservative side of the fence. For this bill to actually work favorably for President Obama, it should be voted on in a bi-partisan way. At the present time, it is very uncertain if any Republicans would vote for the health care reform bill presented by the Senate Democrats.
President Obama's approval ratings appear to be dropping partly because of the strong opposition to this bill, but he appears to be willing to sacrifice his popularity in exchange for this bill that he truly believes in. ting conditions.
The initial $894 billion to $1 trillion price tag is supposed to save the Federal government at least $30 billion over the next 10 years. Again, this is the claim by the office of Nancy Pelosi.
As expected people with higher incomes, specifically with incomes over $500,000 annually, will have to accept a 5.4 percent income tax surcharge. As an example, a person who makes $750,000 annually would have an income tax surcharge of $33,750. A millionaire would pay a minimum of $45,000 tax surcharge.
Medicare expenses are to be cut by 1.3 percent each year.
As expected, the republicans tore into the bill, and claim that it will not create jobs, but destroy them. Another claim by the conservatives would be that the bill will do little to stop the cost of health care. The response by the republicans was expected, as the words "government takeover" now is spreading throughout the republican ranks, according to Republican representative from Indiana, Mike Pence.
In a worth while claim, the republicans are also concerned about the existing "donut hole" gap of prescription drug coverage. These are costs left uncovered by the Medicare program before coverage for catastrophic issues start. Still, the leader of the House, Nancy Pelosi has openly stated that there are plans to reduce or close this gap.
Also included in the final bill is the Public Option. where providers of health insurance would be able to work out reimbursement rates with the federal government. This is another claim by the Democratic majority, but it is still in debate within the Republican representatives and the conservative Democrats of the House. It is a watered down version of the public option, as to most liberal of Democrats originally wanted a 5% increase over reimbursement rates for providers and hospitals to Medicare rates. The original public option plan did not fly well even with Democrats representing rural areas, and believe that their districts would be shortchanged by such an option. So the proposed pubic option has been modified not to include the 5% increase.
Apparently excluded from the bill that is now created, does not consider a public option that would allow certain states to opt of of the plan if they wanted to. It appears that the hard nosed Democrats are laying it out on the line, as the creation of nonprofit heath care cooperatives is also not included in the bill, a modification that was supported by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada.
What are the chances of such a bill becoming law? If moderate House Democrats support it, and a few conservative Democrats tag along, it would be possible to pass such a bill in the House. This could happen with virtually no support from the Republicans. If it happens, it will be a very unpopular move according to many people, especially from the conservative side of the fence.
President Obama's approval ratings appear to be dropping partly because of the strong opposition to this bill, but he appears to be willing to sacrifice his popularity in exchange for this bill that he truly believes in.

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Obama Health Insurance with the Public Insurance Option

What is a public insurance option?

A public insurance option is one that can provide insurance to Americans who lack employment-based coverage. The public plan would be similar to conventional Medicare (the “public Medicare plan,” as distinguished from private plans that contract with Medicare) in that it would be managed by the federal government and pay private providers to deliver care. The public plan would be offered through a new national insurance “exchange,” where it would compete with private insurance plans. The benefit of this type of plan would be that people who lack employment-based coverage would be able to acquire health care, and could not be turned down because of existing or prior medical condition. All could now have health care. With a so called reformed health care framework, direct competition with private insurance plans would drive down costs.
The case can be made that public insurance options must be modeled after medicare if the broad goals of reform, universal insurance and improved value are to be achieved. Medicare has proven superior at cost control not just to health plans in the private sector, but also to plans that contract with the federal government, such as one offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).People may not realize it, but if you were to stop and think about it, public insurance has pioneered new payment and quality-improvement methods that have frequently set the standard from private plans. Now with the use of new information technology, comparison of large databases and practices and the outcomes of such practices, can now carry out these vital tasks more effectively.
A public plan is essential to set standards for that private plans must compete with. Without this ability, there would be no way to keep down costs and drive insurance practices and value up. People who have good jobs and elect to keep their present insurance would notice a big drop in premiums due to the competition with public insurance plans that would become available under a public insurance option. 
The public plan choice will allow Americans to realize the benefits of both public and private plans: flexibility and security, innovation and stability, and market and democratic accountability. And, according to opinion polling, this is what most Americans want: public and private insurance competing side by side so that they can choose the best option for themselves and their families.

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