Pelosi on Healthcare Reform: 'This Will Take Courage'
On This Week with Elizabeth Vargas, Nancy Pelosi says something you don't hear very often these days: that members of Congress should recognize a higher purpose than simply getting themselves reelected:
VARGAS: What do you say to your members, when it does come to the House to vote on this, who are in real fear of losing their seats in November if they support you now?
PELOSI: Well first of all our members -- every one of them -- wants health care. I think everybody wants affordable health care for all Americans. They know that this will take courage. It took courage to pass Social Security. It took courage to pass Medicare. And many of the same forces that were at work decades ago are at work again against this bill.
But the American people need it, why are we here? We're not here just to self perpetuate our service in Congress. We're here to do the job for the American people. To get them results that gives them not only health security, but economic security, because the health issue is an economic issue for -- for America's families.
VARGAS: Do you wish though that the president had posted his bill before this week? That six months ago it might have been more helpful for you. That maybe six months ago you knew that the public option was something he was going to drop before you fought so hard for it?
PELOSI: Well we -- we still fight for the -- what the public option will do. Whether it's in the bill or not, its purpose must be recognized. And that is to keep the insurance companies honest. To keep them accountable, and to increase competition. And I think in the summit on Thursday it became very clear that what the president was proposing was regulation of the insurance companies.
Left to their own devices they have done harm to the American people. They need to be regulated. And that is one of the biggest differences between the Democrats and the Republicans. Another one for example is -- an example of it is ending the denial of -- of coverage to those who have a preexisting condition. The Democrats have that in their bill. The Republicans do not.
Joe Lieberman.
!!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
The ones in the House --then we have three in the Senate!
pelosi said absolutely nothing.
"Well we -- we still fight for the -- what the public option will do. Whether it's in the bill or not, its purpose must be recognized. And that is to keep the insurance companies honest. To keep them accountable, and to increase competition. And I think in the summit on Thursday it became very clear that what the president was proposing was regulation of the insurance companies."
Nothing at all.
There is a huge difference between good intentions and a valid action plan. Pelosi is for the former, not the latter.
Enough of these foolish platitudes. Get the goddam rubber on the road.
"We will find fulfillment not in the goods that we have, but in the good we can do for each other."
Robert F. Kennedy
Why does it take courage? Up or down vote, just get it over with already. History will look kindly on you as most progressive achievements become indispensable services to the nation.
So the insurance companies lobbied and bribed you. Who cares? What are they going to do sue you for not being corrupt to their wishes? Fuck them.
Is it the 21st century yet?
she has been a horrible leader
courage??????
hahahahahahahahahahaa
IMPEACHMENT IS OFF THE TABLE
Comment 1: Well, Nancy, and the rest of you spineless Democrats, when will you get some?
Comment 2: You mean you'll vote for Medicare for all, going against the Insurance cabal? You WILL need courage for that, no doubt.
Yeesh.
me-oww!
That's douchebag lingo for "getting laid".
It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.
-George Carlin
unintentionally perfect, seeing as I'm addressing a huge group of douchebags.
me-oww!
I got some last night.
:D
me-oww!
I was watching Real Time with Bill Maher, and someone, maybe Chris Rock brought up a salient point, which is, that people who already have health insurance don't want to pay for those who don't.
Insurance already costs too much, and it's a bad economy. I think people want "universal coverage", but they want it paid for by cost reform.
I read a letter to the editor today, which said among other things:
"Insurance companies have spent tens of millions of dollars to make sure that what comes out of Congress will not hurt them. Their investment has paid off. The chairman of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the bill has received over two million dollars from the insurance lobby and, miracle of miracles, the public option is dead and with it any threat of competition for the insurance companies."
People get it. I don't know if a wide swath of Congress understand that the people get it. But, this effort will have lackluster public support if the universal coverage isn't paid for by cost reform, at least somewhat.
The standard for impeachment is committing "treason, bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors". I don't know if at the Congressional level, whether Senators or Representatives are impeachable, but by simply renaming "bribery" to "lobbying" doesn't make it not be bribery. And that's the problem, a government bribed by the corporations to no longer be a government of the people, by the people and for the people, except for the new corporate "person".
If either Pelosi or Reid had a d*!( they would tell the Repukes to
s^&( on it and pass health care reform. Anytime these mofos bring up costs P & R should just bring up the cost of the war in Iraq at 5 to 10 billion a month.....a f(*&!n month. And the Pukes supported it all the way. Hell, where were they when Bushco dropped 9 billion that nobody can account for, just getting off the plane. 9 f%!*n billion, but no questions.....hey Pukes your nothing but hypocrites.
Off to catch the USA/CDA game.
"I think everybody wants affordable health care for all Americans."
Yes, everyone wants affordable health care... If it was affordable, and now it isn't then something is broken that needs fixing.
What we don't need to be doing is mandating that everyone buy into the current broken mechanism. That may initially bring prices down but that isn't fixing the core underlying problems. If the core problems are never fixed the prices are going to continue to spiral out of control.
All this plan is doing is buying time while at the same time lining the pockets of the insurance industry.
"We're here to do the job for the American people. To get them results that gives them not only health security, but economic security, because the health issue is an economic issue for -- for America's families." - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
How on Earth can she sit there with a straight face, knowing what I am absolutely certain she knows, and try to tell the American public that the HCR legislation that is currently being considered would in any way, shape or form give the American people "economic security"??
Everyone knows that the federal plan is based on the Mass Plan with the "exchanges", "mandates", "penalties/fines" and the involvement of the IRS.
I lived in Massachusetts the better part of last year and had lots of time to talk to people there about the Mass Plan. Right now there are hospitals suing the Plan because of low reimbursement issues. The state is raising taxes all over the place because they can't afford the subsidies. Statistically more people are dropping the plans every month than who are joining because they cannot afford the premiums that the magical "exchange" tells them they CAN afford according to the previous year's tax return.
People are paying the fines and going WITHOUT healthcare insurance because they cannot afford to pay for the heating bills, mortgages, car repairs etc. AND the premiums.
Those in Medicaid face "estate recovery" if they become seriously ill. But none of you ever here anyone talking about "estate recovery" do you?
Dear Ms. Pelosi: Please explain to all of us out here how you think any of this will give the American people "economic security"?
And all this goes without mentioning the fact that Obama never answered Sen. Grassley's question the other day at the summit: "Right now many Americans who are on Medicaid cannot find doctors who will accept Medicaid reimbursement rates. Many Americans are now even having a problem finding doctors who will accept MEDICARE reimbursement rates. If this bill passes, how does the federal government expect to find doctors for the millions of new patients who will be on Medicaid?"
Answer Ms. Pelosi???
It is a shame that she either cannot see or will not see the truth here. This bill does NOT serve the American people either economically OR medically,
It is nothing more than a ruse to bailout the health insurance corporations with the threats of fines/penalties and even JAIL for non-compliance.
This bill serves the 'economic interests" of corporate America, NOT the American public.
And Pelosi knows it. They ALL know it.
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
Medicaid requires that people spend their money down to a very low level before Medicaid pays any medical expenses. That would mean, if I have $100,000, I'll need to pay my own expenses until I'm down to some low level, perhaps $2,000. Now, instead, suppose I don't have any money, but have $100,000 in equity in a house.
Estate recovery is forbearance in requiring the ill person to sell the home and move to an apartment before Medicaid pays medical expenses. I suppose we could get rid of estate recovery, and require the ill person to sell the home to pay for medical expenses. That doesn't really sound like the kinder, gentler way.
But there is no real parity in requiring a person with $100,000 who rents to pay, while someone with $100,000 in equity isn't required to pay.
A lot of the Democrats are closet republicans. The President won't fight for the middle class or the poor. Pelosi might find herself fighting for any Progressive ideas almost alone.
Bipartisanship is a joke: Democrats bend over and when the republicans are finished screwing them, those same republicans still won't vote for the castrated bills that's been created. Giving the republicans everything they want isn't bipartisanship, it's betraying the will of the people who voted for you. And the President is an blooming idiot if he thinks accomplishing bipartisanship is more important than the end results.
I live in Mass and I've seen the effect of having wimpy Democrats and an apathetic President and I am losing faith. If we'd wanted the republicans to run everything, we would have voted for them. If the Democrats don't take charge soon, they won't have to worry about running the next Congress; November is going to be a blood bath.
I wonder how much the republicans will scream for bipartisanship then.
Courage? did she say courage, she meant CASH.
This is a lost cause. After Citizens' United they will be on their best corporate behavior.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
So Nancy, when will you take your own counsel?
me-oww!
!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
The peanuts in the gallery is all we have.
We throw peanuts, the rest of the country changes the channel.
The Congress critters shuffle billions in welfare to the corporations which turn around and spend less than a penny on the dollar in campaign contributions.
Congress is bought cheap!
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/84089-pelos...
"A bill can be bipartisan without bipartisan votes. Republicans have left their imprint." - Nancy Pelosi
Soooo, I think I'm beginning to get the big picture here....
Remember how absolutely insistent Obama was at the beginning of the process of forming this bill that Max Baucus go off with Olympia Snowe and the other Republicans to hash out the highlights of the Senate bill?
Obviously this was just a clever maneuver so when it came to the point we're at now they could say, "Republicans have left their imprint".
Ha!! Good one!!!
That's how in Pelosi's twisted thinking the bill can be called "bipartisan without bipartisan votes"!!!
It's kinda like being "a little pregnant" isn't it?
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
.. a bit of clarification on the meaning of "bipartisan" ..
"BiPartisan" just means both parties like it. It benefits both parties.
Not that it benefits the American people.
Just that it benefits the two parties.
So Nancy's right - the R's knuckledragging HAS had a powerful influence on the bill, to the benefit of both corporate-interest-dominated parties.
.
.
.
. feel better now?
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
I have a nasty cold and I can't be with my 4 week old grand-daughter...
Wah!!!!!!!!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
of the insurance companies is no solution at all. It's part of the problem. If members of congress wish to delude themselves into believing they have actually accomplished anything at all with the scam that it is trying to perpetrate, it's only proof that its members need to be sent packing sand.
HR-676.
Swiss health care coverage - provided by private insurers - works.
How?
Mandate with subsidies, strict regulation, and a requirement that basic health care coverage be offered by all insurance companies with NO PROFIT.
Dave Lindorff: An Accidental Experience with a Health System that Seems to Work
Mandate with subsidies for low-income people and the unemployed.
Insurance companies required to offer basic coverage with no profit.
And one more point:
So: mandated coverage can work, with subsidies and strict regulation that requires basic non-profit coverage be offered by the insurers.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
lobbies so intently against any meaningful healthcare system in the benighted country. Even though it makes them less competitive in the global marketplace, it gives them greater controlover employees whom they view as being mere chattels and assets. So long as they are allowed to assume the role of gatekeeper to the promised land, we will have rationed healthcare. It assures a system in which there is a large population of have-nots who can serve as an always-in-your-face example of what can happen to any employee who steps out of line. "Except for our grace, there goes you". It's an effective tool of control for exacting obedince and compliance from a workce that probably hates what it does for a living and despises the people it works for.
As a volunteer advocate for the homeless in the 90s it became clear to me that wiping out homelessness is the last thing on the corporate agenda, for exactly the reason you give.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
.. is the desire by the corporate elite to keep any programs out of the public eye that are effective and helpful. They absolutely have to maintain the illusion that Big Government is somehow inherently less efficient and more corrupt than Big Business. Considering the recent history of the latter's performance, that is an illusion that is getting harder and harder to maintain.
If health care reform were to be enacted and succeed, it would be the end of the current Republican/conservative/corporatist model of governance.
"In theory theory and practice are alike. In practice they are very different."
ie, let those who already have way too much power continue to ream the rest of us in an unregulated, no-holds-barred political and economic environment ..
did I get it right?
leave anything out?
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
The last thing the U.S. government wants the American people to see is that the people in Cuba have BETTER HEALTH CARE/OUTCOMES than we do.
Besides corporations wanting to go into third world countries to exploit their workers and natural resources (including WATER!!!), the U.S. government has overthrown democratically elected Socialist leaders because, GOD FORBID we should leave them alone and watch them nationalize their natural resources, hospitals, healthcare systems, educational systems, electricity etc.
Instead we send the IMF/World Bank in to lend them money and then forgive their debts in return for the "New World Order" being able to exploit the hell out of them. And if they don't play nice in the sandbox with the big boyz we go in and SHOCK AND AWE THEM!
We've already attempted one coup against Chavez! He's preparing for the next one now!
The fact is that France, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Cuba and Japan have BETTER HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS THAN WE DO NOW....
And if this bill passes, they STILL WILL!!!
Doh!!!
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
"We're not here just to self perpetuate our service in Congress."
Really Nancy, that's quite a revealing statement. So what do you do with the other 1% of your effort and time you f*#@ing worthless bootlicker?
Generally speaking I don't trust anyone making over 150K a year.
and what have you done with Nancy Pelosi?
Both parties should be taken to the tool shed for their disingenuous debate on healthcare. Neither side has a lasting solution as much as I would like to believe it is. I don’t care if healthcare costs $900 billion or $2 trillion it doesn’t really matter. The national debt is the rampaging elephant in the room so many people are trying to not notice, when we default (and we will) all these other important things will fall to the wayside. Even the most rudimentary division on these staggering numbers exposes the folly of what our politicians are doing or rather not doing.
$12 trillion and $14 trillion assured in the next year. Forget future obligations such as social security and Medicare which would make the numbers vastly larger. Let’s just talk about the $12 trillion that is. If we we’re to pay that down over 100 years at 0% interest (a nice fantasy) our annual payments would be $120 billion per year ($10 billion monthly).
Does anyone think that’s going to happen?
How do you pay down a monster debt while you are racking up more?
Where are the real solutions?
Is it any wonder so many politicians are not running for office again? They’re getting out of Dodge while they can.
Goodnight, Frau Blücher
We only default if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling. They always raise the debt ceiling because their corporate cronies in the MICC (and everywhere else) want it that way.
Bernanke has just stated the obvious, as long as Congress has the will, he has the printing press.
That is not to say that there are not repercussions in rolling up the debt.
As far as healthcare, Congress needs to enact single payer which will save $400 billion over the current venal system. Then they pay for it with taxes. Once you take the 30% overhead everyone will benefit.
Except for the insurance companies which will need to go into an honest line of work.
Throwing out the future Social Security numbers as if they will not be funded by taxes is a time honored right wing scare tactic.
What we need to do is cut out corporate welfare.
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
1) When we can no longer pay the interest rate on our national debt, that is getting to be a more frightening prospect every day, the interest alone on our national debt is about what we pay on our national defense budget and it's growing.
2) If countries which hold our debt start to dump it, like China currently is. Oh sure they are carefully doing it, but the writing is on the wall knowing we won't honor obligations.
3) If other debtor countries that hold our debt default or crash on their own, like Japan who is in serious trouble now. They hold more debt now than China does since China has started getting rid of US debt.
4) If the US tax base shrinks too much to finance our debt at even a servicing level, this is happening now. We currently pay more out in social security than we bring in because of the reduced tax revenues.
I could go and and on, the debt ceiling is but a small part of it.
Goodnight, Frau Blücher
I think printing money is the way out of default. We're doing that now. I had always said that at some point interest on Treasuries were going to have to rise to attract lenders, and I wondered why that hadn't happened.
A policy called "quantative easing", where the Fed essentially prints money to buy treasuries is why the interest rates haven't risen. This interferes with the supply/demand nature of the treasury auction markets, so they're really not auction markets anymore.
"...Reagan proved that deficits don't matter." - Dick Cheney
woohoo!
Try a SPINE.
Dear Democrats,
It takes the Republican a year to do what an earthquake does in one day.
The Republican doesn't want an organized community. The Republican fears an organized community.
The Republican doesn't want an Democracy. The Republican fears a Democracy.
The Republican is many things but politician is not one of them.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
..of a corrupted organization under the RICO statutes. They are more of a criminal gang than a political party, right down to the Reaganite '11th commandment' which is a perfect reflection of the Mafia's Omerta rule.
"In theory theory and practice are alike. In practice they are very different."
to make a profit on 'basic' (comprehensive and far from basic) health insurance. More than 70 years after France and Canada put single payer systems into effect, our Democratic leaders are proclaiming their courage at locking in an unsustainable, unaffordable, privatized, across the board FOR-PROFIT system, that benefits their corporate benefactors at the expense of the average American. Not only did they lock in insurance and hospital profits, by taking drug reimportation off athe table, Obama ensured the Americans will also continue to be blessed with by far the most expensive medicine in the world.
Yes, our Democratic leaders, so bold and foward-looking, risking their jobs and financial well being by yet again sticking their necks out for the little guy.
Physicians working in the Italian single payer system make about 60,000 Euros a year. On the other hand, Pier Luigi Zappacosta born and raised in Chieti Abruzzo moved to California, settled in Silicon Valley, invented the MOUSE and owns the Logitec Corp. Get my drift. You live in the USA and the USA is what it is.
maintenance Rx. Now I order it from Canada (it's illegal but they don't seize the goods) and a 3-month supply is $63.
That's too damn disporportionate in how we're getting screwed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/28/lama...
Sen. Alexander says if the Democrats pass this bill using reconciliation that the day after it passes the Republican Party will start working to repeal it right up until Election Day.
It's kinda hard to disagree with the whole "kamikaze" thing....
And to think Pelosi calls it "courage"??
Say, wha?
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-care-meeting...
Sounds like it's a 70%, 30% deal, with the patient paying 30%. It says under Title I, "It also reduces what families will have to pay for health care by capping out-of-pocket expenses and requiring preventive care to be fully covered without any out-of-pocket expense."
I don't see what the out of pocket cap is. Anyone know?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/opinion/26k...
"Newer, more careful polling paints a very different picture. The key finding: an overwhelming 79 percent of the public think the reform should be continued, while only 11 percent think it should be repealed.
Interestingly, another recent poll shows similar support among the state’s physicians: 75 percent want to continue the policies; only 7 percent want to see them reversed."
I don't think that MassCare is the political pariah that is sometimes represented. I haven't heard of any single issue candidates running on repeal of MassCare and winning.
I'm still waiting for you to prove that, nancy.
It really is about the corporations trying everything they can to keep the worker in his/her place. The disparity in America now between worker and CEO is the largest in the world by far and they wish to keep it that way. It is also quite incredible that they have convinced the moronic Repukic base that this is the way it should be. How stupid can these people be propping up the very system that keeps them in their place.
Single payer yes; public option if you must.
oh oh , courage ? Selflessness ? Goooooooooooood luck .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
"Well we -- we still fight for the -- what the public option will do. Whether it's in the bill or not, its purpose must be recognized. And that is to keep the insurance companies honest. "
What did she say?
"Whether it's (the public option) in the bill or not"?
What is she supposedly urging her colleagues to vote for?
She is trumpeting that she (and snoozing Mr. Obama) will settle for a bill without a public option.
And how does she propose to keep the insurance companies "honest" without independent competition? They are in business to make a profit. Without competition, this bill is simply a bonanza for another of the corporations that control the politicians and their campaigns.
Far more courage than the dem leaders of the house and senate seem to be able to muster.
Far less courage than it takes for all the uninsured in america to get through their days, weeks and months of waiting.
Nancy and Harry are failing on this issue to say the least.
I have the utmost confidence Pelosi will fail ,or cave in,because as I've said countless times before, the democrats ALWAYS have an excuse for not doing the will of the people and while I'm talking about Pelosi, when the minimum wage way raised a few years ago Nancy's hubby, who owns a tuna cannery on American Samoa, with the help of the Missus, had American Samoa exempted from the minimum wage raise! FUCK Nancy Pelosi! If anyone thinks this bitch gives a fuck about what the working folks want , I have bridge for sale in Brooklyn!
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