Who's Zoomin' Who? Insurance Companies Suddenly Change Their Version of What They Told Obama
By Susie Madrak Saturday May 16, 2009 9:00amRemember Obama's announcement Monday that insurance companies were going to cut the rate of health care spending? It was all over the news:
“These groups are voluntarily coming together to make an unprecedented commitment,” Mr. Obama said. “Over the next 10 years, from 2010 to 2019, they are pledging to cut the rate of growth of national health care spending by 1.5 percentage points each year — an amount that’s equal to over $2 trillion.”
Now they're clutching their pearls, insisting they never said such a thing!
Health care leaders who attended the meeting have a different interpretation. They say they agreed to slow health spending in a more gradual way and did not pledge specific year-by-year cuts.
“There’s been a lot of misunderstanding that has caused a lot of consternation among our members,” said Richard J. Umbdenstock, the president of the American Hospital Association. “I’ve spent the better part of the last three days trying to deal with it.”
Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, said “the president misspoke” on Monday and again on Wednesday when he described the industry’s commitment in similar terms. After providing that account, Ms. DeParle called back about an hour later on Thursday and said: “I don’t think the president misspoke. His remarks correctly and accurately described the industry’s commitment.”
The Washington office of the American Hospital Association sent a bulletin to its state and local affiliates to “clarify several points” about the White House meeting.
In the bulletin, Richard J. Pollack, the executive vice president of the hospital association, said: “The A.H.A. did not commit to support the ‘Obama health plan’ or budget. No such reform plan exists at this time.”
Moreover, Mr. Pollack wrote, “The groups did not support reducing the rate of health spending by 1.5 percentage points annually.”
And yet, here's what went up on the lying bastards' industry's faux-grassroots website:
Health care stakeholders came together at the White House today to present ideas on how to lower health care costs and create real savings for American families. President Obama hosted representatives of a group that included AdvaMed, American Hospital Association (AHA), American Medical Association (AMA), America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
The six groups submitted a letter to the President outlining a framework for slowing the growth of spending throughout the health care system, making it more efficient and more sustainable. Read the letter that was sent to President Obama.
By reducing the rate of growth in health care spending by 1.5% each year, the nation can achieve a savings of $2 trillion over the next decade. This effort will have a direct effect on the budgets of individuals and families and will also go a long way in ensuring that every American have access to affordable, high-quality health care. Stay tuned for more information on this important initiative in the weeks and months ahead.
Read a complete account of President Obama's remarks at the White House today.
America's Health Insurance Plans released a statement today that expressed strong support for the framework that all the stakeholders have presented. Read the full statement.
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if he keeps letting special interests push him around.
I don't see where you get that.
He didn't commit to anything.
.
Read the words of the Master. He speaks for us.
He's turned into GOP-lite.
...in Obama's naivete. Does he actually think that he can bargain with these bastards? His rationalizations and compromise quotient is pissin' me off. Dammit, fuck-em, go to singer-payer and/or government option...run the shitasses out of business if necessary. And if he, Obama backs away from many more of what we were told were his fundamental beliefs and core values, then he's gonna lose us all. We'll draft Howard Dean to run against him if we have to, but stop breaking our hearts.
he thinks is wrong with the U.S by printing dollars and will get nothing right. If he can't clean up the banks, punish all the fraud in govt and in Wall Street we are scroomed.
Is that like doomed?
go to singer-payer and/or government option
Singer-payer? That's an option? Cool!
I choose Jackson Browne.
This won't last long. But at least he can say, when all is said and done, he "tried to work with them"...and it just wasn't going to happen.
I have a little more faith in the guy. He hasn't sold us out "yet". Let's not give up on him quite yet. It's hard to work with somebody when they realize they are going to see their profit cut down to pennies.
I say give him a chance. We still have time for this to turn out. I say the same for the Senator from Montana too. No "single payer" option at the table...but the others got a chance to speak and play paddy cake. NOW it's time to kick some ass and make a plan.
Let's see how it all turns out.
Between the "bipartisan" compromises to the increasingly irrelevant Republican party and the industry
bribescampaign contributions to the more persuadable Democrats, we'll never have an efficient full-coverage health care system like the rest of the developed world. We'll end up with an even worse hybrid monstrosity that costs ten times what everyone else is paying and still work less than half as well. And then the rightards will point and say that it's proof that the government can't do anything right.Hint: The government can't do anything right when the Republicans and corrupt Democrats constantly sabotage it.
Bastards.
You are very wise.
We are going to get a half assed health care reform that will have the American people begging to turn it back to the way it is now. Then the corrupt fucks will say, see socialism doesn't work. You can bet your life on it.
last 1/2 century:
Gain power, f*ck things up, use their very own f*ck ups as a justification of why the government should not be trusted... then "private" alternatives controlled by the same people that were in charge of the public trust "sprung up" as if by divine providence to "save the day."
The end result is that people end up being all to happy to get much much less quality of services, just because they were never realized that the government is supposed to be their employee, so when the government f*cks up.... you are supposed to request accountability. Replacing the public service with a private one, further removes that accountability... and provides a direct access by these parasites to people's wallet. Which is their ultimate goal: more profit with none of the accountability.
I certainly hope Mr. Obama is not trying to use the same playbook... god help us.
Bait and switch? Why how despicable and dishonest of you. Single payer, please.
I am sick and tired of going into public places and seeing communites having to put together fundraisers for kids whose parents have no insurance (or inadequate insurance), so these kids are facing death sentences.
F**K these for profit insurance parasites. Why does shit like this not enrage people in this country. WTF? The U.S. can give trillions to corporate criminals, but we can't take care of sick kids? This country is seriously f**ked-up when it comes to priorities.
Oh yeah, according to chimpy and the other government insured conservative assholes, they can just go to the emergency room. Assholes!
despite the critical need to do so.
smaller and smaller every day. Between rising deductibles, copays and pay for ancillary tests, what passes for health care insurance in this country is a real joke.
Just have a needed surgery if you don't believe me; make sure you read your policy. It'll be a shocker.
belief in Capitalism is. Even vast numbers of the poor and disadvantaged, the ones hurt most by these insurance vampires, have been convinced by their capitalist masters that it's better to lose your job and home because you can't take sick days or pay for treatment than "lose your ability to choose".
They've also instilled this incredible faith in the idea that they are free to chooose their fate under capitalism despite all evidence to the contrary.
Compared to this nation's blind faith in capitalism, even scientology looks rational.
I see it all the time. Especially with my old high school friends. They all bitch and cry about how stupid kids are and how the schools don't teach anything. Then when I remind them that they are products of the same system they shake their heads in denial. Yeah that's it. We were supremely educated while the generation right after us were not. I swear we are so stupid it boggles the mind.
If the entire point of the industry was to make the "promise" as a way of possibly convincing Pres. Obama not to create a Public Insurance System and leave it to the "Free Market", then they've all just done us a tremendous service by showing us they're a bunch of liars that can't be trusted.
to that!
"By reducing the rate of growth in health care spending by 1.5% each year, the nation can achieve a savings of $2 trillion over the next decade."
So, instead of health care costs increasing by 10% a year, they will only increase 8,5% a year?
Very sporting of them I thought.
Playing with words is a time honored tradition in politics and law.
(politics and law) to consolidate huge amounts of money over a long period of time.
(politics and law) to acquire huge amounts of money as quickly as possible.
I supported Obama enthustically and I have been dissapointed immensely in his acquesience to the same old people who got us in this trouble in the first place. Right now I'm sitting home in 2012 and he is going to have to convince me to do otherwise. He's failing miserably so far. At least with the Republicants we know where we stand and are not surprised or dissapointed when we get screwed again.
I'm with you. Are we suppose to like the corporate fascist shit sandwich that was forced down our throats under chimpy any better because its being served by a democrat now, with a pleasant personality?
Sorry dimbocrats, I'll vote green.
Ever major piece of legislation or government action that has taken place in the last 100 days, has all been pro corporate fascism (status qou) and anti public (the little guy). This is NOT what I voted for!
I'll vote green.
Then you can sit around at home and complaing about EVERYTHING. I'm sure that'll be fun for you.
well for cyber-libertarians.
They get to sit in the happy pants-peeing warmth of knowing that their theories will never be tested but they can act superior to everyone else.
After this comment, I guess I spoke to soon about your being wise.
Support the major parties, you get more of the same.
Support a third party, you get more of the same but get to tell people that you aren't part of the problem.
I voted Green in 2000 and what did we get? George Fucking Bush, a bigger conservative nightmare than Reagan. Did this advance the Green Party at all? No. Did anyone give a crap about the Green Party because of this? No. Have Green ideals influenced the Democratic party because of this? No.
In 1992, Ross Perot could have won if he didn't bow out for no good reason. He was highly influential in Bush I's defeat and Clinton's victory anyway. Did his ideals permeate the Republican party? No.
Voting third party doesn't do a damn bit of good. Nobody takes any serious notice, even at the 18% level that Perot got.
It sucks voting for "lesser of two evils" but try something else and you get Bush II.
...is to first get them elected on the local, then the state and then to Congress. Only then can the chief exectutive office be viably sought. But once they start building numbers in state and national office, they start exerting influence. They force other to establish alliances and coalitions and in doing so immediately begin to exert moderaating effects upon those who would do business as usual. It's a process of paying dues and the price of admission. This is the route that the Greens took in Europe, and it took less than 20 years to transform the political landscape. If it is Congress that actually makes the laws, it wouldn't take the election of very many third party members to begin changing both houses and to force concessions from whoever is the president.
It may be that we are putting the horse before the cart in attempting to run 3rd party candidates for office of the chief executive. Of course, that's not going to work. Got to lay the foundation first. Now may be the most opportune time to attempt such a move since the times that the Republican party was founded, because that party is making itself into a fringe organization, a process i do not believe they will reverse. And, since the Democratic party is progressively becoming more corporatist/ moderate Republican,a vacuum has been created. Sooner or later, something is going to arise to fill that vacuum.
Yes, I said the same myself just a year ago. But when the party you support is this useless, then I will not vote for the same candidates next time.
I don't exactly know when the democrats became an extention of the republican party, but I will be damned if I will vote for my own destruction - just because the democrats will tell me how much they really care as their sticking the corporate knife in my back.
Sycophants like you crack me up. You are no different than the GOP redneck base!
So, I should keep supporting the same sell out assholes who vote for everything I voted against? This is change? This is the same corporate shit the republicans gave us.
You tell me, (I am all ears) what we should do then, when the dimbocrats we voted for are nothing but a continuation of the corporate assholes we just threw out of office?
And furthermore I don't sit at home, and the ONLY thing I complain about is the democrats I supported who have passed not one goddamned major piece of legislation I voted for! Everywhere I look, I see family and friends going under, while the senate democrats diddle and play politics and stuff the bankers pockets with our tax dollars! F**k em, I won't vote for them anymore.
They think they can shit on us while talking nice and we don't have any other options. That's what the sellouts count on. Their whole attitude is "what ya' gonna do, vote republican?" Well no, but I don't have to vote for sellout democrats either. It may take a few election cycles, but if the two major parties continue down this path, there will be a new third party. Of course, I will continue to whole heartedly support real democrats (liberals), but the GOP-lite's can go to hell!
So I guess I will do that if Obama doesn't get his shit together (I am still hoping he gets better), instead of being shat upon, and lapping it up like a good little dimbocrat sycophant like you - who think its acceptable because the democrats are serving it now.
I now await the attacks from the defenders of the sellouts in 4..3..2....
I can't keep voting for change and getting the same old disappointment - only WORSE because Democrats are SUPPOSED to be better. I am to the point where I would rather see a national lottery pick the senate, congress, and president at random from the eligible population and have them serve one term like jury duty. I seriously doubt things would be run much worse.
good for you fugem!
have a problem. They get nipped as soon as they try to emerge. Take Ross Perot for instance: He has never explained why he dropped off the race in 1992. Why?
Read also Jessie' Ventura's book: the little visit the CIA paid to him the morning after his election as Governor...What the fuck did those guys wanted from him?
Jess doesn't say, but it's pretty clear that he'll never run for office again. That much he alludes to without saying so openly.
Consider the sheer amount of money at stake that comes with a federal election in this country. Do you think for a second that special interests would let a 3rd party that is an unknown take roots?
Not a chance...that is, before the socio-economic situation becomes so bad that the people would clamor for it, at the tip of their pitchforks.
I supported Obama, because honestly it was the only "sane" choice when we only had 2 flavors of shit to chose from in the past election.
The way I am framing Obama is that he is not as disasterous as a McCain would have been. And it just allows for some cushion from the Bush policies. That being said he is far from being anything that I could cosider remotely close to what my liberal ass would like to see policy-wise.
I believe, that we should use this "relative" calm to organize, and present a real alternative. I believe the Dem playbook is to use the GOP's utter incompetence as their reason d'etre. Which honestly it does not cut it for me. I don't want "not as bad" I just want "normal" and "reasonable." And I don't think those are too much to ask for from my elected officials.
So let's use this dem administration, and the relative Pax Americana that will ensue, in our favor. If liberals do not start to organize a real alternative. The Dems will continue having no reason why they should do their damn jobs as they can continue assuming that the liberal vote is theirs.
Those are my $0.02. I would love to see a viable green platform from 2010 on. That will teach Mr. Obama to throw us liberals under the bus. I am really, really tired of his constant appeasement efforts even when the people he is trying to "work with" hate his guts, and then at the same time he gets to ignore liberals. I am just damn tired of having these tyre marks on my back...
You took the words right off of my keyboard. Good job! Searing analysis with some cool words for decoration.
The Insurance companies and their PR teams are trying to make Obama look like an idiot who can't remember what he said from one minute to the next.
This is a red herring.
Both Obama and the healthcare "industry" are Zoomin us!
Big Med and Big Pharma shouldn't be telling anyone they'll "hold down the growth of costs"...We should be telling them they are no longer needed.
Buh. Bye.
Obama and his corporatist cabal are zoomin the American people simply by letting these skimmers at the table.
But am I surprised that the Big Coal, Big Med, Big $$, Wall Street, Free trade loving "progressives" in the WH are showing their true colors?
Only that its so early in their regime. Good for Bizness....Bad PR.
The Clinton republican-lite flunkies have done exactly what I thought they would do. Suck up to Wall Street and the criminal corporate fatcats, and screw the american people.
The most disappointing thing I have seen recently, was when Obama hired Larry "derivatives deregulator" Sommers, and Rahm "we need to be more like the republicans that they people threw out of office" Emmanuel. I am beginning to think he is either clueless, or he is playing us.
....thus, he is playing us. For all we're worth.
While I do not believe that the insurance industry has our best interests at heart (and as a business, why should they, except if it were the case that they could lose our business if they didn't?) But I don't see any "backing out" or "reneging" here. The fact is, there's a big difference between reducing the rate of growth of spending by 1.5% and reducing the spending by 1.5%. So I don't see any inconsistency between these two statements:
“The groups did not support reducing the rate of health spending by 1.5 percentage points annually.”
and
"...they are pledging to cut the rate of growth of national health care spending by 1.5 percentage points each year..."
...if Obama had kept his campaign promise to "have all the negotiations around a big table...televised on C-SPAN".
They'd never get away with this crap then, because EVERYBODY watches C-SPAN!
*eyeroll*
The point is that you have transparency and a public record of who said what.
When it was announced it sounded ridiculous on its face. No way these corporate criminals will ever willingly give up anything. I don't know if this is some grand strategy by Obama, but ultimately, I don't care.
He should Nationalize all the Private Insurance companies and throw their executives in jail. They're criminal parasites. And since nothing of the kind will ever happen, this country remains a total joke.
The Insurance Companies just fell into a trap. They are looking like greedy bastards that can't be trusted, so eliminating them will be much easier. Single payer system is on it's way.
that's how i see it also. let them come to the table and to say to the public they can't or won't do anything. the PRIVATE industry is concerned the government plan will have a unFAIR advantage BUT at the same time they tell use it won't work and it will be inferior. if it won't work than people won't join the government program. typical of special interests play both sides. obama already said if you like your current healthCare insurance plan keep it. many of us know something has to happen it's NOT even an option anymore. THE preTAX dollars that go into families healthCare has SKYrocketed the last 8 yrs. at the same time wages have been stagnate. even people with health insurance are paying larger co-pays/deduct. this recession is deeper than we're being told/know. so there will be more unemployment and LESS people with insurance. so when services are used and can't be paid that cost will be shifted to the paying pool. that HIDDEN healthCare tax is becoming an issue as it will surely increase. obama knows this and the financial elites/wallStreet know it. something has to be done. CHINA gets it they're going to universal system after trying free market for 25 yrs.i hear little about that. how are we going to compete in this wonderful global economic model if all the other players have a more efficient/less costly healthCare system?
Shorter "Earth Abides": Obama is some genius grand concert master playing Big Med like a violin.
Uh, no.
And single payer from this regime? Not. Blooday. Likelay.
To believe otherwise is sheer lunacy. Deep delusion.
Nagahapun!
It has been striking me, that this whole "Obama has a secret plan" where his intentions are completely opposite to his actions... is a manifestation of denial.
I think a lot of people are giving Obama far too much credit for his electoral victory, vs. trying to get the victory in the real context that McCain ran a piss poor campaign, and Bush was the most disastrous president in recent times. If anything, his victory was not big enough when you take into account those two factors.
That is why I am a firm believer in putting facts under their correct context...
I've been willing to overlook a lot of crap...not prosecuting the torturers and the military tribunal shit...
But if Obama continues down this trek hand-in-hand with the insurance companies we're no better off than before he became president...I will stay home 2012.
Seems like the same old playbook gets used term after term.
They;d like that. Get out and vote for an honest decent third party candidate.
As if a third party candidate has an honest chance of winning...riiiiigggggghhhhhhttttttt.
Democracy is a contact sport, don't complain if your team loses when you decide to stay home...
Some change is gradual, even if 3rd parties do not make a huge impact right away, they need to build critical mass to become viable alternatives under the current electoral system. We need to understand that...
The corporate owned media likes to spin the Republican/Democrat alternatives. But, more and more, the real dichotomy should be between the corporate-owned versus the non-corporate-owned politicians.
But, united we stand, and divided we fall. If we were to split the Democrat party, and form a 3rd party, it would probably allow the Republicans to win. So, instead, we have to fix our own party, politician by politician. And, I expect the Libertarians to make inroads within the Republican party.
The fact that single-payer is shut out of the health reform charade goes hand in hand in substituting this Republican/Democrat false dichotomy by our corporate media. It might be a true dichotomy under certain circumstances, but not for economic matters.
I think regardless of the shortcomings of Obama, we're all going to be thankful we elected this lesser of the two evils come Supreme Court nomination time. Sure hate to see what would happen if McCain was making the nomination.
I agree. Take back the party.
But.....I swear to God. If I read the "Better than McCain" meme one more time I'm going to type this:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggghhhhhhh.
So please. Stop it.
Every time I see Obama sell out the people who got him elected, and beyond that sell out the whole country, to the interests of big corporations or back pedal on promises to eliminate the despotic practices of the prior regime or try to reserve for himself the imagined prerogatives of the unitary executive or fail to forthrightly and unambuguously stand up for the constitution or whatever, the more I come to equate them as equivalent evils.
Obama didn't promise single-payer when he campaigned. So, he's not selling us out - that was part of the bargain in electing him. Kucinich advocated single payer, and was one reason why I was first and foremost a Kucinich supporter.
Obama and McCain on taxes, big difference. I *think* I see the Obama tax plan reflected in my pay stubs.
Obama has hit the "reset" button with relations with Russia, whereas McCain seemed to want to draw us into another cold war and perhaps a shooting war defending Georgia, an alliance that has no strategic value to the U.S.
If Obama gives us another Ginsburg that'll be enough proof that he's the lesser of the two evils. Anyone have any doubt that McCain would give us another Scalia?
What we're not going to get is the luxury of sitting back and relaxing while our new messiah works unending good. We're going to have to continually hound, and hound, and hound these people. We're going to have to use the internet to shine a light in areas that the corporate media would prefer remain not illuminated. No vacation for our side.
This whole back and forth between the two parties is a smoke screen. Obama would not even commit to single payer in his campaign commercials. The only issue in Congress is whether the uninsured are covered by a government program or a massive subsidy program to the insurance companies. Just watch, all this debate is a dog and pony show to distract us from the fact that we will get the latter option in order to achieve a "bipartisan consensus." With useless and corrupt senators like Ben Nielsen in the democratic party, who needs Republicans. And the health insurance companies will act like they are angry with their new subsidy program.
The saddest part of this whole train wreck is that between the bank bailouts and this massive subsidy to the health insurance companies, we will successfully complete the Bush policy of fleecing the people to transfer massive amounts of wealth to the rich during the Obama Administration.
The only question right now in my mind is how many millions of people have to descend on Washington, DC, to force our worthless government to give us the single payer system? Would it take 1 million? 5 million? The only important question at this point is how many of us are willing to get together to force the government to do the right thing.
The banks wouldn't even let our worthless politicians (1) directly fund student loans or (2) modify our mortgages during bankruptcy. The health insurance companies are just as powerful.
This back and forth about voluntary price reductions is a charade.
That's it, the long and the short of it. It's gonna be a huge give-away to Big Med/Big Pharma. Their piewce of the "bail-out."
But things won't get any better for the people needing the service.
They never do...
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/w...
“The public-private competition in the Demoplan is crucial, by the way, because it means that the Demoplan isn’t locked into the inefficiency of the private insurance system – it could evolve into single-payer over time.
Of course, the insurance industry will understand this, and fight the plan tooth and nail...”
Why in the WORLD would any thinking adult believe that the insurance companies were actually serious when they talked about reducing costs? WHEN IN HISTORY have these bloodsucking greedy shits EVER done ANYTHING to reduce costs? It was a fantasy from the beginning, and now there's surprise that they lied?
Read my lips: OF COURSE THEY LIED.
It's what they DO. They promise to pay for your health care costs, and then when you need them, they do everything possible, including lying and cheating, to break that contract with you. THEY ARE LIARS. ALWAYS.
I can understand that some people, ever hopeful that the situation will change for the better, might have fallen for it. But I'm rather stunned that the Prez did.
Are we going to continue to bitch and write comments or are we going to force change! We got Obama elected and proved change is possible, now lets get the healthcare we have a right to. GO OUT AND PROTEST!!!
Tell us, oh bitching comment-writer, what will you do? You are going to do something, right? I mean, you're sitting there exhorting everyone else to act, so you must have a plan, yes?
I didn't think so.
Hahahahahahahahaha! I plan on joining an organization that is fighting tell the death for Universal Healthcare. I will be out in the street protesting, but Spokane is pretty conservative, but I will be there! We stopped the Vietnam War and we got Obama elected by going to his rallies by the thousands. If we start protesting by the thousands everywhere for universal healthcare WE WILL DEFEAT these greedy bastards!!! Anyone have any suggestions for the best pro-universal healthcare organization to join?
How's that "...we got Obama elected" thing workin out for ya?
Jon Stewart had Obama spot on the other night:
"YES WE CAN"
(But that doesn't necessarily mean we're going to)
Tell us oh great troll with an attitude, should we quit commenting about the lack of progress from our government because at this point in time we are at our computers like you, and not leading the fourth armored division of social activists into battle?
You don't apparently see anything wrong about bitching yourself, but personally attack other posters for doing the same. What's the problem? Not enough fiber in your diet?
You are becomming to C & L, what Ben Nelson is to the democratic party.
Nothing.
And they know it which is how we have become pitied or laughed at (depending on the kindness of the individual) by the rest of the First World.
WHO ranks us at #37 in access to health care, yet the average American thinks he has the best health care in the world. In a sense we do, if you have insurance or are extremely wealthy.
We are sheep who believe the Kool Aid isn't poisoned.
I am ready for a public plan that will in fact compete with those bastards. I thought they were seeing the light. They must have heard from some board of directors, who caution them about that 25% profit they take off the top.
might be the savings to healthcare spending by getting rid of the for-profit insurance corporations that offer NO healthcare but take 30% of costs right off the top before any healthcare is given.
The insurance companies are never going to play fair and making coverage mandatory on the personal level is only going to be putting the average American at their mercy. Frankly, I'm surprised that the industry is already reversing their stance before the trap was fully sprung.
The solution? Expand Medicare and put these bastards out of the equation once and for all!
Who gives a shit if they go back on their word about this. It's a complete farce to begin with...... has anyone actually read what they promised?
They promised to cut the rate of growth of national health care spending by 1.5% each year for the next ten years. They claim this will amount to a savings that’s equal to over two trillion dollars or $2500 per per person. First of all it's not even real money it's "projected savings". What this means is basically they know that the health care spending is still going to spiral upwardly out of control (along with their profits) but they graciously will limit the out of control spiral by a whopping 1.5%..........BFD.
This is Korporate doublespeak for "We're still going to screw you but by 1.5% less over the next ten years".
Notice that there was no mention of reducing actual costs or overhead of an already out of control system? No Korporation would ever agree to do anything to actually help the people they are so accustomed to fleecing.
BTW the two trillion that they claim they will save us works out to approximately $2500 per person over the next ten years..... or $250 a year..... or approximately $20 a month. That's not much comfort for those Americans facing staggering health costs that run into the the thousands monthly or and sometimes even weekly.
Now we find out that they are so greed driven that they now want to go back on that 1.5% This latest statement shows how a profit motivated health care system truly operates.
So like I said earlier who gives a shit if they go back on their promise........ It's a total scam anyway.
Single payer health care representatives need a seat at the table.
Heath care industry korporations like all korporations are only motivated by profit, so If we don't take the profit motive out of health care in this country this insanity will continue unabated.
While this goes on, the FDA is blocking access to free speech about honestly gathered health information competing with this leviathan.
Foods, like the wholesome fruit called cherries, magically become dangerous drugs when producers offer information about health studies on packaging or websites, and producers are threatened with guns and jails for sharing honest facts.
We need more information about affordable non-drug remedies, not hee-haw stupid rationalizations for protecting medical industry profits.
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/05/12/fda-wa...
I'm very early in my education on the FDA, but I suspect it's another corporate infiltrated sham.
There was a piece about organic gardening on the Daily Show 05-14. Within the piece was a display of the American Council on Science and Health, and the corporations behind it. What I saw, among others, was Monsanto and Pfizer. So a company that could be causing health problems is aligned with a company that deals with health problems. An issue was posed to me recently, which was, are growth hormones that are fed to livestock responsible for the increasing sizes of the buttocks and stomachs of the people that eat the food? I can tell you this much, I don't trust the FDA to give me the correct answer.
Health care reform without considering single-payer = Charade
I am all for writing these bastards out. We knew full well they are going to "clutch those pearls" till the very end...at the expense of our economy and the American people.
SCREW THEM! Full steam ahead..and damn the torpedoes!!
Time to criminalize for-profit insurance. Freeze their assets, confiscate their property and use it to help pay for national health care. Health care should not be a privilege for the wealthy - it is a basic human right.
Those who decry national health care as "socialism" are either rich, covered by a government health care plan (politicians!), or both.
...all we need to do is exclude the insurance companies and HMO's from the healthcare debate and regulate the drug companies as we do electric utilities, restricting their profits to reasonable levels. Obama is fucking up. I don't know how he can rationalize bringing these racketeeers to the table when he knows damn well that the only thing they are going to do is rip the public off. This is nothing but a corporate welfare program that is going to give the insurance racketeers 50-or-so-million more opportunities to deny coverage, while profiting from the death and misery that they enable. Personally, I find it insulting everytime Mr.Obama calls his insurance scam health"care". Medical insurance does not, by any stretch equate to healthcare.
If there is anything that these gangsters have demonstrated is that they deserve absolutely no seat at the table.
Apparently, Mr.Obama wants to be a one-term president.
HR-676
BTW, the claim that they would reduce costs by 2 trillion in 10 years was never credible. You can bet that they would never do anything to cut their profits, so the only way they would reduce costs is by denying ever-increasing amounts of coverage. These gangsters are amoral parasites who will do anything for profits. Christ, they're already causing at least 18,000 deaths per year in their pursuit of profits. That makes them serial mass murderers. And they are looking to give these rat bastards even more opportunities to do what they do best? And pay them billions to do it? It is incomprehensible and astonishing that such a move would even be considered. Just friggin' astonishing.
The insurance and banks comprise the largest sector of Obama's corporate donors. Still, GDP is shrinking faster than Obama estimated, and government is borrowing 50¢ for every dollar it spends.
I think Obama knows that he can't turn around the economy if he can't get health care costs down. As the government borrows and borrows, it just raised the deficit projection another $89B for the current fiscal year. Something's gotta to give, and something is going to give.
So, if Obama wants to cover everyone, and get health care costs under control, I think he'll have no choice but to examine cheaper provisioning systems that are used in Japan, Canada and Europe. Otherwise, the job simply will not get done. I don't think he can do it because never ending borrowing isn't sustainable.
It's either throw the insurance premiums under a bus, or throw the American public under a bus. That's his rock and a hard place.
And it's more than just single payer. We need to copy almost in entirety what other countries are doing to provision health care, including policies on prescription drugs and hospital reimbursements and so forth.
So long as a few single-payer approaches aren't presented in these health care policy hearings, the process is a sham and charade, since the whole idea is to get costs under control.
That's true. If Obama were willing to give single payer an honest look, the way to pay for it would be found in Canada's system. there is a 6% payroll unmatched tax. We are currently paying medicaid with a 1.32% employer matched payroll tax. With a similar tax as Canada's the whole system is paid for. It would end up costing individuals less than the current arrangement. And like Europe, we could regulate the pharmeceuticals as we regulate the power industry. Impose profit caps and allow the public system to purchase drugs in competitive bidding. If they took an honest look at it they would see that the only system that is unsustainable is the system that we have. Extending it by creating a massive, mandatory participation corporate welfare program will only make it worse. He might find that throwing these parasitical zero value add middlemen under the bus to be refreshing and liberating. They are nothing but social parasites looking to scam out yet another massive transfer of the people's wealth into private hands. The only thing we've gotten thus far for such transfers is harm.
Let the industry step on their weenie every time they open their mouth. They're just making the case that they can't be trusted
Why should they stop what they are doing? No real alternatives. They see the banking industry get bailed out, what's the motivation? Just keep screwing the citizens, then we won't have to outsource to other countries. People here will be happy to work for 50cents a day and put they're kids to work.
The health industry has had unprecedented rate increases in recent years. The fact that they won't commit to reducing that rate of INCREASE by .015/year is so ridiculous every congressman should spit in his lobbyists' faces for making him look like the tool he is. Sham on top of a sham.
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