As the smoke continues to billow from the heated controversy of the national heath care debate, average Americans are beginning to speak up about what they're seeing first hand at town hall meetings across the US and what they're saying is in great disharmony with what is being reported by the mainstream media.
In some cases, folks are finding that the so-called "manufactured dissent" by opponents of the health care bill is actually being organized by its supporters.
On FOX News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto" tonight, the host interviewed a pair of married Democrats who attended a town hall meeting in Michigan and were dumbfounded to find an African American man passing out pamphlets depicting Obama dressed as Hitler. Later, they saw this same man working for Democratic Congressman John Dingell, who was hosting the meeting. Clearly this man was part of an organized effort to subvert and discredit the opposition to ObamaCare.
Compounding their disbelief even further, these two Democrats said supporters of the health care legislation were permitted entry before opponents, so they could filibuster the meeting and create the illusion of unqualified support for the bill. Fortunately, there were not enough supporters, and event organizers had no choice but to admit a handful of opponents. These Democrats were among those who were admitted and found that much of what their Congressman was telling them about the legislation was in direct contradiction to what was written in the bill.
If this and other allegations are in fact true -- and there's no reason to believe they are not -- it is no wonder these meetings are becoming so heated. When there is an obvious effort to undermine or derail efforts of ordinary, tax-paying Americans who want to either understand the legislation and/or voice their opposition to it, these citizens are bound to become outraged and angry.
In at least one case, the presence of supporters -- not opponents -- have turned the previously spirited-but-peaceful demonstrations violent. An African American at a town hall meeting in St. Louis was pummeled by members of the Service Employees International Union who at the behest of the White House are seeking to quash the public backlash against the president's health care proposal.
Meanwhile, in a USA Today opinion column this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, label the opponents of the health care bill who are showing up at these town hall meetings as "un-American." Pelosi and Hoyer say "an ugly campaign is underway not merely to misrepresent the health insurance reform legislation, but to disrupt public meetings and prevent members of Congress and constituents from conducting a civil dialogue."
This is one instance where Pelosi and Hoyer are right. Except it is they and the White House who are making it "an ugly campaign."
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Comments
Citing Fox news on this matter is always a wise choice.
“If this and other allegations are in fact true — and there’s no reason to believe they are not — it is no wonder these meetings are becoming so heated.”
Actually, there’s plenty of reasons to believe that they’re not. But carry on with the loaded questions.
Ok, Jack. I’ll bite. What are the reasons they’re not to be believed. You say there are plenty. Let’s hear them.
These aren’t just being reported on FOX news.
The runaway premium similar to the peak fuel price last year and left so many folks in despair insists on staying the course with the attitude ‘unchanged’, clearly this trend could bankrupt individual, business, and government. Now the government subsequently is tasked with these two main assignments, first, to address premium inflation, second, to expand coverage to all in urgent need.
In order to cover all and not to add to the deficit, the public option can not set the same rates of private market, rather, it needs to have the function to keep it in check in terms of inflation, too. Unfortunately, this ‘unavoidable’ direction is aggressively being accused by the runaway premium, citing government ‘take-over’ .
Under the circumstances the energy bill to determine human future and the other major issues is presently piled up, who wants to waste time making enemies ?, which also does not benefit the forthcoming election.
On the other hand, to make things worse, critics say the savings from the proposed public option is not enough to meet the revenue goal. Furthermore, on another hand, some say ‘hands off’ . Where do these No tax, No saving and the like intend to force this reform to go ? The conclusion by ‘just-say-no’ is no doubt. Ironically, the Deficit-sensitive groups have a distinctive common ground, they all have a Deficit-driven background out of question.
Of all choices, the best thing would be savings through efficiency. Considering the wasteful structure, the highest premium in the world, and the most expensive part of medicare, with the prevention / wellness program in place, an American style innovation, an ‘outcome’-based payment founded upon IT system may be enough to save more than 50 billions per year (500 / decade), both ‘improving quality’ and removing the unnecessary procedures (as pay is dependent on patient’s outcome). Young folks and advocates need to explain the notion of a pay for outcome agreement to the elderly misled by the disinformation.
Unlike private market, this public option includes large-scale investments, these large investments still does not get the fair score, instead seem to become a source of acute conflict, even so, this common sense-based program needs to develop further as early detection goes beyond monetary value.
In short, with the heartbreaking tears in mind (Nearly 11 Million Cancer Patients Without Health Insurance), private market also needs change and should join together to complete this reform , as promised, if not, the runaway premium only has itself to blame. Job-based coverage (indirect payment), mandate code, and ample capital might be favorable to the private market. And It can be said that fair competition starts with fair market value.
Over time, supposedly, the public plan will concentrate more on basic, primary cares, and the private insurers will provide their clients with differentiated services.
Thank You !
Part 1.
Problems :
1. No systematic, expansive Prevention & Wellness Program.
According to the scoring of CBO on the prevention & wellness program, all fitness centers around the world should close down immediately and all media have to end
reporting health tips about prevention. Rather, all of the excellent health systems seem to have one feature in common, a expansive, systematic preventative program
requiring immense investments.
I think a prevention system works as a ‘levee’ built against flood by the government, similarly, it also needs non-profit investments from the government ‘on a large scale’.
This might offer us one clue of why all of the free states have public insurance policy in place.
Surprisingly enough, the system today is designed around treating patients once they become sick. As far as I’m concerned, the congress affected by the special interests
has turned down the budget request for prevention program in Medicare & Medicaid, which are the most expensive parts of the health program. Let’s imagine the astronomical
costs and invaluable lives following the levee breach.
2. A pay for each service / volume compensation, & No E-Medical Record.
As much as 30 percent of all health-care spending in the U.S. -some $700 billion a year- may be wasted on tests and treatments that do not improve the health of the
recipients, and this 700 billion dollars a year can cover a lot of uninsured people, in return, it could lessen the tragic, prohibitive ER cares.
Medical errors ( No e-Medical Record ) & lawsuits, more profits motive, and indirect payments from employers etc would account for it.
Supposedly, ‘a pay for each service / volume’ compensation seems to leave the medical institutes unequipped with the essential IT system. To understand its importance, If
we imagine the cost difference between the previous and current system in financial institutes, the magnitude of cost-savings and the mess in health care system can
be easily explained.
3. Premium Inflation.
This last spring, due to the demand decrease, the peak fuel price came down below $40 per barrel, though, the
‘Similar’ insurance premiums keep on rising, accordingly the inaction could bankrupt family, business, and
government ‘BEYOND this recession’ , as all across the spectrum agree.
Insurance premiums have nothing to do with the law of demand & supply and the free / fair market concept.
Basically, as demand diminishes, the price tends to reflect it, nonetheless, the insurers that formed a cartel through
consolidation have replenished the loss by exercising inhumane malpractices involving denying, capping, cherry-picking, rationing, rapid
premium increase and the like. And this runaway premium ended up in the collapse of middle
class ranging ‘ from finance to mental health’ , alongside the peak fuel price and fast-growing mortgage rate, as all of
us know. Thereby they could be cited as an objective for anti-trust or anti-corruption. If the public plan sets the same rate of the insurers, it will be another headache.
Ironically, the Deficit-sensitive groups have a distinctive common ground, they all have a Deficit-driven background out of
question. Therefore, I’d say they have nothing to say about deficit unless they are free from the sponsors.
And the spoiled menu, ‘Takeover and Rationing Cliche’ is still marching for bankruptcy, as opposed to its motto.
4. ‘Work or Break’ health system with no brake or safety system.
Just like marriage, economy also undergoes up and down, however, economic downturn is not reflected in the employment-based system.
The rising mental stress or illness & ‘keep eating habit’ , which are the epicenter of a number of different diseases,might be traced
to this insecure system and exorbitant premiums.
Part 2.
The Public Plan:
1. Thankfully, the health care reform bill currently before Congress makes several key investments including more primary care doctors in preventive care, and those pieces
of the public plan must be maintained .
2. The pay for ‘Outcome’ pack is most likely to expedite the introduction of Health Care IT SYSTEM, and it will help doctors focus on their patients.
3. The ‘innovative’ idea of a ‘pay for value / outcome’ pack will allow for Quality and affordability
. If you are a physician, and your pay is dependant upon your patient’s outcome, you will most likely strive to
prescribe the best medicine earlier in the process, let alone skipping the wasteful, unnecessary risk-carrying
procedures.
Young folks and advocates need to explain the notion of a pay for outcome agreement to the elderly misled by the
disinformation.
4. The synergy effect of the combined Health Care IT & a pay for ‘outcome’ system may allow the clinicians to
‘correctly’ diagnose and effectively treat a patient earlier in the process so that it can measurably decrease the
crushing lawsuits and deter the excuse for unnecessary cares to make fortunes.
5. The creative idea of ‘a pay for outcome’ will more likely prompt team approach and decision, as at Myo clinic.
Under the ‘pay for outcome’ pack, for good reason, best practices as ‘recommendations’ would simply help them
make a better decision, and the government won’t still have to meddle in the final, actual decision-making
process as a non-expert.
6. This New ‘Payment Reform’ could accelerate the progress in medical science, in return, it will save more cash.
And this idea will be able to bring ‘competition’ to the private market, as a result, it can contribute to mitigating premium inflation.
7. Supporters of the agreement say it could save the Medicare System more than $100 billion a year and ‘improve’
care, that means more than $1trillian over next decade, and virtually needs no other resources including tax on the
wealthiest. Supposedly even the ‘conservative’ number of such savings might be able to meet the objective of revenue-neutral.
(Please visit http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=820455&catid=391 for detailed infos).
8. Through clinic’s network, users of its health-care services can keep up with their health information and information for family members, and receive health guidance and recommendations from clinic that is optimized for each person.
The system also allows patients to upload information from home-health devices such as blood glucose monitors and digital scales. Patients can authorize whether they want to share their health information with doctors or other caregivers, and those caregivers can provide health-care and general wellness recommendations based on the information patients provide.
9. In case the health care reform provides the general public with peace of mind, the rising mental stress, obesity caused by the insecure system and
exorbitant premiums may bend the curve surprisingly.
10. Clearly, the positive impacts involving massive job creation, promising stem cell research, several times more economic effects of ‘from bed to work’ lie ahead, these will lead to economic recovery.
Part 3.
Conclusion ;
1. The last thing to expect is rallying for premium inflation, JUST SAYING NO.
2. Over time, supposedly, the public plan will concentrate more on basic, primary cares, and the private insurers will provide their clients with differentiated services.
3. With the Prevention & Wellness Program as a stable levee in place, the promising pay for value/ outcome reimbursement reform based on IT system could clear the way for revenue-neutral. Some say the installation of IT network will take time, but once this new outcome-based payment system is implemented, the hospitals reluctant to adopt it will most likely rush to introduce it.
4. The final hurdle looks like a scoring issue surrounding the savings on Prevention & Wellness Program, but I’d like to say
health clubs and media reports on prevention tips must be maintained.
5. People would be entitled to various services whether you are employed, unemployed or self-employed, homeless or housed, young or old, chronically ill or mentally ill, moving from job to job or from town to town or from state to state.
Thank You !
Freaky.
Bizarre.
Macabre.
Take your pick on how to describe how much Pelosi now looks like Ayatollah Khamenei. Both are trying to spin widespread internal dissent as being manufactured and instigated by outside influence.
Not only is dissent Un-American, it’s downright Un-Iranian!
It’s the CIA Nancy! The CIA lied to you! Now that you exposed them, they are going to dog your every step — including public forums on health care reform!
Justin –
I’ve heard Ed Schultz on his radio show talking about ‘punching back twice as hard’. I’m concerned that somebody is going to get very hurt, sooner or later. Let’s hope that the town hall metting in NH goes well, today.
“On FOX News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto” tonight, the host interviewed a pair of married Democrats who attended a town hall meeting in Michigan and were dumbfounded to find an African American man passing out pamphlets depicting Obama dressed as Hitler. Later, they saw this same man working for Democratic Congressman John Dingell, who was hosting the meeting. Clearly this man was part of an organized effort to subvert and discredit the opposition to ObamaCare.”
That wasn’t very smart, was it? That would be political equivalent of switching the actor that played Darrin in the second season of ‘Bewitched’. “Hey, wasn’t that guy a villian in the first scene?”
Might I suggest that this is an awfully thin reed upon which to lean? Let’s hope the John Dingell’s staff is clever enough to separate the heroes from the villians.
I’m not saying that ‘pay for rage’ doesn’t happen. In fact, it’s important to recognize it when it does.
From Readers Digest:
http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/thats-outrageous—-anger-for-hire/article19691.html
I’m watching Obama’s town hall now and it looks nothing like the real townhalls with all of the real debate from average citizens. Obamas questions are staged with people planted to ask questions provided by his administration. One question came from a child not old enough to be employed much less worry about health care.
A different view of the same meeting.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-savage/raucous-politics—-rep-j_b_256143.html
I live in Canada, where we pay taxes to have a universal health care system. why america doesn’t model their health care system after canada’s is a mystery.
solution to fix health care: tax increasaes, and i mean 5 cents on every dollar (which is what canada has). not only is this sufficient to run an entire health care system, but also just about every faction of government sectors.
i believe mr obama is trying to help everyone in the long run, but unfortunately everyone is so uneducated and stupid, they dont want to accept the help.
have fun paying for health care, while we get it for free.
Just to ante up, EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THE BILL!
I have managed to read a few hundred pages of the monster and have discovered it to be just that, a MONSTER! If this IS the so-called healthcare Obama was blabbing about during the election when he OPENLY LIED TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC BY TELLING THEM THAT THIS WILL BE THE SAME HEALTHCARE PLAN CONGRESS HAS- WELL- IT IS NOT!!!!
And the “rumors” regarding mandatory end of life counseling ARE NOT RUMORS AT ALL!
Also, Section 123 (5) states there will be THREE LEVELS of this plan, BASIC, ENHANCED (85% of the actuarial valule of the “plan”) AND PREMIUM (95% of the actuarial value of the “plan”.
Also, it states the anyone who currently has coverage with BC/BS,etc. and wishes to add someone to their “grandfathered” insurance after Day 1 Obamacare takes effect WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO SO!
ALSO, the plan states that THE GOVERNMENT WILL MAINTAIN REAL TIME ACCESS TO EVERY INDIVIDUAL’S BANK ACCOUNT AND THOSE WHO DO NOT PAY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE AFTER DAY 1 WILL PAY A HEFTY FINE!
No matter which way you disect this monster, it adds up to CONTROL OVER THE MASSES which is something that NONE OF US WANT!
It states that determination of benefits will be at the SOLE DISCRETION OF THE “SECRETARY” (CZAR).
GO TO http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3200/text and READ IT!
content with the status quo? if so, you’re a bad person. and stupid.
that is all…
Our Time is Now: Ronald Reagan said it best. Pass this quote on. WE must act while we are still free.
“You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.”
What caarazy cutups you gringos are. with every day that passes, I become more smug in my Canadian-ness..
Why can’t you people get it together?
Know what? Visit Canada!!! Talk to them about health care. Clean streets, no gunfire, a healthy, relaxed, warm populace..A sanely regulated banking system that has mitigated the latest economic downturn. A murder rate for the entire country that is a fraction of what it is in any large american city. A free enterprise system helped enormously by universal healthcare, where employers don’t have to be burdened. do you get it?? Universal healthcare HELPS free enterprise! highest tax bracket in Canada? 29%
In the US? 34% percentage of GDP spent on health care in ?Canada- under 10%. In the US-16%
America, land of the..what??…Terminally ignorant? If ’socialist healthcare’ is un- American, fine. Stay Exactly as you are, and watch your economy and society as it circles the bowl of ineptitude, party politics, and delusion.
It is obvious to me that these violent outbursts are nothing more than racism disguised. These disgruntled “so called” americans have no clue as to what is really going on. This is reminiscent of the hate mongery going on during the election.
In order to have serious debate over this issue is to ask questions in an orderly fashion, what for the answer and respond accordingly. Using this platform as a soundboard for racism is entirely UNAMERICAN!!!!
How in the world is this racism? I’ve heard this a couple times from a couple different people, and I just don’t get it? Frankly, I think this accusation is just one more tool that left is using to derail the talks (in case you missed it, which you clearly did, we ARE having a serious debate RIGHT NOW). By portraying opponents as “disruptive” or “racist,” you’re essentially using an age-old political tool that logicians call, “reduction to absurdity.” You’re losing the argument, so you simply attack the people who are winning the debate.
I heard from one person who said that left-wingers are actually sending out right-wing hate-mail to make it appear as though anyone who opposes this legislation must be a “hate monger.” It’s reprehensible, but it’s an age-old trick the left has used for time out of mind.
As an independent. I am watching these town hall meetings, and watching the republicans slam the Democrats about the health care reform. I am watching fellow americans get angry. BUT…I do not see one republican give us their reform agenda. They are complaining about what the Democrats are doing, but are offering nothing to fix the health care problem. For every american who is a Republican…GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND, AND STOP PRETENDING HEALTH CARE PROBLEMS DO NOT EXIST!!!! At least the Democrats are recognizing the average americans pain, and trying to do something about it. What have the Republicans done?? I would rather have soneone in office that is going to recognize a problem, than have an administration that turns their heads and pretends it does not exist. I voted Democrat for the first time last election. And I can say, the way the republican party has gone with Bush forward, I will never vote Republican again. I think the GOP will go the way of the Whig party. And I say…GOOD RIDDANCE!!!! Maybe now we can get America back!!
American Pie,
An independent, Huh? I don’t think so. If you were an independent, you’d have done a little research and found HR 3218, the Republican alternative. Incidentally, it’s 24 pages. Not 1,100. It’s simple, pointed and sensible. If you’re truly an “Independent,” you’ll read it.
But I don’t think you will, because we both know you’re a close-minded liberal. Oh, and for the record, you and your fellow Dems have gotten America back — and you’re ruining it. Or as Katy said, you’re pursuing the “systematic dismantling” of our country.
What stupid, misinformed, ignorant and hateful people you are….Go Obama!
Hitler demonstrator at Dingell town hall was neither a Republican nor a Democrat “plant.” He was a Larouche nut.
http://washingtonindependent.com/54801/lyndon-larouche-and-the-hitler-meme
Currently health care is rationed by profit. If the medical/ drug /insurance industrial complex can’t make money you don’t get the care you need. Poor and many middle class people get only minimal care or what they can pay out of pocket. That’s not much. Medicare, military & related,veterans & govt. employees all get “government health Care and much of it is fine. Certainly better than nothing.
The U.S. doesn’t have the best health care in the world. We are way down the list in many aspects. Rich people may have wonderful health care here. So what, rich people have good health care every where. Rich Canadians, Brits etc. may come here for care to use the advantage of their wealth here when it’s not an advantage at home. I’m opposed to that. They are no better than anyone else. They can stay home!
Barney Frank may have had another LaRouchie at his town hall meeting. In the words of Aretha Franklan,”Who is zooming who”?
http://washingtonindependent.com/55566/was-barney-franks-nazi-questioner-a-larouchie
For the record, RealTime, I COMPLETELY disagree with the Nazi rhetoric of the ultra uber-left. That kind of language has no place in constructive debate.
Justin –
FWIW, I never presumed otherwise.