Tuesday, February 9, 2010 5:55 p.m.

Senate’s turn on health bill, Obama says

GOP lawmaker calls plan by House dead on arrival

Photo by The Associated Press

President Barack Obama said Sunday that the House health-care vote was an act of courage in the face of heated debate and opposition.

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President Barack Obama said Sunday that it was time for the Senate to “take the baton” on health-care policy after the House passed its plan for overhauling the nation’s health-care system.

“For years we’ve been told that this couldn’t be done,” Obama said in a brief statement from the Rose Garden. “But last night the House proved different.”

The Democratic-controlled House on Saturday narrowly passed the far reaching legislation, 220-215, but the road ahead in the Senate promises to be rocky. The president said the House vote took courage for many lawmakers because of the heated and often misleading rhetoric that accompanied debate over how to change the system.

“Now it falls on the United States Senate ...


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This article was published November 9, 2009 at 2:52 a.m.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/09/2009

Comments on Senate’s turn on health bill, Obama says

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Richard132 says...

Thanks guys!!
..Thanks for the lack of reading this thing...12 hour debate!
Who voted it out of committee for a 12 HOUR debate with these things and more in there and did you read it?

The health bill that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is bringing to a vote (H.R. 3962) is 1,990 pages. Here are some of the details you need to know.

What the government will require you to do:

• Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires you to enroll in a "qualified plan." If you get your insurance at work, your employer will have a "grace period" to switch you to a "qualified plan," meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there's no grace period. You'll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit.

• Sec. 224 (p. 118) provides that 18 months after the bill becomes law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will decide what a "qualified plan" covers and how much you'll be legally required to pay for it. That's like a banker telling you to sign the loan agreement now, then filling in the interest rate and repayment terms 18 months later.

November 9, 2009 at 7:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Richard132 says...

And the GREAT news of gubment healthcare keep on coming!! Wait till Pryor and Lincoln get a chance at this one!
Eviscerating Medicare:

In addition to reducing future Medicare funding by an estimated $500 billion, the bill fundamentally changes how Medicare pays doctors and hospitals, permitting the government to dictate treatment decisions.

• Sec. 1302 (pp. 672-692) moves Medicare from a fee-for-service payment system, in which patients choose which doctors to see and doctors are paid for each service they provide, toward what's called a "medical home."

The medical home is this decade's version of HMO-restrictions on care. A primary-care provider manages access to costly specialists and diagnostic tests for a flat monthly fee. The bill specifies that patients may have to settle for a nurse practitioner rather than a physician as the primary-care provider. Medical homes begin with demonstration projects, but the HHS secretary is authorized to "disseminate this approach rapidly on a national basis."

A December 2008 Congressional Budget Office report noted that "medical homes" were likely to resemble the unpopular gatekeepers of 20 years ago if cost control was a priority.

• Sec. 1114 (pp. 391-393) replaces physicians with physician assistants in overseeing care for hospice patients.

• Secs. 1158-1160 (pp. 499-520) initiates programs to reduce payments for patient care to what it costs in the lowest cost regions of the country. This will reduce payments for care (and by implication the standard of care) for hospital patients in higher cost areas such as New York and Florida.

• Sec. 1161 (pp. 520-545) cuts payments to Medicare Advantage plans (used by 20% of seniors). Advantage plans have warned this will result in reductions in optional benefits such as vision and dental care.

• Sec. 1402 (p. 756) says that the results of comparative effectiveness research conducted by the government will be delivered to doctors electronically to guide their use of "medical items and services."

November 9, 2009 at 7:12 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Richard132 says...

Now THIS sounds like healthcare!! Thanks
Questionable Priorities:

While the bill will slash Medicare funding, it will also direct billions of dollars to numerous inner-city social work and diversity programs with vague standards of accountability.

• Sec. 399V (p. 1422) provides for grants to community "entities" with no required qualifications except having "documented community activity and experience with community healthcare workers" to "educate, guide, and provide experiential learning opportunities" aimed at drug abuse, poor nutrition, smoking and obesity. "Each community health worker program receiving funds under the grant will provide services in the cultural context most appropriate for the individual served by the program."

These programs will "enhance the capacity of individuals to utilize health services and health related social services under Federal, State and local programs by assisting individuals in establishing eligibility . . . and in receiving services and other benefits" including transportation and translation services.

• Sec. 222 (p. 617) provides reimbursement for culturally and linguistically appropriate services. This program will train health-care workers to inform Medicare beneficiaries of their "right" to have an interpreter at all times and with no co-pays for language services.

• Secs. 2521 and 2533 (pp. 1379 and 1437) establishes racial and ethnic preferences in awarding grants for training nurses and creating secondary-school health science programs. For example, grants for nursing schools should "give preference to programs that provide for improving the diversity of new nurse graduates to reflect changes in the demographics of the patient population." And secondary-school grants should go to schools "graduating students from disadvantaged backgrounds including racial and ethnic minorities."

• Sec. 305 (p. 189) Provides for automatic Medicaid enrollment of newborns who do not otherwise have insurance.

November 9, 2009 at 7:18 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

BillSmith says...

The Ghost from the past are at it again.

Operation Coffeecup: Ronald Reagan’s Effort to Prevent the Enactment of Medicare

Link: http://www.larrydewitt.net/Essays/Rea...

November 9, 2009 at 9:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Richard132 says...

So BillSmith, Are you saying the facts of this bill I posted are not accurate?

And if by ghost you mean anyone who opposes mandating that you buy anything (which is unconstitutional) then just call me Casper.

November 9, 2009 at 9:28 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Richard132 says...

Casper asks you to prove this one wrong Bill....

• Sec. 59b (pp. 297-299) says that when you file your taxes, you must include proof that you are in a qualified plan. If not, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt from this requirement.

November 9, 2009 at 9:54 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Richard132 says...

This didn't take long...how bout that bill Lincoln!! Thanks Mike!

Obama Seeks Revision of Plan’s Abortion Limits

Published: November 9, 2009
WASHINGTON — President Obama suggested Monday that he was not comfortable with abortion restrictions inserted into the House version of major health care legislation, and he prodded Congress to revise them.

November 9, 2009 at 11:22 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

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