The Health Care Reform Effort - Part Deux

The MS29 plan, all separate bills:

1) Eliminate the ban on purchasing prescription drugs from outside U.S. borders. We live in a global society now.

2) End the link between employment and health care by eliminating the tax break for employer-sponsored health care (making it income tax revenue neutral).

3) Allow for the sale of health insurance across state lines. This is one of the reasons we have a federal government, to regulate commerce among the several states.

That leaves two major issues I can think of. The first being cost, and the second being getting dropped from your plan for getting sick. On these items, I want to hear from a bunch of different groups on potential solutions.

But let's solve the easy points first, and get those out of the conversation.

 

Leaving aside the issue of whether something that's just simple logic can be either 'liberal' or 'conservative' for a moment, has anyone ever done a poll on whether Americans would support an expanded medicare that anyone can buy into?

http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/mp_20090629_2600.php

I think if Obama wants to achieve ANYTHING worthwhile on healthcare he should go back to basics and try and push for something that people know and have regard for. All this 're-inventing the wheel' stuff seems to frighten people or, more to the point, it allows the opposition to create fear.

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

Wouldn't that mean the tax-payer gets left with all the dross whilst the insurance industry gets to keep all the profitable business?

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

I could support number 1. However, I'd force the insurance companies to petition the government for reimbursement for those that they were forced to accept. Put the burden of proof on the insurance companies to prove that it was a preexisting condition.

 

Fun facts to know and tell:

Comparison of health care costs (left), life expectancy (right), annual doctor visits (line width) (links to bigger graphic)


Source: National Geographic

 

Yawn...did you not read the last thread?

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

I am aware. Are you aware that there are labor unions trying to get out of the Cadillac tax?

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/liv...-24-10_A6_IPGD3B2.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

Didn't we already establish that a better name, (albeit slightly unwieldy), for it would be, 'The health insurance industries tax on being old'?

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

If that was the case, why were filibusters so much more uncommon back when those rules were in effect?

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

Umm...can you give me an example where price caps didn't result in a shortage? Unless you force insurance companies to stay in business like the little soviet that you are, insurance companies are going to drop out of the market if you institute a price cap. In large numbers I suspect, considering that their average profit margins are around 2-3%.

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

Reread his point. He wasn't demanding caps. He was stating that if you require insurance companies to cover/not drop expensive customers, then without caps, all premiums will simply soar to economically unfeasible levels.

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

It's not the case. That poster is being obtuse about the difference between delay and kill.

 

Would publicly regulated utilities like electric companies be an example?

 

Not in California, circa 2001.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

Tushnet is being obtuse about killing a bill before it's even out of the gate and delaying a bill that will, eventually, come up for a vote.

 

Re: The Health Care Reform Effert - Part Deux

Thinking of the MLS CBA, is kinda see the same thing happening here (as you could argue it happened this summer with health care). Lots of smoke blowing and teeth nashing and threats of armageddon, but at the end of the day the path forward was clear and it would be suicidal to turn away.

I think the only outcome here is the senate health bill gets passed, some reconcilliation changes go through, Obama signs by this summer. Kicking and screaming the whole way though.

 

Gray Davis is also a pretty rare example of a guy who was despised yet won re-election. His campaign manager described his strategy as "damaged goods vs. defective merchandise."

It's really hard to contest the depiction of California as flaky after that series of events leading to the recall and election of Arnold.