Congress gets health care coverage. Why shouldn’t you?
I guess we could do what Republicans want, and put the insurance companies, unregulated, back in charge.
Continue reading →Category Archives: Health
Hypocrisy from the GetGo
So, the House is going to start out with a vote to repeal the affordable care act on Jan. 12. You can see the two-page bill here (.PDF file). It’s pretty amusing that in two pages of large double-spaced type, they manage to write “Job-Killing Health Care Bill” at least five times. Also too: they have exempted themselves from their own CutGo promise and won’t account for the added $1 trillion the repeal would add to the deficit (according to CBO estimates). And while they complained mightily when Dems didn’t allow them amendments on bills brought to the floor, they … Continue reading →
Disapproval of the health care bill
A new poll reinforces something I’ve discussed before on this blog, that the majority “disapproval” of the Affordable Care Act is not because a majority wants to repeal the bill or disapproves of government involvement in regulating health care. The poll is from the Associated Press-GfK poll, and it finds that while 37% want the bill completely repealed, another 36% want to bill expanded with more changes to our health care system, like a public option. This is in line with my own anecdotal experience as well. I hang out with mostly leftist types and many of them remain furious … Continue reading →
Opposition to health care reform
I was always puzzled when right-wing activists pointed out that a majority of the population was against the health care reform act, without noting that much of the opposition came from people who wanted HCR to go much further in a leftward way. When a poll shows that a majority is against something, you can’t simply assume that means they all agree with each other. And so it was with health care reform. So I was not surprised to read this Salon report on a new AP poll that showed that, by a two to one margin, people wanted health … Continue reading →
Yes We Did!
I’m very happy about the passage of the health care bill, as you might expect. It is an imperfect bill, and I know we will all be working to improve it for the foreseeable future, but it gives us a good framework on which to hang those improvements. It’s workable. Meanwhile, it’s important to learn the specifics of the bill and make sure to counter the misinformation that the Republicans have spread so effectively about the bill’s provisions and the timeline for implementation. Here are a few resources for doing that.
Continue reading →Health Care Summit
Yeah, I watched it. This was my favorite moment.
Continue reading →I am a leftist too
And I am very happy that the Senate has passed a health care bill. Dear media, please don’t paint all leftists as obstructionist on this issue. The reality is much more nuanced than that.
Continue reading →The Public Option
And so Harry Reid is going to bring us the opt-out version of the public option. Personally I am fine with this position. Here is what I wrote to some friends about this issue: The question isn’t whether it’s right to allow the red states to refuse health care (for themselves). The question is whether it’s better or worse to allow the red states to deny health care to everyone. If an opt-out is all they can pass, then pass it. We can move the ball further another time. And the politics of it are beautiful. Let the Republicans go … Continue reading →
Just to say…
As much as I love this First Family, and I do, I’m still holding my breath that the Dems get health care at least half right. I’m hoping for three-quarters, but I know that’s a lot to ask.
Continue reading →Health Care Movement
I’m thrilled that something finally made it out of the Senate Finance Committee. Now maybe we can move on. I am constantly annoyed by how much attention Olympia Snowe gets. As Grayson pointed out: nobody elected her President, and she’s had far too much influence on the process so far. It’s time for that to end. As all the conservative Dems crow about how the Baucus bill costs so little (roughly $800 billion), it’s important to point out that the HELP Committee Bill offered by Kennedy/Dodd, which includes a strong public option, scored in at only $611 billion. Somehow the … Continue reading →