Single Payer System Nightmare… Just Doesn’t Stop

One Day After accusing Republicans of slowing down the process the Senate Finance Committee voted not to post the full Senate (Baucus) Healthcare Reform Bill online for at least a full 72-hours for the public and all Senators to read it before a vote… as they rumbled about how hard they were working and how they would work all day Saturday (9/26/9) and how posting the bill would slow things up… the Senate called it a day, a half-day yesterday (Friday 9/25/09), (for the Jewish Holiday) and now won’t be back until Tuesday from another long weekend… 

Does anyone want to yell… stop with the b.s.?  Stop with the untruths (lies)?  Stop pushing what most people in America don’t want?????  People really don’t want to read the Baucus Bill… they want it scrapped.

Hit the RESET Button!!!

(Then start working on some real healtcare reform that people want and that will save money, improve services and cover more people… which is not ObamaCare!)

One Single Payer System (CUTE SONG) From MisterDregs

The reasons given not to post the full Baucus HC Reform Bill online for 72-hours before a vote, so people could actually read it were…

1.   The people wouldn’t understand it. (They think we are stupid)

2.  It would take too long to translate into laymen’s language.  (This bill could and should have been written so everyone can understand it in the first place)

3.  It will slow up the process of getting it passed.  (They are hiding not just one thing, but a long list of things and intend to ram this through to promote Obama’s bigger agenda no matter what Americans really want!!)

On Tuesday they are going to take up the Public Option again…  And they won’t tell us what it costs.  Big RED Flags!

Once any part of a Public Option… whether it is called a government-run co-op or a trigger, the Camel’s nose will be in the Tent, and it will only be a matter of time before we are on a single payer (socialized medicine) plan, and there will be turning back.

Neither Healthcare Reform or Cap and Trade have anything to do with improving the lot and life of Americans!!  Both have everything to do with (in President Obama’s own words 5-days before the election) “Fundamentally changing America!”

The Fight For American Freedoms and Real Healthcare Reform is now!!

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Solution to the Healthcare Reform…

1. Address and Clean Up Fraud in All Areas of Medical Care! – Billions are lost and wasted in fraud each year.  Read:  Stop Paying the Crooks
2. Serious Tort Reform – The lawyers are the winner in Obamacare!  Tort Reform is not even being addressed
3. Change Intra-State Insurance Laws; allow true competition to sell and purchase insurance across state lines.
4. Make Health Insurance Portable.
5. Reward Doctors for Results Not Numbers of Procedures.
6. Allow the self-employed and small business owners to form private co-ops to purchase health insurance to cut down costs.

7.  These changes alone would improve healthcare and save money to cover the uninsured that could be put on a plan that is a subsidiary of Medicare and Medicaid. Government should act as a neutral regulator only… of insurance companies, Big Pharma and the AMA; not be in competition with them. Exclusions due to previous conditions should not be allowed and honest over-sight (which does not happen now) should be maintained and enforced as far as safety, costs and fraud.

8.  Natural supplements and alternative or holistic treatments and preventative measures should also be covered and encouraged instead of forced out by Big Pharma and the AMA.

9.  “No” centralization of Medical Records!  The opportunity for mis-use of that information is too high.  The government could incentivize medical groups and doctors to update their records to more modern systems (in-house/in system).  Then those records could more easily be sent or hand carried with the patients consent to be shared.

The Obama administration keeps talking about saving money by reforming Medicare and Medicaid.  Let them start there and see what the savings really are without cutting funding or pushing costs over to the states.

ObamaCare is or will eventually be socialized medicine, so we need to fight and stop it now.  There will be no going back later.

A Govt-Run Co-Op is the same as a Public Option and a Trigger will end up being a Public Option… the Answer has to be No to all!

Also “NO” on covering illegal aliens or abortions with public funds.  (Beware:  Obama’s newest ploy is promoting amnesty and citizenship to illegals to cover them, with money we don’t have…)Obama: Legalize Illegals to Get Them Health Care

Call, email, fax and write your Congressman, Senator and all the fence sitter and radical today and everyday!

Call the United States Capitolswitchboard today... everyday at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121

Senators from your State.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama you have had enough!

ObamaCare heads to (in) committee>>>>

Next week, the Senate Finance Committee will consider the latest version of ObamaCare. Click here for 11 reasons to oppose it.

Please contact the Senators who sit on the committee and urge them to oppose this bill and to start over on real reform that most Americans want and need!

DEMOCRATS
Baucus (MT)
Rockefeller (WV)
Conrad (ND)
Bingaman (NM)
Kerry (MA)
Lincoln (AR)
Wyden (OR)
Schumer (NY)
Stabenow (MI)
Cantwell (WA)
Nelson (FL)
Menendez (NJ)
Carper (DE)

REPUBLICANS
Grassley (IA)
Hatch (UT)
Snowe (ME)
Kyl (AZ)
Bunning (KY)
Crapo (ID)
Roberts (KS)
Ensign (NV)
Enzi (WY)
Cornyn (TX)

RINObamaCare petition tops 20,000

Our national petition calling on Republicans to hold firm against ObamaCare topped 20,000 signatures this week.

President Obama has been inviting select Republicans to the White House as part of his ongoing campaign to get them to cave. We must keep up the pressure.

Help SCF continue to this campaign.

Related Resources:

On, 09/22/09, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee held a forum to highlight the urgent need for comprehensive health insurance reform. Wendell Potter, Former Communications VP/Spokes...  Wendell Potter

CBO Adjusts Their Numbers On Cost of ObamaCare After White House Meeting

ObamaCare:  Losing Everyone

Here is a video commentary - the case against ObamaCare with explanation on how to beat it by Dick Morris

To access the video - Go here!

Senators are negotiating on Senator Max Baucus' ObamaCare 6.0 proposal and it hasn't even been written yet. 
     Of course, to state the obvious, the fact that they're negotiating on something that hasn't been written means no one has read it yet either.
And, to add even more insult to injury, it’s now clear they have no intention of letting you read it.
     You read that right. On an almost straight party-line vote, Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee squashed an amendment by Senator Jim Bunning that would have required Baucus’ ObamaCare bill to be posted on the Internet – for all Americans to read – for 72 hours prior to the Committee voting on it.
     Not only that. Bunning’s amendment also called for requiring the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office’s official tally of how much Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 will cost the American people and what the real impact will be on health costs to be released before the it was voted on.
     It's as plain as the nose on your face.
They're leaving the door wide-open to pass Baucus' ObamaCare 6.0 proposal in the dead of night... under the cover of darkness… without even telling you and other concerned Americans what it will cost and how it will affect your health care.
     But what really takes the cake is that even after those shenanigans, some Senate Republicans are still going out of their way to play Let’s-Make-A-Deal on Senator Max Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 socialized health care scheme.
     They're actually fighting tooth-and-nail, not to stop ObamaCare but to negotiate a so-called compromise on this Obama-Baucus scheme to socialize the nation’s health care system.
     And that's just one more reason why we must tell our elected officials, right here and right now, that the American people don't want any more negotiations or deals or compromises.
     We want ObamaCare off the table and we want it off the table now.

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Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.

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ObamaCare 6.0: A Stunning Assault On Liberty.

     If the previous versions of government-run ObamaCare made you angry… Senator Max Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0 is likely to make your blood boil.
     Much like its predecessors, the Baucus health care reform plan is chock-full of provisions calling for new government mandates, higher taxes, increased spending and government-dictated, rationed health care.
     In fact, it’s so bad that Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl said of Baucus’ plan: “This is a stunning assault on liberty!”
     Senator Kyl is right. And, the really sad part is this:
     As previously stated, the Baucus bill hasn’t even been written yet, much less read by the Senators who are doing the negotiating.
     It’s nothing more than a 200-plus-page shell of ideas to be rammed down the throats of the American people with all deliberate speed... before you and other concerned Americans have the time to find out what hit you.
     Senator Lindsay Graham, speaking on FOX News, probably gave the best explanation of what exactly is going on:  “[T]he Baucus bill… literally changes everyday… we’re making this up as we go… they’re trying to buy votes… the vision here is to pass something… they don’t give a damn what it is and nobody understands what they’re doing.”
     These so-called leaders just don’t get it. Republicans and Democrats are quibbling over what type of government-run health care they believe to be best for you and your family and no one is fighting for the American people.
The American people for months have been sending the message loud and clear that they want no part of ObamaCare, period, regardless of what form it takes. The American people have been telling politicians in Washington that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make Obama’s government-run health care scheme acceptable or palatable.
     And yet, one of the only things keeping ObamaCare alive is the fact that some Republicans, under the veil of “negotiations,” are keeping it alive.
     It’s time for these politicians to finally get the message. The American people do not want them to “fix” ObamaCare… no more so-called “ObamaCare compromises”… the American people want ObamaCare gone… never to be heard from again.

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Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.

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They Don't Want You To Read The Bill, But Will They Read The Bill?

     The Baucus plan, right now, as you read this letter, is rapidly advancing in the Senate – even though the bill hasn’t actually been written and none of the Senators working on it have actually read it.
     And, as previously stated, it’s now clear they have no intention of letting you read it either.  Here’s what Michael Franc wrote on the Heritage Foundation’s blog, The Foundry:
“During the Senate Finance Committee mark up of the Baucus health bill … Senator Bunning of Kentucky put forth an innovative amendment. This amendment stipulated that before voting on the measure in Committee, legislative language would have to be accessible to the public for 72 hours and that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) would need to publish an official tally of how much this bill will cost the American people and what the real impact will be on health costs."
     Franc continued:
“The amendment failed 11-12 on nearly a party line vote. Senator Blanche Lincoln (AR) was the sole Democrat to support this attempt at transparency. The bottom line: when the committee completes its work on this re-make of one-sixth of our economy, Senators will have voted on a phantom - a bill that does not exist with costs that are unknowable until, that is, the unelected legislative draftsmen write the real bill in some back room on Capitol Hill.” [Emphasis Mine]
     Remember what Senator Graham said: “the vision here is to pass something… they don’t give a damn what it is and nobody understands what they’re doing.”
     Fortunately, the American people are one step ahead of of our elected officials this time around.
     They believe they can work behind closed doors and try to repackage government-run health care and seal it with a nice pretty bow.
     But in the end, the American people are on to their game, we won’t be fooled and we can stop them.
     No more "negotiating"… no more "compromising"… it’s time to stop ObamaCare once and for all.

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Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.

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Socialized Health Care Delivered Under A Christmas Tree Filled With Pricey Ornaments…

FOX News anchor Neil Cavuto summed up the mad dash to pass government-run health care – and specifically Baucus’ ObamaCare 6.0:
“Christmas may be months away but that ain’t stopping Senators from trying to outdo each other on health care… all sorts of pricey ornaments… 564 amendments… the pace of this is startling.”
     Like the alcoholic who swears he will never take another drink, only to succumb to temptation the very next day, politicians in Washington lead us to believe that they got the message loud and clear... they lead us to believe they would stop ObamaCare.
    But instead of stopping ObamaCare cold, they rushed to make deals and propose amendments the second Senator Baucus unveiled his proposal.
     Even Senator Hatch, while calling for a so-called “bi-partisan solution” to ObamaCare, inadvertently stated the case as to why continued negotiations on ObamaCare are a dangerous thing:
“Everything is geared to try to get us to a single payer system… if they can’t do it automatically… they’ll do it in increments… a one size fits all health care system right out of Washington.”
     Simply put, any compromise that is reached… any deal that is negotiated will simply lead us down the road to government-run, rationed health care for all.
     Some will try to tell you that negotiation is simply a strategy… that it is perhaps the only way to stop ObamaCare.
     But the truth of the matter is, ObamaCare never needs to come out of the Senate Finance Committee… it never has to see the light of day.
     Rule 4 of the Rules of Procedure for the Senate Finance Committee reads: “Rule 4. Quorums. - (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) one-third of the membership of the committee, including not less than one member of the majority party and one member of the minority party, shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.”
     That means, at least one Republican Senator on the Finance Committee needs to be in attendance in order to pass any legislation out of committee.
     In other words, 10 Republican Senators (Charles Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Olympia Snowe, Jon Kyl, Jim Bunning, Mike Crapo, Pat Roberts, John Ensign, Mike Enzi and John Cornyn) could stop ObamaCare cold right now by simply saying they will not support it under any circumstances.
     If those 10 Senators would simply say “no,” and deny Democrats on the Finance Committee a quorum; ObamaCare would be done… finished… it would die in committee... but you won’t hear that on the nightly news.
     And yet, instead of finding a way to convince these 10 Republicans to stand firm in their opposition to ObamaCare, we’re told it’s more prudent solution to negotiate and make a deal with the opposition and hopefully cushion the blow of something that never has to happen in the first place.
     Only in Washington D.C. does such a thing seem even remotely rational.  It’s time to tell these Senate Republicans to get serious about stopping ObamaCare.

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Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.

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Where Have We Seen This Insanity Before?

     If this dysfunctional willingness on the part of Republican Senators to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory... to "compromise" on a battle that could be won outright... sounds familiar, it should.
     It's happened before. It seems like only yesterday that our elected officials tried to ram amnesty for 12-20 million illegal aliens down the throats of the American people.
     Back then, the American people, in resounding numbers (Republicans, Democrats and Independents), told our elected officials to just say "no" to amnesty.
     And each time the American people spoke up, our elected officials tried to produce so-called "compromise legislation" ... and they alternately tried to sell it to us or ram it down our throats.
     But the American didn't let them get away with it. We all knew that each so-called “compromise” was just as egregious as the first amnesty bill... a few words were changed but every proposal essentially led to amnesty for millions of illegal aliens.
     Do you remember their very last attempt to sell all of us on so-called "compromise legislation?"
     Do you remember seeing that photograph in the paper of that group of Senators uproariously laughing and slapping each other on the back as they emerged from their closed-door negotiations?
     It was almost as if, when they emerged from that room, they were really laughing at all of us.
     Of course, back then, you took decisive action... you called... you faxed... and together we finally broke the back of those bogus amnesty compromises.
     You did it before. You can do it again. Now is the time to show your outrage. Make your voice heard now and we will defeat ObamaCare once and for all.

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Use the hyperlink below to send your urgent Blast Fax messages to each and every Republican Member of the United States Senate - or alternately to President Barack Obama and each and every member of the House and Senate.
Demand that they listen to the American people and defeat ObamaCare once and for all. Tell them that no amount of so-called "compromise" will make government-run health care acceptable to the American people. Let them know that if they spent the same amount of energy to defeat ObamaCare as they are spending negotiating, the job would be done. Demand, once and for all, that they stop negotiating and win this fight against socialized health care for the American people.

If the button above does not work, please use this hyperlink.

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Yours In Freedom,

Jeff Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom

Neither Healthcare Reform or Cap and Trade have anything to do with improving the lot and life of Americans!!  Both have everything to do with (in President Obama’s own words 5-days before the election) “Fundamentally changing America!”

Contributing to send out the blasts is probably the most efficient, but if you choose not to go that route, you can contact Washington yourself… or do both until they realize that we will not stand for this betrayal!!

Call, email, fax and write your Congressman, Senator and all the fence sitter and radical today and everyday!

Call the United States Capitol switchboard today... everyday at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 225-3121 (House and Senate)

Senators from your State.

Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama you have had enough.

The Member of the European Parliament below, Daniel Hannan, became quite well known for his speech denouncing the economic practices of Gordon Brown's Labor government in Britain. This speech has received over 2 million hits, and I have included it below. Watch it and you will see why…

Click Here to view

Hannan has said several times he cannot understand why Americans would voluntarily move to socialized medicine and that once me did… because of the tremendous infrastructure, there would be no going back.  He also cannot understand that Americans are not standing up for their Constitution… their Freedoms, of which he is a great admirer and advocate.

Please continue to contact all the Senators on the Finance Committee list above plus your own state Senators.

Source: Knowledge Creates Power & the Daily Thought Pad

Posted:  True Health is True Wealth – Cross-Posted: Marion’s Place

From Rep John Campbell’s Laptop to Yours…

August 12 & 25, 2009 Before going on Sean Hannity's "Great American Panel" on Fox News a few weeks ago, I was waiting in the "green room" before the live broadcast. While waiting to go on set, I had the privilege of meeting Daniel Hannan, a British Member of the European Parliament who had just finished a TV interview himself. For those of you who don't know, this is not a Member of the traditional British Parliament. Countries that are part of the European Union (EU) are able to send delegates to the European Parliament in Brussells, Belgium, where the 27 member countries decide what the EU will do and not do. Anyway, he asked about President Obama's socialized medicine plan and what might become of it. After we discussed that for a minute, he gave me a few facts about the socialized medicine plan in Britain, known as the National Health Service: 1. Britain's National Health Service (NHS) is the 3rd largest employer in the world, behind only the Chinese Red Army and the Indian National Railroad. 2. They have 1.4 MILLION EMPLOYEES in a country with less than a third of the population of the United States. This begs the question, how big would the American NHS be? 3. Among those employees, there are more people with the title of "manager" than there are actual doctors. 4. More than half of NHS employees are purely administrative and have nothing to do with being a nurse, doctor, technician, or otherwise dispensing care to patients. In other words, Britain's socialized medicine system is enormously inefficient, wasteful, and costly. This is part of the reason why Britons have seen higher costs and the rationing of care. Should we be surprised? Is it really any different than a big DMV or a LA Unifed School District? And this is the system that president Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and the vast majority of Democrats in Congress want to emulate!!!! This is nuts. This Member of the European Parliament became quite well known for his speech denouncing the economic practices of Gordon Brown's Labor government in Britain. This speech has received over 2 million hits, and I have included it below. Watch it and you will see why. Click Here to view Until next time, I remain respectfully, Congressman John Campbell, Member of Congress Thursday August 25, 2009 Bernanke: As readers of this missive know, I frequently voice my opinion when I believe the President is doing the wrong thing. That has been the case with virtually everything he has done thus far. However, when he takes action that I believe to be correct or helpful, I will point that out as well. Such is the case this week when the President announced that he will reappoint Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve for another 4 year term. This is a hugely important and very positive decision for the following reasons: 1. Independence: The Federal Reserve should make decisions for economic reasons and remain independent of the White House so as not to politicize those decisions. I would say this regardless who the President is. Bernanke is independent and will have been appointed by both Bush and Obama. Replacing him could have sent a sign that the Administration was trying to control the Fed which would have been a terrible message and precedent. 2. Past performance: With the benefit of hindsight, one can criticize some of Bernanke’s moves and statements during his first term. Certainly, he can be criticized for not identifying the depth of last year’s crisis sooner, among other things. But virtually none of us foresaw the severity of the crisis or offered a solution that would have prevented it. Bernanke’s swift and decisive action contributed to saving the economy from what would have been a complete collapse last October. He has done a good job so far and we should let him see the job through back to a normal economy. 3. Continuity: Markets hate uncertainty, this is particularly true now. Continuing Bernanke’s Chairmanship until January 2014 gives the markets some confidence that monetary policy will be consistent and measured towards the Fed’s mission of growth with low inflation. 4. No Debt Monetization: This is probably the single most positive sign from the Bernanke reappointment. The federal debt and deficits are huge, unsustainable, and a major risk to future economic growth. Not to mention, it continues to grow. One way to deal with these problems is to “monetize” the debt. That means that the Fed would print money and buy all the new debt issues from the Treasury rather than sell them in the marketplace. Whenever any government has done this on any meaningful scale, it has resulted in uncontrolled inflation and a precipitous decline in the value of the currency. Bernanke has been clear that he thinks this is disastrous economic policy, and he is entirely correct. But it can be a politically easy way out of the mess without raising taxes or cutting spending. But it can’t be accomplished without the Fed Chairman’s 'OK.' Make no mistake; the debt/deficit is still a huge problem. But by reappointing Chairman Bernanke, one of the worst ways to deal with it appears to be off the table. I would also argue that without debt monetization, future inflation prospects are muted somewhat. I remain respectfully, Congressman John Campbell, Member of Congress

Lieberman: “Without public option, health reform would pass” – Americans: “That will have to mean no co-op or “Trigger” that only means a public optio

Lieberman says major bipartisan reform is still possible. Let us make it does not include a “trigger”

U.S. Senator, Joseph Lieberman answers questions from the public over the internet during a live video interview session which was streamed over the Hearst Connecticut Media Group news sites. (Bob Luckey/Staff photographer)

STAMFORD -- U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman made it clear Wednesday that he would not vote for a health care bill that included a government-run option, but said that without it, he and most of Congress would support comprehensive health care reform.

Discussion on health care dominated an informal question-and-answer session with the fourth-term Connecticut senator, who spoke to the editors of The Advocate and Connecticut Post and answered e-mailed questions from readers.

If the public option "is off the table, we have the opportunity to achieve significant reform with bipartisan support," Lieberman said during the nearly two-hour meeting Wednesday afternoon.

The Stamford native touched on his concerns that in the current recession the country could not afford a complete health care overhaul.

"We're trying to do a lot at once," he said. "We're trying to bend down the increasing cost curve of health care, and at the same time, turn and say to people ... it will cost a trillion or a trillion-and-a-half over the next 10 years."

He said the people know who will foot the bill.

Still, comprehensive reform -- "big steps, not baby steps" -- is possible, Lieberman said, predicting that Congress will compromise and adopt 75 percent of what is in the bill.

Reform should also include malpractice reform and health exchanges, which would offer different plans for varying costs and coverage for individuals or small businesses, he said.

Lieberman added that he supports mandating that no one can be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions and that everyone be required to have health insurance.

As to how 47 million uninsured will afford coverage, Lieberman said only 12 million don't have insurance because they cannot afford it.

By allowing citizens who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid to buy in for a rate below the private market, the government can extend coverage to more of those who are currently uninsured, he said.

To arrive at his position, Lieberman said he reached out to "every conceivable group" in the state, including residents, providers, doctors and hospitals.

"People in Connecticut want to see health care reform," he said, "but (they) have growing apprehension that the proposed reform would leave them with less coverage than they have today."

The Democratic-turned-independent senator said he knows his opposition to the government-run option will probably foil the Democrats' efforts to pass the bill.

"There will be no shot at 60 votes, because I'm not the only one," he said.

But he added: "If we start this out and three years from now a case can be made that the private market is not working effectively, I would support the public option."

Staff Writer Devon Lash can be reached at 964-2242 or devon.lash@scni.com – Connecticut Post

Posted: Daily Thought Pad – Cross-Posted: Knowledge Creates Power

No Public Option

No Co-Op – Another Name for Public Option

No Trigger – Will Lead to Public Option

No – Duty To Die Lectures or Death Panels

No Centralized Database

Congratulations! The headline on Drudge earlier today was 'It's official: no public option.'

Under fire, President Obama shifts strategy

The headline on Drudge earlier today was 'It's official: no public option.' Congratulations, America! Because you stood up, the President and the government heard you. The spineless wonders probably only caved because they care about their own hides, BUT if you didn't stand up you can bet Universal Health would have been passed. But don't celebrate yet -- there is still work to be done. Think the progressives will give up that easily?

Aides to President Barack Obama are putting the final touches on a new strategy to help Democrats recover from a brutal August recess by specifying what Obama wants to see in a compromise health care deal and directly confronting other trouble spots, West Wing officials tell POLITICO.

Obama is considering detailing his health-care demands in a major speech as soon as next week, when Congress returns from the August recess. And although House leaders have said their members will demand the inclusion of a public insurance option, Obama has no plans to insist on it himself, the officials said.

“We’re entering a new season,” senior adviser David Axelrod said in a telephone interview. “It’s time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done. We’re confident that we can do that. But obviously it is a different phase. We’re going to approach it in a different way. The president is going to be very active.”

Top officials privately concede the past six weeks have taken their toll on Obama's popularity. But the officials also see the new diminished expectations as an opportunity to prove their critics wrong by signing a health care law, showing progress in Afghanistan, and using this month's anniversary of the fall of Lehman Brothers to push for a crackdown on Wall Street.

On health care, Obama’s willingness to forgo the public option is sure to anger his party’s liberal base. But some administration officials welcome a showdown with liberal lawmakers if they argue they would rather have no health care law than an incremental one. The confrontation would allow Obama to show he is willing to stare down his own party to get things done.

“We have been saying all along that the most important part of this debate is not the public option, but rather ensuring choice and competition,” an aide said. “There are lots of different ways to get there.”

The timing, format, venue and content of Obama's presentation are still being debated in the West Wing. Aides have discussed whether to stick to broad principles, or to send specific legislative language to Capitol Hill. Some hybrid is likely, the officials said.

“I’m not going to put a date on any of this,” Axelrod said. “But I think it’s fairly obvious that we’re not in the second inning. We’re not in the fourth inning. We’re in the eighth or ninth inning here, and so there’s not a lot of time to waste.”

Obama's specifics will include many of the principles he has spelled out before, and aides did not want to telegraph make-or-break demands. But Axelrod and others are making plain that Obama will assert himself more aggressively — a clear sign that the president will start dictating terms to Congress.

"His goal is to create the best possible situation for consumers, create competition and choice," Axelrod said. "We want to bring a measure of security to people who have health insurance today. We want to help those who don't have coverage today, because they can't afford it, get insurance they can afford. And we want to do it in a way that reduces the overall cost of the system as a whole."

Also this fall, Obama wants to slap new regulations on Wall Street firms, a goal that is now considered a higher priority than cap-and-trade energy legislation in the West Wing. White House officials think the legislation will show voters, especially wavering independents, that he is serious about making the culprits of the economic crisis pay. It also helps that it doesn't carry a big price tag, like other Obama priorities.

The president also plans to send Congress a report on Afghanistan by Sept. 24 that is designed to build patience after two months in a row of the highest U.S. casualties since the invasion eight years ago. Aides say they recognize they need to show progress over the next 12 to 18 months, or risk losing the support of key Democrats in Congress, who already have balked at funding Obama’s 20,000-troop buildup.

But health care remains front-and-center in Obama’s fall strategy. “I understand the governing wisdom here in town as to where this is right now,” Axelrod said. “I feel good about where it is right now. I understand that there’s been a lot of controversy. I understand that there’s been a lot of politics. But the truth is, we’re a lot closer to achieving something than many thought possible. People look to the president for leadership on this and other issues. He feels passionately about this, and you can look for him to provide that leadership.”

Obama has been criticized for deciding to cede much of the debate to Capitol Hill -- or, as Axelrod put it, “allow Congress to consider the whole range of ideas.”

“History will judge whether this was right or it was wrong,” Axelrod said. “We feel strongly that it was right. As a result of it, we have broad consensus on over 80 percent of this stuff, and a lot of good ideas about how to achieve the other 20. Now, people are looking to the president and the president is eager to help lead that process of harmonizing these different elements and completing this process so that we can solve what is a big problem in the lives of the American people, for our businesses and our economy.”

White House officials say they are looking forward to "a break from the August break" -- a chance to take back control of the debate after a grim month where news coverage of the issue was dominated by vocal, emotional opponents at lawmakers’ town meetings, railing against the cost and complexity of the plans being debated.

So Obama and Democrats will return from vacation wounded, divided and uncertain of the best way to turn things around. Many Democrats, especially in the House, were spooked over break by the rowdy town hall meetings and flurry of polls showing independent voters skeptical of their leadership and spending plans.

The mood swing is hitting some top leaders hard: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), for instance, is trailing little-known GOP contenders in his re-election race now. The news swing has been no less brutal. There has been saturation coverage of the town halls and rising casualties in Afghanistan -- the latter leading to a big drop in support for the war.

All of this makes for a tumultuous -- and wildly unpredictable -- fall for Obama and his party.

Axelrod said he isn’t worried. “Part of it is born of long experience,” he said. “In Washington, every day is Election Day. I’d be lying to you if I told you I don’t look at polls -- I do. But I’ve also learned that you have to keep your eye on the horizon here and not get bogged down. I am not Polyannish, but I am also not given to the hysteria that's endemic to this town.”

By MIKE ALLEN & JIM VANDEHEI

Source: Politico

ObamaCare and me – Doctor Zane F. Pollard, MD – For Anyone Who Still Doesn’t Believe in Rationing and Death Panels if ObamaCare Passes

I have been sitting quietly on the sidelines watching all of this national debate on healthcare. It is time for me to bring some clarity to the table by explaining many of the problems from the perspective of a doctor.

First off, the government has involved very few of us physicians in the healthcare debate. While the American Medical Association has come out in favor of the plan, it is vital to remember that the AMA only represents 17% of the American physician workforce.

I have taken care of Medicaid patients for 35 years while representing the only pediatric ophthalmology group left in Atlanta, Georgia that accepts Medicaid. For example, in the past 6 months I have cared for three young children on Medicaid who had corneal ulcers. This is a potentially blinding situation because if the cornea perforates from the infection, almost surely blindness will occur. In all three cases the antibiotic needed for the eradication of the infection was not on the approved Medicaid list.

Each time I was told to fax Medicaid for the approval forms, which I did. Within 48 hours the form came back to me which was sent in immediately via fax, and I was told that I would have my answer in 10 days. Of course by then each child would have been blind in the eye.

Each time the request came back denied. All three times I personally provided the antibiotic for each patient which was not on the Medicaid approved list. Get the point -- rationing of care.

Over the past 35 years I have cared for over 1000 children born with congenital cataracts. In older children and in adults the vision is rehabilitated with an intraocular lens. In newborns we use contact lenses which are very expensive. It takes Medicaid over one year to approve a contact lens post cataract surgery. By that time a successful anatomical operation is wasted as the child will be close to blind from a lack of focusing for so long a period of time.

Again, extreme rationing. Solution: I have a foundation here in Atlanta supported 100% by private funds which supplies all of these contact lenses for my Medicaid and illegal immigrants children for free. Again, waiting for the government would be disastrous.

Last week I had a lady bring her child to me. They are Americans but live in Sweden, as the father has a job with a big corporation. The child had the onset of double vision 3 months ago and has been unable to function normally because of this. They are people of means but are waiting 8 months to see the ophthalmologist in Sweden. Then if the child needed surgery they would be put on a 6 month waiting list. She called me and I saw her that day. It turned out that the child had accommodative esotropia (crossing of the eyes treated with glasses that correct for farsightedness) and responded to glasses within 4 days, so no surgery was needed. Again, rationing of care.

Last month I operated on a 70 year old lady with double vision present for 3 years. She responded quite nicely to her surgery and now is symptom free. I also operated on a 69 year old judge with vertical double vision. His surgery went very well and now he is happy as a lark. I have been told -- but of course there is no healthcare bill that has been passed yet -- that these 2 people because of their age would have been denied surgery and just told to wear a patch over one eye to alleviate the symptoms of double vision. Obviously cheaper than surgery.

I spent two years in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war and was well treated by the military. There was tremendous rationing of care and we were told specifically what things the military personnel and their dependents could have and which things they could not have. While I was in Viet Nam, my wife Nancy got sick and got essentially no care at the Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. She went home and went to her family's private internist in Beverly Hills. While it was expensive, she received an immediate work up. Again rationing of care.

For those of you who are over 65, this bill in its present form might be lethal for you. People in Britain face rationing of care in that there is an eight month wait for cataract surgery, 11 for hernia and the same for disc and total hip The government wants to mimic the British plan. For those of you younger, it will still mean restriction of the care that you and your children receive.

While 99% of physicians went into medicine because of the love of medicine and the challenge of helping our fellow man, economics are still important. My rent goes up 2% each year and the salaries of my employees go up 2% each year. Twenty years ago, ophthalmologists were paid $1800 for a cataract surgery and today $500. This is a 73% decrease in our fees. I do not know of many jobs in America that have seen this sort of lowering of fees.

But there is more to the story than just the lower fees. When I came to Atlanta, there was a well known ophthalmologist that charged $2500 for a cataract surgery as he felt the was the best. He had a terrific reputation and in fact I had my mother's bilateral cataracts operated on by him with a wonderful result. She is now 94 and has 20/20 vision in both eyes. People would pay his $2500 fee.

However, then the government came in and said that any doctor that does Medicare work cannot accept more than the going rate ( now $500) or he or she would be severely fined. This put an end to his charging $2500. The government said it was illegal to accept more than the government-allowed rate. What I am driving at is that those of you well off will not be able to go to the head of the line under this new healthcare plan, just because you have money, as no physician will be willing to go against the law to treat you.

I am a pediatric ophthalmologist and trained for 10 years post-college to become a pediatric ophthalmologist (add two years of my service in the Navy and that comes to 12 years). A neurosurgeon spends 14 years post-college, and if he or she has to do the military that would be 16 years. I am not entitled to make what a neurosurgeon makes, but the new plan calls for all physicians to make the same amount of payment. I assure you that medical students will not go into neurosurgery and we will have a tremendous shortage of neurosurgeons. Already, the top neurosurgeon at my hospital who is in good health and only 52 years old has just quit because he can't stand working with the government anymore. Forty-nine percent of children under the age of 16 in the state of Georgia are on Medicaid, so he felt he just could not stand working with the bureaucracy anymore.

We are being lied to about the uninsured. They are getting care. I operate at least 2 illegal immigrants each month who pay me nothing, and the children's hospital at which I operate charges them nothing also. This is true not only on Atlanta, but of every community in America.

The bottom line is that I urge all of you to contact your congresswomen and congressmen and senators to defeat this bill. I promise you that you will not like rationing of your own health.

Furthermore, how can you trust a physician that works under these conditions knowing that he is controlled by the state. I certainly could not trust any doctor that would work under these draconian conditions.

One last thing: with this new healthcare plan there will be a tremendous shortage of physicians. It has been estimated that approximately 5% of the current physician work force will quit under this new system. Also it is estimated that another 5% shortage will occur because of the decreased number of men and women wanting to go into medicine. At the present time the US government has mandated gender equity in admissions to medical schools .That means that for the past 15 years that somewhere between 49 and 51% of each entering class are females. This is true of private schools also, because all private schools receive federal funding.

The average career of a woman in medicine now is only 8-10 years and the average work week for a female in medicine is only 3-4 days. I have now trained 35 fellows in pediatric ophthalmology. Hands down the best was a female that I trained 4 years ago -- she was head and heels above all others I have trained. She now practices only 3 days a week.

(Now there will also be mandated racial equity in admissions… rather than admissions based on ability).

By Zane F Pollard, MD – American Thinker

Background: Dr. Zane F. Pollard
I did my undergraduate work at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. I graduated Tulane University medical School Alpha Omega Alpha ( medical school's top 10% of graduating class). Internship at the Univ. of Southern California in Los Angeles, one year of General surgery residency at the U. of California in San Francisco. Two years in the US Navy. Residency in Ophthalmology at the U.of S. California in Los Angeles, fellowship in pediatric Ophthalmology at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. In practice with Eye Consultants of Atlanta for the past 35 years. Published 90 papers in peer reviewed Scientific Ophthalmology Journals. Member of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Ophthalmological Society. Board certified in Ophthalmology.

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Barbara Wagner wanted to live, but Oregon Government-Run Healthcare would not pay for her cancer treatments. What they would do, was give her the meds for assisted suicide.

Video: Oregon says no to chemotherapy, offers assisted suicide instead

Read Full Story: Woman in Oregon Told Healthcare Would Not Pay for Cancer Treatment But Would Pay for Assisted Suicide… Welcome to Government Controlled Healthcare

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Over the weekend the Veteran’s Manual was exposed

Full Article: Outcry Over Vets’ ‘End of Life Care’

Click here to read the "Your Life, Your Choices" guide.

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IT'S ALL A DEATH PANEL: THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMACARE

Washington is all atwitter about "death panels": President Obama derides the idea that his health-care reform calls for them; the Senate is stripping "end of life" counseling language from its bill -- and last Friday the voice of the liberal establishment, The New York Times, ran a Page One story "rebutting" the rumor that ObamaCare would create such boards to decide when to pull the plug on elderly patients.

But all those protests miss the fundamental truth of the "death panel" charge.

Even without a federal board voting on whom to kill, ObamaCare will ration care extensively, leading to the same result. This follows inevitably from central features of the president's plan.
Specifically, his decisions to (1) pay for reform with vast cuts in the Medicare budget and (2) grant insurance coverage to 50 million new people, vastly boosting demand without increasing the supply of doctors, nurses or other care providers.

Whether or not he admits it even to himself, Obama's talk of cutting "inefficiencies" and reducing costs translates to less care, of lower quality, for the elderly. Every existing national health system finds ways to deny state-of-the-art medications and necessary surgical procedures to countless patients, and ObamaCare has the nascent mechanisms to do the same. With the limited options that Obama's vision would leave them, many will find that "end of life counseling" necessary and even welcome.

"Reform" would cut care to the elderly in several ways:
* Slash hundreds of billions from Medicare spending, largely by lowering reimbursement rates to doctors and hospitals for patient care.

If a hospital gets less money for each MRI, it will do fewer of them. If a surgeon gets paid less for a heart bypass on a Medicare patient, he'll perform them more rarely. These facts of the marketplace are not only inevitable consequences of Obama's cuts but are also its intended consequence. Without them, his savings will prove illusory.
* Expanding the patient load by extending full coverage to 50 million Americans (including such "Americans" as illegal immigrants) without boosting the supply of care will force rationing decisions on harried and overworked doctors and hospitals.

People with insurance use a lot more health-care resources -- so today's facilities and personnel will have to cope with the increased workload. Busy surgeons will have to decide who would benefit most from their treatment -- de facto rationing. The elderly will, inevitably, be the losers.

* The Federal Health Board, established by this legislation, will be charged with collecting data on various forms of treatment for different conditions to assess which are the most effective and efficient. While the bills don't force providers to obey the board's "guidance," its recommendations will still wind up setting the standards and protocols for care system-wide.

We've already seen Medicare and Medicaid lead a similar race to the bottom with their formularies and other regulations. With Washington dictating what every policy must cover and regulating all rates, insurers and providers will all have to follow the FHB's advice on limiting care to the elderly -- a de facto rationing system.
* In assessing whether to allow certain treatments to a given patient, medical professionals will be encouraged to apply the Quality-Adjusted Remaining Years system. Under QARY, decision-makers seek to "amortize" the cost of treatment over the remaining "quality years of life" likely for that patient.
Imagine a hip replacement costing $100,000 and the 75-year-old who needs it, a diabetic with a heart condition deemed to have just three "quality" years left. That works out to $33,333 a year -- too steep! Surgery disallowed! (Unless of course, the patient has political connections . . . )

Younger, healthier patients would still get the surgery, of course. The QARY system simply aims to deny health care to the oldest and most infirm, "scientifically" condemning them to infirmity, pain and earlier death than would otherwise be their fate.

In short, ObamaCare doesn't need to set up "death panels" to make retail decisions about ending the lives of individual patients. The whole "reform" scheme is one giant death panel in its own right.

Order a copy of Catastrophe

In Britain, there is a total dollar amount that government will pay for each person.

• Prescription for Truth – Daniel Hannan From England: HealthCare Worse for Elderly
• Unease in Britain Following Assisted Suicides

Canadian Healthcare is going Bust…

The new president of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Anne Doig, has made comments that indicate that Canada's public run healthcare system is running on empty.

We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize...We know that there must be change...We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands.

These comments come as the outgoing CMA President Dr. Robert Ouellet, is expected to report that Canada's government-run system needs to become more patient-centered.

Related Resources:

• Canadian Health Officials: Our Universal Health Care Is 'Sick,' Private Insurance Should Be Welcomed

• Overhauling health-care system tops agenda at annual meeting of Canada's doctors
• Healthcare: Does Canada Do It Better?

• And the list goes on… The more time we have to study ObamaCare and other government run healthcare systems, the more negative and scary information keeps surfacing.

Source: TrueHealthIsTrueWealth

Posted: Daily Thought Pad

Sign The: 'STOP OBAMACARE' PETITION

Tele-townhall with Senator Jim DeMint and Representative Michelle Bachmann – Americans For Prosperity

Activists like you are rocking town hall meetings across the nation opposing the health care takeover.

The Obama Administration and their hard Left friends are hitting back hard. There’s talk of the “public option” being dropped from the legislation.

Given how fast moving the health care battle is and how crucial you are to winning, we’re hosting another national a tele-townhall with Senator Jim DeMint of South Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann tomorrow night.

As you know, Americans for Prosperity members and taxpayers have been turning up the heat at town halls and rallies across the nation during the Congressional recess. Many of you are asking us what else you can do now to win this battle for our freedom and many folks are asking for an update on all that’s happening.

So we thought the best people to answer your questions would be these two great free market leaders who are fighting the good fight in Congress.

Please join us Tomorrow, August 20th, at 8:00 pm ET, for this exciting, informative and interactive tele-town hall call with Senator DeMint and Congresswoman Bachmann.

Details:
When: Thursday, August 20th - 8:00pm EST
Participant #: 1-888-356-3090
Pin #: 13255

There is no charge to you to join the call. it’s a simple way for us to thank you for keeping up the heat and provide you the information we need to finish the job by stopping a government takeover of health care.

Thanks to the efforts of hundreds of thousands of AFP members, Senators are feeling the heat just like their colleagues in the House.

Join our national telephone town hall call tomorrow!

Tim Phillips
President, Americans for Prosperity

P.S. Even though we have expanded out lines, only the first 3000 callers will be able to get on the call live. To guarantee that you are on the call please click here to RSVP with your phone number by 2pm EST on August 20th and we will call you when the town-hall is underway.

Source: Americans For Prosperity

Posted: Daily Thought Pad

Healthcare Benefits Advisory Committee Determines What Is Covered Which Is Worrisome if You Understand Obama Administrations Healthcare Advisors Perso