Helen Thomas: Tough as ever

No, you are cynical of everything, and that makes you a spectator...being a spectator and being against everything in a free society is really a coward...

Alexander Hamilton said: Those who stand for nothing fall for anything. Well, those that have no ideas or optimism get what they deserve...I am skeptical of government, but I am also skeptical of corporations and special interests.

The way I see the current state of the two national parties...one party is trying to address our nation's problems, and one party is trying to undermine that effort solely for political gain and to regain power... what's left of the current GOP is authoritarians and radicals. Everyone else has sided with the Democrats...

Example...Let's look at our broken health care system. We pay twice as much as any other industrialized nation and our outcomes rank with Slovenia and Cuba. The root cause is pharmaceutical corporations that have American taxpayers subsidizing their costs and insurance corporations that make medical decisions that brutally interferes with the doctor/patient relationship. Over 60% of the personal bankruptcies in America are due to medical costs, AND 75% HAD health insurance. These corporations have successfully gained influence and legislation that has rigged the system and undermined a free market.

BUT...Republicans STAND WITH the corporations over the well being of businesses, families and the American PEOPLE...and I find it amazing that right wing followers stand WITH them... it is WHY I call them PEA brains...


I don't find it the least bit amazing that you rarely know WTF you're talking about.....

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

PROVE it...

Hey NO Biz... from 1994 to 2006, the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress and from 2001 to 2006 the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress AND the White House...

WHERE was their superior health plan THEN???????????????????????????????

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By U.S. Rep. John Boehner

HOW ABOUT that...John Boehner...are you kidding me???

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Tribune-Review Publishing Company is owned by an heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, Richard Mellon Scaife.

Scaife Foundations

The Scaife Foundations consist of the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation. All four have been heavily involved in financing conservative causes under the direction of reclusive billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, whose wealth was inherited from the Mellon industrial, oil, uranium and banking fortune.

The Mellon fortune is built on at least 5 pillars; the family's ownership of Gulf Oil Corporation, the family's monopoly ownership of Alcoa and Alcan going back to 1891, ownership of Koppers and Carborundum corporations, and their participation in the uranium cartel.

Between 1985 and 2001, the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation donated $15,860,000 to the Heritage Foundation; $7,333,000 to the Institute for Policy Analysis; $6,995,500 to the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; $6,693,000 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); $4,411,000 to the American Enterprise Institute; $2,575,000 to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; $1,855,000 to the George C. Marshall Institute; $1,808,000 to the Hudson Institute; and $1,697,000 to the Cato Institute.
Sourcewatch


My goodness.... One would think I had said that the pubbies ALWAYS WERE tuned in and ON BOARD WITH this "health care reform" mantra. But you were talking about NOW. Nice spin tho.... Do prove YOUR allegation.
 
I don't find it the least bit amazing that you rarely know WTF you're talking about.....

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

PROVE it...

Hey NO Biz... from 1994 to 2006, the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress and from 2001 to 2006 the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress AND the White House...

WHERE was their superior health plan THEN???????????????????????????????

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By U.S. Rep. John Boehner

HOW ABOUT that...John Boehner...are you kidding me???

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Tribune-Review Publishing Company is owned by an heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, Richard Mellon Scaife.

Scaife Foundations

The Scaife Foundations consist of the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation. All four have been heavily involved in financing conservative causes under the direction of reclusive billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, whose wealth was inherited from the Mellon industrial, oil, uranium and banking fortune.

The Mellon fortune is built on at least 5 pillars; the family's ownership of Gulf Oil Corporation, the family's monopoly ownership of Alcoa and Alcan going back to 1891, ownership of Koppers and Carborundum corporations, and their participation in the uranium cartel.

Between 1985 and 2001, the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation donated $15,860,000 to the Heritage Foundation; $7,333,000 to the Institute for Policy Analysis; $6,995,500 to the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; $6,693,000 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); $4,411,000 to the American Enterprise Institute; $2,575,000 to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; $1,855,000 to the George C. Marshall Institute; $1,808,000 to the Hudson Institute; and $1,697,000 to the Cato Institute.
Sourcewatch


My goodness.... One would think I had said that the pubbies ALWAYS WERE tuned in and ON BOARD WITH this "health care reform" mantra. But you were talking about NOW. Nice spin tho.... Do prove YOUR allegation.

Well NO biz...I take that back... Republicans DID get involved in reforming health care. They undermined and destroyed the Clinton health care plan, AND passed Medicare D... a bloated and expensive plan that doesn't help Medicare seniors and rips off the taxpayers. BUT, it IS a bonanza for the pharmaceutical and managed-care industries.
 
Hey NO Biz... from 1994 to 2006, the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress and from 2001 to 2006 the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress AND the White House...

WHERE was their superior health plan THEN???????????????????????????????

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By U.S. Rep. John Boehner

HOW ABOUT that...John Boehner...are you kidding me???

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Tribune-Review Publishing Company is owned by an heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, Richard Mellon Scaife.

Scaife Foundations

The Scaife Foundations consist of the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation. All four have been heavily involved in financing conservative causes under the direction of reclusive billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, whose wealth was inherited from the Mellon industrial, oil, uranium and banking fortune.

The Mellon fortune is built on at least 5 pillars; the family's ownership of Gulf Oil Corporation, the family's monopoly ownership of Alcoa and Alcan going back to 1891, ownership of Koppers and Carborundum corporations, and their participation in the uranium cartel.

Between 1985 and 2001, the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation donated $15,860,000 to the Heritage Foundation; $7,333,000 to the Institute for Policy Analysis; $6,995,500 to the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; $6,693,000 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); $4,411,000 to the American Enterprise Institute; $2,575,000 to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; $1,855,000 to the George C. Marshall Institute; $1,808,000 to the Hudson Institute; and $1,697,000 to the Cato Institute.
Sourcewatch
wrong again
asshole
from 2001 to 2003 the dems had control of the senate
 
Hey NO Biz... from 1994 to 2006, the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress and from 2001 to 2006 the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress AND the White House...

WHERE was their superior health plan THEN???????????????????????????????

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By U.S. Rep. John Boehner

HOW ABOUT that...John Boehner...are you kidding me???

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Tribune-Review Publishing Company is owned by an heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, Richard Mellon Scaife.

Scaife Foundations

The Scaife Foundations consist of the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation. All four have been heavily involved in financing conservative causes under the direction of reclusive billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, whose wealth was inherited from the Mellon industrial, oil, uranium and banking fortune.

The Mellon fortune is built on at least 5 pillars; the family's ownership of Gulf Oil Corporation, the family's monopoly ownership of Alcoa and Alcan going back to 1891, ownership of Koppers and Carborundum corporations, and their participation in the uranium cartel.

Between 1985 and 2001, the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation donated $15,860,000 to the Heritage Foundation; $7,333,000 to the Institute for Policy Analysis; $6,995,500 to the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; $6,693,000 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); $4,411,000 to the American Enterprise Institute; $2,575,000 to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; $1,855,000 to the George C. Marshall Institute; $1,808,000 to the Hudson Institute; and $1,697,000 to the Cato Institute.
Sourcewatch
wrong again
asshole
from 2001 to 2003 the dems had control of the senate

Hey Dive...can you EVER speak without vile language? WHY are you always SO angry? Can you ever post a paragraph instead of broken sentences, or is that too taxing on your cognitive abilities?
 
Hey NO Biz... from 1994 to 2006, the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress and from 2001 to 2006 the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress AND the White House...

WHERE was their superior health plan THEN???????????????????????????????

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By U.S. Rep. John Boehner

HOW ABOUT that...John Boehner...are you kidding me???

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Tribune-Review Publishing Company is owned by an heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, Richard Mellon Scaife.

Scaife Foundations

The Scaife Foundations consist of the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation. All four have been heavily involved in financing conservative causes under the direction of reclusive billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, whose wealth was inherited from the Mellon industrial, oil, uranium and banking fortune.

The Mellon fortune is built on at least 5 pillars; the family's ownership of Gulf Oil Corporation, the family's monopoly ownership of Alcoa and Alcan going back to 1891, ownership of Koppers and Carborundum corporations, and their participation in the uranium cartel.

Between 1985 and 2001, the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation donated $15,860,000 to the Heritage Foundation; $7,333,000 to the Institute for Policy Analysis; $6,995,500 to the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; $6,693,000 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); $4,411,000 to the American Enterprise Institute; $2,575,000 to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; $1,855,000 to the George C. Marshall Institute; $1,808,000 to the Hudson Institute; and $1,697,000 to the Cato Institute.
Sourcewatch
wrong again
asshole
from 2001 to 2003 the dems had control of the senate

Hey Dive...can you EVER speak without vile language? WHY are you always SO angry? Can you ever post a paragraph instead of broken sentences, or is that too taxing on your cognitive abilities?
when you stop posting like a clueless asshole
 
Hey NO Biz... from 1994 to 2006, the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress and from 2001 to 2006 the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress AND the White House...

WHERE was their superior health plan THEN???????????????????????????????

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By U.S. Rep. John Boehner

HOW ABOUT that...John Boehner...are you kidding me???

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Tribune-Review Publishing Company is owned by an heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, Richard Mellon Scaife.

Scaife Foundations

The Scaife Foundations consist of the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation. All four have been heavily involved in financing conservative causes under the direction of reclusive billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, whose wealth was inherited from the Mellon industrial, oil, uranium and banking fortune.

The Mellon fortune is built on at least 5 pillars; the family's ownership of Gulf Oil Corporation, the family's monopoly ownership of Alcoa and Alcan going back to 1891, ownership of Koppers and Carborundum corporations, and their participation in the uranium cartel.

Between 1985 and 2001, the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation donated $15,860,000 to the Heritage Foundation; $7,333,000 to the Institute for Policy Analysis; $6,995,500 to the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; $6,693,000 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); $4,411,000 to the American Enterprise Institute; $2,575,000 to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; $1,855,000 to the George C. Marshall Institute; $1,808,000 to the Hudson Institute; and $1,697,000 to the Cato Institute.
Sourcewatch
wrong again
asshole
from 2001 to 2003 the dems had control of the senate

Hey Dive...can you EVER speak without vile language? WHY are you always SO angry? Can you ever post a paragraph instead of broken sentences, or is that too taxing on your cognitive abilities?


I agree. "Cowards" and "pea brains" is so much more intelligent coming from an "educator"....
 
wrong again
asshole
from 2001 to 2003 the dems had control of the senate

Hey Dive...can you EVER speak without vile language? WHY are you always SO angry? Can you ever post a paragraph instead of broken sentences, or is that too taxing on your cognitive abilities?
when you stop posting like a clueless asshole

PROVE your accusations Dive, your tiny little words don't create an argument...they are just childish name calling, using vile profanity and whining...
 
My biggest question is what happened to the horse that kicked Helen Thomas in the face? Was the horse given any lumps of sugar for a good job? :lol:
 
Hey Dive...can you EVER speak without vile language? WHY are you always SO angry? Can you ever post a paragraph instead of broken sentences, or is that too taxing on your cognitive abilities?
when you stop posting like a clueless asshole

PROVE your accusations Dive, your tiny little words don't create an argument...they are just childish name calling, using vile profanity and whining...
you prove it with every post
keep it up


asshole
 
PROVE it...

Hey NO Biz... from 1994 to 2006, the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress and from 2001 to 2006 the Republicans controlled BOTH houses of Congress AND the White House...

WHERE was their superior health plan THEN???????????????????????????????

House GOP health plan superior - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By U.S. Rep. John Boehner

HOW ABOUT that...John Boehner...are you kidding me???

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The Tribune-Review Publishing Company is owned by an heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, Richard Mellon Scaife.

Scaife Foundations

The Scaife Foundations consist of the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation, the Carthage Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation and the Scaife Family Foundation. All four have been heavily involved in financing conservative causes under the direction of reclusive billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, whose wealth was inherited from the Mellon industrial, oil, uranium and banking fortune.

The Mellon fortune is built on at least 5 pillars; the family's ownership of Gulf Oil Corporation, the family's monopoly ownership of Alcoa and Alcan going back to 1891, ownership of Koppers and Carborundum corporations, and their participation in the uranium cartel.

Between 1985 and 2001, the Sarah Mellon Scaife Foundation donated $15,860,000 to the Heritage Foundation; $7,333,000 to the Institute for Policy Analysis; $6,995,500 to the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; $6,693,000 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); $4,411,000 to the American Enterprise Institute; $2,575,000 to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research; $1,855,000 to the George C. Marshall Institute; $1,808,000 to the Hudson Institute; and $1,697,000 to the Cato Institute.
Sourcewatch


My goodness.... One would think I had said that the pubbies ALWAYS WERE tuned in and ON BOARD WITH this "health care reform" mantra. But you were talking about NOW. Nice spin tho.... Do prove YOUR allegation.

Well NO biz...I take that back... Republicans DID get involved in reforming health care. They undermined and destroyed the Clinton health care plan, AND passed Medicare D... a bloated and expensive plan that doesn't help Medicare seniors and rips off the taxpayers. BUT, it IS a bonanza for the pharmaceutical and managed-care industries.


How is it that I know more about the Dems/libs/progressives than you do??? Huh???

GLENWOOD, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2007
Bill Clinton: Blame Me For Health Care
Former President Says He, Not Hillary, Is To Blame For Failed Effort
[excerpt]

(AP) Former President Clinton said Thursday that he is to blame for his administration's failed health care plan, not his wife, who spearheaded the effort.

"She has taken the rap for some of the problems we had with health care the last time that were far more my fault than hers," the former president said.

He said part of the problem was a lack of money to finance the health care expansion. Money could be available this time to pay for expanded health care, such as the universal health care plan Hillary Clinton has proposed.

"This time, when you let the tax cuts for upper-income people expire, it'll create a pool of money that wasn't there last time," Bill Clinton said. "We told her she had to get to universal coverage and there would be no new money. She had to figure out how to do it."

Clinton added that his wife's plan faced opposition in Congress, in part, because they had an attitude of "just say no to Bill Clinton."
Bill Clinton: Blame Me For Health Care - CBS News


And Medicare D?

Friday July 3, 2009
Medicare Part D: Good for Patients and an Opportunity for Pharmacists

With more than 25 million Medicare beneficiaries enjoying guaranteed access and choice of a drug benefit in 2008, and 2009 average monthly plan premiums projected at a 37% lower cost than 2003 estimates, it’s safe to say the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit continues to prove it’s worth. Part D isn’t just beneficial to Medicare beneficiaries, however; pharmacists play an increasingly important role in delivering this benefit, and must recognize the opportunity for sizeable economic growth. Josh Benner and Larry Kocot explore this issue in their editorial, “Medicare Part D: Good for Patients and an Opportunity for Pharmacists.”
http://www.amcp.org/data/jmcp/066-070.pdf



Next?
 
My goodness.... One would think I had said that the pubbies ALWAYS WERE tuned in and ON BOARD WITH this "health care reform" mantra. But you were talking about NOW. Nice spin tho.... Do prove YOUR allegation.

Well NO biz...I take that back... Republicans DID get involved in reforming health care. They undermined and destroyed the Clinton health care plan, AND passed Medicare D... a bloated and expensive plan that doesn't help Medicare seniors and rips off the taxpayers. BUT, it IS a bonanza for the pharmaceutical and managed-care industries.


How is it that I know more about the Dems/libs/progressives than you do??? Huh???

GLENWOOD, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2007
Bill Clinton: Blame Me For Health Care
Former President Says He, Not Hillary, Is To Blame For Failed Effort
[excerpt]

(AP) Former President Clinton said Thursday that he is to blame for his administration's failed health care plan, not his wife, who spearheaded the effort.

"She has taken the rap for some of the problems we had with health care the last time that were far more my fault than hers," the former president said.

He said part of the problem was a lack of money to finance the health care expansion. Money could be available this time to pay for expanded health care, such as the universal health care plan Hillary Clinton has proposed.

"This time, when you let the tax cuts for upper-income people expire, it'll create a pool of money that wasn't there last time," Bill Clinton said. "We told her she had to get to universal coverage and there would be no new money. She had to figure out how to do it."

Clinton added that his wife's plan faced opposition in Congress, in part, because they had an attitude of "just say no to Bill Clinton."
Bill Clinton: Blame Me For Health Care - CBS News


And Medicare D?

Friday July 3, 2009
Medicare Part D: Good for Patients and an Opportunity for Pharmacists

With more than 25 million Medicare beneficiaries enjoying guaranteed access and choice of a drug benefit in 2008, and 2009 average monthly plan premiums projected at a 37% lower cost than 2003 estimates, it’s safe to say the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit continues to prove it’s worth. Part D isn’t just beneficial to Medicare beneficiaries, however; pharmacists play an increasingly important role in delivering this benefit, and must recognize the opportunity for sizeable economic growth. Josh Benner and Larry Kocot explore this issue in their editorial, “Medicare Part D: Good for Patients and an Opportunity for Pharmacists.”
http://www.amcp.org/data/jmcp/066-070.pdf



Next?

May 12, 2009
Murder on the Capitol Hill Express

There are few things more intriguing in literature than a good “whodunit?”

The same can be said in politics. Especially when trying to determine who euthanized a controversial piece of legislation.

A good example of this came in 1994. Congressional Republicans were unified in opposing President Clinton’s massive 1,300 hundred page health care reform overhaul.

For months, former Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR), the top GOPer on the Senate Finance Committee, maneuvered to torpedo the legislation. Packwood and his fellow Republicans ultimately got their way.

“We’ve killed health care reform,” Packwood boasted. “Now we’ve got to make sure our fingerprints are not on it.”

» Murder on the Capitol Hill Express The Speakers Lobby « FOXNews.com



Private Medicare Drug Plans: Seniors and Taxpayers Hurt by High Expenses, Low Rebates

percentexpenses.jpg
rebatesvmedicaid.jpg


Unlike traditional Medicare, which is run directly by the government, the new Medicare Part D prescription drug program depends on private insurers to provide drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries. This reliance on private insurers has sparked a debate about the consequences of privatizing the delivery of Medicare services. Proponents, including President Bush, have argued that competition among private insurers will lead to “better coverage at more affordable prices.” Opponents have questioned whether private companies can match the efficiency and negotiating power of traditional Medicare.

The Part D insurers have high administrative expenses. The administrative expenses, sales costs, and profits of the private insurers offering Medicare Part D coverage will cost taxpayers and beneficiaries $180 per beneficiary in 2007. Taking into account the costs to the government of monitoring the private insurers, total administrative expenses, sales costs, and profits will reach $4.6 billion in 2007, with the profits of the Part D insurers alone accounting for $1 billion. The administrative expenses, sales costs, and profits of the privatized Part D program are almost six times higher than the administrative expenses of traditional Medicare. These high expenses do not appear to be due to one-time “start-up” costs because the total expenses increased from 2006 to 2007.

The Part D insurers have not negotiated significant drug manufacturer rebates. The rebates negotiated from drug manufacturers by the private Part D insurers will reduce Medicare drug spending by 8.1% in 2007. In contrast, the Medicaid program receives rebates from drug manufacturers that reduce drug spending by 26%, over three times as much. The small size of the Medicare rebates and the transfer of low-income dual-eligible beneficiaries from Medicaid drug coverage to Medicare drug coverage will provide a $2.8 billion windfall to pharmaceutical manufacturers in 2007.

The Part D insurers receive rebates on drug purchases made by beneficiaries in coverage gaps. The Medicare Modernization Act requires that private insurers give Medicare beneficiaries “access to their negotiated prices,” including “all discounts, … rebates, [or] other price concessions.” When the Part D insurers obtain rebates, however, they do not pass them through to beneficiaries by reducing drug prices in coverage gaps like the “donut hole.” Instead, the dollars flow in the opposite direction: the private insurers receive rebates from the drug manufacturers on purchases paid out-of-pocket by beneficiaries. In 2007, the Part D insurers are expected to receive $1.0 billion in drug rebates from transactions in which beneficiaries in coverage gaps pay 100% of the drug costs.

The Part D insurers have established drug pricing formulas that leave beneficiaries and taxpayers vulnerable to price increases. In almost all cases, the private insurers use pricing formulas that pay pharmacies the drug manufacturers’ full list prices minus a fixed percentage and a small dispensing fee. These formulas have resulted in drug prices that are generally no lower than those already available through discount pharmacies and on-line drugstores, while leaving beneficiaries and taxpayers vulnerable to repeated increases in list prices by the drug manufacturers.

The Part D insurers have a mixed record in promoting the use of generic drugs.
In 2007, 59% of prescriptions filled by Medicare Part D will be filled with generic drugs. This level of use of generic drugs compares favorably with Medicaid, which fills 54% of prescriptions with generic drugs. It does not compare favorably with the experience of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which fills 68% of prescriptions with generic drugs.

Full Report: Private Medicare Drug Plans (185 KB)
 
Well NO biz...I take that back... Republicans DID get involved in reforming health care. They undermined and destroyed the Clinton health care plan, AND passed Medicare D... a bloated and expensive plan that doesn't help Medicare seniors and rips off the taxpayers. BUT, it IS a bonanza for the pharmaceutical and managed-care industries.


How is it that I know more about the Dems/libs/progressives than you do??? Huh???

GLENWOOD, Iowa, Nov. 9, 2007
Bill Clinton: Blame Me For Health Care
Former President Says He, Not Hillary, Is To Blame For Failed Effort
[excerpt]

(AP) Former President Clinton said Thursday that he is to blame for his administration's failed health care plan, not his wife, who spearheaded the effort.

"She has taken the rap for some of the problems we had with health care the last time that were far more my fault than hers," the former president said.

He said part of the problem was a lack of money to finance the health care expansion. Money could be available this time to pay for expanded health care, such as the universal health care plan Hillary Clinton has proposed.

"This time, when you let the tax cuts for upper-income people expire, it'll create a pool of money that wasn't there last time," Bill Clinton said. "We told her she had to get to universal coverage and there would be no new money. She had to figure out how to do it."

Clinton added that his wife's plan faced opposition in Congress, in part, because they had an attitude of "just say no to Bill Clinton."
Bill Clinton: Blame Me For Health Care - CBS News


And Medicare D?

Friday July 3, 2009
Medicare Part D: Good for Patients and an Opportunity for Pharmacists

With more than 25 million Medicare beneficiaries enjoying guaranteed access and choice of a drug benefit in 2008, and 2009 average monthly plan premiums projected at a 37% lower cost than 2003 estimates, it’s safe to say the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit continues to prove it’s worth. Part D isn’t just beneficial to Medicare beneficiaries, however; pharmacists play an increasingly important role in delivering this benefit, and must recognize the opportunity for sizeable economic growth. Josh Benner and Larry Kocot explore this issue in their editorial, “Medicare Part D: Good for Patients and an Opportunity for Pharmacists.”
http://www.amcp.org/data/jmcp/066-070.pdf



Next?

May 12, 2009
Murder on the Capitol Hill Express

There are few things more intriguing in literature than a good “whodunit?”

The same can be said in politics. Especially when trying to determine who euthanized a controversial piece of legislation.

A good example of this came in 1994. Congressional Republicans were unified in opposing President Clinton’s massive 1,300 hundred page health care reform overhaul.

For months, former Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR), the top GOPer on the Senate Finance Committee, maneuvered to torpedo the legislation. Packwood and his fellow Republicans ultimately got their way.

“We’ve killed health care reform,” Packwood boasted. “Now we’ve got to make sure our fingerprints are not on it.”

» Murder on the Capitol Hill Express The Speakers Lobby « FOXNews.com



Private Medicare Drug Plans: Seniors and Taxpayers Hurt by High Expenses, Low Rebates

percentexpenses.jpg
rebatesvmedicaid.jpg


Unlike traditional Medicare, which is run directly by the government, the new Medicare Part D prescription drug program depends on private insurers to provide drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries. This reliance on private insurers has sparked a debate about the consequences of privatizing the delivery of Medicare services. Proponents, including President Bush, have argued that competition among private insurers will lead to “better coverage at more affordable prices.” Opponents have questioned whether private companies can match the efficiency and negotiating power of traditional Medicare.

The Part D insurers have high administrative expenses. The administrative expenses, sales costs, and profits of the private insurers offering Medicare Part D coverage will cost taxpayers and beneficiaries $180 per beneficiary in 2007. Taking into account the costs to the government of monitoring the private insurers, total administrative expenses, sales costs, and profits will reach $4.6 billion in 2007, with the profits of the Part D insurers alone accounting for $1 billion. The administrative expenses, sales costs, and profits of the privatized Part D program are almost six times higher than the administrative expenses of traditional Medicare. These high expenses do not appear to be due to one-time “start-up” costs because the total expenses increased from 2006 to 2007.

The Part D insurers have not negotiated significant drug manufacturer rebates. The rebates negotiated from drug manufacturers by the private Part D insurers will reduce Medicare drug spending by 8.1% in 2007. In contrast, the Medicaid program receives rebates from drug manufacturers that reduce drug spending by 26%, over three times as much. The small size of the Medicare rebates and the transfer of low-income dual-eligible beneficiaries from Medicaid drug coverage to Medicare drug coverage will provide a $2.8 billion windfall to pharmaceutical manufacturers in 2007.

The Part D insurers receive rebates on drug purchases made by beneficiaries in coverage gaps. The Medicare Modernization Act requires that private insurers give Medicare beneficiaries “access to their negotiated prices,” including “all discounts, … rebates, [or] other price concessions.” When the Part D insurers obtain rebates, however, they do not pass them through to beneficiaries by reducing drug prices in coverage gaps like the “donut hole.” Instead, the dollars flow in the opposite direction: the private insurers receive rebates from the drug manufacturers on purchases paid out-of-pocket by beneficiaries. In 2007, the Part D insurers are expected to receive $1.0 billion in drug rebates from transactions in which beneficiaries in coverage gaps pay 100% of the drug costs.

The Part D insurers have established drug pricing formulas that leave beneficiaries and taxpayers vulnerable to price increases. In almost all cases, the private insurers use pricing formulas that pay pharmacies the drug manufacturers’ full list prices minus a fixed percentage and a small dispensing fee. These formulas have resulted in drug prices that are generally no lower than those already available through discount pharmacies and on-line drugstores, while leaving beneficiaries and taxpayers vulnerable to repeated increases in list prices by the drug manufacturers.

The Part D insurers have a mixed record in promoting the use of generic drugs.
In 2007, 59% of prescriptions filled by Medicare Part D will be filled with generic drugs. This level of use of generic drugs compares favorably with Medicaid, which fills 54% of prescriptions with generic drugs. It does not compare favorably with the experience of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which fills 68% of prescriptions with generic drugs.

Full Report: Private Medicare Drug Plans (185 KB)


Wow.... The White House huh? And FOX? After just criticizing the NYTimes? LMAO!!!
 
I am a skeptic, YOU are a cynic...

"A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing."
Oscar Wilde
You aren't skeptical of jack shit of nearly anything that comes across the lips of anyone who carries that (D) by their name....That makes you gullible, not skeptical.

Meanwhile, I'm skeptical of them all.


No, you are cynical of everything, and that makes you a spectator...being a spectator and being against everything in a free society is really a coward...

Alexander Hamilton said: Those who stand for nothing fall for anything. Well, those that have no ideas or optimism get what they deserve...I am skeptical of government, but I am also skeptical of corporations and special interests.

The way I see the current state of the two national parties...one party is trying to address our nation's problems, and one party is trying to undermine that effort solely for political gain and to regain power... what's left of the current GOP is authoritarians and radicals. Everyone else has sided with the Democrats...

Example...Let's look at our broken health care system. We pay twice as much as any other industrialized nation and our outcomes rank with Slovenia and Cuba. The root cause is pharmaceutical corporations that have American taxpayers subsidizing their costs and insurance corporations that make medical decisions that brutally interferes with the doctor/patient relationship. Over 60% of the personal bankruptcies in America are due to medical costs, AND 75% HAD health insurance. These corporations have successfully gained influence and legislation that has rigged the system and undermined a free market.

BUT...Republicans STAND WITH the corporations over the well being of businesses, families and the American PEOPLE...and I find it amazing that right wing followers stand WITH them... it is WHY I call them PEA brains...
Fuck you, asshole.

I got a news flash for you, dickhead....Not everyone who disagrees with brain dead Fabian socialist kook platitude and talking point machines, like you, is a republican.

Of course, if nitwits like you could come up with just one federal freebie program that has ever delivered what it promised, and came in even close to its originally projected budget numbers, you might be able to eke out a relevant point....But you can't on either account.
 
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Here's the GOP's plan to undermine health care reform. It's a Frank Luntz FEAR mongering propaganda piece that Joseph Goebbels would be proud of. You pea brains schmucks are already parroting Luntz's 28 page "talking points. Luntz would like the GOP to acknowledge the health care crisis, urge reform, and then stand firmly in the way of any substantive changes to the status quo.

Just like in the early '90's, they want to be able to repeat Bob Packwood's boast...
“We’ve killed health care reform,” Packwood boasted. “Now we’ve got to make sure our fingerprints are not on it.”

The Republicans are NOT looking out for the American people...they are looking out for their own self interests as a party and they want to steer the people into supporting their corporatist view of NO REAL REFORM to health care...

Frank Luntz - The Language of Healthcare 2009
 
Meanwhile back at the farm, the press is turning against El presidente.

Some of the news stories are missing what ELSE the liberal Helen Thomas said:

"What the hell do they think we are, puppets?” Outraged at Obama controlling the media
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/co​ntent/article.aspx?RsrcID=50445

Helen Thomas, that journalist that admitted putting liberal bias in her writing because the people didn't know how to think...even SHE is outraged at this administration...

and in that video on the OP, anyone notice what he said at the very end? The journalists were saying Gibbs had a pipeline to the President and he answered, "I dunno, I heard that YOU had a pretty good (trailed off)

Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times is dissing the 4th of July...

We are being led by people that hate America, and the worst part is, even members in my own family are buying it.
 
I have read also that Thomas said that.

The press is truning against Barry and he better start governing and LIGHTENING the load on people if he wants to keep that POTUS title, he does cap and trade he can join mr Carter in the one and done squad.
 

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