Meet The Press: GOP Whacko on Health Care.

Procrustes Stretched

And you say, "Oh my God, am I here all alone?"
Dec 1, 2008
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gawd, I laughed so hard (thank you Mitch McConnell), and if it is true that laughter is the best medicine, I say allow more time on network televison and media for GOP voices.

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On today's Meet The Press, Senator Mitch McConnell (leader of GOP), was asked about what a few experts said about the US having the 'best' medical care. The Senator replied that there are more experts and that the American public believes we have the best system. :lol: :lol: :lol:

...and in other news the American public thinks Coke is better than Pepsi. :lol:

---

When confronted with the facts that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured, the comedic voice of the GOP mentioned millions get medical care...they are just uninsured.

All the GOP leadership has to offer is an argument that (in Mitch's words) we only need to repair 'access and cost' in order to fix our broken system. WTF, what is there besides 'access and cost' when it comes to an insurance plan?

:cuckoo:
 
gawd, I laughed so hard (thank you Mitch McConnell), and if it is true that laughter is the best medicine, I say allow more time on network televison and media for GOP voices.

----

On today's Meet The Press, Senator Mitch McConnell (leader of GOP), was asked about what a few experts said about the US having the 'best' medical care. The Senator replied that there are more experts and that the American public believes we have the best system. :lol: :lol: :lol:

...and in other news the American public thinks Coke is better than Pepsi. :lol:

---

When confronted with the facts that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured, the comedic voice of the GOP mentioned millions get medical care...they are just uninsured.

All the GOP leadership has to offer is an argument that (in Mitch's words) we only need to repair 'access and cost' in order to fix our broken system. WTF, what is there besides 'access and cost' when it comes to an insurance plan?

:cuckoo:
Thanks for the heads up ... I'll catch a rerun. Mitch is always good for a giggle.
 
gawd, I laughed so hard (thank you Mitch McConnell), and if it is true that laughter is the best medicine, I say allow more time on network televison and media for GOP voices.

----

On today's Meet The Press, Senator Mitch McConnell (leader of GOP), was asked about what a few experts said about the US having the 'best' medical care. The Senator replied that there are more experts and that the American public believes we have the best system. :lol: :lol: :lol:

...and in other news the American public thinks Coke is better than Pepsi. :lol:

---

When confronted with the facts that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured, the comedic voice of the GOP mentioned millions get medical care...they are just uninsured.

All the GOP leadership has to offer is an argument that (in Mitch's words) we only need to repair 'access and cost' in order to fix our broken system. WTF, what is there besides 'access and cost' when it comes to an insurance plan?

:cuckoo:
Thanks for the heads up ... I'll catch a rerun. Mitch is always good for a giggle.

Our medical insurance system is the greatest and the only thing broken is access and cost. Whew!!!!! Con-whackos like Mitch need to step away from the feed bags.
 
gawd, I laughed so hard (thank you Mitch McConnell), and if it is true that laughter is the best medicine, I say allow more time on network televison and media for GOP voices.

----

On today's Meet The Press, Senator Mitch McConnell (leader of GOP), was asked about what a few experts said about the US having the 'best' medical care. The Senator replied that there are more experts and that the American public believes we have the best system. :lol: :lol: :lol:

...and in other news the American public thinks Coke is better than Pepsi. :lol:

---

When confronted with the facts that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured, the comedic voice of the GOP mentioned millions get medical care...they are just uninsured.

All the GOP leadership has to offer is an argument that (in Mitch's words) we only need to repair 'access and cost' in order to fix our broken system. WTF, what is there besides 'access and cost' when it comes to an insurance plan?

:cuckoo:
Thanks for the heads up ... I'll catch a rerun. Mitch is always good for a giggle.

Our medical insurance system is the greatest and the only thing broken is access and cost. Whew!!!!! Con-whackos like Mitch need to step away from the feed bags.

And which of those will be resolved by the current plans being discussed?
 
Thanks for the heads up ... I'll catch a rerun. Mitch is always good for a giggle.

Our medical insurance system is the greatest and the only thing broken is access and cost. Whew!!!!! Con-whackos like Mitch need to step away from the feed bags.

And which of those will be resolved by the current plans being discussed?

Not expecting a response from the other side on that one. I'll help ya out. The answer would be neither.
 
gawd, I laughed so hard (thank you Mitch McConnell), and if it is true that laughter is the best medicine, I say allow more time on network televison and media for GOP voices.

----

On today's Meet The Press, Senator Mitch McConnell (leader of GOP), was asked about what a few experts said about the US having the 'best' medical care. The Senator replied that there are more experts and that the American public believes we have the best system. :lol: :lol: :lol:

...and in other news the American public thinks Coke is better than Pepsi. :lol:

---

When confronted with the facts that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured, the comedic voice of the GOP mentioned millions get medical care...they are just uninsured.

All the GOP leadership has to offer is an argument that (in Mitch's words) we only need to repair 'access and cost' in order to fix our broken system. WTF, what is there besides 'access and cost' when it comes to an insurance plan?

:cuckoo:

Umm...in health care....innovation, quality....etc...
 
Thanks for the heads up ... I'll catch a rerun. Mitch is always good for a giggle.

Our medical insurance system is the greatest and the only thing broken is access and cost. Whew!!!!! Con-whackos like Mitch need to step away from the feed bags.

And which of those will be resolved by the current plans being discussed?

honestly nobody can say. why? because the plans have not been through the whole process yet. If I were to bet I'd say a compromise is in the making. damn democracy!
 
gawd, I laughed so hard (thank you Mitch McConnell), and if it is true that laughter is the best medicine, I say allow more time on network televison and media for GOP voices.

----

On today's Meet The Press, Senator Mitch McConnell (leader of GOP), was asked about what a few experts said about the US having the 'best' medical care. The Senator replied that there are more experts and that the American public believes we have the best system. :lol: :lol: :lol:

...and in other news the American public thinks Coke is better than Pepsi. :lol:

---

When confronted with the facts that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured, the comedic voice of the GOP mentioned millions get medical care...they are just uninsured.

All the GOP leadership has to offer is an argument that (in Mitch's words) we only need to repair 'access and cost' in order to fix our broken system. WTF, what is there besides 'access and cost' when it comes to an insurance plan?

:cuckoo:

Umm...in health care....innovation, quality....etc...

hmmm,,speaking about an insurance plan and you veer off into the land of innovation and quality? how does an insurance company improve the quality of a medical procedure? how about innovation---when was the last medical innovation that was funded or produced by an insurance company?
 
gawd, I laughed so hard (thank you Mitch McConnell), and if it is true that laughter is the best medicine, I say allow more time on network televison and media for GOP voices.

----

On today's Meet The Press, Senator Mitch McConnell (leader of GOP), was asked about what a few experts said about the US having the 'best' medical care. The Senator replied that there are more experts and that the American public believes we have the best system. :lol: :lol: :lol:

...and in other news the American public thinks Coke is better than Pepsi. :lol:

---

When confronted with the facts that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured, the comedic voice of the GOP mentioned millions get medical care...they are just uninsured.

All the GOP leadership has to offer is an argument that (in Mitch's words) we only need to repair 'access and cost' in order to fix our broken system. WTF, what is there besides 'access and cost' when it comes to an insurance plan?

:cuckoo:

Umm...in health care....innovation, quality....etc...

hmmm,,speaking about an insurance plan and you veer off into the land of innovation and quality? how does an insurance company improve the quality of a medical procedure? how about innovation---when was the last medical innovation that was funded or produced by an insurance company?

You hack....here's the transcript.
RealClearPolitics - Secretary Sebelius and Leader McConnell on "Meet the Press"
MR. GREGORY: And this is what he wrote along with another expert last fall, saying: "It's a myth that America has the best health care in the world. The United States is number one only in one sense, the amount we shell out for health care. We have the most expensive system in the world per capita, but we lag many developed countries on virtually every health statistic you can name"; life expectancy, infant mortality, obesity, death rate from prostate cancer, heart attack recovery. That's the best system in the world?

SEN. McCONNELL: That's one expert. If you look at the surveys and ask the American people what they think, they don't think quality is a problem. They think cost is a problem and access is a problem.

Let's look at access, the people who are uninsured that you mentioned. A better way to begin to deal with that problem is to equalize the tax treatment. Right now if you're running a business and you provide health care for your employees, it's deductible on your corporate tax return. But if you're an individual buying health care on the open market, it's not deductible to you. We ought to equalize the tax treatment. Another cost item we seriously ought to address, that the administration only pays lip service to and some of the proposals kicking around in Congress actually discourage, are these wellness efforts that we've seen on display, for example, at the Safeway company, which through their own efforts have targeted the five biggest categories of preventable disease--smoking, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and lack of exercise--and incentivized their employees to improve their personal behavior in all of those areas and capped their costs. They never mentioned junk lawsuits against doctors and hospitals. We're spending billions every year, billions in junk lawsuits defending, in defensive medicine, defending all these lawsuits. They don't want to do anything about that.
 
Our medical insurance system is the greatest and the only thing broken is access and cost. Whew!!!!! Con-whackos like Mitch need to step away from the feed bags.

And which of those will be resolved by the current plans being discussed?

honestly nobody can say. why? because the plans have not been through the whole process yet. If I were to bet I'd say a compromise is in the making. damn democracy!

Perhaps you can tell us which of the three currently proposed plans in process has a plan for increasing the the number of doctors to meet the increased demand this 'change we can believe in' will bring.
 
And which of those will be resolved by the current plans being discussed?

honestly nobody can say. why? because the plans have not been through the whole process yet. If I were to bet I'd say a compromise is in the making. damn democracy!

Perhaps you can tell us which of the three currently proposed plans in process has a plan for increasing the the number of doctors to meet the increased demand this 'change we can believe in' will bring.

I am not now nor have I ever been a believer in any nonsense like change...either the kind you can believe in or not...so go sit down.

I have no idea as there aren't any final plans yet.
 
honestly nobody can say. why? because the plans have not been through the whole process yet. If I were to bet I'd say a compromise is in the making. damn democracy!

Perhaps you can tell us which of the three currently proposed plans in process has a plan for increasing the the number of doctors to meet the increased demand this 'change we can believe in' will bring.

I am not now nor have I ever been a believer in any nonsense like change...either the kind you can believe in or not...so go sit down.

I have no idea as there aren't any final plans yet.

Assuming you are just being sarcastic, I don't think anyone is opposed to improving the very things McConnell is referring to. It's just that dems are horseshit problem solvers. A government 'option' for insurance won't accomplish either of those things.

And I'm pretty sure you do know that none of the plans out there address the issue, in economic terms, of quantity supplied, because quite frankly that should be the very first thing that is discussed and there hasn't been so much of a peep about it. Before you go criticizing the right for stating the obvious perhaps you should inquire with the dems, the people that want this passed so badly, why they have yet to even identify the obvious.
 
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honestly nobody can say. why? because the plans have not been through the whole process yet. If I were to bet I'd say a compromise is in the making. damn democracy!

Perhaps you can tell us which of the three currently proposed plans in process has a plan for increasing the the number of doctors to meet the increased demand this 'change we can believe in' will bring.

I am not now nor have I ever been a believer in any nonsense like change...either the kind you can believe in or not...so go sit down.

I have no idea as there aren't any final plans yet.

The Republicans actually have a plan, although you wouldn't know that because the Democrats stand up and say "The Republicans should offer a proposal of their own" and the implication is that they haven't and the media grabs onto that, and paraphrases that truism. The truth, though, is the Democrats havent unveiled their plan and we won't know exactly what's in it until it's too late, too many pages to comprehend, and will take platoons of attorneys and staff to decipher.

Here's the Repubublican Plan as it appeared in the Opinion page, and as outlined in the WSJ May 20, almost two months ago:

(When reading this keep in mind that "refundable tax credit" is equivalent to a check deposited in a filer's checking account, and the full amount is for the intended health care subsidy of the filer. They can file a tax return either jointly or individualy, regardless of how small their earnings may be - by the way I have the comments by Senator McConnel and he was completely accurate in his assessment - we just all have to agree to disagree on our points of view on important issue rather than resorting to ridicule, a device of school children; Still thanks to you DevNell for giving it some air it wouldn't have otherwise gotten. . :razz:)

Republican congressional leaders are finally offering a clear alternative to the health-reform plans being developed by the White House and Democrats in Congress. The goals and the rhetoric of both sides are remarkably similar: cover the uninsured, allow people to keep the coverage they have, provide more choices of affordable health insurance, and rein in health costs. But their policy prescriptions are remarkably different.

Democrats are uniting around proposals to vastly expand federal regulation of health insurance, require everyone to have coverage, and compel employers to provide federally prescribed insurance or pay a new tax. A new Medicare-like insurance plan is still being debated, but even if it doesn't make the cut, Congress could regulate its way to a government-dominated market.

Four Republicans in Congress -- Sens. Tom Coburn (Oklahoma) and Richard Burr (North Carolina) and Reps. Paul Ryan (Wisconsin) and Devin Nunes (California) -- will today introduce a bill that moves away from federal centralization. Aptly called the Patients' Choice Act, it provides a path to universal coverage by redirecting current subsidies for health insurance to individuals. It also provides a new safety net that guarantees access to insurance for those with pre-existing conditions.

The nexus of their plan is redirecting the $300 billion annual tax subsidy for employment-based health insurance to individuals in the form of refundable, advanceable tax credits. Families would get $5,700 a year and individuals $2,300 to buy insurance and invest in Health Savings Accounts.

Low-income Americans would get a supplemental debit card of up to $5,000 to help them purchase insurance and pay out-of-pocket costs. They would have an incentive to spend wisely since up to one-fourth of any unspent money in the accounts could be rolled over to the next year. The combination of the refundable tax credit and debit card gives lower-income Americans a way out of the Medicaid ghetto so they can have the dignity of private insurance.

The great majority of Americans with job-based health insurance would see little more than a bookkeeping change with the Patients' Choice plan. But implicit in the policy is the acknowledgment that our system of tying health insurance to the workplace is not working for upwards of 45 million uninsured Americans.

That's a pivotal point in the fight over reform: Will the next health-reform bill lock in a system of job-based health insurance or allow more individual choice and portability to fit a 21st century work force?

Democrats are fretting over how to pay for their plans, which early estimates peg at $1.5 trillion or more over 10 years. Economists at a recent Senate Finance Committee roundtable unanimously supported limiting the virtually invisible $300 billion tax subsidy that workers receive when they get health insurance through their employers. Even Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D., Mont.) said he feels like Willie Sutton: Congress must look at redirecting at least some of this huge subsidy because "that's where the money is."

This is the same proposal John McCain was criticized for during the 2008 presidential campaign. Television ads by the Obama campaign pounded him for "taxing your health insurance."

Employers worry that their contributions toward their workers' health insurance premiums no longer would be recognized as legitimate business expenses. The Republican alternative doesn't touch that. Whether companies offer their workers compensation in the form of health insurance or cash wages, they still can deduct the full cost.

While many Americans are fed up with private insurance, opinion polls consistently show a majority think government-controlled health care would be worse. There are problems in the private insurance market, and the Republican plan takes steps that can help.

States could provide one-stop insurance shopping through new Health Care Exchanges rather than giving the federal government control, as most Democratic plans would do. And it frees up Medicaid money and provides added resources to the states to target additional help to those with disabilities and low incomes. It also calls for auto-enrollment to expand insurance coverage: People will have many options and opportunities to select insurance, but if they don't make an active choice they can be automatically enrolled in private policies financed by the tax credit.

Who will control the system? Doctors and patients, or politicians and regulators? That's the crux of this year's health-care debate. The Republican proposal makes the choice clear.
 
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Our medical insurance system is the greatest and the only thing broken is access and cost. Whew!!!!! Con-whackos like Mitch need to step away from the feed bags.

And which of those will be resolved by the current plans being discussed?

honestly nobody can say. why? because the plans have not been through the whole process yet. If I were to bet I'd say a compromise is in the making. damn democracy!

I recommend that you look at the results that Massachusetts is getting from the Democrat-like healthcare plan.

Advocates promised that the Massachusetts plan would make health insurance more affordable, but according to a Cato study, insurance premiums have been increasing at nearly double the national average: 7.4 percent in 2007, 8 percent to 12 percent in 2008, and an expected 9 percent increase this year. Health insurance in Massachusetts costs an average of $16,897 for a family of four, compared to a national average of $12,700.
The Massachusetts plan incorporates a system of middle-class subsidies called Commonwealth Care to help pay for insurance for families with incomes up to 300 percent of poverty level ($66,150 for a family of four) and also expanded eligibility for Medicaid.
The costs to the taxpayers are rising, too, and one tax increase has not satisfied the appetite of the hungry plan. The prospect of huge deficits has elicited discussion of cuts in reimbursements to providers and the imposition of a "global budget," which is a euphemism for rationing.
Massachusetts Health Care: A Model Not to Copy


It takes three weeks longer to see a medical specialist in Boston than in any other metropolitan area in the country, according to a study by Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, a physician recruiting and consulting company based in Texas.
More than 95 percent of the Bay State’s population is insured, as state law requires residents to get coverage and prove they have it. The Merritt, Hawkins researchers note health insurance “doesn’t guarantee a quick visit to the doctor.”
The average wait time for an appointment with a doctor in many specialty areas is 50 days, according to the study, with the state’s expansion of subsidized health insurance serving as the main catalyst driving up demand for care.
Wait Times Signal Problem with Massachusetts ‘Model’ - by Whitney Stewart - Health Care News
 
When confronted with the facts that there are millions of Americans who are uninsured, the comedic voice of the GOP mentioned millions get medical care...they are just uninsured.

All the GOP leadership has to offer is an argument that (in Mitch's words) we only need to repair 'access and cost' in order to fix our broken system. WTF, what is there besides 'access and cost' when it comes to an insurance plan?

:cuckoo:

So what if some people are uninsured?

We already have entitlements in place for those people. you have heard of SCHIP and medicare/medicaid haven't you?

Do you realize that the number of "uninsured" now up to 50 million by the current political count includes people who are eligible for SCHIP and Medicare/medicaid but have not enrolled?

Do you realize that a large portion of the "uninsured" are not American citizens?

Do you realize that many "uninsured" make over 75K a year and could afford at least basic health insurance if they chose to buy it?

When you boil it all down there are probably 8-10 million people in this country that are actually uninsured.

So about 3%

yeah it's a fucking crisis worthy of multi-trillion dollar government programs.........NOT.
 

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