● Massa under investigation for allegedly groping male staffers... ● From Greece, an economic cautionary tale for the U.S.... ● Obama wants to Overhaul Immigration System. What's Next? The People?... ● Are unemployment benefits no longer temporary?... ● Analysis finds uneasy mix in auto industry and regulation... ● U.S. reportedly gives billions to firms doing business with Iran... ● Key vacancies give Obama a chance to steer financial reform... ● Ethics clouds over Rangel and Paterson are the talk of political Harlem... ● Thin wall separates lobbyist contributions and earmarks... ● Democratic activists channel anger into Arkansas Senate race...
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When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; When the government fears the people, there is liberty.  ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

Entries Tagged as 'Healthcare Industry'

Obama & Democratic Leaders – Pass Bill Now, Fix Later. Abortion is Small Price to Pay.

March 6th, 2010 · Congress, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Greed, Healthcare Industry, Immigration, Insurance Industry, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within

Democratic leaders working to win over abortion opponents for health-care reform

By Alec MacGillis Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 5, 2010

As President Obama makes his final plea for a health-care overhaul, Democratic leaders in Congress are embarking on a delicate strategy to win over abortion opponents, a gambit that could determine whether the legislation becomes law.

The effort depends on convincing as many as a dozen antiabortion Democrats in the House that abortion language in the Senate bill is more stringent than initially portrayed. But Democratic leaders must be careful that they don’t drive away abortion rights supporters who are increasingly concerned that the measure would prove severely restrictive.

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Five reasons to worry about health-care reform

February 23rd, 2010 · Democrats, Federal Spending, Healthcare Industry, Insurance Industry, Obama's Scheme

Jonathan Chait makes the case for continued optimism on health-care reform. I basically agree: I view American politics through a structural lens, and almost all of the relevant forces are pushing Democrats toward completing a bill. But in the interest of full disclosure, here’s what worries me:

(1) The collective action problem: Even though passing a bill leaves all Democrats better off, voting for a bill leaves some Democrats worse off. There are members of the Democratic Party who desperately need a bill to pass, but also feel that they need to be able to vote against that bill. These people are probably going to lose their elections one way or the other, and virtually none of them seem willing to simply admit that and do an enormous amount of good for the American people before Democrats inevitably and predictably lose their unsustainably large majority.

(2) Individuals are not rational: Which means predicting what they’ll do based on the “this makes overwhelming sense” criteria is not a foolproof strategy.

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Obama embraces Senate approach in new Government health-care take-over

February 22nd, 2010 · Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Healthcare Industry, Insurance Industry, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within

By Michael D. Shear and Dan Balz Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 22, 2010; 10:00 AM

President Obama made it clear Monday morning that he intends to make a final push for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s health care and insurance system, offering a new health care plan that largely embraces the approach already taken by the U.S. Senate.

The plan, which went live on the White House Web site at 10 a.m., rejects repeated calls from Republicans to scrap Democratic efforts from last year and start over. Instead, it attempts to merge the Senate legislation with its counterpart in the House in ways that would address some of the most controversial provisions in the stalled bill.

Among the changes Obama seeks is a delay of the tax on high-end insurance plans until 2018, an end to the special Medicaid deal that negotiators had cut for Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson (D) and new federal authority over health care insurance rate increases. The plan does not call for a public option health plan despite pressure from progressives in Obama’s Democratic party to do so.

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Obama makes impassioned plea for health-care overhaul at a town hall in Nevada

February 20th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government Control, Healthcare Industry, Immigration, Insurance Industry, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes

By Michael D. Shear Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 20, 2010

LAS VEGAS — Residents of this struggling tourist mecca vented their frustrations about health care at a town hall meeting Friday with President Obama, giving the president a fresh opportunity to make an impassioned plea for the overhaul effort now stalled in Congress.

Obama appeared with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), a key ally who faces a tough reelection battle this year. In a city that has deeply felt the economic decline, Obama argued that he and Reid are focused on the economy, jobs and housing.

But the participants he called on repeatedly brought Obama back to the subject of health care — a topic he seemed eager to discuss just days before he hosts a gathering of Republican and Democratic leaders, a televised summit aimed at restarting health-care debate.

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Calif. insurer’s rate increases draw attention of federal government

February 9th, 2010 · Ethics, Greed, Healthcare Industry, Insurance Industry

By Alec MacGillis – Monday, February 8, 2010; 4:55 PM

President Obama’s secretary of health and human services fired off a sharply worded letter to a California insurer Monday, demanding to know why it is raising rates for individual policyholders by as much as 39 percent.

The unusual salvo offers a reminder that, even as health-care legislation lies in limbo in Washington, the battle over surging health care costs continues in other venues.

Anthem Blue Cross of California sent out notices earlier this month to many of its roughly 800,000 holders of individual policies, informing them that the costs of their plans would sharply increase to cover rising health-care costs. The increases do not affect employer-provided plans in the state.

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Republicans may opt out of Obama’s health-care summit

February 9th, 2010 · Accountability, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Healthcare Industry, Insurance Industry, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US

By Michael D. Shear -Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Leading House Republicans raised the prospect Monday night that they may decline to participate in President Obama’s proposed health-care summit if the White House chooses not to scrap the existing reform bills and start over.

In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) expressed frustration about reports that Obama intends to put the Democratic bills on the table for discussion at the summit, which would be held Feb. 25.

“If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate,” Boehner and Cantor wrote.

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Obama suggests extending debate as way to pass health reform

February 6th, 2010 · Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Healthcare Industry, Insurance Industry, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within, Treason

By Shailagh Murray Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 6, 2010

President Obama sketched out an alternative approach to passing health-care legislation that would enlist Republicans and potentially extend debate into the spring, a strategy seemingly in conflict with the fast-track talks among Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Speaking to members of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday night, Obama vowed to continue his year-long quest to overhaul the nation’s health-care system, to curb rising costs and extend coverage to millions of families and individuals who don’t have it.

But he suggested a different way forward than the partisan, closed-door dealmaking underway between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.).

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Obama wants to side step Constitution as a Dangerous Road Block.

February 4th, 2010 · Congress, Deception, Democrats, Ethics, Federal Spending, Government Control, Greed, Healthcare Industry, Immigration, Insurance Industry, Non-Transparency, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes

Obama suggests Republicans could have a role in health-care bill

By Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 4, 2010

President Obama urged congressional Democrats on Wednesday “to finish the job on health care,” but amid tentative signs of bipartisan outreach on Capitol Hill, he suggested that Republicans could be enlisted to play at least some role in negotiating a final bill.

For two weeks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) have struggled for a way to salvage health-care legislation that had appeared on the verge of final passage until a special election in Massachusetts deprived Democrats of their filibuster-proof Senate majority.

Reid and Pelosi have yet to agree on a plan, and many Democrats are irritated that the protracted haggling over health-care reform is overshadowing progress on other legislation, including an $81 billion job-creation bill that Senate leaders plan to announce Thursday. The dispute has created tension between Democrats in the House and in the Senate and has revealed increasing frustration within the party toward Obama, who pushed Congress to produce a series of monumental bills last year but has not signed any of them into law.

In the coming days, Reid and Pelosi are expected to confer with the president to determine whether Democrats can pass the existing health-care bill or will be forced to start anew.

Speaking to Senate Democrats at their retreat Wednesday morning, Obama brushed aside calls from party moderates to shelve health-care reform at least until after the November midterm elections.

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Virginia Senate bills say no to requiring health insurance

February 2nd, 2010 · Democrats, Dissention, Government, Healthcare Industry, Insurance Industry, States

By Rosalind S. Helderman Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 2, 2010

RICHMOND — Virginia’s Democratic-controlled state Senate passed measures Monday that would make it illegal to require individuals to purchase health insurance, a direct challenge to the party’s efforts in Washington to reform health care.

The bills, a top priority of Virginia’s “tea party” movement, were approved 23 to 17 as five Democrats who represent swing areas of the state joined all 18 Republicans in the chamber in backing the legislation.

The votes came less than a week after President Obama implored Democrats in Washington not to abandon their health-care efforts, urging them in his State of the Union address not to “run for the hills” on the issue.

But the action in Virginia, a state that backed Obama in 2008, could indicate that the president is failing to reassure members of his own party that current reform efforts remain worthwhile. The votes also suggest that Democrats on the state level fear that supporting health-care reform could be politically damaging, and their action could put pressure on members of the state’s congressional delegation who have been behind the effort.

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Obama’s struggle with health-care reform echoes Clintons’ failure in 1994

February 2nd, 2010 · Congress, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Dissention, Ethics, Federal Spending, Healthcare Industry, Insurance Industry, Money Lost, Obama's Scheme, Selling Out the US, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within

By Abigail Trafford- Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Obamacare in trouble? I’ve seen this story before. It may not end in the way the Clinton effort imploded in 1994. But a look back helps answer this question: How does health-care reform go from being an apple pie issue with voters to a lightning rod for discontent?

Here are a few reasons, gleaned from the past, that may help explain Obamacare’s troubles.

Time bomb

The Obama and Clinton initiatives had very different strategies. Hillary Clinton and her team of wonks labored in secrecy to design a perfect bill; early on, they dissed members of Congress. They also dissed the major players in health: insurers, hospital and physician associations, and drug manufacturers.

This time, the Obama administration did the reverse. The White House turned to Congress to design the bill. Meanwhile, the president courted the health-care industry and won over organizations that had opposed the Clinton plan. Chip Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals, pledged his support: “From my standpoint, we’re all on the train together,” he told Newsweek. “And I expect to ride it all the way into a signing ceremony.”

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