Student-Loan Bill Also Passed W/ HCR

Final Student-Loan Bill Offers Aid to Colleges and Students by Paul Basken The Chronicle of Higher Education
The legislation would end the bank-based system of distributing federally subsidized student loans, and instead would have the Education Department give all loan money directly to colleges and their students.........
.... because the reconciliation process can be used only once in this year's budget cycle, Democrats held back the student-loan bill while they finished work on the health-care bill, in the event that both measures needed the reconciliation process and would therefore be merged into one bill. That is how the final strategy developed this week.

House Approves Student-Loan Bill
By Paul Basken The Chronicle of Higher Education

President Obama speaks on health insurance reform

On March 8th, 2010 President Obama spoke at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania on the subject of health care reform. He made several great points like:
folks in Washington DC are obsessed with the sport of politics...... But out here, and all across America, folks are worried about bigger things. .....You want people in Washington to spend a little less time worrying about our jobs, a little more time worrying about your jobs.
he also told his audience how the health care reform he is proposing would change three things about the current health care system.
First, it would end the worst practices of insurance companies. Within the first year of signing health care reform, thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions would suddenly be able to purchase health insurance for the very first time in their lives, or the first time in a long time.
This year, insurance companies will be banned forever from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions.
This year, they will be banned from dropping your coverage when you get sick.
And they will no longer be able to arbitrarily and massively hike your premiums ......

Watch a video of this presentation or read the transcript Remarks by the President on Health Insurance Reform The White House Office of the Press Secretary

Do Something!

Obama to appeal for public support on health care
AP on Google News by Julie Pace
... With the fate of his signature legislative initiative far from certain, President Barack Obama is taking his last-ditch push for health care reform on the road.
In a speech Monday in Philadelphia, Obama will try to persuade the public to back his plan to remake the nation's health care system, while also urging uneasy lawmakers to cast a "final vote" for a massive reform bill in an election year. ....


There are some folks who think we Democrats lack energy. Mr. Grover Norquist was recently quoted: "Where is the energy? Anywhere, on the Dem. side? The D's haven't been able to demonstrate that, even with the paid union guys (at rallies). Why? I think that the people who thought it was exciting to vote for Obama because he was the first African-American (president), because they couldn't stand Bush, because they wanted change and difference, they looked up and (now) they are thoroughly uninterested in what Obama is doing. I don't know if they are in opposition, But they are not supportive." Feb. 6, 2010 National Journal subscriber

Mr. Norquist is wrong to say I lost interest but he is right to suggest I'm not doing enough to bring about the CHANGE I voted for. I didn't realize I was still needed. I thought my vote for Obama was enough. Is Mr. Norquist also talking about you?

There are many issues this President has promised to tackle; health care, economy, jobs, climate change, the way our government works. Right now the focus is on health care reform and the Dems need our help. So I want to urge you to think about what you might do. Maybe you could start by writing a letter to your Congressman and your Senators asking them to be supportive of health care reform. Even if you believe your representatives have their mind made up to vote NO, write anyway. Because the opposition seem to believe all Americans oppose health care reform and they need to hear from some of us who want to see a health care reform bill passed by this Congress. I think we ought to remind them that some folks in their district want to see health care reform.

Doing something is better than doing nothing.

How close are we?

from : Kathleen Sebelius Secretary of Health and Human Services
.....There is a threat to health care coverage in the country, but it isn't reform:
it's doing nothing. Rising costs of insurance premiums are pushing more and
more people into the ranks of the uninsured........


The President discusses all of this in his Weekly Address this morning:

Consumer Reports Health Blog

Consumer Reports Health Blog: Health-care reform: Would allowing people to shop for out-of-state insurance lower health costs for all?

Remember the saying 'when a cow lays down in the pasture it will rain'?
Q. -What happens if some cows are standing and some are laying down?
A. - Might rain - might not.
Now apply that idea to the buy out-of-state option being discussed.
The answer is, hurts some, helps others.

The Public Health Option - round 10 - 11 or 12?

Are the Democrats really gonna do it or are they toying with us again?

Reid hints he could back public option by Jordan Fabian in The Hill
Feb. 19, 2010 .....Republicans have scoffed at the renewed push for a public plan, saying it is out of step with what the majority of Americans want...

Should Republicans from gerrymandered districts speak for the majority of Americans?

Congress.org - News : What to expect at the health summit

Congress.org - News : What to expect at the health summit

Scuttle? or Full Speed Ahead?

One year ago my hopes were higher. I expected much from the Democratic leaders. Never in my wildest dreams did I figure these decent men and women would dither away their opportunity to be part of a historic 111th Congress.

Democrats believe in government and the 49% of Americans who agree with them are the strength of the Democratic National Party. We are the backbone, muscle, feet, voice and brains of the party. It is not by coincidence we have chosen to align with this party. We believe the core of government is the people. We believe that by standing together we can conqueor every adversity that comes our way.

I still believe those things. I also believe my ideological belief in government is mine and the Democratic leaders great weakness. Democratic leaders want to help our government work. Everything Republicans and conservatives do is geared toward making government NOT WORK. From his point of view, Bush thought Brownie was doing a heck of a job.

Look at this Gallup poll and tell me what is there to fear? Democrats have solid numbers. National Average: 49% lean Democrat. 20.7% describe their political views as Liberal.

And yet you dither. Democratic leaders can not make up their collective minds. They are too concerned about their image. About the results of their next election. For some reason y’all have decided that doing nothing beats getting it done. Speaking only for myself I must tell you how disgusting your attitude has become. I say do
Whatever it takes.
If that includes reconciliation, if you have to take a cloture vote on every measure, or recess appointments, so be it. Go all out with maximum effort and win or lose, be the Congress audacious enough to try.

Reconciliation in the Senate Sarah A. Binder - Brookings

Truth and Reconciliation: Sidestepping the FilibusterBrookings
Thomas E. Mann, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies
Norman J. Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Molly Reynolds, Senior Research Coordinator, Governance Studies

Reconciliation US News.com

Obama calls for talks with GOP on health care, then vote by Congress CNN Feb. 4, 2010

Recess Appointments Eyed To Surmount GOP Filibusters of Nominees CQ Today Midday Update Feb. 4, 2010
Under a recess appoint, President Obama could install nominees of his choosing without Senate confirmation. But they could serve only until the end of next year.

Mass. Saved Their Health Care But What About Us?

On Tuesday, when Scott Brown won the Senate seat for Massachusetts the pundits said it was all over for the health care bill. I kind of let out my breath and thought - maybe that isn't such a bad thing. I was willing to go along with the Senate plan, but I really believed Howard Dean was right to suggest the plan be scrapped.
Today, some of the headlines say that the president might go for a scaled back overhaul that would attract bipartisan support. Thats OK - as long as we don't end up with a third rate substitute. President Obama should take a close look at the Massachusetts health care plan. That plan garnered bipartisan support. And the voters love it so much after living with it for 4 years they were willing to elect a Republican to protect it.
I want President Obama to know if he believes that Scott Brown's election reflects how America feels about health care legislation- then he would be wrong. The Mass. election only reflects the protective nature of the voters. They like their insurance and they did not want to change. That is the message President Obama needs to convey to everyone.
Read this for a good example of overstated conclusions about the Massachusetts Senate election.

In her January 21st column, Froma Harrop chose a more moderate approach.

Raccoon Tales
Raccoon
why on earth did you climb so high?
you could have jumped off anytime.
did you think you could touch the stars?
climbing and climbing
when you got to the top you went too far
bzzzzzt bzzzzzzzt zap you're dead
like the current healthcare overhaul bill.

Ten Health Insurance Reforms

1. Creates Health Insurance Exchange which = competition which will help drive down cost.

2. Places $ cap on the $ insurance companies can force us to pay in expenses and deductibles;

3. No more lifetime limits.

4. Provides premium assistance. Congressional Budget Office. Letter to Senator Bayh. November 30, 2009 estimates
under reform, average premiums will be less than half of what they would be without reform.

5. If premiums continue to rise faster than wages employees will take home less $ and employers may have to drop health coverage. Health Insurance Reform will lower the costs through improved care coordination, reducing medical errors and encourage more efficient health plans - which will increase wages and create jobs by lowering costs.

6. Simplifying paper work will save billions of $.

7. Reform will ensure we have portable Health Insurance options. Health Insurance Exchange will bring families and plans together into one organized marketplace.

8. Small businesses will receive tax credits to help them provide Health Insurance. Improved efficiency will decrease costs.

9. Health Insurance Reform will allow all young adults to remain on their families plan until age 26.

10. Health Insurance Reform will end insurance discrimination based on medical history.

Health Reform.gov

Sen. Debbie Stabenow online Resource Center

The Menace of Medical Coding

If you know a woman who has received a breast cancer diagnosis, you might want to alert her to this issue. It is a very common problem.

Per my insurance contract with Aetna, I am supposed to get one free mammogram a year. I have never asked for more than one mammogram a year, except the year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. This is the second year Aetna has denied payment and the billing agent for my doctor's office told me EVERY insurance company follows this procedure. Think of the irony, a woman has had cancer and her insurance company doesn't encourage her to have a yearly check up. What a crock...

My insurance company, Aetna, will NOT pay for my once a year mammogram because my doctor does not bill the costs as a “routine diagnosis”. Instead, my doctor bills the costs as a “medical diagnosis” because he has treated me for breast cancer. I was told by his billing agent that the coding “routine diagnosis” can only be used for patients who have never been diagnosed with cancer. So my doctor has no alternative. ?? I understand this coding interpretation is a very common practice.

Women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer are already frightened and naturally cautious. However, the menace of medical coding prevents many of us from our rightful contract obligations. All the while the insurance company can hide behind the official way of doing something.

I was able to pay for my mammogram, this year (and last year too btw) and I am thankful for that. I hope Congress will address this coding problem in the health care debate. It is not fair for me and this situation is even more unfair for those women who can not afford to pay for a yearly mammogram - after they have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

It just isn't right so I wrote to my members of Congress.

Health Insurance Reform Reality Check

Get the facts about the stability and security you get from health insurance reform

YES to health care reform sometime in my lifetime

Back in March, Karen Tumulty of Time Magazine published a story about the problem her brother, Patrick, who resides in Texas, was having with health insurance. Titled, The Health-Care Crisis Hits Home Karen wrote that her brother had been purchasing short term health insurance for 6 years. In 2008 Patrick's insurer dropped his coverage based on results of a medical exam Patrick had taken during the previous 6 months, which disqualified him he was told because he now had a pre-existing medical condition.

I didn't know much about short term health insurance so I called my agent to inquire if I could buy a short term policy here in Ohio. I was told I could buy such a policy, but only twice. I could purchase insurance for a term of 2 days to 6 months, and I could do that one more time before the company would have to sell me a long term health insurance policy. So it seems that I am protected by Ohio laws in a way that Patrick Tumulty was denied because Texas doesn't have such regulation.

So this morning as I was watching my favorite show on C-Span, Washington Journal, I was dismayed to hear Max Pappas from FreedomWorks express the opinion that health care reform needed to enable us to buy our health insurance across state lines. I said to the TV, "NO WAY buster, we don't need less regulation in the insurance industry that is exactly why the banks are in such a mess. I hate to think what a bollix we would have if Congress tried to override state insurance laws. Health care reform would never get passed and maybe that is the point.

**** BTW FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey also serves as a senior policy advisor for DLA Piper - a Washington law firm that received over a million dollars from the pharmaceutical company Medicines Co. Open Secrets.org