60 Members of Congress Say “No Public Plan, No Conference” »
Posted By Spadecaller 3 months, 1 week ago in Political NewsThe 57 members of the House who signed a letter saying they would not vote for a bill without a public option have added three more to their number -- Robert Wexler, Emanuel Cleaver and Gregorio Sablan. They wrote a letter to Kathleen Sebelius today making it crystal clear that if there is no public plan coming out of a conference bill, they won't vote for it.
“We stand in strong opposition to your statement that the public option is "not the essential element" of comprehensive reform. The opportunity to improve access to healthcare is a onetime opportunity. Americans deserve reform that is real-not smoke and mirrors. We cannot rely solely on the insurance companies' good faith efforts to provide for our constituents. A robust public option is essential, if we are to ensure that all Americans can receive healthcare that is accessible, guaranteed and of high-quality.”
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beavith13 months, 1 week ago
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i'm surprised that they announced that they stand for institutional paralysis.
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i would've thought this stuff would have been worked out in committee. oh right. under Pelosi's leadership, there is no leadership. its a democratic free for all...
taken for granted? they've succesfully joined a 'beating their heads against the wall' contest.
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engineer3 months, 1 week ago
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This sucks!!! The thieving HMOs and big pharma have one. THe profit increase in medical increased 428% between 2002 and 2007. Big pharma makes 90 billion per year profit.
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The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a public power generating system run by the Federal government to keep power companies in check. They have done and are still doing it efficiently.
I know the idiots will neg me.. But that's OK. Unfortunately they vote!!-

rbiii3 months, 1 week ago
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"Big pharma makes 90 billion per year profit. "
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What's the margin? Is it in the 20-30% of revenue range? Is it outside the normal profit margins in other industries?
And you keep talking about the TVA, maybe you should read this:
http://www.reason.com/news/show/131996.html
Although the TVA no longer receives congressional appropriations, it continues to receive large subsidies. The TVA pays none of the federal, state, and local taxes that private businesses pay. A 1993 study by Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett, a consulting firm retained by investor-owned utilities, estimated that annual cost-of-capital subsidies exceeded $1.2 billion, including the taxes that the TVA avoided. As a government-backed entity similar to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the TVA can borrow money cheaper than private businesses. Currently, the TVA has about $26 billion of debt.
Moreover, the TVA doesn't have to incur the costs of complying with myriad federal, state, and local laws. Energy consultant Dick Munson reported that the TVA is exempt from 137 federal laws, such as workplace safety and hydroelectric licensing. The TVA can set electricity rates without oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has jurisdiction over private utilities. The Securities & Exchange Commission has only limited jurisdiction to oversee the TVA. On top of that, the TVA is exempt from federal antitrust laws and many federal environmental regulations. It's also exempt from some 165 laws and regulations in Alabama and hundreds more laws and regulations in other states in which it operates. When the TVA wants to acquire more assets, it doesn't have to haggle, because unlike private businesses, it has the power of eminent domain. More than 15,000 people were expelled from their property to make way for the TVA.
That's a shining example of how the government PREVENTS competition and subsidizes enterprises that would otherwise GO OUT OF BUSINESS. -

cherev3 months, 1 week ago
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"Unfortunately they vote!!"
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What would you do to all of us if you could, Engineer? Deny us our right to vote? Ship us off for "re-education"? Or gas us and burn the bodies?
I don't believe in calling leftists "nazis" but I do enjoy it when they provide such an easy opportunity to expose their way of thinking.
So thank you, Engineer. It's because of the thinking of "people" like you that we on the right cherish our Second Amendment rights. -
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all2funComment removed: Hard Banned
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Engnr3 months, 1 week ago
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The Obamanation Plan:
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Fact: The British Health Care Service is the largest health care system in the world with over 1.3 million employees. Most of the then are administrators. This makes them the 3rd or 5th largest employer in the world.
How much bigger will the American Health Care System be? To be on par with the British system we are looking at 7.5 million, making it the largest organization in the world and have access to all your personal data, bank accounts and taxes. It is important to realize that an organization like this is not a democracy it is a dictatorship. Don’t follow orders and you are looking for a job.
That should say something to you.
President Obama will appoint “his man” to be in charge of this organization and I believe that they will focus on hiring Acorn and SEIU members to fill many of the positions. Both of these organizations are currently under investigation for illegal activities. This will create massive employment, credited to President Obama, but in 2013, after the election, when private plans can no longer accept new members, (HR3200 Section 102), they will have to start laying off employees and we will have massive unemployment and your health care will be provided by Acorn and SEIU. This should scare the heck out of you, it does me.
On the surface it appears that President Obama and the Dems in Congress have the best intentions for us, but underneath we get the largest socialist program run by his buddies in the world.
Bill H.R.3200 Universal Health Care MUST BE DEFEATED AT ANY COST!!
ANY COST!!
So the Obamanation plan is simply this: Nationalize Health Care and steal the business for his friends. This is exactly what Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Castro in Cuba did to their countrymen.
Free Health Care sounds great until you find out how much it costs.-

DarkWizard3 months, 1 week ago
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Engnr,
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That was a very nice rant, but you failed to mention the flip side of your argument. How much is NOT having health care reform destroying our democracy and how much is it costing us?
Not only that, the future projections for an unreformed health care system will quickly escalate to a point where premiums will have to be increased to accommodate for lost customers and to appease profit margins. This model will accelerate as unemployment continues to rise and puts a wider strain on businesses, families, and individuals.
I know people who work with health care professionals and with insurance companies, and even they are appalled at the amount of profit built into contracts. These robber barons pay themselves right off the top.
How do you reconcile defeating universal health care at any cost with the REAL costs of not reforming health care?
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Engnr3 months, 1 week ago
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Myths why we need Universal Health Care
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Myth: 50 to 60 million people do not have access to health care.
Truth: In almost every city and county there is 1 or more free health care clinic(s), so everyone has help when they need it. Contact your local health department or http://www.freemedicalcamps.com/
Myth: The Universal Health care plan will stop illegals from using the Emergency Rooms as primary care.
Truth: Although most illegals do not have much education, they are not stupid and have enough sense to not register with a government agency knowing it will be used to deport them. So they will continue to use the ER. -

simonsez3 months, 1 week ago
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Emergency rooms are still mainly gunshot wounds, stabbings, overdoses, major accidents, heart attacks and other self-inflicted problems, most of which happen late at night when nothing else is open.
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Our county has multiple offices that care for indigents and tons of children under Medicaid. -
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