This Is What The Republicans Yearn To Go Back To?

"Access, affordability and insurance complexity are often worse in the United States compared to 10 other countries:"

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/In-the-Literature/2013/Nov/Access-Affordability-and-Insurance.aspx

"The vast majority (75%) of US adults said their health system needs to undergo fundamental changes or be rebuilt completely."

And yet the Republicans seem to like our very broken system! What a shame!

While Republicans advocate repeal of President Obama’s sweeping health care reforms, Democrats are pulling out all the stops to build support for the legislation. And the president’s party has a not-so-secret weapon at its disposal: a network of well-funded academics and researchers working to discredit the existing health care system. The Commonwealth Fund, a liberal think tank headed by a former Democratic staffer, leads the effort.

Typical of the Commonwealth Fund is a recent study claiming that the U.S. health care system ranks last when compared with seven industrialized countries. It’s just the latest in a string of policy studies from organizations that want to see a European-style, government-run health care system brought to these shores. Democratic politicians and their allies then use those studies to bolster the case for dramatic reforms.

“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: How the Performance of the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally” was widely reported. National Public Radio warned: “U.S. Spends the Most on Health Care, Yet Gets Least.” The Week asked if American health care was “Worst in the World?” The Los Angeles Times decided to entice readers with, “U.S. is No. 1 in a key area of healthcare. Guess which one.” Answer: spending.

In all this coverage, did anyone in the mainstream media raise serious questions about the study’s assumptions or methodology? Or delve into the organization behind it?

No, and no. Of course, it’s not as if these groups actually hide their leanings. Karen Davis, who was an economics professor before becoming president of the Commonwealth Fund, served as deputy assistant secretary for health policy in the Department of Health and Human Services for all four years of the Carter administration. She advocates a Canadian-style single-payer health care system. And under her leadership, the Commonwealth Fund has published a steady stream of studies that tout the joys and efficiencies of government-run health care systems.

Her agenda in the Obamacare debate? In a president’s report, Davis suggested that the Commonwealth Fund had “marshaled its resources this year to produce timely and rigorous work that helped lay the groundwork for the historic Affordable Care Act, signed by President Obama in March 2010.”

To that end, the “Mirror, Mirror” study explains that it is judging the health care systems of seven countries based “on five dimensions of a high-performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives.” Sounds more like an online dating promo. Scratch beneath the surface and consider that last criterion: healthy lives. American health care gets marked down heavily because Americans are more likely to shoot up, drink up and eat up—not good qualities from a medical point of view, but hardly reflective of the work of our doctors and nurses.

Or what about “equity”? Whereas scholarly comparisons use objective data, the Commonwealth Fund study embraces mostly subjective values, with “equity” being the most indefinable. For left-wing groups, an equitable health care system is the highest goal, which is why the left rejoiced when President Obama nominated and shortly thereafter recess-appointed Dr. Donald Berwick to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. One of his oft-quoted statements (“Any health care funding plan that is just, equitable, civilized and humane must​—​must—redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and the less fortunate”) sounds a lot like the criteria for the Commonwealth Fund study.

But how about cancer survival rates? Or access to the latest technology or the newest medicines? Or where the cutting-edge research and development is occurring? Commonwealth Fund studies don’t ask such questions.


http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/last-credibility

The "commonwealth fund" … That sounds like George Costanza's fake Festivus charity!

News Buzzard wrote:"Access, affordability and insurance complexity are often worse in the United States compared to 10 other countries:"

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/In-the-Literature/2013/Nov/Access-Affordability-and-Insurance.aspx

"The vast majority (75%) of US adults said their health system needs to undergo fundamental changes or be rebuilt completely."

And yet the Republicans seem to like our very broken system! What a shame!

If we could go back to the way it was, there would be 5 million + MORE Americans insured right now.

The left keeps claiming the Republicans didn’t have a plan, well yes they did.  It’s just another lie from the left being told over and over again.

The Republican plans use capitalism (in this case increased competition in the healthcare insurance market to drive costs down).  
Obamacare employs corporatism (subsidizing insurance companies with tax payer money, of course that will bend the cost curve UP).
Right now the Obamacare failure is affecting roughly 3% of the population (those making generally more than 250% of poverty and younger) who get insurance on the exchanges.

3% is around 10 million people getting rates jacked.. There are about 15 million getting insurance on the individual market. Roughly 50% are expected to get some type of subsidy from tax payers.

It is not hard to see why people are angry, especially those making over 400% of poverty that will pay even more.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Wait till next year (if Obamacare is still around) when business cannot absorb the higher costs. Businesses who used to give generous subsidize healthcare for employee dependents will start cutting back because they are only required to give affordable healthcare to employee only. Those same employees used to be able to get insurance on the individual market for their non-employed spouses and kids for affordable prices.

Since most prices on the new exchanges are much higher compare to 2013 for almost all people under age 50. These employees are screwed.  They cannot even get subsidies so they have to pay full price for their dependents.

This will add another 10-15 million getting screwed.

By my math that's now 25 million "losers" in the ACA.

Now how many people will Obamacare cover?  I have yet to see a figure near 25 Million.

Our “very broken system” looks like Shangri-La compared to the mess we have at the moment.

OL  your scenario only works if EVERY American is required to have healthcare.  It does not work in the current system of overpriced health premiums and insurance companies denying coverage for treatment (Sarah Palin's death panels already exist) and denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.  Those people are left on their own to pay for health care out of their own pockets, go into bankruptcy, or die.

Republicans came up with the idea of Obamacare, and I am not just talking about Romneycare.  But once the president and democrats embraced it the Mitch McConnell mantra of opposing everything the president proposes kicked in.

I think it was Jimmy Fallon that went out onto the street and asked people if they support or oppose Obamacare and whether they support or opposed the Affordable Care Act.  Granted it's entertainment but he did not have any trouble finding people who oppose Obamacare while at the same time supporting the Affordable Care Act.  

To break it down even further, a poll by Forbes Magazine shows most American's do want to give Obamacare a chance to work because they do know if it fails we go back to the same system we have now, which does not work very well and a report in The Nation takes that breakdown of polling questions even further.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2013/09/30/new-poll-only-one-third-of-americans-support-repealing-defunding-or-delaying-obamacare/

http://www.thenation.com/blog/176744/poll-debunks-media-claims-most-americans-back-obamacare-or-want-it-expanded

Another report shows some of the most popular aspects of Obamacare are also parts of the law that are getting the LEAST press coverage and people are unaware that the provisions are part of the law.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/22/obamacares-most-popular-provisions-are-its-least-well-known/

And finally when people are asked about specific parts of the law, guess what, they support it!  Here is an article from the LA Times using Kaiser Family Foundation polling numbers

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/01/business/la-fi-mh-obamacare-20131001

I do not anticipate contributing to this site again in the future.  There is very little posted about Lake Winnipesaukee which is what I looked for in this site and quite frankly I am not interested in most of your political views.  Just as a parting note for those of you that did not 'get' my Moonie reference...the Washington Times is owned and operated by the Unification Church which was formed by Rev Sun Young Moon, the man who stated he wanted to take over the world and impose his religion on America.

Admin, if you'd like to remove my name and login, please feel free.

Bye … Bye

The Republicans are also deniers of some very simple math. Obamacare is here to stay. There is nothing they can do about repealing it, at least until Jan of 2017 when a new President is sworn in. If it's Hillary, Obamacare will be here throughout her presidency. If it's not Hillary, Obamacare will be here to stay anyway. Republicans like to re-write history by proclaiming that Obamacare was passed through reconciliation. That is not true! It was passed with 60 votes in the Senate and then passed by a majority of the House. The Republicans would need 60 votes in the Senate, a majority in the House and a Republican President to repeal it. Sooner or later the Republicans are going to realize that they should stop stomping their feet like a little child and grow up!

The Democrats own obamacare all by themselves. Chances are you will be singing a different tune after the midterm elections. Wait until the employer mandate kicks in.

The midterms don't mean a hill of beans to me. Obamacare is going to be very popular by the election of 2016, and the Republicans should be much more worried about immigration reform than flailing about like little children over Obamacare. Apparently you still don't get the math!

With Common Core 2 + 2 can = 6.

News Buzzard wrote:The midterms don't mean a hill of beans to me. Obamacare is going to be very popular by the election of 2016, and the Republicans should be much more worried about immigration reform than flailing about like little children over Obamacare. Apparently you still don't get the math!

Rasmussen now has Obamacare at 38% negative; that would be a FULL 20 points net negative for those keeping score.  
Ironically, 95% of the Political Class still has a favorable opinion.

Now maybe you want to go down with likes of Obama, Reid and Pelosi on the SS Obamacare, but it appears most people are heading for the lifeboats.

This is no longer about partisan politics; this is about a law that cannot work because the fundamentally flawed.

The basis of Obamacare is to have young healthy people pay into a system to subsidize the sick, poor and elderly.  Well the young and healthy are not signing up, in turn Obamacare is circling the drain and no amount of propaganda is going to stop it.

Here is the only math that matters.

The reality of the exchanges is that they need about 40% healthy young people to over pay sometimes 2-3 times more than they would have pre ACA. The vast majority of those 40% according to CBO assumptions need to pay full price without subsidies for budget projections to fit. Or else you end up with a 2-3 trillion dollar bill.

So we are dealing with 2 distinct but very related "must have situations" for the ACA to work in the exchanges.

1. Need healthy people to over pay.
2. Need enough people making over 400% of poverty to pay full price so not to overshoot budget projections of 900 billion-1 trillion dollar cost of the ACA.

If only poor sick people sign up for exchanges, Obama has a huge problem. The insurances companies have a huge problem and we have trillions of new debt.

Do you understand the depth of this failure?

Now you can stomp you feet and say Obamacare is here to stay but that is just arranging the deck chairs.  Obamacare is done, it does not matter who pulls the plug.  

We need to pick up the pieces and move on.

You're stuck with it!!!!

If you put as much energy into making it successful as you do trashing Obama, the whole country would be a better place. You just don't seem to get that our President is never going to sign off on a repeal, and there's nothing you can do about it!!!

I am delighted that the elimination of Social Security and Medicare is off the table! No more grand bargain!! Paul Ryan and the Koch brothers made a good run at it, but millions of Americans who now rely and will rely on those programs won!

I am glad our conversations are memorialized. That is the problem obama is having now. It is very hard  to deceive somebody nowadays if you pay attention daily and read multiple sources. Especially when it effects millions of people. With the ease of the internet it is easy to find the truth, if you are willing to do the research. obama's lies and mistruths are out there. How many times can obama be caught in these "over promises" before nobody believes him anymore?

OH yes, NB, the Republican CAN repeal the bill if they WANT to when they take the Senate in the mid terms. The question is WILL they WANT to?

I'm not sure obamacare will make it that far.

WHL wrote:OH yes, NB, the Republican CAN repeal the bill if they WANT to when they take the Senate in the mid terms.  The question is WILL they WANT to?

fshnski wrote:I'm not sure obamacare will make it that far.

You guys obviously need a lesson in how our government functions.

The Republicans won't be able to repeal Obamacare if they take the Senate in the midterms. Repeal legislation would need 60 votes in the Senate and a majority in the House, and then it must be signed by Obama. An obvious veto by Obama could only be overridden by a 2/3 vote in each chamber.

Now what do you think the chances are of repealing Obamacare?

Do the math!!

More BS excuses and misinformation with an attempt to side track.

You don't think the Repubs are going to take over big time in the mid terms? Not enough to override that veto? C'mon be optimistic for a change.

WHL wrote:You don't think the Repubs are going to take over big time in the mid terms?  Not enough to override that veto?   C'mon be optimistic for a change.

You think the Republicans are going to gain 22 seats in the Senate and close to 70 seats in the House?  

HELLO!

News Buzzard wrote:

WHL wrote:You don't think the Repubs are going to take over big time in the mid terms?  Not enough to override that veto?   C'mon be optimistic for a change.

You think the Republicans are going to gain 22 seats in the Senate and close to 70 seats in the House?  

HELLO!

Who's to know?

Another agency, this time the Census Bureau "cooked the books" on 2012 unemployment to keep Obama in power.

A Government that relies on threats and intimidation just may get a "do-over".

 



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Well you are dreaming about Hillary, NB, I can dream about the midterms.