TEN TRUTHS ABOUT HEALTH CARE REFORM

My new friend at Politifact, a non-partisan, political fact checking organization, Angie Drobnic Holan, forwarded me this list of what she considered the Top Ten facts about the actual health care legislation that every voter should know. PolitiFact has read the bill from cover to cover and checked hundreds of claims about health care reform by politicians and special interest groups. They do not support or oppose the bill, nor do they align themselves with any party, ideology, or position.

Agree with the bill or not, here's what it intends to do and where the big unknowns are.

1. The plan is not a government takeover of health care like in Canada or Britain. The government will not take over hospitals or other privately run health care businesses. Doctors will not become government employees, like in Britain. And the U.S. government intends to help people buy insurance from private insurance companies, not pay all the bills like the single-payer system in Canada. The key parts of the current U.S. system -- employer-provided insurance, Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor -- would stay in place. The government would create health insurance exchanges for people who have to buy insurance on their own, so they could more easily compare plans and prices. This will help foster competition in a true "free market" and lower premiums.

2. Insurance companies will be regulated more heavily.
They will be told the minimum services they must cover, including preventive care. They will have to pay out a certain percentage of premiums for patient care. By 2014, when the exchanges open, insurers won't be able to deny customers for pre-existing conditions or cancel coverage for chronic illnesses.

3. Everyone will have to have health insurance or pay a fine, a requirement known as the individual mandate. The government intends to cap premiums for people who make below a certain income. For people who buy insurance on the exchanges, a family of four making $88,000 would have a cap of 9.5 percent of their income. Lower incomes would have lower caps. The fine for not having insurance would be a minimum of $695 per person per year, with exemptions for financial hardship and other special cases.

4. Employers will not be required to buy insurance for their employees, but large employers may be subject to fines if they don't provide insurance. But Congress wanted to encourage employers, especially large employers, to offer insurance. So they created a fine for employers with more than 50 workers: If those employees buy insurance on the exchanges and qualify for a low-income credit from the government, then the employer would have to pay a fine. Fines are calculated based on number of employees; for large firms, the fines could be significant.

5. The vast majority of people will not see significant declines in premiums. When President Obama talks about premiums going down, he usually means they won't go up as much as they would otherwise. For the 4-out-of-5 who get their insurance through their employer, the savings would land in the 0 to 3 percent range by 2016, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, or CBO. People who buy insurance on their own, but who don't qualify for government subsidies, could actually see their premiums rise by as much as 10 to 13 percent, but that's largely because they'll be getting beefed-up policies that would pay for more basic services, especially preventive care. Low-income people who qualify for new credits to buy insurance would see the biggest drops.

6. The plan might or might not bend the curve on health spending. Critics say there aren't enough provisions to reduce waste or fraud, but Democrats say they're not being given enough credit for new cost-saving pilot programs that could be rapidly expanded. The most recent estimate of the plan, released Thursday by the CBO, said that it would spend $940 billion over 10 years. But new taxes, penalties and cost savings would offset that spending, according to the CBO, so that overall the plan pay for itself, dropping the deficit by slightly $138 billion over 10 years. Obama has said the plan will save more than $1 trillion in the second 10 years, but that estimate, according to the CBO, is highly speculative.

7. The government-run Medicare program will keep paying medical bills for seniors, but it will begin implementing cost controls on health care providers, mostly through penalties and incentives. The legislation would reduce payments for hospital-acquired infections or preventable hospital admissions. For Medicare Advantage, the federal government intends to reduce extra payments, taking away subsidies to private insurance companies. Insurers will likely cut benefits in order to not lose profits. The bill does not address the "doctor's fix," an expected proposal that Congress usually passes to prevent doctor's Medicare payments from severe cuts.

8. Medicaid, a joint federal-state program for the poor, will cover all of the poor, instead of just a few groups the way it currently does. Right now, to qualify for Medicaid, a person has to be poor and also disabled, elderly, pregnant or a child. Under the new plan, all poor adults would qualify.

9. The government won't pay for elective abortions. But under the Senate plan, people will be able to buy insurance that covers abortion on the new health insurance exchanges, as long as the insurance company pays for the services with patient premiums, not taxpayer subsidies. Medicaid has an exemption for cases of rape, incest, or the life of the mother.

10. No one is proposing new benefits for illegal immigrants. Some House members had hoped that illegal immigrants would be able to buy insurance with their own money through the new exchanges, but that now appears unlikely.

Now, for those of you who came to The Lounge from my FB page, if you have a comment or question yo uwould like a response to, please make it here, as I no longer discuss politics via FB.

And for all of you, now that you've read through this...

What's on YOUR mind?

That's Just The Way It Is...

OK...yesterday saw the passage by the House of the HealthCare Reform Act, helping to provide affordable insurance to 32 mil who were without. And with that came the expected whining session from rapid, anti-Obama conservatives, from the airwaves to the blogosphere. The Lounge's final word on this topic is, this was not a perfect bill, but the access and retention to quality healthcare is now better for the poor, the working middle class, and small biz owners than it has ever been. Besides, the bill still has to pass the Senate, and you can be sure there are a lot of insurance-fed Repugs in the upper house who will do anything they can to obstruct passage. The Lounge has two final thoughts on this...First, we don't care one way or the toher how this turns out, can we just get it done, one way or the other and move on? And lastly, What ever happened to the mantra during the Bush admin of "Elections have consequences"?...

MORE MADNESS: What happened to the NCAA? When I woke Saturday, I had 22 wins in the 32 games played thus far, my son was getting married, the weather was gorgeous and all was right with the world. I return home from a spectacular day and my bracket looks like a prop left over from the last Chuckie movie! But then, that's what makes the Tournament the unique sporting gem it is. The worse you do in your bracket, the better Tournament you have. This year, there are eight teams seeded 5 or higher advancing to the Sweet 16, including three who began play as a double-digit seed. Last year, there was 1. Let the Madness continue...

BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: Last week brought with it a sad goodbye to a wonderful woman whom I admired and will always be grateful to, whom I will forever only think of as "Mrs. Smith". She was the mother of a dear friend from my Stockton days, and back during the three weeks or so during junior high, while suffering from a severe case of "the crushes" on her daughter, Mrs. Smith was kind and thoughtfull to this terrified and timid puppy when she answered the phone. My most sincere and heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to Carl, her husband of 61 wonderful years, her daughters Darla and Connie, and her three treasured grandsons, Matt, Vaughn and Alex, as they mourn the loss of this warm and tender soul. Fare thee well, Alma. The streets of Heaven are a little more crowded with Angels tonight...

A POT OF POURRI: Patti and Pam, two friends from AVHS a "few" years ago are headed to HP Pavillion this week to check out the John Mayer show. Two of the best natured and good hearted women I know, but given the history of this sweet-talker with the ladies, I am giving second thoughts to trying to score them backstage passes for a Meet-n-Greet. You know how them "musicians" can be. Have fun, girls...Congrats to Josh Miller of Pleasanton for being invited to try out for the Under-15 NorCal Lacrosse Team that will represent at the National Tournament in Orlando, FLA later this summer. Note to proud dad/sports journalist/editor Dennis: When he gets to Johns Hopkins or Duke in a few years, I'll be expecting tix to the collegiate chmapionships...

WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME: The Golden State warriors announced yesterday that owner Chris Cohan has officially placed the team on the selling block. It is all but assured that Oracle owner and CEO Larry Ellison, whose company already has their name on the arena where the Warriors play their home games, will replace Cohan, who was only a slight improvement over previous, long-time owner Franklin Meulli. This, Lounge Lizards, is a very good thing...

THE I'VE SEEN IT ALL DEPT: It was announced today that 80 year old Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step foot on the moon 41 years ago this July, will be a contestant on the upcoming "Dancing With The Stars". Next Up: Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former President Bill Clinton, and number 1 PGA Professional golfer Tiger woods will be co-chairing a National Town Hall Meeting on Marital Fidelity.

AND FINALLY: The Lounge would like to ask everyone to "pass the word" to all your friends. Whether you post a "Share" on your FB or MySpace or email a link to those in your address book, we'd really like you to invite everyone to our daily little get-togethers. And hey, while we're at it....in that little box at the bottom....

What's on YOUR mind?

Taking Out The Trash

OUR SON COLE is getting married tomorrow, in the Idaho Falls Temple, to the lovely, talented, and bright as a penny, Miss Heather Ann Hazelett. A wonderful edition to the family and cause for much celebration. So, because of the usual last minute details, running around, etc., that comes with such a blessed event, today in The Lounge, you get a veritable fountain of (mostly) useless information and some relaxing, lighthearted tunes from Mr. James Bartholomew Buffett. Always good for stress relief. And yes, photos will follow...

THE TURNING TIDE: I haven't been a big fan of the Nothing-but Corrupt Athletic Association since the olden, golden days when Marcia's dad, Ced Dempsey, was running the family...er..maf...er...organization. They did, however, do one thing right, when the NCAA decided to feed their benefactors (the fans who wach the Tournament) by making every single Tournament game available online...for free (http://mmod.ncaa.com). How good was this decision? The first three games of yesterday's opening round: #11 Old Dominion upsets 6-seed Notre Dame, 10-seed Florida takes #5 BYU into double-overtime before finally succumbing, and #15-seed Robert Morris and #2 seed Villanova (who yours truly has slated for the Final Four) ran their game into overtime before the 'Cats finally squeaked it out. By the end of the first day of play, a 3 seed, a 4 seed, an 8 and a couple of 6's were one and done, we saw two buzzer beaters, three games go into O.T. and there were enough other close games to easily double the number of upsets. And only half of the Tournament teams have played their 1st round games! In the 40-plus years I've been following the Tournament, this was one of (if not the) biggest day of 1st round upsets and otherwise great basketball; yet another testament to the iconic reminder of ESPN anchor Chris Berman: "THAT'S why they play the games"...

GAME OVER: It looks as though this weekend, the House will finally vote on the Healthcare Reform Act, it will pass, and the beginning of next week, President Obama will sign it into law. Not being able (or interested) to understand the incoherent gobbledy-gook spewing from the mouths of our useless representatives and the idealogues of the Tea Party and MoveOn.org, here's my final-final: This is by far a perfect bill. Partly because Dem leaders Pelosi and Reid are too busy playing politics to govern well, and partly because leaders on the other side of the aisle have been doing exactly the same thing, in fighting every provision of the bill from the get go, instead of accepting the good and proposing better alternatives for the bad parts. It can and will need to be amended as times goes on, but for now, here's the deal...The American Taxpayer, you and I, are already paying for the healthcare of the 32,000,000 people who can't afford insurance. When they need a doctor, they go to the emergency and you and I end up footing that bill. When this bill is finally encated, we will still be paying their medical bills, we'll just be paying a whole lot less. In addition, there are some excellent provisions that will benefit everyone, such as the absence of pre-existing conditions clauses in everyone's insurance, such as lifetime caps for those of us who have to face chronic or catastrophic illnesses. It not great, but it is better than the nation has ever had, and it is going to pass. So let's just move on, ok? Next up, bouncing the leaders of both parties' congressional delegations out on their ear in Nov...

FOUND (Fountain Of Useless Nowledge Dept): I learned today that actor Dick VanPatten (daddy dearest on the 70's tv show Eight is Enough) is the founder of Nature Balance Pet Foods...In 1995 the Republican House, led by supposed savior Newt "Sure I had Affairs, But Clinton Was Immoral" Gingrich, actually enacted the Houses much touted Contract With America using the same Pass and Deem procedure the Dems will use on Sunday to pass the Healthcare bill. "That which does not kill us surely come back to bite us in the a**"...That recent Nor'easter that knocked out power to thousands and killed at least six people in the metro NYC area, generated more calls to 911 than 9/11 did...General Mills does not sell Lucky Charms to the UK, but the majority of business done in a Baskin/Robbins ice cream parlour is for--vanilla ice cream...

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK: Did you know that the White House will send your newborn a birthday card? All you have to do is send the following information: Baby's name, address, and birth date to: White House Greetings Office, Room 39, Washington, DC 20500 Or Fax Your Request To:202-395-1232. Am wondering if this doesn't belong in the section directly above...

BLAST FROM THE PAST: the other day I was perusing my FB Wall and who do I find but Walla2's Sally Barker Shafer, a stalwart from the Woodstick days and perhaps the most talented female guitarist-vocalist without a record deal. No joke, folks; imagine a brunette Bonnie Raitt with just a taste of Tina Weymouth. This gal is a five-tool player: Vocals, guitar, writer, cute as a bug, and cool as the other side of the pillow. I am still amazed someone hasn't put this sweetheart on vinyl (yes, I am old), but one thing's for sure, she'd kick tush in any club West of the Mississippi. If she wasn't so cool, I'd suggest she go after the next "Idol". Game over on the first night. Great hearin' from ya Sal...

And so concludes our daily scribbling (and pardon the typos). Here's hoping you all have a magnificient weekend, that your bracket picks all show up, that the weather stays clear, dry and sunny, and that you will each take one moment to "Share" The Lounge with your FB Friends. We always believe the more, the merrier. And while we're at it...that little box below...

What's on YOUR mind?

Solution Stew - The U.S. Congress

THIS BEING HUMP DAY, I was looking for ingredients for this week's "Solution Stew"; a situation requiring a solution, preferrably one not connected with the federal government. Originally leaning towards offering my always stellar *cough* picks for the NCAA Tournament which begins on tomorrow, I was stopped in my tracks.

Yesterday afternoon, I read, sadly, that the Democratic Leadership, pushed to the brink by a non-cooperative, equally non-representative Republican House and Senate members, had delved into the depths of parlamentary procedure and discovered a way to pass the Healthcare Reform bill without even having to cast a vote. We'll get into the details in a moment, but for now let me say, as I have been saying to Republicans (at least the obstructionist buffoons among them) that the process is far more important than the outcome, and if all you can do is find little hidden tricks and subvertive measures to get things your way, then you should all be sumarily dismissed, replaced, and allow the Nation to continue as it was meant to.

OK...here's what happened. Some stories racing through the Internet have implied that there would not be a vote.

This is true in the sense that there would not be a DIRECT vote. But the health-care bill would be voted on INDIRECTLY, tucked into what's known as "the rule." The rule essentially outlines the rules for an upcoming vote -- in this case, it would be the vote on the package of reconciliation fixes.

By passing "the rule," the House also would "deem" the Senate bill passed (with a "hereby" statement. "We hereby deem..."). The House would then vote on the package of reconciliation fixes. But the Senate health-care bill would be considered passed even if they never vote on the reconciliation fixes.

The "rule" can be written several different ways to include passage of the Senate bill. Though no decisions have been made -- including whether or not the rule will be used -- there are two scenarios most often discussed, according to a Democratic aide knee-deep in the process.

Scenario No. 1: The Senate bill is deemed passed with the passage of the House Rule for debate. So once the House passed the rules for debating the reconciliation package, the Senate bill could immediately be sent to president for his signature.

Scenario No. 2: The Senate bill is deemed passed with the House's passage of the reconciliation bill. Since the vote on "the rule" happens before the vote on reconciliation, this would delay the bill being sent to Obama.

Under any scenario, the aide says, the bill must be signed by the president before the Senate takes up the reconciliation.

Now, there is a great deal more that could be said, a great many more points offered in support or opposition to this process. But for me, it ends here because the healthcare issue has now become secondary to what members of the House and Senate on both sides of the aisle have done, and continue to do, that would be far more harmful to our Nation than having to pay for the poor to receive access to adequate healthcare insurance.

Members of both parties are engaged, albeit for reasons they each believe righteous and good, in subverting not only the letter of the Constitution, but also the core principle on which this Republic was founded: honest, sincere representation of their constituency; the citizens of the United States of America.

And that is not something you mess with.

History
"Deem and Pass" has been used often and by both parties. Democrats point out that Republicans used it quite a bit in the 1990s for tax cuts for the wealthy and already profitable corporations, as well as for numerous lots of corporate welfare, a reduction of oversight for the financial sector, and little things like warrantless wiretaps and exemptions for certain companies to do business with countries like Iran, where such allowances were made a federal crime by the same Congress just months prior. In this Congress, Democrats used "Deem and Pass" for raising the debt ceiling, which was tucked into the PayGo bill. So both sides have played this card, and no one is blameless.

But once again, it is the incessant hunger for power, the inability to give and take for the good of all, and the unfortunate need of those in power to acquiesce to those interests who can and will fund their next campaigns, that has led us to the point where our representative government, of either fashion or flavor, in reality, no longer exists.

Yes, this country desperately needs and should be wholly embarassed for not having an optimal healthcare system that is accessible to every one of its citizens.

Yes, the elected officials who have been saddled with the daunting task of finding a way, the best way, to make this a reality have some tough decisions to make and yes, some of those decisions will put their congressional seats in jeopardy, because they will not be popular.

So what?

As per the Constitution, those representatives are required, by law, to represent the people in their Districts or States and vote in the light of what is in the best interests of ALL whom they represent.

Not just of those who agree with them.

Not just those who will vote for them in the next election.

Not just those who will donate funds for their next election.

And certainly NOT for their party.

The solution? It's a two parter, and quite simple really...

First: Each one of you reading this, pass it on to everyone you know. And as soon as you do that, send a letter to your Congressperson and to your Senators and explain to them what you believe is the right thing to do. Explain to them that you are embarassed by the manner in which their body has performed (or not) thus far and regardless of what the eventual outcome on this issue is, that if you see one hint of further political subterfuge and games being played and that if they do not start acting honorably, in the manner of our Founding Fathers, that come the next time their name is on the ballot, they will not receive your vote.

Second: Follow through. Regardless of how this ends up, if your elected representatives don't pull their collective heads out and start acting with the proper intent and motivation, they should become 535 added to the millions of unemployed they helped create the next time election day rolls around.

Oh and by the way...if you don't follow this procedure, or in some way let your elected officials know they are going to be held accountable for their actions...then please, and with all due respect...sit down and shut up.

Because this is no longer about healthcare reform, or about progressive vs. conservative.

This has now become about the preservation and sanctity of the foundation of our nation. This is about protecting that one unique element that makes America...well, America. This is now about maintaining a representative form of government, where We The People actually means something.

And if you're going to be silent now, you have no right to complain later.