As negotiations over what, exactly the real Senate health care bill will look like (as opposed to the actual bill that's being debated on the floor… this is all a bit surreal, really), Bernie Sanders' ambiguous television announcement that he would not vote for the bill in the form it has taken made absolutely no waves outside the blogosphere.
Turn off MSNBC. Tune out Howard Dean and Keith Olbermann. The White House has its liberal wing in hand on health care, says White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
“There are no liberals left to get” in the Senate, Emanuel said in an interview, shrugging off some noise from the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) that a few liberals might bolt over the compromises made with conservative Democrats.
Although he was apparently referring to cloture ("My colleagues may have forged a compromise bill that can achieve the 60 votes that will be needed for it to pass," he said. "But until this bill addresses cost, competition and accountability in a meaningful way, it will not win mine." ), his statement was apparently dismissed with some reason, as it is, at this point, no longer operative. The only official word I got from his office was:
The senator is working to improve the bill to make it something he can vote for. We have not seen the final package and he hopes it will be something he can support and he's in frequent contact with the leadership and White House to make this a better bill.
Interesting that Bernie's office says he's still working with the leadership and the White House. Doesn't sound to me like Rahm Emanuel thinks the leadership and the White House is working with Bernie.
And where exactly is Leahy during all this?
Meanwhile, that other Vermonter, Howard Dean – who has become the most clear-spoken voice on the real dangers of this bill (namely the fact that its not "better than nothing" as so many weary congressional Dems from the Party's left want to believe, that it will, in fact, make things worse and increase health care burdens of many working and middle class families), has way out-progressived Bernie Sanders. How's that for a shocker?
After the flip: A few more details on just how dangerous a bill with no regulation and cost controls would be when combined with the individual mandate…
First of all, we hear a lot about how "community rating" is included in this bill. Community rating is, of course, a good thing. It was a fundamental part of Vermont's health care improvements in the 90s and requires that insurance companies set rates based on community-wide metrics, rather than purely individual ones.But under the Senate bill's version, elderly can be charged up to 3 times the standard premiums for their plans (plans, again, that you will be required to buy if you are uninsured). In Vermont, those premiums for the elderly can only be an additional 20%.In Massachusettes under their comparable-to-the-national-bill plan, the increase isn't 3x, but 2x – and even that has created a situation whereby seniors are having a hard time finding affordable insurance.
And Vermont's superior regulations on such things? Forget it. Under language that conservative holdout Mary Landrieu got into the bill during the compromise-on-the-compromise-on-the-compromise, companies that sell across state lines can be held to their home state regulations, rather than the states in which they operate. Slick, huh?
Much has been said about cost control. That was one of the prime functions of the public option. There are some interesting ideas for cost controls in the latest version under discussion, but they are systemically prevented from being implemented on a large scale unless unprecedented market conditions are met, or unless Congress specifically authorizes it (which would give us the same roadblock we have now). There simply is NO cost controlling mechanism in this "compromise." Let's be clear – every single thing the industry wanted, they seem to have gotten. If this new version gets adopted as some sort of strike-all amendment, you will see any and all industry resistance stop cold.
It. sucks. It consolidates more control of our health care system in the hands of the industry. These are not theoretical concerns from high minded liberal elite, as the administration’s allies are trying to pass them off as, these are practical realities that will hit everyone and will hand control of our government right back to the Republicans in the quite understandable political backlash.The reality is, of course, staring everyone in the face:
| PUBLIC OPTION | |||
| Would you favor or oppose creating a public health insurance option administered by the federal government that would compete with plans offered by private health insurance companies? (Wording ofCNN poll) | |||
| FAVOR | OPPOSE | NOT SURE | |
| ALL | 59% | 31% | 10% |
| Men | 54% | 36% | 10% |
| Women | 64% | 26% | 10% |
| Democrats | 88% | 9% | 3% |
| Republicans | 24% | 64% | 12% |
| Independents | 57% | 29% | 14% |
| Other | 56% | 31% | 13% |
| White | 54% | 39% | 7% |
| Black | 77% | 7% | 16% |
| Latino | 68% | 13% | 19% |
| Other | 71% | 12% | 17% |
| 18-29 | 72% | 21% | 7% |
| 30-44 | 51% | 37% | 12% |
| 45-59 | 67% | 23% | 10% |
| 60+ | 49% | 42% | 9% |
| Northeast | 73% | 17% | 10% |
| South | 45% | 43% | 12% |
| Midwest | 62% | 29% | 9% |
| West | 61% | 31% | 8% |
Men prefer the public option, women prefer the public option, independents prefer the public option.
And look at Democrats. 88 freaking percent.
The public option is not a fringe position. It's not even the "liberal" or "progressive" position.
It is the mainstream, Democratic Party position. It is practically a consensus.
Nelson, Lieberman, Landreau, Lincoln – it is they who are on the fringe. And they have been joined there by Reid and Obama (or were they always there?). Who are the real Democrats here?
The numbers don't lie. Senator Sanders, time to show Vermonters you're at least as progressive as the Democrats…
The senate, now under Joe Leiberman, does not care what the public thinks, what they favor. They only want what the corporate sponsors want. I wish that the senate and the house would just come out and say that they are employed by the insurance companies and to hell with the rest of us.
Many mid-size to large employers left the insurance market over the past two decades. These corporations gave up private insurance for all of the reasons argued by liberals who are in favor of a single payer system. The overhead of private insurance takes up 30% or more of the premiums, and the premiums go up dramatically every year.
The solution for these corporations is to self-insure. All employees pay premiums just like they would to Blue Cross or Cigna, for example. But under self insurance, 90-96% of employee premiums (depending on what company administers the plan) goes back to employee health care. The only administrative cost is collecting the premiums and paying the providers plus a fee for the bookkeeping. It save corporations a lot of money and employees have more benefits at less cost. Here’s the catch. Employers pay more for sick employees and less for healthy ones. Corporations see a direct and immediate link between the two in their health plan bottom line. Therefore, companies tend to lay-off workers who have, or develop, chronic illnesses or employees who are getting a little long in the tooth. They discriminate against applicants who might be more expensive too.
Community rating is an employment death sentence for a large percentage of employees or job applicants among the millions of U.S. workers covered in a “self insurance” plan.
The irony is that self-insurance is the private sector’s acknowledgment that single payer is the best system. It also reflects the economic reality that a single payer system with only young and healthy people is the most cost effective health care system so far invented.
This bill is horrific. Without a public option the precedent set by making a law that will force people to pay private insurance companies for lousy products should be terrifying to anyone who has been watching the corporate stranglehold on everything. We’ve just seen the corporate powers represented by government refuse to do anything meaningful on climate in Copenhagan.
Meanwhile Monsanto is working to own all seeds and have no one grow anything without buying their patented seeds. Seeds in actuality created by eons of the work of women, farmers and nature itself. The corporate lobbyists are using taxpayer dollars to lobby against banking reform and consumer protection. The oil cartels don’t want money shifted to renewable energy or emissions capping. Corporations are working to privatize water. AIG is doing this in Appalachia, again with taxpayer assistance. These are crazy men who think short term profits are all.
Our treasury has been and continues to be robbed by this class of dimwits, who know how to make money, but nothing that sustains life. They literally threaten all life on earth. The rest of the big bucks go to the war corporations. Donald Rumsfield told us the Pentagon can’t account for 2.3 TRILLION dollars. But a healthcare bill must be deficit neutral. Corporate mercenaries train to subdue the population but they hardly need to the propaganda machine is working so well. These are the corporate forces that get a win with this travesty of healthcare reform.
And Bernie knows better. If he votes for this piece of crap he is betraying everyhting he’s ever said in the past about healthcare. Leahy should also vote against this bill and this dangerous government enforced payment to private industry..
And the jerks in DC should lay off Howard Dean. He figured out how to do some pretty good healthcare in Vermont none of the other folks yakking about it have accomplished as much in reality.
What is Bernie so afraid of? What hold does Rahm have over Bernie?
Maybe it is impossible for our representative to represent us, Maybe their balls are in corporate vises and there’s nothing they can do. Then I think our so called leaders and so called representatives should at least give us the courtesy of telling us the truth that they are useless to us now so that at least we can make more informed decisions to procede with our own survival in these really mean, not very United States of Halliburton/Blackwater/Monsanto/Exxon/Humana.
I love that one Humana. Who would have thought that one little a on the end of a word could drain all humanity from it.
If we’re going to go on with corporations owning life itself like Monsanto is trying to do, I think women should start refusing to have a child for anything less than a million bucks.
Really – it’s time to pound these people into submission for us, that’s progressive submission. No more MR. nice guy. This disgusts me beyond all belief.
Hmm let’s see now – more war (no way to get out your tax $$$ at work) Climate Change Conference – lip service net effect = Imhoff is not that swell – good job Democrats!
President Lieberman NOT who we voted for, Not who we worked for, Not who we sent $ has told rawMMMMMMM to have Bernie Sanders – that’s are Bernie Sanders, to just sit down and STFU. – And Bernie IS!!!!
Is anyone else ready to go bizerk? or did you have a massive stroke and fell dead on the floor?
I’m feeling like yelling and screaming and punching – how about you? Taxation without representation – anyone else?