Can Health Care Reform get any Uglier

Health care reform is turning up the heat on the so called public option. What we need is affordable health care for all people. Big money could care less. I hope there can be some jobs out of deal. What do you think?



Liberal groups to protest insurers Posted: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:14 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: Democrats

From NBC's Kelly Paice
Leaders of the left-leaning groups Health Care for America Now (HCAN) and MoveOn.org say they're organizing an anti-insurance rally outside tomorrow's annual conference of health insurance companies. In a phone conference with reporters, HCAN's national campaign manager, Richard Kirsch, said it's "a crime to deny care" and that the nation's insurance companies represented by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) have "harmed people grievously in order to increase profits."

Tomorrow's rally will highlight seven families' stories of being denied care by insurance companies. In response to the study AHIP released last week criticizing health-care reform, Kirsch said that the anger of the American people was "like a dam breaking," and that AHIP had "hit the panic button" at that point when they put out "this bogus report."

One face of the rally tomorrow will be Ian Pearl of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, who was born with muscular dystrophy and requires 24-hour care. Guardian Insurance is planning on canceling his policy at the end of this year, according to his mother Susan Pearl. Susan suggested that Ian's case puts a face "on the horrendous insurance company abuse that countless Americans experience on a daily basis." She called what insurance companies are doing "illegal discrimination," and she will be participating in the rally outside the Capital Hilton hotel in Washington, D.C. tomorrow to share Ian's story and end the insurance companies' "business as usual" approach to providing care.

MoveOn Executive Director Justin Ruben added, "This is really the home stretch for health-care reform," and last week's "attempt to derail health care reform" by AHIP shows that insurance companies have "more interest in protecting profits than patients." Ruben announced the release of two upcoming MoveOn ads -- a Washington Post print ad and a television ad starring actress Heather Graham -- condemning the insurance industry for opposing health-care reform and also reinforcing the message that the public option is the best way to lower costs for families.

When asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moving towards pushing a robust public option, Kirsch said, "The thing that people have to remember is that the public option is not just about ideological banter. This is about the quality of care... It's also about saving money and making health care more affordable."

Also, when asked about Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds (D) saying that, if he won the governorship and was given the choice, he would consider taking Virginia out of the public option, Kirsch replied that especially for a Democrat running for office "stepping away from the public option is dumb."




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Comments
Everyone wants their own interests to be addressed as the major priority but anyone who fails to recognize that those biases can simply be used against them, to deceptively manipulate them, surrenders to a weakness that can be extremely costly. The best example of that is in what transpired in 2000 – 2008 resulting in very significant costs to the majority (95+%) while Special Interests and a select few were constantly placated and greatly benefited. Anyone who denies that reality simply accepts the deception and manipulation that has contributed greatly to the drastic problems we are facing and then they are simply making themselves vulnerable to being used again. The protests and aggressive resistance being initiated at the guidance of Special Interests and with the support of irresponsible, self-indulgent representatives is aggressively aimed to appeal to people’s emotions based on their biases, prejudices and emotional attachments and is just another example of people being used against their own best interests. There is no denying that all proposals, Obama’s or anyone’s, need the benefit of honest and conscientious, bipartisan fine-tuning, which is the real responsibility of our representatives who need to focus totally on the best interests of the people, all of the people. What we need to reject today is those who seek to confuse, deceive, mislead, manipulate and use us, not for our best interests but rather for their own purposes in benefiting the few who greatly support them. The truth today has to be very obvious to anyone who can check their biased blindness to be truly objective and rational, realizing it is in their own best interests to do so, to see the past and the current aggressive and arrogant efforts to dishonestly manipulate and take advantage of the American public. For sure Barack Obama doesn’t have all of the right answers and he isn’t capable of resolving everything alone. But it is obvious that in contrast to his many belligerent and self-focused opponents he is far more honest, far more sincere, has a better grasp on the reality of everything, appears to have the desired measure of humility and, very importantly, is not owned by Special Interests and a select few. If we can demand that the rest of them get in there and honestly work together towards negotiating and implementing in the best interests of the people, we may have a chance. It should be obvious that supporting those who in stubborn selfish unity want to continue to placate and patronize Special Interests and the select few, it will only result in a steady decline towards eventual disaster for everyone (which is not that far away). The status of everything today and how we got here should strongly reinforce everything I am saying; to think otherwise one would have to be of the privileged 2-3% or just kidding themselves.
REG in AZ (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:24 PM)

How about Big Pharmacy?

Ask anyone who uses medications where the pain is for the normal everyday person. Stand in the line at Rite Aid or Walgreen and hear the pain of the seniors and those who have to pay big dollars for their perscriptions.

Protestors must be attacking Big Pharma also. Even though Obama is in bed with them, Big Pharma is creating much of this problem we are seeing.

Every day perscription drug users feel the pain.

President Obama, pull the sheets b

Cue the liberal protesters.
Rahm E., Chicago IL (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:27 PM)

My guess is that Nancy Pelosi will be calling these protestors "Astro-Turfers" by weeks end.
Cal Douglass, SC (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:28 PM)

Signs to be seen at the protest: "We What Our Free Stuff!" and "We Didn't Pay For It, But We Want It!"
Babs Lann, CA (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:30 PM)

These liberal protesters must have a lot of time on their hands. People that go to Tea Parties have to work and can only rally on the weekends.
Weekend Warrior (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:32 PM)

Oh no guys...just because the insurance industry has obscene profits and have denied people life saving care is no reason to be down on them...I'm sure they are all fine christian republicans anxious to help people meet their maker sooner by denying them coverage.
Golly Gee (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:33 PM)

Buzz: What can you do with sore loosers that just can't be reasoned with?

Don't know about you, but I don't get sore when I get loose. And weren't you the guy correcting someones elses spelling/grammer the other day?
J Mears (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:34 PM)

Buzz (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3:44 PM)

Have you ever tried to talk to these idiots? First off, they are some of the most ill-informed and un-educated people in the country!! Hit 'em with some facts like Reagan and Ollie "The Shredder" North provided weapons, illegally, to Iran and they don't even know what Iran-Contra was!! Then go on to tell them that this happened while Dumsfeld was kissing Sadaam Hussein's cheeks and giving them weapons at the same time!! Continue with, the CIA, again, under Reagan, funded money to bin-Laden and the Mujahedeen, and you get the same blank stare!! Now ask them anything about beer or Wal-Mart and they know everything!!

Seriously, very un-educated people; they have zero clue what they are protesting against, or why!! They do it because Beck or Hannity says it's a "good idea!!"

Pam, San Pedro, California (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:39 PM)

...and what are these guys going to do when providors refuse to accept the public option as payment because "it doesn't cover their costs"?

We need more multi-millionaire doctors
Alan, NJ (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:41 PM)

Oh no guys...just because the insurance industry has obscene profits and have denied people life saving care is no reason to be down on them...I'm sure they are all fine christian republicans anxious to help people meet their maker sooner by denying them coverage.
Golly Gee

The profits made by the insurance companies are no different, and in fact are often less then, other segments of corporate America.
Lola Dees (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 4:47 PM)

"I can not remember any recent President going in this direction."
Marcus D., Chicago (Sent Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3:36