ObamaCare author: Health law is 'really complicated'

[Professor Peabody]

ObamaCare author: Health law is 'really complicated'

By Alexander Bolton - 12/03/14 06:00 AM EST

Sen. Tom Harkin, one of the co-authors of the Affordable Care Act, now thinks Democrats may have been better off not passing it at all and holding out for a better bill.

The Iowa Democrat who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, laments the complexity of legislation the Senate passed five years ago.

“We had the power to do it in a way that would have simplified healthcare, made it more efficient and made it less costly and we didn’t do it,” Harkin told The Hill. “So I look back and say we should have either done it the correct way or not done anything at all.

Harkin, who is retiring at the end of this Congress, says in retrospect the Democratic-controlled Senate and House should have enacted a single-payer healthcare system or a public option to give the uninsured access to government-run health plans that compete with private insurance companies.

“We had the votes in ’09. We had a huge majority in the House, we had 60 votes in the Senate,” he said.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/225812-harkin-dems-better-off-without-obamacare

“We had the votes in ’09. We had a huge majority in the House, we had 60 votes in the Senate,”

Really Sen Harkin? If you had the votes why was it necessary to push Obama Care through in reconciliatrion which requires only a simple majority? I watched the progress of the bill carefully, you couldn't get enough Democrats to vote for it either. They knew, like we know now it would be a train wreck. In fact one of the authors of the bill Senator Max Baucus said in 2013 Obamacare a “Train Wreck Coming” (http://dailysignal.com/2013/04/18/dem-senator-obamacare-a-train-wreck-coming/). To date 28 Democrat Senators who voted for the ACA are no longer in Congress or on their way out in January.

"Sen. Tom Harkin, one of the co-authors of the Affordable Care Act, now thinks Democrats may have been better off not passing it at all and holding out for a better bill."

Turns out you're right Sen Harkin, Democrats would have been better off not passing it at all. Want to know who agrees with you?


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Poll: Start over on health reform

A Zogby International poll released Tuesday shows that 57 percent of Americans do not like either of the competing health care bills produced by the Senate and House and say Congress should start over, as a group of bipartisan lawmakers head to a health care.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/17/poll-start-over-on-health-reform/


March 24, 2010 6:30 PM

Poll: Most Want GOP to Keep Fighting on Health Bill

A CBS News poll released Wednesday finds that nearly two in three Americans want Republicans in Congress to continue to challenge parts of the health care reform bill.

The poll finds that 62 percent want Congressional Republicans to keep challenging the bill, while 33 percent say they should not do so. Nearly nine in ten Republicans and two in three independents want the GOP to keep challenging. Even 41 percent of Democrats support continued challenges.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20001117-503544.html

The voters! You see Sen Harkin, you were voted into office to REPRESENT the people of your state, NOT think for them, we see how well that worked out for ya.

[Captain Obvious]

Next you'll tell us that shit stinks too.

[lynn]

There is only one way for the public to fight back on the ACA and that is the right to have a copy of the fee schedule of the health insurance company they participate with. People would then realize that it is the insurance companies that determine the real cost of healthcare. They would realize that all healthcare charges average out to be only 33% of the total bill that is approved for payment from either the insurance company and/or the consumer.

[Captain Obvious]

There is only one way for the public to fight back on the ACA and that is the right to have a copy of the fee schedule of the health insurance company they participate with. People would then realize that it is the insurance companies that determine the real cost of healthcare. They would realize that all healthcare charges average out to be only 33% of the total bill that is approved for payment from either the insurance company and/or the consumer.

About half the bill actually in most cases.

[Captain Obvious]

There is only one way for the public to fight back on the ACA and that is the right to have a copy of the fee schedule of the health insurance company they participate with. People would then realize that it is the insurance companies that determine the real cost of healthcare. They would realize that all healthcare charges average out to be only 33% of the total bill that is approved for payment from either the insurance company and/or the consumer.

Plus, you do get (or can get) an itemized EOB when your bill is paid.

Plus you can go to CMS's webpage and download Medicare's fee schedules (which are cost and other stuff adjusted for each individual provider) and get a good idea how Medicare pays. Medicare sets the base for most commercial insurance reimbursement for the most part. Medicaid fee schedules are generally available on the various states DHHS's websites too.

This information is out there.

[Peter1469]

The rats are jumping ship.

[Captain Obvious]

The rats are jumping ship.

Kinda like the O'bamas cabinet too.

Something's about to hit the fan, not sure what it is though. Might take a few years to surface.

[Common]

Kinda like the O'bamas cabinet too.

Something's about to hit the fan, not sure what it is though. Might take a few years to surface.

Democrats are coming out all over the place bemoaning the passage of the ACA of late.
Some traditional democrats and some progressives like Harkin.

The truth is that a great idea, covering ALL americans with healthcare had to be prostituted and twisted and become an confluence of contradictory rules and regulations. All to just get "something" passed.

Lets all be honest here, the democrats were passing a healthcare bill no matter what and didnt care how they passed it or what was in it. Pelosi wanted to be able to just say I PASSED HEALTH CARE.
Now 6 yrs later its still a boil on the democrats arse that hurts every time they sit down.

Now of course we have the far right whackjobs who refuse to compromise or work with democrats on anything because that would be blasphemy in the eyes of Limbaugh, Hannity , Coulter, Graham and Ted Nugent. So they just stonewall and whine.
The gop and the dems need to SIT DOWN and fix the aca and make it the best it can be and both sides have to give and take. Or this will be a neverending drag on america like abortion and gay marriage for Decades and another excuse for politicians to do nothing and to distract us.

Even if Scotus knocks down part of the law, this thing will still rage on.

[Captain Obvious]

Democrats are coming out all over the place bemoaning the passage of the ACA of late.
Some traditional democrats and some progressives like Harkin.

The truth is that a great idea, covering ALL americans with healthcare had to be prostituted and twisted and become an confluence of contradictory rules and regulations. All to just get "something" passed.

Lets all be honest here, the democrats were passing a healthcare bill no matter what and didnt care how they passed it or what was in it. Pelosi wanted to be able to just say I PASSED HEALTH CARE.
Now 6 yrs later its still a boil on the democrats arse that hurts every time they sit down.

Now of course we have the far right whackjobs who refuse to compromise or work with democrats on anything because that would be blasphemy in the eyes of Limbaugh, Hannity , Coulter, Graham and Ted Nugent. So they just stonewall and whine.
The gop and the dems need to SIT DOWN and fix the aca and make it the best it can be and both sides have to give and take. Or this will a neverending drag on america like abortion and gay marriage for Decandes and another excuse for politicians to do nothing and to distract us.

Even if Scotus knocks down part of the law, this thing will still rage on.

Agreed.

And I do think a lot of people are now realizing how fly-by-night this whole thing was and how the suggestion that this was going to save costs and increase outcomes was nothing more than ass-blown smoke and mirrors.

[Common]

They need to fix it NOW. Im tired of freaking hearing about the ACA day in and day out. America is a big place with alot of other issues. That the left and right dont even utter a single word about.

What good is everyone having healthcare if some of those people are homeless and dont have a job

[Mac-7]

Democrats are coming out all over the place bemoaning the passage of the ACA of late.
Some traditional democrats and some progressives like Harkin.

The truth is that a great idea, covering ALL americans with healthcare had to be prostituted and twisted and become an confluence of contradictory rules and regulations. All to just get "something" passed.

Lets all be honest here, the democrats were passing a healthcare bill no matter what and didnt care how they passed it or what was in it. Pelosi wanted to be able to just say I PASSED HEALTH CARE.
Now 6 yrs later its still a boil on the democrats arse that hurts every time they sit down.

Now of course we have the far right whackjobs who refuse to compromise or work with democrats on anything because that would be blasphemy in the eyes of Limbaugh, Hannity , Coulter, Graham and Ted Nugent. So they just stonewall and whine.
The gop and the dems need to SIT DOWN and fix the aca and make it the best it can be and both sides have to give and take. Or this will be a neverending drag on america like abortion and gay marriage for Decades and another excuse for politicians to do nothing and to distract us.

Even if Scotus knocks down part of the law, this thing will still rage on.

How do you "fix" a fundamentally flawed law?

ObamaCare is so bad it should just be thrown out.

And curses to judge Roberts for letting it go this far.

[Common]

How do you "fix" a fundamentally flawed law?

ObamaCare is so bad it should just be thrown out.

And curses to judge Roberts for letting it go this far.

The same way you fix anything that is flawed. You reword certain aspects that are particularly troubling and stand out. Both sides have to lay out their concerns and work out how to make them better. Its the only way. Its not going ANYWHERE

[Mac-7]

The same way you fix anything that is flawed. You reword certain aspects that are particularly troubling and stand out. Both sides have to lay out their concerns and work out how to make them better. Its the only way. Its not going ANYWHERE

I wouldn't know where to begin fixing it and neither do most politicians.

Just throw it out before it does more damage.

[Peter1469]

He got a SCOTUS majority ruling that has put major limits on Congress' abuse of the Commerce Clause. If that ruling is followed in the future it could be the most significant SCOTUS ruling ever.


How do you "fix" a fundamentally flawed law?

ObamaCare is so bad it should just be thrown out.

And curses to judge Roberts for letting it go this far.

[Mac-7]

He got a SCOTUS majority ruling that has put major limits on Congress' abuse of the Commerce Clause. If that ruling is followed in the future it could be the most significant SCOTUS ruling ever.

It puts no limits on government.

These wacko judges can stretch, bend or redefine the language any time they want.

[Peter1469]

It puts no limits on government.

These wacko judges can stretch, bend or redefine the language any time they want.

J. Ginsburg thinks Citizen's United was the worst SCOTUS decision in history. She of course is referring to 1937 when SCOTUS surrendered and started to allow Congress to ignore Art. 1, Sec. 8 and legislate anything that they wanted.


I think the notion that we have all the democracy that money can buy strays so far from what our democracy is supposed to be. So that’s number one on my list. Number two would be the part of the health care decision that concerns the commerce clause. Since 1937, the Court has allowed Congress a very free hand in enacting social and economic legislation. I thought that the attempt of the Court to intrude on Congress’s domain in that area had stopped by the end of the 1930s. Of course health care involves commerce. Perhaps number three would be Shelby County, involving essentially the destruction of the Voting Rights Act. That act had a voluminous legislative history. The bill extending the Voting Rights Act was passed overwhelmingly by both houses, Republicans and Democrats, everyone was on board. The Court’s interference with that decision of the political branches seemed to me out of order. The Court should have respected the legislative judgment. Legislators know much more about elections than the Court does. And the same was true of Citizens United. I think members of the legislature, people who have to run for office, know the connection between money and influence on what laws get passed.

[Professor Peabody]

Next you'll tell us that $#@! stinks too.

Only yours.

[lynn]

They make the healthcare law complicated on purpose. It is the biggest extortion scam on the public in history in that it forces people to buy coverage with getting little in return (high deductibles). This law would have been far more easier to digest if all states expanding medicaid and placed a cap of $1000 on deductibles for the working class.

[Captain Obvious]

They make the healthcare law complicated on purpose. It is the biggest extortion scam on the public in history in that it forces people to buy coverage with getting little in return (high deductibles). This law would have been far more easier to digest if all states expanding medicaid and placed a cap of $1000 on deductibles for the working class.

Tax law is no different in that respect.

[Captain Obvious]

Only yours.

After a plate of wings big enough to choke a horse and a quarter pound of blue cheese it would make Hans Blix's head spin.