ObamaCare

[RanchHQ]

Oops!

August 11, 2009
Racism in health care bill seen by US Commission on Civil Rights

Ed Lasky

The US Commission on Civil Rights is proving a thorn in the side of the Obama administration. First it has problems with Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department dropping of the New Black Panther voter rights intimidation case. Now it sees the House health care bill having provisions that are racially discriminatory.


How? By making overt a preference to award billions of taxpayer dollars and preferential treatment to minority students for scholarships, and favoring medical schools that have a record of sending graduates to areas with inadequate health care services. Jennifer Haberkorn of the Washington Times has an exclusive story:

In a draft of a letter the commission approved Friday, the group raises constitutional questions about giving preferential treatment to minority students for scholarships, and about favoring medical schools and organizations that have a record of sending graduates to areas with inadequate health care services.

"These programs are unlikely to reduce health care disparities among racial and ethic groups," according to the draft letter obtained by The Washington Times. "A growing body of evidence indicates that increasing access to high-quality physicians - whatever their racial or ethnic ancestry - is the best way to mitigate such disparities."

The draft letter also cites testimony from Dr. Amitabh Chandra of Harvard University who said the idea that expanding the number of minority physicians and providing "cultural competence training" will bridge the health status gap is "grounded in hope more than science," according to the draft language.

It cites research from Dr. Chandra that found that improving the quality of health care in the 500 largest minority serving areas would improve minority health care more than the elimination of racial disparities within every provider in the U.S.

LINK: American Thinker Blog: Racism in health care bill seen by US Commission on Civil Rights

[RanchHQ]

In President Obama's "Town Hall" today he was explaining how a Public Option, not at Taxpayer expense, would provide competition for Private Insurers.

His example was how UPS and FedEx are Private Companies and The United States Postal Service provides competition.

I guess that was his point:

YouTube - post office

YouTube - post office

[Mama Mia]

Great example.....the USPO is practicly going bankrupt!!! I'd be willing to bet that UPS and FedX are in better shape than the PO.....

[Zebra Top]

So the public option will be borne solely by user fees paid by voluntary subscribers. Where have I read that before. JK. But seriously, without taxpayer money wouldn't something like that be just as expensive for the public subscriber as it is for those paying for private health insurance?

[RanchHQ]

Originally Posted by Zebra Top

So the public option will "be borne solely by user fees paid by voluntary subscribers." Where have I read that before. JK. But seriously, without taxpayer money wouldn't something like that be just as expensive for the public subscriber as it is for those paying for private health insurance?

I think only if the argument is that the "Public Option" does not have to make a profit.

Kinda like The USPS, or AMTRAK, or The VA Hospitals, or The Indian Health Services.

Kinda like those.

[Maximus]

Government run healthcare. Here's how the state of Oregon handled a request for cancer treatment by a resident who had lung cancer: "We can't pay for your meds, but we'll help you with your suicide." The state worker meidcal director said, "We can't cover everything." Golly, wouldn't they hang private insurance execs for saying that? This is a relatively new state wide program too.

Oregon Offers to Pay to Kill, but Not to Treat Cancer Patient

As a general rule, the state-run Oregon insurance plan only covers drugs that meet the “five-year, 5 percent rule”—meaning, a 5% survival rate after five years. If a patient does not meet this exclusive and outdated criterion, all that she would be entitled to would be medication for palliative care—and to a reminder of the option of assisted suicide.

A big bad pharmaceutical company gave the lady the expensive meds the state wouldn't cover. The cancer medicine was about $4000. The suicide medicine was $500. The state didn't want to pay more money for her inevitable death from the disease. Now imagine the federal government in charge of it. Scary.

[RanchHQ]

Looks like "Big Pharmaceutical" came thru in the end.

"As we look, there may be some more ways to get money out of pharmaceutical companies." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi(D-CA)

[RanchHQ]

FROM: Obamacare: The “Post Office” of Health Care Plans The Foundry

Obamacare: The “Post Office” of Health Care Plans

YouTube - post office

YouTube - post office

At his orchestrated townhall event today, President Obama defended the notion that his government-run public health care plan wouldn’t crowd out private insurers by referencing the symbiotic relationship between UPS, Fedex and the Post Office. Bad timing Mr. President. On Friday, the New York Times Business Section actually called for the privatization of the post office amid staggering losses, and even said it was in “General Motors territory.” So while the President sells you on his “post office” of health care plans, here are some questions to consider:

1.) The U.S. Post Office is the only entity allowed by federal law to deliver first class mail to your mailbox. In fact, Fedex and UPS are strictly prohibited from delivering “non-urgent” letters. If the government can fairly compete and is setting fair rules, wouldn’t the post office be open to competition at your mailbox?

2.) If Americans were offered “free” postage paid for by massive government spending and tax hikes, would Fedex and UPS still exist?

3.) The Post Office is on track to lose a staggering $7 billion this year alone. How will a government-run health care plan manage taxpayer resources more efficiently?

4.) Postmaster General John Potter says he lacks the “tools” necessary to run the Post Office effectively like a business. Would a government-run health care system have the tools it needs to run as effectively as the private sector entities it is replacing?

5.) On the one hand, the President remarks how great his public health care plan will be. On the other hand, he notes it won’t be good enough to crowd out your private insurance, i.e. the Post Office comparison. So which is it Mr. President? Will it be so great that private insurance disappears or so awful that it isn’t worth creating in the first place?

6.) But the most important question is this: if you have an urgent piece of mail you need delivered, life or death, who are you going to call?

Everyone saying the government…please raise your hands. (crickets)
The most frightening line from Joe Nocera’s New York Times piece is this: “As for Mr. Potter himself, while he may want more freedom to run the Postal Service like a real business, he, too, seemed surprisingly wedded to outmoded ideas about mail service in America. ‘This country needs to have and to protect universal service,’ he said.”

Protecting universal service at the expense of cost, innovation, and quality of care. Sound familiar?

[Maximus]

Did you all see the young girl at Obama’s townhall meeting say that she sees “a lot of signs” outside and innocently ask who she should believe?

She was a plant. Her parents gave a pile of money to the Obama campaign, and they have attended other Obama White House functions including the Easter Egg Hunt.

They are using children as props to try to get back some support for siocialized medicine.

[Mama Mia]

Originally Posted by Maximus

Did you all see the young girl at Obama’s townhall meeting say that she sees “a lot of signs” outside and innocently ask who she should believe?

She was a plant. Her parents gave a pile of money to the Obama campaign, and they have attended other Obama White House functions including the Easter Egg Hunt.

They are using children as props to try to get back some support for siocialized medicine.

That stinks!!!! Using children as props will not get them anywhere. We Americans are smarter than that.... I don't think Mr. O is making any friends lately...