This is no longer about providing coverage -

- as if it ever even was in the first place. This week's activities in the Senate prove more than ever that the Democrats never really cared as much about providing universal coverage as much as they were simply trying to grab control of the healthcare system. The single biggest goal of the Dems was the public plan option because they thought it would provide guaranteed coverage to anyone who wanted it (legal or illegal, but that's a different story). Many Democrats openly stated in recent months that they would never endorse a plan that didn't have it. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid completely caved on that major point, and instead went to trying to offer medicare coverage to people as young as 55. Well, now he caved on that too. So, with no public plan option, and no medicare expansion, 59 of the 60 Democrat Senators would still vote for the plan (Lieberman included). I wish I could say "unbelievable", but it's right in line with their modus operandi. Their steadfast demands went right out the window, yet they're still willing to vote for it. Promises be damned - just grab control of as much as possible now and deal with the rest later.

Lieberman knows we simply cannot afford it!

What is it with the idealogues that stop them from understanding the basic premise that Medicare is already going broke, and that adding millions more to it will just make it worse?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/34421202#34421202

UPDATE - HE CAVED - NEVER MIND.........

The Games Continue

As Obama's socialized medicine dreams are beginning to dwindle (aka America is waking up, hence the 41% approval rating on it), 20 democrats in the house are pushing to make whatever the final "product" is (term used loosely) available to people who are here illegally. While I understand their side of the argument, which is that it will keep illegals from plugging up emergency rooms for non emergency treatments, it's offering them another incentive to come here illegally. Where does the line get drawn? Do these 20 democrats HAVE a line? I say no, and that's why the approval rating is at a lowly 41%. Wanna bet it drops more?

17 Million Uninsured "Americans" - POOF!!!

For those of you who watched Obama's speech last week, you may have noticed that he referred to the "30 million uninsured Americans" in this country. What is the significance of this? For YEARS we in the insurance business have been trying to say that the "47 million" figure was bogus, that it contained people here illegally. For YEARS the politicians used that figure anyway. Because of H.R. 3200 hitting the internet, people have been waking up and firing back at the politicians about this figure, and it's finally working. 17 million - POOF, just like that...

Click on it to see it full sized -

Howard Dean actually talks straight -

EVERYONE knows that if this government is serious about healthcare reform, tort reform has to be part of the equation. The lawyers of course want nothing to do with tort reform. In a town hall meeting, Howard Dean finally tells it like it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9HcWd5ifBA

Congressman Dennis Moore - how about some intellectual honesty?

Well, we won't be able to criticize Dennis Moore for refusing to do healthcare town hall meetings anymore. I just heard on the radio that he did one earlier today at Johnson County Community College.

OH, WAIT - it was closed-door, invite-only and the media was not allowed in.... C'mon, man......

This could be a clue as to why - this is his website - http://moore.house.gov/nr.asp?nr_id=632 As you can see right in the beginning, he states, "There are approximately 46 million uninsured or underinsured Americans living in this country." NO THERE AREN'T, CONGRESSMAN MOORE - THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE RECENTLY ACKNOWLEDGED IN THEIR LETTER TO WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN CHARLES RANGEL THAT MILLIONS OF THE PEOPLE IN THAT FIGURE ARE HERE ILLEGALLY. HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW THAT? I'LL BET YOU DO!!!

I refuse to believe that Congressman Moore does not know this. Also, he refers to himself as a Blue Dog Democrat. One would think that a true Blue Dog would LOVE to do town hall meetings on this subject. Maybe if you'd simply exercise some intellectual honesty, you wouldn't have to worry about people in the audience yelling at you.

"If You Like Your Current Plan, You Can Keep It" - - REALLY???

Everyone who's heard the president talk about health insurance reform has heard those exact words. The problem is, while technically accurate at the moment, the bill the Democrats tried to ram through Congress before the recess would do everything it possibly could to stop you from keeping your coverage long term after the new plans go into effect.

IN THE BILL is a provision that clearly states that after the new, government approved plans go into effect on whatever date they get it done, you could in fact keep the coverage you had at that time. THE PROBLEM IS THOUGH that your insurance company would no longer be allowed to sell the plan you have to anyone else. The flow of new business into that pool would be cut off. EVERY TIME THIS HAS EVER HAPPENED, give a year or 2 at the most and the rates will go right thru the ceiling. Why? Because with no fresh business coming in, the average age of that block of business gets older, the claims mount up and therefore so do the rate increases. It's always been that way, and it always will. And don't think for a second that they don't know it.

They know they can't just step in and force the country on to government plans, but they're apparently perfectly fine with easing it in against your will.

The Figures The Politicians Insist On Ignoring

When will the democrat politicians in this country exercise some intellectual honesty before blurting out the "47 million uninsured Americans" line?

Recently released figures by the Congressional Budget Office demonstrate that of the "47 million uninsured Americans", oops - I mean people in this country:

• 30% of them could get coverage if they'd simply apply for and pay for it.
• 18% of them would qualify for Medicaid if they'd just fill out the paperwork, and
• approximately 9 million of them are in the country illegally.

What does that leave over? THE PEOPLE WHO LEGITIMATELY CANNOT GET COVERAGE BECAUSE OF THEIR HEALTH, AND THE PEOPLE WHO CANNOT GET COVERAGE BECAUSE THEY LEGITIMATELY CANNOT AFFORD IT! (If you claim to not be able to afford coverage, but you CAN afford beer and cigarettes and Big Macs, cry to someone else)...

Maybe it's a stretch, but how about the politicians, before blowing out 15% of the nation's economy, just decide to work on the problem (see above) instead of trying to dismantle a system that they apparently either don't understand, or just don't care about? Just sayin'........

Obama Backing Off of the Public Plan Option?

Most likely because of the uproar in the town hall meetings all over the country, it was announced earlier today that the Obama administration is considering backing off of his Public Plan Option and considering alternative ideas like insurance co-ops. Howard Dean doesn't like the idea, but Howard Dean doesn't have to worry about getting re-elected either... http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8343772

So now he's got his own party at his throat because as far as they're concerned, without a public plan option, there is NO healthcare reform.

Why Obama's Public Plan Option Must Fail

Trying to keep this as non-political as possible - - -

As it has been described thus far, the public plan option this administration is presenting would be a complete fiscal disaster for this country. In english, here's why -

The three main components that affect the long term viability of ANY health insurance plan are:

1. how comprehensive is the coverage
2. what kind of (health) risks is it accepting, and
3. how much does it cost.

Pretty simple, right? Of those 3 components, one of them MUST GIVE for the plan to be able to survive at an affordable rate. Well, here's the problem - Obama wants to creat a public plan option that:

1. is very comprehensive
2. accepts everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions, and
3. is supposedly affordable.

WHERE'S THE GIVE????? The only way the above setup could possibly survive without bankrupting this country is by taxing the hell out of some-one, or some-thing - PERIOD!!! There's simply no debate to that. Ask anyone who has been in the insurance business for any extended period of time - we've all seen insurance companies try to do some version of what this administration is trying to create, only to see the rates fly right thru the ceiling within a relatively short period of time (1-2 years) because as the claims start coming in, there simply isn't enough premium coming in to sustain it. It's always been that way.

Why the politicians don't see this simple fact is apparently too far above my pay grade to understand. Unfortunately, unless they're inept to levels higher than we ever imagined, they have to know that this is the case yet tried to vote for it anyway.