The most important News of the Week.

[FrenchieCat]

Wasn't about the drop in the stock market, Steele kissing the Bum Rush, Brad meeting Nancy, News of NO Gupta or even the Birthers being slammed. What is was is that Barack Obama is again on his way of fulfilling one of his campaign promises. (don't pay attention to the Clinton parts...as this was during the primaries.)

Pledging to enact health care reform within the first six months of his presidency, Obama praised Clinton's health care plan but alluded to her secrecy in developing her proposal by saying that he plans to invite all the players to a conference, open to public view. "The drug companies will have a seat at the table, they just won't be able to buy every chair," he said. "We'll invite Republicans and members of Congress" and "it'll be on C-Span, we'll do it publicly."
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/15/nation/na-campaign15


This is of vital importance to all of us, and Barack Obama did what he appears to be making a habit; he started out with all get out!

360-degree health care forum has rousing start
WASHINGTON — President Obama kicked off the first serious effort to overhaul the nation's health care system in 15 years Thursday with a pledge to include Republicans and consider opposing views — and a vow to get it done this year.

The president cautioned everyone to make decisions based on "evidence, data and what works" rather than "dug-in positions." It was one of many appeals he made to Republicans to be constructive, as he repeatedly has reached out to the minority party since taking office.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-04-health_N.htm


That Handsome Sir Senator Teddy Kennedy, Lion of the Senate, and determined to pass health care
was in attendance and received lengthy and well earned clapping ovations.

Now, as I was listening to the Radio (I listen to 960AM San Francisco), and they use CNN news. Their take on this story was that Barack Obama held a Health Care Summit, but that his plan lacked specific details.

First let me say that there isn't supposed to be a lot of details if the whole point of the summit was to gather ideas to make the plan specific. So it appears that CNN is going to make sure that they are working against health care reform from day one (which was today). I said to myself.... :wtf:

Un-accordingly, CNN's website had a story with this quote at the very end of the article...

Seventy-two percent of Americans favor an increase in government influence over the health care system to help lower costs and expand coverage, according a February CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/05/health.care.summit/

As well, the small business community may just be on the side of Change on this issue.



In addition, please let me say what I found fascinating about this Summit. The entire meeting was on television, and there is a report/transcript that will be made available to the public. Folks will not be able to hide behind their words in this case. Anything said by anyone can and may be used in whatever manner the President sees fit. No hoodwinking about what someone said they said and what they really said will be confused.

Further, comments from the Community discussions held nationwide by grass-root participants were handed out to those attending today's Summit.

The administration will present a summary of the feedback at today's summit.

The report, made available to the Globe yesterday, compiles the responses of 3,272 hosts of the nearly 9,000 community discussions held nationwide, as well as surveys from some 30,000 participants. Using sophisticated data analysis and teams of volunteers sorting through the data, the administration compiled a 120-page report that shows strong consensus on the problems facing the health care system. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/03/05/summit_to_study_road_ahead_on_healthcare/

This Health Care planning for next week......:
Obama officials due at health care meeting in Dearborn
http://www.freep.com/article/20090305/NEWS05/903050333/Obama+due+at+health+care+meeting+in+Dearborn


The Summit as a whole (including the President's opening remarks, and his closing Q&A) has been aired on C-Span twice thus far, and will be aired one more time in the early morning hours. It will also be shown in full this weekend.


President Obama at the Health Summit,
describing the size of Rush Limbaugh Ass Boil
as was described to him by someone who actually saw it.

[firedupdem]

1. Thanks for this Frenchie, and you're right..It was the best thing

that happened today. This administration is addressing campaign promises at a much faster rate than I ever expected. Even with the economy in horrible condition they are still tackling health care and addressing labor issues. We elected a great team of people.

The part about the summits being on CSPAN were important to me. I want to hear for myself exactly what is going on. I hate the spin the MSM puts on it.

Bravo Mr. President and staff!!

[snowbear]

2. LOL Frenchie!

.
.

President Obama at the Health Summit,
describing the size of Rush Limbaugh Ass Boil
as was described to him by someone who actually saw it.

-

~~ Great thread Frenchie =^..^= !

[FrenchieCat]

3. That's a pretty large ass Boil

If you ask me! :wow:

[firedupdem]

4. I forgot to add that part was hillarious!! n/t

[Hekate]

5. Kick: Straight on 'til morning

Thanks as always, FrenchieCat.

Hekate

[eridani]

6. It was importaint for one reason only

That shitloads of phone calls and emails to the White House convinced Obama to include John Conyers and the chair of Physicians for National Health Care.

Single-payer advocates win seats
at White House health summit

Dr. Oliver Fein releases prepared remarks

Two leading advocates of single-payer health reform, sometimes characterized as an improved Medicare for All, received last-minute invitations to attend the White House health care summit being held today. The invitations were greeted as a victory by single-payer supporters.

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), chief sponsor of the single-payer U.S. National Health Care Act, H.R. 676, was invited to attend the meeting late in the day on Tuesday, and Dr. Oliver Fein, president of Physicians for a National Health Program, was invited on Wednesday afternoon.

The White House invitations were extended to the two leaders after intense grassroots lobbying efforts by single-payer supporters, who were concerned that no single-payer voices would be present at the meeting. The efforts included an outpouring of phone calls and e-mail messages to the White House, along with a threatened demonstration outside the White House gates by doctors and other health professionals wearing their white coats. The demonstration was called off when word arrived that Rep. Conyers and Dr. Fein had been invited.

In his prepared remarks, the full text of which follows, Dr. Fein says, "We are pleased to be here today and appreciate the implicit recognition of the majority support for single payer in our country. We hope this is the beginning of a serious dialogue on how to enact single-payer health reform and we look forward to working with and the Congress toward this end."

Dr. Fein's prepared remarks for the summit follow.

Prepared remarks by Dr. Oliver Fein
Mr. President, Physicians for a National Health Program agrees with your statement during your presidential campaign: health care should be a basic human right.

Physicians recommend an improved and expanded Medicare-for-All - that is, a single-payer national health insurance program, providing care that is publicly financed but largely privately delivered. This fundamental health reform - which enjoys solid majority support among physicians and the public - has become even more urgently needed in view of our severe economic recession.

Millions of people are losing their employer-sponsored health insurance, joining the 46 million who already lack coverage. Millions more, including those with insurance, are finding it harder to pay their co-pays and deductibles and are scrimping on their medications and doctor visits. Many go without care, risking their health and often their very lives.

Physicians find that private, for-profit health insurance companies add cost but no value to the health care system. The administrative waste associated with the private-insurance-based industry - enormous paperwork, marketing costs, and other costs that have nothing to do with delivering care - consumes 31 cents of every health care dollar.

As long as we rely on private health insurers, universal coverage will be unaffordable.

Mandates to buy private insurance are not the answer. Experience with mandate plans in Washington state (1993), Oregon (1992) and Massachusetts (1988 and today), shows they simply don't work, achieving neither universal health care nor cost containment.

Some of these plans offer a Medicare-like, public option that people could buy into, but experience with Medicare shows that the private plans refuse to compete on a level playing field. They cherry-pick healthier patients and insist on more than their share of payment.

In contrast, single payer guarantees everyone access to comprehensive, quality health care and choice of their own doctor and hospital.

Single-payer health reform, an improved Medicare for All, is the only reform model that offers $400 billion in annual savings in administrative costs. It is the only approach that contains effective cost-containment provisions such as bulk purchasing and global budgeting.

Such economies would allow for expanding health coverage to everyone - with no co-pays or deductibles - with no overall increase in health care spending. In other words, it's the only health reform proposal that pays for itself.

The single-payer model is the only fiscally prudent proposal available, an especially important consideration at a time of economic distress. And we know from our experience with Medicare and other single-payer systems that it will work.

With a single-payer national health insurance program we can assure lifelong, high quality, comprehensive and affordable coverage for everyone. Such a program will lift the heavy burden of crushing medical expenses off the shoulders of our population, expenses that often lead to personal bankruptcy. And we can save lives: the Institute of Medicine estimated in 2002 that more than 18,000 Americans die each year from lack of health insurance. That number is certainly higher today.

From the standpoint of what benefits our patients, single payer is the health policy model that best reflects their needs and values.

Support for single payer is extensive. In a peer-reviewed statistical study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, 59 percent of U.S. physicians said they would support government action to establish national health insurance. In a recent Associated Press poll, 65 percent of the respondents said, "The United State should adopt a universal health insurance program in which everyone is covered under a program like Medicare that is run by the government and financed by taxes."

Single-payer health reform is embodied in the U.S. National Health Care Act, H.R. 676, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). It had 93 co-sponsors in the 110th Congress, the most of any health reform legislation.

We are pleased to be here today and appreciate the implicit recognition of the majority support for single payer in our country. We hope this is the beginning of a serious dialogue on how to enact single-payer health reform and we look forward to working with you and the Congress toward this end.

****
A short biography of Dr. Fein is available here: http://www.pnhp.org/stateactions/new_york/

Physicians for a National Health Program (www.pnhp.org), a membership organization of over 15,000 physicians, supports a single-payer national health insurance program. To contact a physician-spokesperson in your area, visit www.pnhp.org/stateactions or call [phone].




Physicians for a National Health Program
29 E Madison Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602
Phone [phone] | Fax: [phone]
www.pnhp.org | info {at} pnhp.org