Howard Dean - 'Worthless, Costs a Lot of Money & Should be Defeated'

[tomm2thumbs]

Run time: 01:58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn3nlWB6kNc   Posted on YouTube: December 01, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: December 01, 2009 By DU Member: tomm2thumbs Views on DU: 1263

 

Howard Dean's comments to the Pierson College Master's Tea on Monday regarding health care - how Americans have various health care types of systems running currently right now, all widely supported, and his comments that without a public option, this bill should be defeated. Very strong. Very clear.

_______

No public option? -then kill the bill. To use taxpayer funds to subsidize corporate health care companies, mandate we all contribute both as forced marchers in their corporate billing departments and through our taxes is beyond sickening. To enhance the bottom line postions of those medical corporations who are already monetarily raping the American people over and over again without end is vomitous.

If we Democrats cannot do this one thing, 'sliver' as it has been called by the administration, then we do not deserve credit for 'health care reform'. We really do not.

[tomm2thumbs]

1. reading his comments is one thing, but hearing his determined voice is another

His voice is the one that knows the difference between reform and corporate giveaway.

[Sebastian Doyle]

2. As usual, Howard Dean speaks for me

without a true public option, there is nothing resembling REFORM in the bill.

[Ozymanithrax]

3. Howard Dean has good health care insurance.

My mother, sister, three of my older children, and many friends do not.

Howard Dean's all or nothing approach is immoral. Screw Dean and the horse he rode in on.

[Cowpunk]

6. Actually, it's a something or nothing approach

That's his point-without the public option, there is almost nothing in this bill that's going to improve your lot. As he has said before, the insurance companies have to cover those with pre-existing conditions, but they can pretty much charge whatever they want to do it. You're still screwed. And if you just can't afford insurance, what else is there to lower costs? The insurance industry's backroom promises?

[Ozymanithrax]

11. And Howard Dean is not stuck with nothing.

He has money, he has insurance.

Those who don't need a bill that expands coverage. To call for nothing is to join hands with Repubicans in allowing 40,000 people a year to continue to die because they have no coverage. In Health Care, Dean is just another Republican shill.

[sandnsea]

4. So his plan in 2004 was worthless

Is that what he's saying? His 2004 plan was a subsidized insurance pool without a public option.

[SandWalker1984]

5. This bill is the Corporate Health Insurance Profits Protection Act

It is now official -- the Democrats have screwed us over.

We will not get access to affordable health care.

We will not get an overhaul of the current, corporate for huge profit system.

We will get mandates to buy private, overpriced and under delivering insurance (insurance, not health CARE).

It will be play or pay -- you don't want to give the private insurance corporations up to 8% of your hard earned income for high deductible, low coverage, i.e. practically useless insurance plan --tough! Pay the fines or go to jail.

Don't count on the promised subsidies -- when the Repubs get back in again, in 2010 or 2012 (especially if the corporate Dems pass a monstrosity of a bill like this), they will reduce or eliminate most of the subsidies. After all, they had no problems cutting the CHIPS health care insurance for children.

The public option, according to the CBO as announced by Rachel Maddow on her show November 19th, will only cover an estimated ONE percent of the public. It is also estimated that approximately 1/3 of the states will 'opt out' of a public option altogether. If you are in one of those states, tough luck.

Taxes and fines begin in 2010, but coverage won't until 2013. Where is the reporting on that?


Summary of House version of the bill:
Includes mandate.

Penalty: Tax equal to 2.5 percent of adjusted gross income over certain thresholds ($9,350 for individuals, $18,700 for couples).

Exemptions: American Indians, people with religious objections and people who can show financial

hardship.



Summary of Senate version of the bill:

Includes mandate.

Penalty: Starts at $95 a year per person in 2014 and rises to $350 in 2015 and $750 in 2016, with a maximum of $2,250 for a family. No penalty if the cost of cheapest available plan exceeds 8 percent of household income.

Exemptions: American Indians, people with religious objections and people who can show financial hardship.



Per TaxProf Blog at http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2009/11/17-tax-increases.html

17 TAX INCREASES are included in the Senate health care bill, for a total of $370.2 BILLION IN NEW TAXES. They are:

40% excise tax on health coverage in excess of $8,500/$23,000 ($149.1 billion)
Employer W-2 reporting of value of health (negligible revenue effect)
Conform definition of medical expenses ($5.0 billion)
Increase penalty for non-qualified health savings account distributions to 20% ($1.3 billion)
Limit health flexible spending arrangements in cafeteria plans to $2,500 ($14.6 billion)
Require information reporting on payments to corporations ($17.1 billion)
Additional requirements for section 501(c)(3) hospitals (negligible revenue effects)
Impose annual fee on manufacturers & importers of branded drugs ($22.2 billion)
Impose annual fee on manufacturers & importers of medical devices ($19.3 billion)
Impose annual fee on health insurance providers ($60.4 billion)
Study and report of effect on veterans health care (no revenue effect)
Eliminate deduction for expenses allocable to Medicare Part D subsidy ($5.4 billion)
Raise 7.5% AGI floor on medical expenses deduction to 10% ($15.2 billion)
$500,000 deduction limitation on taxable year remuneration to health insurance officials ($0.6 billion)
Additional 0.5% hospital insurance tax on wages > $200,000 ($250,000 joint) ($53.8 billion)
Modification of section 833 treatment of certain health organizations ($0.4 billion)
Impose 5% excise tax on cosmetic surgery ($5.8 billion)



Some of these people on this site, if they are not paid hacks for the insurance corporations, they are acting like anxious mistresses in that they say the bill needs to be passed first and fixed later. They believe, like mistresses, that even though they are the 3rd affair of the adulterer for the year, they are somehow special and the adulterer will treat them better and end up marrying them. Yeah, right.

Remember that when we were sold NAFTA by Clinton, Gore & corporate media, we were told it could be renegotiated and fixed in 6 months if it wasn't working out. It's now 15 years later and NAFTA wasn't fixed or renegotiated and it has devastated Detroit. In just the past few weeks Whirlpool and Electrolux have moved almost 2000 jobs to Mexico. Never mind that NAFTA has destroyed the value of our dollar.

Let's talk about Bill Clinton's capital gains tax cut to 15% that rewarded the rich for moving those jobs out of the US. That hasn't been fixed either, in fact, they now want to eliminate the capital gains tax altogether for their rich friends.

Then there's the Telecommunications bill from 1996. Newt told us all after passing the bill with Clinton, that our cable bills would drop to $15 a month. I don't know about yours, but my cable bill is $60 a month for BASIC cable. Another lie.


You can't fix legislation later that is being controlled by monopolies like the health care industry.

Obama ran as an anti-current establishment, reform progressive but apparently, behind the scenes, he is going behind our backs and cutting bad deals with the industry he is supposed to be protecting us from in the health care debate, the industry that he ran against during the campaign.

Recently on MSNBC, it was reported Clinton told the Senate Dems that they should pass whatever they can so they can declare a victory even though Bill was against the Republican MANDATES in 1994 and opposed them at that time in his health care boondoggle.

We are being sold out for "whatever." Whatever is more important than REAL health care reform - it's all about their self-serving agendas and the rich they represent. The rest is just lies and rhetoric.

Obama-Orwell, more corporate "chains" you can believe in.


This bill cannot be fixed -- the "fix" is already in the bill -- the CORPORATE FIX.

[snagglepuss]

8. Well said.

:applause:

[BREMPRO]

9. so you just show ONLY the negatives- and NONE of the positives and hide anonymously

I call BS on your objectivity and analysis. You sound like one of those insurance industry funded commercials flooding the airwaves trying to kill reform.

[pundaint]

10. I call bs on your bs call

You challenge an excellent exposition of the bill's weaknesses with some vague assertion that there are positives. Did you have some positives to justify the 4-5 year delay, plus $90 billion of additional cost?

[BREMPRO]

13. more negatives in your response. for the hundredth time....

Some positives:
30-40 million more insured
thousands less unnecessary deaths because of being uninsured
fewer using expensive emergency room services because they now will have insurance
money for preventative care and wellness programs to improve health, rather than just treat disease
comparative effectives research to recommend best practices on health care delivery to lower costs (such as mayo clinic model)
premium subsidies for lower income no more than 10% of income
CBO estimate cost savings to budget of 130 billion first ten, 650 billion next ten
more funds to fight waste fraud and abuse in medicare
no more denials because of pre-existing conditions
no more recissions
no more life time caps
competitive exchanges including a public option (that can be expanded in further legislation)

other pending amendment include:

retraction of anti-trust exemption
requirement that ins. co's spend at least 80% on actual health care.
more robust public option or trigger.

The naysayers here all want single payer and it simply doesn't have the votes. A political reality. This is a bill that CAN pass and will improve health care and lower costs.

[Kweli4Real]

7. When I Read the Title of the Vid ...

I was like :wtf:, but then I listened. The title left out a few very important words ...

[swilton]

12. I'm So Glad Someone had the guts to say this

A giveaway to big health insurance - we DON'T need this - K&R

[patrice]

14. I'm 0 for 2 on my main issues. I can't do anything about one of them, but I CAN do something about

this one.

And it's going to feel just, uh . . . , "great" calling my red Senators, identifying myself as a member of the Democratic party, and telling them to vote against this bill.