|
Edited on Tue Sep-15-09 07:26 AM by thunder rising
For your enjoyment I have included an email that was sent to me this morning by Senator Bill Nelson. Now Bill is one of those Blue Tick Democrats that has more empathy for the extremely wealthy than for the average Democrat. In fact, his career is best described as vanilla, marked by non-action, obfuscation, mousy (under the radar corner creeper) and highlighted with siding with the Republicans.
So, when he says he is "preparing" a bill in the Senate Finance Committee that compares closely to what the President called for in his speech I was a little sceptical. For one, he is not in the "Gang of Six" so how his bill is even going to be heard is beyond me.
However, the real entertainment comes from the description that he says is "pretty close" to what the President described. Notice it's just the standard feeding of the poor to the health insurance lobby.
That's my Senator ... Bill Nelson. Loves him some rich health insurance corporations.
See Bill, this is what happens when you come out of your shadowy corner and expose yourself as the corporate shill that you are. Want some advice Bill; you should have stayed quite.
Now we have to go through all that effort of harassing you and your staff to get you to come back to the light. You're a Democrat Bill, and not a really bright one at that, so just agree with your leaders and STFU.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 15, 2009
Most of the calls and mail coming into my office these days are from constituents worried about health care. Regardless of where anyone stands on the specifics of this issue, I think we all can agree the current system is unfair, too costly, and needs to be fixed.
President Obama gave some clearer answers in his speech to Congress last week about his views on reform. I found it interesting that what the president described is pretty close to the bill I'm helping prepare as a member of the Senate Finance Committee. I want to tell you basically what this bill does.
In essence, it will let folks happy with their insurance keep it, including seniors on Medicare and veterans. It also will create a marketplace--exchanges--where those without coverage, or those who are unhappy with what they have, can get coverage at an affordable price.
The bill will hold insurers' feet to the fire by requiring them to cover everyone and preventing them from dropping individuals who get sick. Additionally, it will contain several measures aimed at reducing overall medical and prescription drug costs and eliminating waste and fraud in the system.
I still intend to offer several amendments aimed at further improving the legislation. One of my amendments would require drugmakers to provide rebates to Medicare, just like they do to Medicaid. This would save Medicare a ton of money. Further, by eliminating the tax break drugmakers get for TV and other advertising, we would gain another $37 billion over the coming years to help pay for health care reforms.
The Senate Finance Committee will begin considering this bill as early as this week. Meantime, please know that I value your continued input.
************************************************************ :: Offices ::
* Washington, D.C. United States Senate 716 Senate Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-5274 Fax: 202-228-2183
* Orlando Landmark Two 225 East Robinson Street, Ste 410 Orlando, Florida 32801 Phone: 407-872-7161 Toll Free in Florida: 1-888-671-4091 Fax: 407-872-7165 ************************************************************
|