Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Information/Critique of Obama's Speech to Joint Congres


Most of this came from the GOP Fact Check! So go ahead to the site to see more comments about the speech:

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  • A checklist for Obama's speech...things to think about and watch courtesy of Keith Hennessy.com , topics include:
    Deadline, 'Must' and its variants, Any new number, public option language and     Medical liability/malpractice/tort reform
    He asks questions like:
    Does he think the problem is substance or communication?
    How does he characterize the opposition?
    What did he learn from the August town halls?
    Does he explicitly reject bills developed in July to give nervous Dems cover?
    What is the priority: helping the insured of insuring the uninsured?
  • Obama says his stimulus has "brought the economy back from the brink." Interesting ... because Congressional Democratic leaders that attacked job GROWTH under President Bush are now declaring economic victory despite job LOSSES under President Obama. Click here for more information.

  • Obama says the "health care problem is the deficit problem".
    CBO Director Says Plans For Government-Run Health Care Would Worsen Budget
     “President Obama’s plan to expand health coverage to the uninsured is likely to dig the nation deeper into debt ... ‘Without meaningful reforms, the substantial costs of many current proposals . . . would be much more likely to worsen the long-run budget outlook than to improve it,’ he said. ...” ("Obama's Health Plan Needs Spending Controls Spending Control" CBO says, Washington Post, 6/17/09)

  • The plan he is "introducing" sounds kinda familiar don't you think?? Maybe because he said on August 11, 2009:
    "Under the reform we're proposing, insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage because of a person's medical history."(President Barack Obama, Remarks In Health Insurance Reform Town Hall, Portsmouth, NH, 8/11/09)
  • Despite Obama claiming once again that a public option will increase competition the facts prove something else
    Government-Run Health Care Will Crowd Out Private Competitors
     “But the federal government isn’t competition. It is the health care equivalent of Bigfoot, with so many Americans on its rolls that it dictates prices for doctors, drugs, and other benefits. It sets low prices, to be sure, lower than many insurers are able to match. But that just means those doctors and hospitals recoup the losses by shifting costs onto those with private insurance -- amounting to an estimated $89 billion a year, one insurance exec told a Senate committee a few months ago. A new public option may start small. But it could easily crowd out private plans depending on how premiums, benefits and subsidies are structured.” (Editorial, “Hope and Experience" The Chicago Tribune, 6/16/09)
  • Public Plan “Cannot Operate On A Level Playing Field” Because It Has Unfair Advantage.
    “A public plan, particularly combined with the impact of Medicare, Medicaid, and other public plans, cannot operate on a level playing field and compete fairly if it acts as both a payer and a regulator. The public plan’s unfair competitive position, both by its size and regulatory authority, will merely shift additional costs to the private sector and employees covered by private plans.”(National Coalition on Benefits, Letter To Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell and Representatives Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner, 6/9/09)
  • Obama: Public option will not impact already-insured Americans.
    Public Option Will Likely Result In 88 Million Americans Losing Their Current, Employer-Based Coverage.
    “Under current law, there will be about 158.1 million people who are covered under an employer plan as workers, dependents or early retirees in 2011. If the act were fully implemented in that year, about 88.1 million workers would shift from private employer insurance to the public plan.” (John Shelis, Vice President, Lewin Group, Analysis of the July 15 draft of the American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, 7/23/09)
  • President Obama claims that a majority of Americans support a public option.
    Poll: 52% Disapprove Of Obama’s Handling Of Health Care, Up 9 Points Since July.
    “An Associated Press-GfK poll says that public disapproval of President Barack Obama’s handling of health care has jumped to 52 percent. … The grade people give Obama on health care has also worsened since July, when just 43 percent disapproved of his work on the issue.” ("Obama Disapproval On Health Care up to 52%, 9/9/09)

  • Obama claimed no government bureaucrat
    Congressional Democrats Want New Health Insurance Czar That Would Dictate What Treatments Would Be Funded
    “A qualified health benefits plan shall meet a medical loss ratio as defined by the Commissioner. For any plan year in which the qualified health benefits plan does not meet such medical loss ratio, QHBP offering entity shall provide in a manner specified by the Commissioner for rebates to enrollees of payment sufficient to meet such loss ratio ... The Commissioner shall build on the definition and methodology developed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the amendments made by section 161 for determining how to calculate the medical loss ratio. Such methodology shall be set at the highest level medical loss ratio possible that is designed to ensure adequate participation by QHBP offering entities, competition in the health insurance market in and out of the Health Insurance Exchange, and value for consumers so that their premiums are used for services” (H.R. 3200, "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009,"

  • Obama once again promises a deficit-neutral health care bill.
    Current Version Of Obama’s Government-Run Health Care Experiment Would Add $239 Billion Deficit In Ten Years. “According to CBO’s and JCT’s assessment, enacting H.R. 3200 would result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion over the 2010-2019 period.” (Preliminary Analysis of the House Democrats' Health Reform Proposal, CBO Director's Blog, 7/18/09)
  • Obama just mentioned a "panel" that would ration care? I thought that was a radical right wing lie!
    IMAC Would Give Medicare Increased Ability To Deny Treatments.
    “President Obama has proposed a new body that would enhance Medicare’s ability to deny care to the elderly and disabled based on government bureaucrats’ arbitrary valuations of those patients’ lives. It is right there in the legislation now before Congress, and it is called the Independent Medicare Advisory Council.” (Cannon, Op-Ed, "Sorry Folks, Sarah Palin is (Partly) Right," The Detroit Free-Press, 8/19/09)
  • Obama: This will in no way add to deficit, even though it will cost 9 billion
    $500 billion+ cuts to Medicare to pay for government-run health care experiment will make seniors "the net losers    "
    According to the Washington Post...House Will Trim $563 Billion From Medicare.“From the raw numbers, it appears seniors are the net losers under bills approved by three House committees ... The legislation trims $563 billion out of Medicare’s growth rate over the next 10 years ...” (Connolly, "Seniors Remain Wary of Health-Care Reform," The Washington Post, 8/9/09)
  • House Dems’ Plan Job-Killing Tax Increases On Small Businesses To Pay For Reform.
    The Small Business Surtax
    “This [surtax] would hit job creators especially hard because more than six of every 10 who earn that much are small business owners, operators or investors, according to a 2007 Treasury study... America’s successful small businesses would pay higher tax rates than the Fortune 500, and for that matter than most companies around the world ... “ (Editorial, “The Small Business Surtax,” Wall Street Journal, 7/14/09) "
  • Obama 'wants pilot programs' for tort reform.Doesn't match his voting record while he was in the Senate
    Sen. Obama Voted To Filibuster A Bill That Would Cap Damages In Medical Liability Lawsuits Brought Against OBGYNs. (S. 23, CQ Vote #116, Motion Rejected 49-44: R 49-3; D 0-41; I 0-0, 5/8/06, Obama Voted Nay)
    Sen. Obama Did Not Vote (Marked Announced Against) On A Filibuster To A Bill That Would Cap Damages In Medical Liability Lawsuits. (S. 22, CQ Vote #115, Motion Rejected 48-42: R 48-3; D 0-39; I 0-0, 5/8/06, Obama Not Voting (Announced Against)
  • Obama wants to "seek common ground"
    GOP Hasn’t Been Invited To The White House To Discuss Health Care Since The End Of April
    “Boehner told reporters that the president has not invited House GOP leaders to the White House for meetings on healthcare reform since the end of April. Earlier this year, GOP leaders sent a letter to the president in May stating that they would like to work with the administration to find “common ground” on healthcare reform. But the administration responded with a tersely worded letter indicating that they had healthcare reform under control.” (Molly Hooper, “Boehner: GOP Leaders Haven’t Met Obama For Health Talks Since April,” The Hill's "Briefing Room", 9/9/09)
  • Interesting catch from our good friends in Senate GOP Leader McConnell's office:
    17 million fewer uninsured -- in a month??
    Great catch by Don Stewart/Josh Holmes in Mitch McConnell's office
    "There are now more than thirty million American citizens who cannot get coverage.” Obama 9/9/09
    “We've got 46-47 million people without health insurance in our country.”     Obama, Guadalajara, Mexico, 8/10/09
  • Obama attacks the status quo while also promoting the status quo
    Obama Attacking Status Quo While Embracing It.
    “One of the bewildering ironies of the health-care debate is that President Obama claims to be attacking the status quo when he’s actually embracing it. Ever since Congress created Medicare and Medicaid in 1965, health politics has followed a simple logic: Expand benefits and talk about controlling costs. That’s the status quo, and Obama faithfully adheres to it. While denouncing skyrocketing health spending, he would increase it by extending government health insurance to millions more Americans.” (Robert Samuelson, Op-Ed, "Championing The Status Quo", The Washington Post, 8/10/09)
  • There are 14 Republican Doctors in the House and Senate and all oppose Obama's plan. They want real reforms, as Rep. Boustany will explains, not a government takeover. When 14 out of 14 doctors agree, it's worth listening...

at 9:09 PM Posted by Solange

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