Arrogant Approach to Health Care

The Cincinnati Enquirer nails it today:

America’s robust discussion of health care reform during the past year has been beneficial in many ways, giving the public greater awareness and insight into this complex issue. Unfortunately, the debate has been held pretty much on one-party terms as Democrats, controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, crafted the only plan allowed on the table, and negotiated behind closed doors. Now, despite the deep reservations of a majority of Americans, congressional leaders plan to ram through their proposal this week – bypassing normal congressional procedures.

It is a distressing prospect. We hope that moderate House Democrats – among them Rep. Steve Driehaus of Cincinnati, who says he “will not bend on the principle of federal funding on abortion” but will be stuck in the middle of an elaborate charade to include that funding anyway – will put a stop to this sham.

Real debate has been sidestepped, while Democrats played a childish game of Catch-22 with health care legislation: Congressional leaders wouldn’t allow Republican proposals to be formally considered, then turned around and accused them of not having alternatives. Among themselves, Democrats cut a series of backroom deals that in any other context would be considered criminal payoffs and bribery.

Here’s how blatant it’s become: Last week, President Obama nominated for a federal appeals court the brother of a wavering Democratic House member from Utah.

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Tags: government health care, government takeover, Medicare cuts, ObamaCare, quinnipiac poll
Posted Mar 16th 2010 at 11:22 am in Congress, Healthcare, News, Obama, Politics, federal spending | 90610189 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2010/03/16/arrogant-approach-to-health-care/Arrogant+Approach+to+Health+Care2010-03-16+18%3A22%3A40Publius

A White House Power Grab that Congress and America Doesn’t See

To achieve the goal of a universal, single-payer health system, the White House must secure the power it needs by amending the Social Security Act to transfer pivotal controls from Congress to the executive branch.  This transfer of power would ultimately give the President and the majority party, in this case the radical left Obama White House and Pelosi-Reid led progressive Democrats, the authority to frame and manipulate new policy, coverage options, and reimbursements, ultimately reshaping the future US health care system into a something unrecognizable in this country.

The deliberate setup for the White House power grab is built into the each of the health care bills and, if they fail, little-known twin bills called “MedPAC Reform of 2009” are waiting in the wings.  The bills, S.B. 1110 and H.R. 2718, craftily amend the Social Security Act and transfer the Medicare guideline and rule setting processes, from the legislative branch to the executive branch.  These bills offer cover to one another in case one doesn’t pass the House or Senate, respectively.  Remember, Democrats need to gain executive branch authority by amending the Social Security Act over Medicare regulations and physician fee schedules to transform the health care system in a single-payer, socialized system.

More importantly, Medicare’s regulations and physician fee schedules are the keystone to developing payer systems and reimbursement models across the entire health care industry.  And where Medicare goes, insurers follow.

To underscore the far-reaching power, a bulk of the states already reference or utilize the Medicare guidelines and fee schedules in determining policy, coverage, and payment, which impacts certain state-specific plans, including, but not limited to, self-funded plans, automobile insurance payers, and state workers’ compensation funds and plans – affecting even Big Labor.   For the executive branch to have such authority over Medicare regulations with little oversight is alarming.  This raises further issues of the powerful impact these federal mandates could potentially have on the states in stripping them of their own management of their respective insurance industries.

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Tags: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, government health care, government rationing, government takeover, Health Care Financing Administration
Posted Dec 8th 2009 at 6:31 pm in Big Labor, Congress, Healthcare, News, Obama, Politics | 43214146 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/sahiller/2009/12/08/a-white-house-power-grab-that-congress-and-america-doesnt-see/A+White+House+Power+Grab+that+Congress+and+America+Doesn%27t+See2009-12-09+01%3A31%3A38SusanAnne+++Hiller

Obama and Democrat Leadership: Out of Touch and Desperate

President Obama’s meetings at the Senate on Sunday, much like his visit to Copenhagen this week, are not indicators of inevitability; they are portents of panic.  The reports coming out of the closed door, Democrats-only, meeting of internal divisions that are still irreconcilable, despite the high rhetoric of historic moment, only make the point more vividly: can you say “desperation”?

The sensible Democrats know they are in trouble.  They know the American people have lost confidence that the Administration and Congress share their priorities.

While polls consistently show that Americans are increasingly concerned about jobs, reviving the economy, and managing our deficits, the Democrats fixate on health care, a relatively low priority for most Americans and anathema for many in this form.  The reforms the Democrats push are themselves unpopular, and for good reason.  Americans know that a government takeover of health care will diminish the quality of care, reduce our ability to control our treatment options, and drive up the premium costs for many Americans.  It’s not just the health care system that will suffer, but proposed reforms will also cripple one of the few sectors that have been creating jobs during the recession, create multiple new taxes and penalties, and further hamper the economy by creating massive new debt and entitlements.

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Tags: cap-and-trade, carbon emissions, Copenhagen conference, deficits, economic recession
Posted Dec 8th 2009 at 7:23 am in Congress, Healthcare, News, Obama, Politics, Tea Party | 42678130 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/hhiggins/2009/12/08/obama-and-democrat-leadership-out-of-touch-and-desperate/Obama+and+Democrat+Leadership%3A+Out+of+Touch+and+Desperate2009-12-08+14%3A23%3A43Heather++Higgins

Congress, We Don’t Trust You With Health Care At All

Just because you have a gun, you do not necessarily need to shoot it.  Just because you have a vote in Congress does not mean you need to grab power.

While both Parties have their internal battles, Republicans who are wondering why their numbers are waning need look no farther than the current health care debate for clues.  When Democrats roll out a Federal takeover of private health insurance, the Republican response should not be less of a government takeover, it should be a total federal government withdrawl from regulating private health insurance.  The point is simple, although lost on many.

When we think about insurance in our lives, from life, home, auto, professional liability and health, which one is the biggest source on consternation?  Guess what?  Health insurance is the only one in which the federal government has significantly intruded.  Even that is currently regulated at the State level.  However, the many Federal government restrictions that complicate the health insurance marketplace are the primary reason competition cannot thrive.

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Tags: free market health care, government health care, government takeover, health insurance, healthcare marketplace
Posted Nov 21st 2009 at 3:21 pm in Healthcare | 3486698 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/jloudon/2009/11/21/congress-we-dont-trust-you-with-health-care-at-all/Congress%2C+We+Don%27t+Trust+You+With+Health+Care+At+All2009-11-21+22%3A21%3A54John++Loudon

Saturday Open Thread: Harry Reid Edition

Today, Sen. Harry Reid will move his government takeover of health care a bit further down the field:

Fortunately, the bill doesn’t take full effect until 2014. Lots of chances to undo the harm that is about to be closer to enactment.

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Tags: government health care, government takeover, Harry Reid, ObamaCare, public option
Posted Nov 21st 2009 at 6:59 am in Open Threads | 3485065 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/11/21/saturday-open-thread-harry-reid-edition/Saturday+Open+Thread%3A+Harry+Reid+Edition2009-11-21+13%3A59%3A31Publius