Sebelius Tapped for HHS

It is not national heath care but national health insurance. Nothing will change with the hospitals or the doctors - it's just that we can now all get cheaper health insurance. It will benefit workers AND companies.

Thank God we finally have some smart people running the country after eight long years of idiots.

Fascist Hyena,

"Not really. We took care of ourselves, purchased health insurance, and accumulated wealth. Now we live comfortably in our golden years."

I take care of myself, too. Unfortunately, old people like you are so selfish that us younger people have to keep paying for your care while we don't get the benefit of using it and neither will our future generations. You must be mighty proud!

If only he had picked her for V.P. - that would have been a better move.

To fools, what do you think the government is doing, they are bailing out warren buffet, with the stimulus plan, he owns GE and a lot of the so-called infrastructure money goes to GE.
It is now pay back for all the support during the campain. GE owns MSNBC and NBC

Kathleen (Gilligan's Island) Sebelius may be able to draw on the talents of Thurston Howell III.

Kathleen Gilligan Sebelius is the daughter of former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan, a one-termer who is viewed as one of the worst Guvs in Ohio history. Sebelius has been unimpressive herself. Obama could do better in a HHS choice. I am all for Obama choosing more females as his record so far is not any better than GW Bush, but Sebelius is simply not qualified for the position. Bill Clinton had the best record on female appointments. So far, Obama has been a real disappointment to this Democrat. This massive spending must end. 9,000 "earmarks" in the Obama budget from the Obama who campaign promised "no earmarks"??? Obama has lied about most everything and most importantly the out of control spending and the war, he's escalating not ending the war as he promised. His so-called anti-war stance was got him support in the first place and Dems betrayed Hillary on this issue. I didn't fall for his lies, I supported Hillary and still do. Hillary is the only bright spot in this Presidency.

And in Britain:

"Hospital waiting times are longer than under the Conservatives, despite £90billion being ploughed into the health service this year alone.
The average wait for treatment in hospital is now 49 days, up from 41 days in 1997, the year Labour took power with a promise to 'save the NHS'.
Ministers say they have delivered on their promise to reduce very long waits. By the end of the year no one should wait more than 18 weeks compared with the 18-month waits which were common under the Tories."

Conclusion of a study by the Canadian Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, 2006:

"Long wait lists for coronary-artery bypass grafting are associated with increased probability that a patient dies before surgery. Physicians who advise patients where to undergo cardiac revascularization should consider the risk of pre-surgical death that is associated with the length of a surgical wait list."

But hey--it's free!

"More than 7,000 people are waiting seven months and longer for all but emergency or urgent MRIs at the Ottawa Hospital. Across Ontario, the waiting list for an MRI is growing by almost 12,000 patients a year. Cancer patients are waiting months for a follow up MRI to see if their disease has responded to treatment. It's said that Ontario needs at least 80 more scanners to meet the current demand."
--VHL.org

I can get one for my dog on Tuesday.

"...the government...will cover every thing and every body and will give the best care, and treatment..."

Really? Name the country where government-run health care does that. Do you honestly think that the US is going to cover "everything" for you? Think again. As you age, the government will decline to provide services that do nothing more than extend your life if those services don't offer a cure for your ills.

Try getting an MRI in Canada or the UK. Try getting a bypass operation or a heart transplant. What's the average wait time?

Brother, are you in for a rude awakening...

"Your generation apparently missed some important details."

Not really. We took care of ourselves, purchased health insurance, and accumulated wealth. Now we live comfortably in our golden years.

jhw539:"Because it has succeeded to varying degrees in every other first world nation."

The perception that it has succeeded is largely based on misinformation provided by the WHO. Whether these systems have experienced some successes doesn't dismiss the many failures within them, and most importantly, the fact they are insolvent business models over the long term.

jhw539: "And because we HAVE universal healthcare - it is illegal for a hospital to leave someone to die on their doorstep regardless of whether they can pay. We just have amazingly inefficient healthcare that results in poor people spending a couple days in the ICU rather than get $20 of antibiotics for free."

Yes, which is why our costs are so high, and why universal healtcare will only add to those costs.

Again, the Arbitrary Vote site outlines a lot of these concepts nicely.

arbitaryvote:" Additionally, why do people think that universal healthcare can succeed when it is also inherently insolvent?"

Because it has succeeded to varying degrees in every other first world nation. And because we HAVE universal healthcare - it is illegal for a hospital to leave someone to die on their doorstep regardless of whether they can pay. We just have amazingly inefficient healthcare that results in poor people spending a couple days in the ICU rather than get $20 of antibiotics for free.

What makes people think that Sebelius can run HHS? She can't even run a small state (Kansas = serious budget crisis), let alone get universal healthcare implemented within the state during her term. How can she be expected to run HHS, implement universal healthcare on a broad scale, and reform Medicare (which is inherently insolvent)? Additionally, why do people think that universal healthcare can succeed when it is also inherently insolvent? Arbitrary Vote outlines a lot of this nicely. The misinformation out there is phenomenal.

Sebelius will be real problem for this HHS job.

"Could it possibly be that it's the president who sets the mission?"

Oh right: flim-flam on Iraq on Friday is followed on Saturday with self-praise on fighting hahaha lobbyists. Except for military lobbyists, insurance, pharmaceutical, etc.

All talk and crappy appointments. Only Obama could make the Republicans look good.

I agreed with Limbaugh's statement that Republicans don't have the guts to admit that they want him to fail-- something which has been repeatedly expressed in the postings around here, but not admitted to.

Danley,

Unfortunately it was hard to miss your guy, since all the cable networks were running him non stop. CNN, the Conservative News Network, ran the entire thing non-stop without commercial!

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: What really IS the difference between a radical right wingnut blowhard, and the "mainstream media"?

JD - Sebelius can't run for reelection. Kansas allows for two terms and she's in her final. And from what I've seen she has a pretty good approval rating for being a democratic governor in a predominately republican state. Are you a reporter by chance?