Waxman: House Dems Will Not Budge on Public Option

“We want competition, but we don’t want the public plan to win,” he said. --- Huh?

Tax ALL benefits received for health care. It is like putting money in someone's pocket so tax it. That would get all the unionized people to realize that they have the best deal in health care. We pay $18,000 a year for health care. Please, tax all the retirees who get years worth of benefits at the tax payers' expense.

Unions are exempt.

Will Waxman agree to use the system he is foisting off on the rest of the nation? Or will he continue to use his " Elite " status for "special privileges" such as Congressional Healthcare?

I'd like to hear what this hypocrite has to say about that.

We NEED the public option. If the reform does not have the public option, it is a waste of time and paper. This country has millions of dollars to spend on unwanted wars to kill people, how about using those millions to heal people?

Err, I keep reading all these comments about keeping the insurance companies "honest" by having a public "option." But how come I never read about how we would keep the public plan "honest." I mean the government can purposefully mis-price the government plan for a period of time to run its competitors out of business, so only Obama's plan remains. Isn't this something that should concern people?

The public option is a cover up for the government to gain power over the people. If you want the government to control your life (and death) stick your head in the sand and let them do it. If you don't want that, call your senators and raise hell.

QUESTION: IF SENATOR KENNEDY WAS FORCED INTO THE DEMOCRAT PROPOSED “PUBLIC OPTION” WOULD HE GET THE TREATMENT HE IS NOW RECEIVING FOR HIS CANCER? ANSWER: NO. YET PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS WANT TO FORCE THEIR PLAN ON EVERYONE ELSE EVEN THOUGH THEY WOULD BE EXEMPT FROM IT. HAVE THEY NO HEART?

Better say bye bye to the elderly ,disabled and terminally ill as they their care will be drastically cut if President Obama and and the Democrats get their way and pass a health care bill that includes the “public option”. President Obama has already advocated cutting billions of dollars from the Medicare budget due to rising costs. So, if Medicare is any quide, drastic cuts will be made to the “public option” budget when costs start to go up. That translates into rationing of health care with some government bureaucrat deciding who will get what health care if any based on their political “worth” to the elite in Washington DC.

Moreover, do the Democrats have a death wish for the economy? The higher taxes on small businesses the plan calls for will force businesses to lay off even more people. The higher spending will raise the deficit even higher causing the economy to spiral downward even further. And for what? So 80% of the people who like their private insurance are FORCED into the government run “public plan” (the Democrats are not be truthful if they say otherwise)and so people who don’t even want to be covered and can afford it, are FORCED into a public plan they don’t even want or need? This is pure insanity.

The Democrats are not being truthful when they say everyone will get good health care under their “public option. The facts are everyone may be “covered” but when the time comes to get the care they need they will be be cut off from getting any care as government bureaucrats will be calling the shots on who gets what health care if any based on one’s political “worth” to the power elite in DC.

IF REP. WAXMAN AND THE REST OF THE DEMOCRATS THINK THE “PUBLIC OPTION” IS SO GREAT, THEY SHOULD MANDATE THAT SENATOR KENNEDY AND ALL THE OTHER POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS IN DC ARE FORCED INTO BEING COVERED UNDER THE “PUBLIC OPTION” LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
Reply

People like James are missing the point. A public plan may not fully cover all treatments, but that's why people like Kennedy and others who want, need, and/or can afford something nicer can opt to take out a different policy. The point is that with a public plan at least the average joe can afford some level of coverage whereas right now there is a huge and growing number of people who can not afford to pay 18,000 a year when they're only making 17,000. Again, if you don't like the public plan, take out dif or additional coverage. Each of the 3 countries I've lived in that have some sort of public plan (or outright nationalized health care) has a private industry humming along right beside it because some people will want or need that additional coverage. And, if you can't afford the additional care, at least you have something so that a broken bone or a kidney infection doesn't make you miss your rent and get you evicted, which might just lead to you losing your job which means you're not even making that lousy 17,000 any more. If people like James weren't so selfish and/or oblivious to reality they'd stop lying to themselves and everyone else on these boards. I hate to say it, but I hope he loses his job and employer subsidized coverage next. Maybe then he'd get off his Randian horse and understand that this will help the majority of people.

One caveat. James is right, however, that the coverage our elected officials receive should be that provided by the public option, should one come to exist. If they want better they can take out another policy; I'm sure most of them can afford it anyhow.

BillSanford - You said "Will Waxman agree to use the system he is foisting off on the rest of the nation? Or will he continue to use his " Elite " status for "special privileges" such as Congressional Healthcare?"

BillSanford - You said "Will Waxman agree to use the system he is foisting off on the rest of the nation? Or will he continue to use his " Elite " status for "special privileges" such as Congressional Healthcare?"
Congressmen do not have FREE health insurance. Their employer is the federal government and like many employers, it provides him with an insurance plan from a private insurance company. Congressmen have been required to get their health insurance in this manner since passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1983. In this case the federal government utilizes the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) plan to provide a choice of different private insurance plans to choose from, The federal government as the employer pays a portion of the monthly premium and the Congressman as the employee pays the remainder. The Congressman is responsible for any co-pays or deductable payments when service is provided by a healthcare provider.

This is not special healthcare, it is group insurance similar to what is utilized by many employers in thei country.

JAMES - You said "IF REP. WAXMAN AND THE REST OF THE DEMOCRATS THINK THE “PUBLIC OPTION” IS SO GREAT, THEY SHOULD MANDATE THAT SENATOR KENNEDY AND ALL THE OTHER POLITICIANS AND BUREAUCRATS IN DC ARE FORCED INTO BEING COVERED UNDER THE “PUBLIC OPTION” LIKE EVERYONE ELSE."

You are defiantly smoking something strange with a comment like this. As I stated in my previous post Congressmen do not have a special health care plan just for them. In the case of Senator Kennedy a large portion of his care was from his own pocket (or insurance he purchased with his own money), not sure how much as I don’t know which plan he uses but if you Google FEHB and look at the plans available to him you will see that all of the plans have limits which I’m sure he has exceeded.

missing the point - You said " that the coverage our elected officials receive should be that provided by the public option, should one come to exist. If they want better they can take out another policy; I'm sure most of them can afford it anyhow."
As I previously stated Congress uses a group of healthcare plans (insurance) to choose their individual coverage. If the government were to open these plans to the public the monthly premiums for a family plan would roughly be between $425.00 and $1300.00, for an individual the monthly premium would roughly be between $177.00 and $550.00. One of the differences in the plan costs is the level of benefits provided and the amount the patient pays when receiving healthcare. To me this would be a viable option as the government would not have to make a large outlay to open these plans to the public and they already negotiate the cost and benefits each year with the plan providers.

I buy my own car insurance, life insurance, homeowner insurance, casualty insurance and liability insurance. However, somebody else buys my health insurance. And just by coincidence the only insurance system that is in crisis and must be overhauled by the federal government with single-payer and public option plans is...you guessed it! health insurance. How about the idea that I buy my own health insurance (if I think I need it) just like I buy all the other insurance products in my portfolio?

In the past 72 hours my wife had two surgical procedures that undoubtedly saved her life. If Mr. Waxman and his cohorts get their way people like her will be left to die for lack of medical care. These lunatics have destroyed the housing, banking, steel, energy and auto industries, now they just wish to see us die.