Senate health panel passes overhaul bill

I find it ironic that you entitle your column "Political Intelligence." There is nothing intelligent in writing a column that appears to support Obamacare.

This is step 1 in reducing the quality of health care that most Americans receive in order to provide sub-par care for free for this nation of growing free-loaders. What will be the unintended consequences of Obama's plan: higher unemployment, a tanking stock market (as more capital will be drained from the free market), and lower quality care for those who are already abiding by the system in place.

Government health care programs do not work! Why else would everyone with means come to the USA for treatment? Because our current system is the only one that still provides dollars for R&D and capital equipment - the first two categories to be cut under all previous attempts to impose government run health care .

They will never win my heart and mind.

EVERYTHING the government does is filled with waste and inefficiency. Creating a massive bureaucracy with no way to pay for it is insane. You could tax the "rich" (the ones who create real jobs) 100% and still not raise the trillions that will be needed to feed the health care beast. Like all of Obama's massive spending programs he wants it rammed through immediately before anyone realizes what a disaster it will be. Doing this in the middle of an economic crisis is insanity times 10.

What is wrong with the sheeple who go along with this? Leave my health care alone!!!

Obama's proposal is a disaster. In the short-term the taxes and fees levied on small businesses will destroy jobs and further weaken the economy. In the long-term, the proposal means higher taxes and costs for all Americans, a reduced quality of care, and rationing of care.

And where is the $$$ for 'Organizing for America' coming from?

Just say no.

"Though Clark has health insurance, the co-pays, durable medical expenses and other out-of-pocket costs that are required to pay for her son’s care, have put tremendous financial stress on her family. " So what's the problem? Thats typically what an illness does - Does the government have to get involved every time something puts a "financial stress" on someone??

"Axelson turned to his church for financial assistance until he could find a new job and secure new insurance." Isn't that the better way? To have people take care of each other instead of relying on the govt for EVERYTHING??

"Berlin’s father-in-law didn’t seek care after breaking his ankle because it was too expensive, and since it didn’t heal correctly, he now walks with a limp." You can't heal stupid - no matter how much taxpayer $$ you throw at it

"her family is now living on one quarter of his old salary" again - so what?

Every one of these stories has one thing in common - they all think they are ENTITLED to something. Life is about making tough choices - I would like a big TV and fancy car but I am trying to save at least 6 months worth of expenses before I buy them .... All these folks want everything provided to them so they can live the life they "deserve"

And take it from someone who has experienced it - you do not want to rely on a healthcare program similar to Canadas or the UKs - They just do not work.

if Obama and the rest of the liberals would open their eyes, they'd clearly see that flocks of Americans are not heading to Europe or Canada for healthcare; but flocks of Canadians and Europeans do head here for such. does reality mean nothing to Obama and the rest of his sheep? guess not.

Obama is pretty much like a madman with a checkbook. there are no funds in his bank account, but that doesn't matter. he just throws money he does not have at every problem, and assumes this will work. bankrupting the nation is irrelevant to him, as long as his agenda is passed.

yes, we all want everyone to have good healthcare. but just saying it will be so will not make it happen. contrary to Obama-speak, we must all listen to the naysayers, and not just take the Messiahs word that it will work out.

Bill,
You are 100% correct, but people are real stupid... Everybody is going to get worse care, so some free loaders get health care. How many of those people are here illigeal? Stupid stupid stupid.

Woe to us. Hold on to your wallets! Say goodbye to decent health care. This administration is going to mess up the country for generations to come. Woe to us all. You Obamanites will be wishing for the good old GW days soon.

They will never win my heart or mind until the honestly admit that Universal Healthcare is a Cruel Hoax that only makes for cool campaign rhetoric.

>> Government health care programs do not work! Why else would everyone with means come to the USA for treatment?

The Government does a pretty good job of running an enormous military, and everyone comes to the US for military support - in terms of equipment, personnel, and training.

I reject the idea that so-called "Big Government" cannot run a health care system.

Have you had to deal with your health insurer lately? I have a good one, and I can assure you it's no picnic.

Wow,
This bill does nothing to reduce the costs of healthcare in this country...In fact, it will most likely worsen it. The funny thing is, the bill was drafted by a man that was kicked out of Harvard, that murdered a woman, whose family bacame rich by manipulating the market(more so than bootlegging), and never had to worry about healthcare in his life.
I'm for fixing healthcare, not increasing its costs. Where the heck is tort reform. That would save hundreds of billions a year in getting rid of defensive medical practices,,

Ask anyone in the UK, Canada, France, or any other nation with a national health care system if they'd be willing to swap their system for ours. You'd find very few takers willing to accept the American system as it currently exists. It's time that we join the rest of the industrialized world in providing health care for all of our citizens--not just the ones with deep pockets.

Obamacare is redistribution of wealth that will send us into a depression. Every congressman who votes for this bill is a traitor to this country.

600 billion? more like 2 trillion...has any "free" program cost less than advertised?

It's a sad day for this country when legislation like this passes.

"EVERYTHING the government does is filled with waste and inefficiency"

Like Medicare running 5% for overhead - while private insurers use up to 40% for overhead. Let's look at where the real "freeloaders" are.

"The $600 billion measure would expand health coverage to nearly all Americans by requiring individuals to get insurance and employers to contribute to the cost."

"On Tuesday, House leaders unveiled a $1.5 trillion healthcare bill that would raise taxes on the highest-income Americans and penalize businesses that don't offer coverage and individuals who don't get insurance."

"This proposal will bring down costs, expand coverage, and increase choice. Through a health insurance exchange, families and small businesses will be able to compare prices and quality so that they can choose the health care plan that best suits their needs. Among the choices that would be available in the exchange would be a public health insurance option that would make health care affordable by increasing competition, providing more choices, and keeping the insurance companies honest. "

Only in Wonderland could these contradictory statements make any bit of sense. Will someone please explain how spending billions (as-if) can possibly bring down costs?
How will a "public option" (read: a govermnent agency with unlimited funding, covered overhead, no regulation but with the power to regulate private "competition" possibly make for a level playing field for those now in private practice? Grab your ankles folks, the exam is not over yet.

Cynthina Coombs-
Which of the Senate bills' writers-Sen Grassley or Sen Baucus-committed the atrocities you speak of? I am interested to know.

Obamabots are going to hold up Medicare as a model program? LOL - Medicare Part B is tens of trillions in debt, provides coverage to only a small segment of the population, still requires premiums and copays, still requires a 2.9% tax on ALL WAGES, and costs nearly $300 billion a year.

Bush's prescription drug boondoggle alone is going to cost at least $535 billion over 10 years. Obama's proposal will require much more than this.

Obama's proposal simply can't work. Wake up!

for the person that said "The Government does a pretty good job of running an enormous military..." have you seen what VA hospitals look like? welcome to obama care...

TED H...

mcdonalds does a great job feeding milions of people burgers...maybe they could manage the healthcare system too??

I can't believe this is happening to my country. The last free nation on Earth is reduced to this Marxist-Fascist hopey-dopey-changey.

Everyone knows the government cannot artificially control market costs. The only way to do so is to ration out health care, and tell people who can get what and when.

If that's what you want, move to the UK. Stop ruining my great country.

Real smart, change the whole system because because it does not work for 10% of the people. Wake up everyone, nothing is free. Insurance premiums go down taxes go up. Looks like the top 10% income earners will also pick up the cost, even thought they already contribute 90% of the taxes paid in this country.

what is with the democrats, their pushing everything through with very little thought to the long term effects....they are acting, as if they have one week to live and they have a "bucket list" and the hell with everyone......they are pretty much saying screw all of you, because "we know what's good for you".......no matter, how divided this country is politically ,we are all AMERICANS, so if these plans are so great before everything is voted on. put it out there to see if the people like it.....the way this is going it's the senate's last gift to teddy.......this country is far from okay...the question is why is the president in such a rush......

We are going to go bankrupt. In theory, great. In practice, we'll get the equivalent of the compassion you get from the IRS, Department of Revenue, and all the others working for "you" with a greater over all cost to us as a society. This is a fraud perpetrated on most Americans to salvage the few. Bad for busines, bad for the people of this country. All cloaked in "change".

Thanks Chris Dodd. You are next to be unemployed.

What's with the sock puppets lined up to parrot the rightist mumbo-jumbo? LOL, conservatards

doesitmatter -
Your response makes no sense. Our military is probably the biggest bureaucracy there is, and I think they do a pretty good job running it. You seem content to think running the military is like flipping burgers - well, good luck with that (and by the way, please tell that to the next service man or woman you see, I'm sure they'd love to know your opinion).

I see the uninformed Republican trolls are out in full force patrolling the site for any Health Care story, or any story about Obama for that matter...Maybe you should get real jobs...The U.S. pays 3 times per capita as any other industrialized nation on health care, has the most uninsured, the highest profit margin, the highest CEo pay, the worst life expectancy, the highest infant mortality rate, and ranks at the bottom of every other category...HHHOOOOORRRRAAAAAYYYY for the status quo...We adults will solve problems, while you silly folks keep wondering why you're in the minority and will be for years...ENJOY, couldn't have happenned to a worse group of losers who tried to bankrupt this country over the prior 8 years, spiritually, consitituionally and economically....you're irrelevant, so keep ranting like ignorant lunatics, it's quite amusing.

These aren't your grandparent's. these are elected by the people, idot, if you don't like it, there's the door, moron. Stop ruining my great USA, loser

Yeah..good luck reconciling a $600 billion bill with a $1.5 trillion one.

Also, the 2.5% penalty on income sounds attractive in terms of skipping insurance for someone young and healthy like myself. I pay more than that in premiums alone.

Also, how are they going to provide incentives for preventive care without changing the lifestyles of Americans. Most plans already cover annual visits at 100%. I say tax people with a BMI of over 25.

Nobody is proposing a single-system like Canada's or the single-payer system where the doctors are government employees. In fact, Universal Healthcare is working very well in countries such as France, Holland, and Japan.
You all talk about freeloaders and sure, there will be always some of those, but what about the person who works two jobs to make ends meet and still can't afford healthcare? The person who is laid off and loses their insurance? Would you like to be turned down for an insurance policy because you have a condition that would cost the insurance companies too much money? For once, put yourselves in someone else's shoes!!

This is moronic, stupid, wasteful and above all inefficient. Unfortunately for us, (those hard working people who realize that we need to actually WORK to be able to get something) we are asked to foot the bill, per usual Dems think that's the answer.
The Democrats know that if this passes it pisses the shit outta some Rep/Dems who make alot of money but the 15 million people they provide with free health care = 2012/ future votes.

I am a recent college grad and I hear all these people complaining about needing a stimulus check and how expensive the costs of health care are- this just creates reasons to sit around and not work- it penalizes those who are successful sounds alot like Capitalism... NAAAHHHT!

Theres so many people who get welfare and foodstamps and look for uncle sam to take care of them but these are the people with blackberry and Iphones etc. The youth of America has been completely brought up on an immediate gratification mindset- no one wants to work for anything... its sickening.

At the end of the day, we spend 16-18% of our GDP on Healthcare, yet live shorter and less healthy lives than other westernized countries. They spend nearly half and get better primary care and still have access in an emergency. What they don't have is instant access to any speciality when they want it -- which has proven to drive costs up, and worsen care (See Dartmouth Atlas, see Atul Gawande article, see many, many others)

Access is the first step, if you believe healthcare is a right and not a privilege. In the end we pay for it one way or the other - wouldn't it be better to be proactice in provided basic rights instead of paying for it in all the fallout?

You idiots in Massachusetts keep electing these democrats to Congress. When are you going to WAKE UP?????????

I agree that this bill is sketchy. But first a couple fun facts:
1. The bill was not written by Obama, as many of you would like to believe. It is the product of Senators Grassley (R) and Baucus (D).
2. With the exception of the public option, it is based on Mitt Romney's Massachusetts model.

Problems:
1. Raising taxes with rising 10% unemployment and a likely depression. Terrible, terrible idea. This bill should have increased spending for healthcare and offset by job stimulation packages and small business incentives. This is, in fact, the only time when deficit spending is appropriate. Congress didn't mind spending a trillion dollars in iraq or committing 12 trillion to the banks!
2. "Budget neutral" legislation. There is either a crisis, in which case we treat this just like the bank meltdown or a war-or it is not, in which case we wait for financial recovery and write a sensible bill. Congress wants to have it both ways so they can pass a bill and send the cost directly to the consumer.
3. Modeled after the Massachusetts model. Its not working here, its not gonna work anywhere.
Don't fall for the hype-tell Congress we wont stand for it.

Please - Government - don't just do something - STAND THERE!

Tracy Billington....

I have two Canadians right here...right next to me at work....and survey says.....

Both are amazed at the speed in which the receive medical attention here in the US and elect to stay with our system.

next question for my two Canadian co workers....please.

Chris Dodd will bring to healthcare the same expertise he brought to banking. Government is NOT the answer.

I just cannot believe the audacity of our congressmen. We got into the financial mess by spending money we did not have. Yet, they keep spending. Please people wake up when you go to the voting booths and don't pull R or D just because that is what you always do. Our congressmen are being completely irresponsible and we are the idiots who keep them in office.

Obama is like a 16 year old girl at the mall with her daddy's credit card! When the bill comes in, Dad is going to be pissed! How can we teach her a lesson in accountability and responsibility?

Our health care system is the still the best in the world and the real problem with it is not cost, it is the illegal immigrants and lazy Americans that steal our services and ask that hard working/tax payers pick up the bill.

Are the pols in Washington planning on participating in the government run healthcare program? This healthcare reform bill will truly hurt small business owners. We can kiss any economic recovery goodbye......

Mike - re: "have you seen what VA hospitals look like?"

Yes, I have. I'm witness to a family member's treatment there (or lack thereof). It's a disgrace. But NOBODY is suggesting that the VA become the model for health care reform.

And unless you are willing to equate the entire military establishment to the VA, then we aren't in disagreement. In fact we'd agree that (ironically) outside healthcare, the government does a pretty good job of running the military - which is all I was saying.

I could have easily picked our Police, Fire, Postal Service or many other large governmental program (state and/or local) to make my point. The idea that government cannot handle "big" programs is a Reagan-era talking point that won't die. Would you rather be protected by the Marines or Blackwater? Your local Mall-Cop or a Statie?

The hysteria over this topic is baffling. The alternative to a governmental program is no health care whatsoever.

This bill promises.....6 month waits for MRI's. Higher cancer death rates due to delays in care. Less research, fewer cures, 3 month waits for heart surgery, bankrupt hospitals, higher taxes, higher medical costs, less access to healthcare, being denied coverage due to age, UNACCEPTABLE. This is the worst thing to ever happen to our country. My family deserves better.

Medicare uses 5% to administer. Private insurers use 40%. Which is more efficient? If you want universal health care, either everyone will be forced into buying insurance which the private insurers and wall street will love, or if a govt one payer plan is instituted, we'll pay for it in increased taxes. Either way, we'll all have to pay for it one way or another. The private for profit plans put a lot of wasted money into the hands of a rich few. Which system do you really want to have?

This is an open end tax scheme by the liberals to tax ALL working Americans and to buy votes of the illegals. It is very telling that in today’s Globe we can find a tear jerking story of some Immigrant from Equator who by all means came here on the guest visa and managed to obtain temporary visa. To me its illegal to start with as soooo many people are forced to wait for a permanent visa/permit to come to USA all the time while leaving in their home countries. Any way as the story goes after two years here he does not speak any English and was on tax payer paid health insurance. On the mean time he's getting cancer, get 24K+ surgery and treatments that are being paid by tax payers. Now there is a threat that his state insurance may be partially reduced due to his really illegal status. So BG is all in tears over it.

The guy in two years paid in taxes 1/10 of what medical care cost us to date. And the costs are continuing.

Now you see where our costs are and whom Obama and liberals like to cover at our expense?

Close the boarders. Send everyone who done not have a valid green card home including all the children of illegals. Then with the money saved provide coverage to a true America citizens who worked here or working and contributing into the system. Stop supporting every Juan and Jose and their families who scraped a few $$ for one way plane ticket to Miami or managed to cross the border from Mexico. Even better let only educated, productive and English speaking people into the country who will not become a burden on American society but will contribute to it. Unfortunately majority of those people are using LEGAL means to get and to stay in the USA. And that often take years of waiting. But some illegal, uneducated non English speaking Umbro will get on the dole in the matter of days after crossing the border. And stay there for years and years and years.

And you are wondering why California is 26 BILLIION in the whole. Why our country is in the whole.

Disgusting. Atrocious.

Moron GOP's please stop! Line's like this are outrageous " I can't believe this is happening to my country. The last free nation on Earth is reduced to this Marxist-Fascist hopey-dopey-changey."

I cannot believe that you would deny you fellow Americans the same healthcare you have. America has turned into a bunch of elitist fools like most of the people in this forum. We talk life and death and all you care about is your taxes or an inefficient health care system. Who cares? You should all be ashamed...this country was not founded on the selfishness that you so readily display by these comments.

This is so so so wrong, and horrible timing. How about fixing the economy FIRST?! And while we are at it, let's tax the rich for everything!
What a disaster...

Wow, where did all these right-wing facist nut jobs come from? You wingnuts brought this upon yourselves over the previous eight years.

Now deal with it.

@ John re: Question for your Canadian co-workers....

Ask them where they will go if they get laid-off and really sick? What? They'll pay COBRA and stay in the US you say? Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

This is really horrible news and, worst of all, it doesn't even solve the primary issue; cost of coverage. You can put more companies in the US (in this case, the insurers) out of business with this move but you can't bring down the cost of care. A government option for the lowest income Americans essentially promotes "free" care among the highest users in the nation at the expense of others. It's really horrible.

"Yes we can" my ass.

Can anyone name, or mention any efficiently run gorvernment program. You can;t fix a program that took decades to get to this point in a couple of months. It's thoughtless and irresponsible. Insurance companies are but one component of our health care system-don;t forget the manufacturers, schools, the healthcare workforce and hospitals themselves. If all five components pledged to reduce costs by 3-5%, we'd save billions and then we could use that money for new programs. Also-I don't want to pay healthcare for Illegal immigrants, nor should we!

While I am just a middle class working person, nowhere near the echelon that would be subject to the surtax, what bothers me is the mentality that you can work hard your whole life and be rewarded with financial gain, yet the government can decide through legislation that you are not entitled to all you have earned and, in addition to paying for your own health insurance, you are required to give more to pay for others’. Never mind that a great deal of those others are here illegally. Gimme, gimme, gimme. The idea that rich people do not work for their money is absurd. Yes, there are those who live off of trust funds and inheritances, but most wealthy people are wealthy because they studied hard in college, persevered to get a good job after college, and continue to work hard every day to maintain their lifestyle. I say, good for them! They earned it! This sense of entitlement has got to stop.

I love all you naysayers out there on this issue.

The first poster thinks this is just a free ticket to "free-loaders," forgetting that many hard working Americans go without healthcare, and those who ARE working but may lose their jobs in this economy, or who HAVE lost their jobs already, will no longer have healthcare for not only themselves, but also wife and children, in many cases.
I'm betting Mr. Marks has a nice health care plan for himself, so let the rest of those who don't have any just get sick and eventually, in some cases, drop dead. Very compassionate of you, Mr. Marks. You have yours, now everyone else can go to hell. Sounds like a typical Conservative Republican.
As for the very next post accusing all govt. programs of being wasteful and not efficient, you're wrong there, too, Jan. Social Security has worked just fine since it's inception over 70 years ago. Medicare as well. And there are countless other govt. run services that run pretty smoothly. I can think of some mostly unregulated, private industry Wall Street firms and businesses, though, that were pretty wasteful, and ripped off their stockholders. Lots of those out there. Well, some of them were run so badly, they are now FORMER Wall Street businesses.
The greed of some of us in this country is just beyond me. What goes around comes around.
And, for the record, I work full-time, and my wife works TWO jobs, 7 days a week. So, we're hardly "free-loaders." We just feel this is the right thing for this country to do. Thankfully, so do most Americans. Which is why Obama was elected, and why the Senate and the House are dominated by Dems. Thank God.

This is a socialist bill to ration care just like they did in the Soviet Union. Anyone who claims that Obama is not a marxist ... either isn't paying attention or is so dumb they are Democrats.

Tracy Billington. You are welcome to join the rest of industrialized world.... by leaving America to us.

I don't agree with many of you. First off, approximately 20,000 Americans per year shouldn't be dying due to being unable to afford healthcare or being denied treatment. People are filing bankruptcy in droves over medical bills, and losing their homes.

These pre-existing conditions are bullshit reasons to deny a claim. We paid for the insurance, we should get it. Insurance documents are like telephone books now, it's rediculous. Most of you are heartless - ready to rubber stamp trillions to banks.

Hey Kevin, a.k.a. sockpuppets -
Very insightful and intelligent post! Conservatards? Very, very compelling. Makes me want to change my principles and be for this monstrosity - well not really.
Can someone please comment intelligently in answer to this one simple question: How does replacing 'insurance company' with 'federal government' do anything to reduce the cost of healthcare? Just because 'God' (Newsweek editor Evan Thomas' word, not mine), er, Obama, says it is so does not make it so!

Thank God! I've worked full time, often 50+ hours a week for 5 years at a company that does not provide it's employees health insurance. I don't make enough to pay for it myself. I know I'm not alone. There are millions of us out there. Hard working Americans who are struggling to pay rent, let alone health insurance. Please, don't just think about yourselves. Think about what's best for the poor of this country.

I agree with mattal1958 and was going to mention that other government entities have run just fine.

What most of us who are insured don't like is the profit these executives make running insurance companies at the expense of denied claims.

Healthcare shouldn't just be for me and my family, it should extend to all. Secondly, if you read the article, the insurance plan REQUIRES you to obtain insurance, not from the government, but from a regulated insurance company that cannot deny your claim on "pre-existing" conditions.

Ask yourself this: When was the last time a government correctly estimated the cost of anything? It's always at least 2 times the estimate. And that's if you're lucky. You can guarantee this will cost us all much more in the end than the $1.x trillion they say it will.

Thank you Mitt Romney.

People... Here's the real problem: Requiring Americans to obtain health insurance does NOT mean they will receive healthcare! Until we mitigate the FOR-PROFIT health insurance companies, until we can see what they do with all the money via complete accounting transparency, and until their FOR-PROFIT existence is wiped clean from the American health-care landscape, they will continue to be a tumor and a burden on the health of the american people, standing between patients and doctors, absorbing government and private money, and denying care at will to the very americans who are supposed to be obtaining it.

To all -- WHERE is the discussion and outrage at the insurers, rather than doctors and hostpitals? The insurers are the ones bankrupting the entire system!!!

This screwed us over in Massachusetts.....Nice to see we could share that with the rest of the nation

Almost don't want to participate in this forum but I can't understand why everyone is so invested in the current system. It is wasteful, fraudulent and poor quality. the healthies people opt out of the insurance pool, only the sick or the scared opt in (increasing the cost on all of us). Take a look at Open Secrets.org, five of the 10 highest paying customers to lobbyists are health insurance corporations.

I have probably about three dozen Canadian friends. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM LOVES THEIR PROVINCIAL HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN. Maybe every state should be reuired to establish their own plan. Whatever, one way or another though, something needs to be done. ASAP.

Congress. You have my support.

They wanted "change".
They got it.
I can't wait 'til 2010, then 2012. Bye-Bye Dems.

Re: The Government does a pretty good job of running an enormous military, and everyone comes to the US for military support - in terms of equipment, personnel, and training.

You mean the same military that pays $200.00 for a hammer?

God help us all...only 41 months until we can vote this guy out of office!

Palin 2012 _ Your screen name says it all.
Yeah, sure let’s give the Presidency to a Beauty Contestant who went to 5 colleges in 6 years to get a degree, who thinks we have a Department of Law, who thinks the earth is 6,000 years old and that dinosaurs and man coexisted, that climate change is not real but if it is then the solution is “drill baby drill”, who preaches morality for the rest of us but can't keep her own house in order, who manages a socialist system yet screams about socialist Obama – although she is resigning so this last will soon be a moot point, - etc.

So why should we not be surprised to find your troll screeching about illegal’s causing all our problems, ignoring the fiscal unaccountability of Bush and his Republican yes men, who took us from massive surplus to massive deficits. Yet now they are all about crying “fiscal responsibility” but against the advice of every noted economist in the world want a spending freeze in the midst of a massive recession, and continuation of the tax cuts for the rich mindset that brought us to where we are. Oh sure, Obama’s spending seems to be a concern when he wants to spend it to help the average person, instead of the wealthy few. Get real. France, Netherlands, and Germany to name a few have national health care with option of public or private, and they have a much higher level of care and satisfaction with there health care systems than we do.

I love how the Republican NO-BOTS say we can't have a public plan option as is puts private competition at a disadvantage, and then turn around and state that public option would be a horribly run disaster. If it would be such a disaster than why would they be afraid of it competing with private options. No one in the Obama administration or among the authors of this legislation is proposing that anyone be forced to change from the plan they have. Of course if you spend your days parroting Rush Limbaugh and his treasonous ilk we should expect brain rot, and no health care system can help you

Thank God. It is about time. As for those who say it will cost too much, if we took all the money we've spent on W's wars (oh, and I feel SO much more secure now), we'd be well on our way to free healthcare!!

Thank God. It is about time. As for those who say it will cost too much, if we took all the money we've spent on W's wars (oh, and I feel SO much more secure now), we'd be well on our way to free healthcare!!

Sure keep taxing all the hard working, successful, self-employed Americans like myself who already pay BIG bucks for health insurance for themselves and their kids - out of their own pockets. Now we have to pay more? Isn't paying $20,000/year for health insurance enough already? I'll just have to stop all my discretionary spending so I can afford to give the government almost half of my income...oops, there goes my contribution to stimulating the economy.

Real -
keeping it real...real dumb!

Hey For Real:
Typical anti-capitalist rant. It's all because of the greedy insurance companies and if we just get rid of them, well all will be great! Do you rail against FOR-PROFIT companies in different industries? What about the 'sit-on-your-ass' individuals out there who wait to hit the lottery with a big legal settlement? What about current government-run programs that underpay for services and shift those costs to the FOR-PROFIT insurance companies? Or the patients who think these government-run programs will foot the bill, only to find that they short-paid the provider and receive a big bill in the mail? I could go on and on as to the causes of the accelerating cost of healthcare and the reasons so please don't oversimplify it by blaming only the greedy insurance companies.

They want to penalize a person for not accepting insurance??!!! What a giant load of BS.

Healthcare reform from a bunch of congressmen and women who will never have to pay another penny for it the rest of their lives because of their status as elected officials. Yes--they know what they are talking about--Stop the madness in washington!!!!!!

I am fine with healthcare available for everyone. Just not free heathcare. There should be big copays if you get the Government healthcare. Why should somone well off have to pay for someone elses healthcare at no expense to the 2nd person. Go to any emergency room in Boston and you will see 20-30 people on Mass Health waiting with a splinter. No to mention the druggies who go ER to ER to try and score prescriptions. I say, if you can get healthcare fine, the governments i.e. well off taxpayers will subsidize a portion of your insuracne. But going to an ER is a $100 co pay, primamry care physcitian is $30-$50. You can't have people getting expensive goods for free, they have to have a little skin in the game.

The headline should be senate committe proposes income income tax hike. Money to be earmarket for healthcare. Any system that relies on the few to fund it will be unsustainable

Cynthia Coombs brought up a largely important point that has been ignored - what about addressing tort laws? Reframing tort law in the US is an issue that has gone largely under the radar in the recent years but still contributes grossly to the high costs of health care. Essentially it comes down to the government's responsibility to regulate the market so that it is able to run efficiently (for example, in this case by adjusting tort laws). We need to embrace our capitalist society which has served our country in the best way historically , and understand that the government's most effective and important role (to serve best the country as a whole) is to facilitate capitalism, not take control of it. As noted by some posts, there are large issues with greed in the healthcare sector and compared it to greed on Wall Street. Again. It should be the government's responsibility to put in legislation that does not allow for this greed (market innefficiency) to happen, not to take control over the market (or in this case part of it) which moves away from the system that we have founded this country on: capitalism. As we have seen on Wall Street, some of these institutions have failed. These "FORMER" institutions failed as a result of greed, which is essentially the result of the markets beginning to correct themselves on their own, whithouth the involvement of government (because it cannot run innefficiently forever). While arguably , the market in the long-run should be able to correct itself in all aspects, we see this does not happen on its own in the most efficient ways (both economically and politically)and therefore look to the government to correct this. What we cannot confuse is the difference between the government greasing the wheels (through tort reform, stricter regulation/transparency, etc) of the healthcare market to make it easier for those who drive it (US citizens) and have historically had the greatest success pushing it, with the government taking control of the whole vehicle and removing the drivers in hopes they can push it better. The lack of proper coverage for many or too high costs of coverage are examples of such a market inneficiency. If we do not want to wait for it to correct itself, or we feel that it is doing so in a way creating even more inneficiency (which we obviously do given the high importance we give the topic, and high demand for change) then we have to facillitate the process in a way that does not undermine the system (capitalism, not simply healthcare) as a whole but instead brings it to an efficient outcome that satisfies the demands we have (again, greater coverage at a more reasonable and afforable price). I am more than confident that given the proper circumstances created by government, we will acheive the best (and most desireable) outcome on our own.

Also, I want to commend Robantha for addressing another very important point (the issue of only taxing the rich), especially because of your own personal incentives (as someone unaffected by the tax) which would not be to go against a tax which would essentially help you at no cost personally. It is not okay for us to continually accept the re-distribution of wealth rhetoric which we are being barraged with currently. It fundamentally goes against the system (see above) which inherently contains the solution to whatever problems we have. Just as we can argue that the healthcare system is UNFAIR in that it either does not cover enough people or it is too costly for some people, the argument can (and should) be equally attributed to the issue of only taxing a certain section of people which should be seen as equally unfair. If we proposed a smaller percentage tax increase but applied it only to the middle or lower income brackets so that it equaled the same revenue, there would be uproar over the issue of fairness. Therefore we should not feel any different given that the tax is on the rich; it breaks the same principles. Don't become so passionate about one damaging issue that you willing or unwillingly allow for an equally damaging one to occur.

There absolutely is a better way to fix the problem, and our citizens are the best at coming up with the solutions, especially when we are given the proper circumstances (like a well-greased wheel).

Take a look at the picture. A real good look.

Bunch of old men laying down edicts so us young folks can pay the bills. How does old man Tom Harkin or fossil Chris Dodd, or "wipe my butt with gold paper" Sheldon Whitehouse have any clue in regards to health insurance!?

How we can believe that elected officials know what they are doing is simply astounding.

Too late. Ronald Reagan already ruined everything that was great aboutn America and basically pauperized the middle class, increased the lower class in numbers and pauperized government coffers.

The average american makes *less* now than in 1979 when adjusted for inflation. Reagan-ite politics only exacerbated the oil crisis instead of following a sane plan to stop it. The rest of the world is poised to dump the dollar in favor of some other currency, most likely the *socialist* Euro.

In that time span the United States has gone from . . .
the world's largest creditor to the world's largest debtor . . .
the world's largest industrial presence to a marginal industrial presence . . .
the world's highest standard of living to the lowest among the most developed nations . . .
Cuba has a higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality than the U.S., and nearly everywhere in the developed world has higher literacy.

Face it. Reagan, Bush, and Bush-Light turned this country into the *Dump* it is now. Not Obama.

After the last 30 years of evidence the only explanation for this hard bitten neo-conservatism is cognitive dissonance.

And the worst part is, when it improves, these wing-nuts will still be here, benefitting from it, and still trying to tear it down because the Bible says so.

And kudos to every senator who had the stones to stand up to corporate interests on this one too.

They will pay a price when Insurance companies funnel hundreds of millions (which they don't have because they need to charge us so much, and then contest any claim and choose when we can and can't actually use what we paid for) of dollars right into the pockets of whoever will run against them.