Healthcare Reform Thread II

[Drake Tungsten]

Klansmen seem to live for a really, really long time.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

There is a significant number of Republicans whose opinion DOES matter, who clearly oppose civil rights protection for gays.

Interesting that your favorite bugbear is the GOP on matters of discrimination against gays and yet it was Obama who took the stance of opposing gay marriage and the massive turnout of black churches in California that allowed passage of Prop 8 in Ca. Crickets on those issues.

Significant numbers, significant numbers.

Strike that, not so much interesting as expected, repetitive, and otherwise facile.

[Drake Tungsten]

Wyden: Health Care Lawsuits Moot, States Can Opt Out Of Mandate

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has a message for all the attorneys general and Republican lawmakers who are threatening lawsuits and claiming that an individual mandate for insurance coverage is unconstitutional: You don't have to abide by it -- just set up your own plan.

The Oregon Democrat isn't inviting opponents to defy the newly-enacted health care law. Instead, he's pointing out a provision in the bill that makes moot the argument over the legality of the individual mandate.

Speaking to the Huffington Post on Tuesday, Wyden discussed -- for one of the first times in public -- legislative language he authored which "allows a state to go out and do its own bill, including having no individual mandate."

It's called the "Empowering States to be Innovative" amendment. And it would, quite literally, give states the right to set up their own health care system -- with or without an individual mandate or, for that matter, with or without a public option -- provided that, as Wyden puts it, "they can meet the coverage requirements of the bill."

"Why don't you use the waiver provision to let you go set up your own plan?" the senator asked those who threaten health-care-related lawsuits. "Why would you just say you are going to sue everybody, when this bill gives you the authority and the legal counsel is on record as saying you can do it without an individual mandate?"

The provision actually was taken directly from Wyden's Healthy Americans Act -- the far-more innovative health care reform legislation he authored with Republican co-sponsors. In that bill there is also an individual mandate that would require Americans to purchase insurance coverage. But states that found the mandate objectionable could simply create and insert a new system in its place. All it would require is applying for a waiver from the Department of Health and Human Services, which has a 180-day window to confirm or deny such a waiver.

That language has been inserted, almost verbatim, into the bill Obama signed into law on Tuesday. And if there is any confusion about how much leverage it gives states to drop the mandate, Wyden cleared it up months ago during a hearing at the Senate Finance Committee.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/wyden-health-care-lawsuit_n_511748.html

Wyden

Some of the stuff we're just now finding out is in the bill is great. First, it was finding out that children with pre-existing conditions can't actually get new coverage immediately (they have to wait until 2014) and now it appear states can opt out of the individual mandate. I guess the benefit of the Dems not actually reading the bill they passed is that there are going to be plenty of mistakes and loopholes to use to get around this crap sandwich of a law.

[Ramo]

Yes, good luck trying to hit 95% coverage without an individual mandate. Maybe Republicans'll get behind single payer.

[Drake Tungsten]

Single payer is way better than this ****ty bill. I hope they go for it; if you're going to use a statist solution to get closer to universal health care, you might as well use a statist solution that actually cuts costs.

[Ramo]

The only tested health care models out there are a lot more "statist" than ours, and they all happen to be far more cost effective. It's not completely clear that the specific models that this bill tries to approximate are ineffective at containing costs relative to single payer systems. The Dutch system is somewhat cheaper than the Canadian system.

[Drake Tungsten]

Dems reject amendment to ban Viagra for sex offenders

I have to give it up to Coburn on this one. Truly inspired.

[Thorn]

The definition of sex offenders needs to be relooked at.

You have sex with a 17 year old in most states and you are 22 you will be treated as one FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, EVEN IF YOU GET MARRIED TO THEM.

That means you can't live near schools, have to check in with the police, etc.

[Drake Tungsten]

You can get Viagra from your government subsidized healthcare plan, however, thanks to the Democrats.

[Hauldren Collider]

I don't honestly blame them for trying to derail the fix bill. Somehow, the fix manages to be even worse than the original >_<

However the fact that the representatives actually seem to have no ****ing clue what was in the thing demonstrates that a step-by-step process where you make small changes in separate bills, while less dramatic in terms of "OMG I PASSED HEALTHCARE REFORM!", makes for legislation that actually does what you want it to do.

[Drake Tungsten]

Somehow, the fix manages to be even worse than the original >_<

No, the fix is so much better. It totally ****s Ben Nelson over.

[Hauldren Collider]

But it also ****s everyone else over, too.

[Drake Tungsten]

I don't care; I want Nelson to fail completely and have absolutely nothing to show for his sell out. Karma demands it.

[MrFun]

Interesting that your favorite bugbear is the GOP on matters of discrimination against gays and yet it was Obama who took the stance of opposing gay marriage and the massive turnout of black churches in California that allowed passage of Prop 8 in Ca. Crickets on those issues.

Significant numbers, significant numbers.

Strike that, not so much interesting as expected, repetitive, and otherwise facile.

I guess you missed the thread I created not too long ago, where I lashed out at the Democratic attorney general in Louisiana for his homophobic actions. You also missed over the years in threads where I did not have kind words to say about President Clinton for bowing to Republican Congress by allowing passage of Defense of Marriage Act and "don't ask, don't tell."

you ****ing dip****

[Drake Tungsten]

After last night's South Park, I think I'm going to associate every attempt by MrFun to get nasty with Butters' attempt to be a raunchy in The Poop That Took a Pee.