Quotes of the day
posted at 9:30 pm on August 16, 2009 by Allahpundit
“Put a bill out there, make them filibuster it. Make them be what they are — the party of no. Look, we spend — the truth of the matter is, we spend about $8,000 per person in the United States on health care. The second — the country that seconds the second most is Switzerland, they spend $4,000. That means you have got $4,000 per person more that we spend on health care, that is $1.2 trillion, 4,000 times 300 million. And you know what? Run on it. A lot of people — and we’re not producing any kind of results that double that money provides. Let them kill it. Let them kill it with the interest group money, then run against them. That’s what we ought to do.”
***
“Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), who led the crafting of the bill the House GOP put forth as a rival to the president’s health care proposal, told POLITICO that ‘the momentum is just now becoming visible.’…
‘A win for us is anything that improves the current situation without damaging the good things about our system,’ said Price, adding that any bill that does not include a public option, employer mandates and the rationing of care could be looked at as something of a success for his party.”
***
“I will never vote for a bill to kill old people, period.”
Blowback
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+7%…….
Seven Percent Solution on August 16, 2009 at 11:39 PM
Carville as a QOTD?
AP…. what were you thinking?
Besides, how can the Repulican’s kill it? Democrats have enough votes to plow it through, but they can’t get enough of their own to sign onto this crap sandwich. And of course, in Carvile Land, that mean’s it’s the GOP’s fault.
Say’s a lot more aobut the bill than the Republican’s ever could.
Hog Wild on August 16, 2009 at 11:40 PM
ok I guess we’re not so amazing. Slaps forehead…
It’s boggles post and I didn’t read through the thread before I jumped in.
D’oh.
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:40 PM
I can’t decide who is more hideous to look at these days, Couric or Maddow?
David2.0 on August 16, 2009 at 11:40 PM
That was the consensus when the free market gave us the HMO, which has led to the kind of buearocratic nightmare in health care administration and unnecessary costs that you would think was only possible from the government.
The problem in the US is that administrative costs brought about by private insurance companies racket up the total price for health care in this country to the incredible levels we see today. I’m not saying that the free market shouldn’t have an important role to play in the future but it hasn’t offered any real solution either.
bayam on August 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
You too………
………. +7%!
Seven Percent Solution on August 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Bout time I ran into you again. Grazie.
Ok…back to Barry and National Health sCare. The RINOs and Blue Dogs will now work to drop bits and pieces of this boondoggle into every bill they get their hands on. They must appease the Alpha at 1600 PA to keep their world straight.
Stay awake. Stay focused. Stay prepared to grab a pitchfork and a brand.
Limerick on August 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
I suppose genetic testing for liberal trends won’t be far behind.
Kini on August 16, 2009 at 11:36 PM
Kini: Well,it does sound soooooo 1984!
I can see the bragging rights at cocktail partys,
on who had a higher racist markers,ahem!:)
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Considering Obama’s opponent was McCain, no sarc tag was needed then.
ddrintn on August 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
That’s the thing about Socialists, they insist that socialism has failed not because of it’s self but because it was instituted by the wrong people.
thomasaur on August 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Costly health care?
In this mostly rural county, the local hospital is just about finished with a $50million expansion with 56 new beds, a new surgical suite and the focus? Obesity. They’ve established a separate obesity wing. $50 million for it.
As for the usual health care provided, both those in private practice and those affiliated with the hospital, we are short OB/GYN’s, short surgeons of all types, and the number of general practitioners has declined steadily over the past decade.
The reason for the decline in OB/GYN’s and surgeons? And most general practitioners? Malpractice insurance costs. Many left to go to far far larger medical centers where they can obtain assistance or group rates for malpractice insurance. Other headed for other locales where the onerous costs of paying malpractice insurance is balanced by lower cots of living…and these are getting more and more rare each day these days..
But, if you are obese…those 56 news beds will fill up fast and regularly. Can’t believe the number of young people around who weigh more at age 10, 14 or 16 than most adult men.
coldwarrior on August 16, 2009 at 11:42 PM
Oh God. It’s one of those nights I need to just hit the hay. It’s bloggless not boggles.
;(
ug.
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:44 PM
A cornered rabid lizard named Carville
A cornered rabid lizard named Carville
See how he does scurry so desperately around
See how he does scurry so desperately around
He chases after The People with all the bile formed in his pathetic little life
Just wait till The People cut off the rest of his foul tales with a carving knife
Did you ever think you would see such a thing in your life
As a cornered rabid lizard named Carville?
Cheshire Cat on August 16, 2009 at 11:44 PM
Here’s a theme song for Obamacare.
profitsbeard on August 16, 2009 at 11:44 PM
At times blogless has been known to boggle.
thomasaur on August 16, 2009 at 11:45 PM
Stay awake. Stay focused. Stay prepared to grab a pitchfork and a brand.
Limerick on August 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Limerick:I’m bring Tar and Feather’s in a special blend,
mixed with imported maple syrup all the way from
France,crap,I mean Quebec!!hehe:)
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:46 PM
I’m pretty sure he can make it happen. I know he can. He is the ONE. He is a genius. He is clean and smart and articulate and ….
how can you not see this????/
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:46 PM
Exactly. They deny facts and still claim that it’s not the system that’s flawed.
TopLawyer on August 16, 2009 at 11:46 PM
Have I ever told you I apologize for George Rogers Clark invading your country? ;)
Limerick on August 16, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Oh God. It’s one of those nights I need to just hit the hay. It’s bloggless not boggles.
;(
ug.
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:44 PM
katy: Thats something I might of done!!:)
H/A Crew are foregiving!
I Hope!:)
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:48 PM
I don’t think they really have tried a free market approach. The laws prevent interstate health insurance. We provide free care to millions of illegals. HMO’s were crap because some idiot somewhere was making decisions for the patients and docs were rewarded for limiting procedures. The bottom line is we have the best healthcare in the world and it is expensive. People buy expensive cars, expensive clothes, food and tv. While there are some problems with some aspects of healthcare, it still is damn good.
bloggless on August 16, 2009 at 11:49 PM
Milovan Djilas wrote about this “new class” phenomena and socialism/communism 60 years ago…and it remains true today.
Socialism requires an elite power class to make the rest of the population comply. It also requires a population nearly 100% dependent on the state to survive. But, they will never admit it.
coldwarrior on August 16, 2009 at 11:49 PM
Please Mr. Obama, I don’t wanna go
Hey, Mr. Obama, please don’t make me go
I had a dream last night about my comin’ medical care
Somebody said “What you’ll get is ObamaCare!’”
And there I stood with a rag in my mouth upon which to bite.
Look at them waiting lines there, they’re hardly even movin’
And there’s a bureaucrat at every one
Hey, Mr. Obama, you mind if I be excused the rest of the decade?
HEY GRANDMA, DUCK YER HEAD!!
(Sound of Carville’s clipboard whizzing by)
Hmm, you’re a little bit late on that one, Granny
Whooh, I bet that smarts!
Please Mr. Obama, I don’t wanna go
Listen, Mr. Obama, please don’t make me go
There’s a bureaucrat a’waitin’ out there, just fixin to decide my fate
A complainer I’ve been called cuz I don’t wanna wind up screamin’ or dead
I wonder what the Kenyan word for friend is
Let’s see-friend– kemo sabe, that’s it!
KEMO SABE!, HEY OUT THERE-KEMO SABE!
Nope, that itn’t it
Look at them durned power mad control freak fascists
They’re runnin’ around like a bunch of wild Mengeles, Emanuels and Kevorkians-heh, heh, heh
MB4 on August 16, 2009 at 11:49 PM
I’m not sure I have ever boggled. Can you describe it and then I will know for sure? Sounds kinda fun…
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:50 PM
It’s more than that. Doctors insurance premiums are expensive due to the lack of tort reform. This is just one part of the unnecessary costs we have. Development of new medicines and medical techniques is another, and one I’m willing to pay for.
A doctor needs to know if their patient is going to sue them. A doctor needs to be allowed to make a profit. Something the Obama thinks should not happen under any circumstances.
Hospitals costs are high for the same reasons. France is looking at moving to our HMO payer system to control costs, while we are moving towards France’s single payer system. Either way, both systems are flawed.
One common factor in the high cost is government involvement. Maybe that’s where we should start first.
Kini on August 16, 2009 at 11:50 PM
There you are, you SOB. Glad you found the door key.
Limerick on August 16, 2009 at 11:50 PM
You’re in fantasy land. The country’s health care system is broken and is driving up the cost of doing business in the USA to a point where manufacturing jobs are only going to accelerate their rush abroad. Whine about Canada all you want but that country spends about 33% less on health care than the USA.
If the status quo continues unchanged, health care will reach 20% or more of GDP. It’s more than this nation can afford.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124958049241511735.html
bayam on August 16, 2009 at 11:51 PM
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:37 PM
Canopfor…. look at the time stamp on our posts.
We… are simply amazing!!!
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:38 PM
katy: S-P-O-O-K-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Actually didn’t Barry just say the other day that the Canadian system would not work here??????? And now the news out of Canada about their healthcare ain’t too good. I question the timing. Or Barry is a genious.
bloggless on August 16, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Being restricted to having to crawl through all manner of open windows in the back of this place was getting a mite old.
MB4 on August 16, 2009 at 11:54 PM
Worse than Fannie and Freddie? I don’t think so. But you guys are dying for Fannie Sick.
A good amount of the US health care expenditure (and you people are truly disingenuous throwing public and private expenditures together, since my costs aren’t the government’s business) is due to the fact that the US funds medical advancement for the whole world. Almost nothing gets developed if it cannot be targeted at the US market, first. Then all the socialized systems get it cheap, after we had paid for its creation, testing, and introduction to mass production/application. But you rocket scientists want to take the profit uncentive out of our system, and you assume that everything else will just continue along as it always has … because you folks are staticists who can’t really imagine the dynamics of the real world. We pay for research. The rest of them draft off of us. Take the profit out of the US system and medical advancement slows to a crawl.
progressoverpeace on August 16, 2009 at 11:54 PM
I was at the doggie park tonight and a guy from England was there. I asked him about universal healthcare and he said was all for it. He said “if it’s done right it will be good”. He said that the healthcare system in the UK is good except for the long waits. Then he mentioned that it was free and that in the states he’s had to pay $500 co-pays.
txag92 on August 16, 2009 at 11:55 PM
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:46 PM
Have I ever told you I apologize for George Rogers Clark invading your country? ;)
Limerick on August 16, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Limerick: NO! But do tell!!!!!!!!:)
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:55 PM
Rumors of your demise were greatly exaggerated.
Nice to see you once again. Cheers!
Kini on August 16, 2009 at 11:55 PM
Did you ask him why he’s here?
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Ain’t gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do, or say
Will be in the Obama pill you took today
Ain’t gonna need your teeth, won’t need your eyes
You won’t find an ObamaCare doctor who knows a thing to do
Nobody’s even gonna look at you
Cheshire Cat on August 16, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Makes a good story around the campfire though.
Mark Twain just wasn’t himself without you around.
Ok…enough manlove…back to beer and Barry….
Limerick on August 16, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Did you ask him why he’s here?
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:56 PM
I did. He just mentioned the weather being better (in Texas of all places), the fact that there is more to do and, ironically, the lower cost of living.
txag92 on August 16, 2009 at 11:57 PM
I’ll leave the apologizing to Barry (he is good at that). It might take awhile because he has to work up an apology and excuse to his base as to where he left his spine.
Limerick on August 16, 2009 at 11:58 PM
Did you ask him why he’s here?
katy on August 16, 2009 at 11:56 PM
I briefly mentioned that I didn’t want the government controlling my life and he said “they already do”.
txag92 on August 16, 2009 at 11:59 PM
I was stuck in stasis between two parallel universes. Finally a kindly gentleman pulled me back in…
MB4 on August 16, 2009 at 11:59 PM
Cause simply saying yes to everything is a great idea.
Nothing bad ever came from carte blanche.
blatantblue on August 16, 2009 at 11:59 PM
MB4 on August 16, 2009 at 11:49 PM
MB4: All is right in the Universe,MB4 was adrift at political sea,and had the greatest fortune of finding
the U.S.S.Hot Air,anchored at one of our favourite port
of calls!!
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:59 PM
Beware bald men from Minnesota.
Limerick on August 17, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Been there…….
………. done that myself.
But I had to change my name to protect the innocent…..
…….. Glad to have you back.
For your return, I offer the following tribute…….
Seven Percent Solution on August 17, 2009 at 12:00 AM
I agree with you on the valdity of tort refort but that won’t solve the probelm. If you add the billions in malpractice rewards to the billions docs pay for malpractice insurance, the most you could possibly reduce is 2% to 5% per every study conducted. Yes, France is trying to control costs but their total health care spend is already 30% less than the US. So while that country may be trying to reign in spending, their system is already far less costly than the sytem in the US.
The system is disfunctional in many areas, some because the free market has not delivered optimal returns. If you know anyone who works in pharma, then you understand that marketing costs have skyrocketed out of control, and that’s the main driver of med prices at this point. It’s such a terrible situation that even some big pharma CEOs have questioned whether marketing shouldn’t be controlled by regulation. If your competitor is spending 30% of revenue on marketing (ie field sales reps contantly harrassing docs), then as CEO you really have no choice but to do the same. All those office vists and free meals actually do work. Let’s just realize that the free market isn’t going ot magically fix everything.
bayam on August 17, 2009 at 12:01 AM
But do tell!!!!!!!!:)
canopfor on August 16, 2009 at 11:55 PM
I’ll leave the apologizing to Barry (he is good at that). It might take awhile because he has to work up an apology and excuse to his base as to where he left his spine.
Limerick on August 16, 2009 at 11:58 PM
Limerick: No Sh#t!hehe:)
canopfor on August 17, 2009 at 12:03 AM
So if the GOP is the “Party of No”, then the DNC has to be the “Party that Spends to No End”.
yoda on August 17, 2009 at 12:03 AM
They are just the party of suck
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:05 AM
I have several friends who work in biotech as research scientists. I can tell you that none of them see health care refom as a threat to poineering the most advanced genetic and related research in the world. Unless the government prevents pharma from recovering the cost of R&D by placing price caps on medicine, your point has no merit and all your name-calling seems kind of misplaced.
The US system is killing the competitiveness of US companies because of its high costs, many of which are driven my administrative overhead.
bayam on August 17, 2009 at 12:06 AM
.. Glad to have you back.
For your return, I offer the following tribute…….
Seven Percent Solution on August 17, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Seven Percent Solution:Most excellent tribute,SPS!:)
canopfor on August 17, 2009 at 12:06 AM
There are two kinds of spurs, my friend. Those that come in by the door and those that come in by the window. Adios for now!
Tuco on August 17, 2009 at 12:06 AM
The bastads have no choice. They have control of both houses and can’t find the stones to vote up or down. It is the same party that championed Mike Gravel’s treason. It is the same party that sat on it’s hands for 444 days while brothers had 9mms pointed at their heads. Hell could rear up it’s ugly head inside an ice cube and I still wouldn’t vote for the party of yellow bellies.
Limerick on August 17, 2009 at 12:07 AM
So, instead of writing a massive 1000 page bill that contains a Trojan Horse for single-payer and many things no congresscritter will ever read, why not write a small bill that targets this problem?
pearson on August 17, 2009 at 12:08 AM
Pricess Diana died in France. Had American medical care been available, she probably would have survived and survived well.
Bayam you sound ignorant of the gains that big Pharma gives us. I figured you out when you said “field sales reps contantly harrassing docs” and “All those office vists and free meals actually do work”. Now yo sound like Barry, talking out of both sides of his mouth. Which is it, reps harrassing docs or greedy docs taking free meals? Go back to the ACORN board.
bloggless on August 17, 2009 at 12:08 AM
“What I gained by being in France was learning to be better satisfied with my own country.”
Samuel Johnson
I would have rather been rickrolled.
Laura in Maryland on August 17, 2009 at 12:10 AM
And I can tell you that none of them are lawyers.
bloggless on August 17, 2009 at 12:10 AM
:O)
One of my favorites……
……. besides, from Obama down to Carville, they remind me of carpet crawlers.
Seven Percent Solution on August 17, 2009 at 12:10 AM
no.
no. don’t you ever say that again.
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:11 AM
They are just the party of suck
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:05 AM
blatantblue:I second that BB:)
The Lib Party of Suck!:)
canopfor on August 17, 2009 at 12:11 AM
Yeah, right. Sounds like more social work grad students to me.
pearson on August 17, 2009 at 12:11 AM
Are you for real with that? Of course they will limit profit on medicines. If they don’t do it with price caps they will do it by changing the patent and generic rules. Just like they limit reimbursement with Medicare drug coverage.
bloggless on August 17, 2009 at 12:14 AM
canopfor on August 17, 2009 at 12:06 AM
:O)
One of my favorites……
……. besides, from Obama down to Carville, they remind me of carpet crawlers.
Seven Percent Solution on August 17, 2009 at 12:10 AM
Seven Percent Solutions:Carville and Team Obama are soooo
looooooow,they`re playing hand ball
up the side of the gutter curb!!:)
-Haha.
canopfor on August 17, 2009 at 12:14 AM
We have probably made his night, giving him so much attention.
bloggless on August 17, 2009 at 12:14 AM
Speaking of Joe “Scranton Scrapper” Biden, I saw him on funeral duty this past week.
About 7 months too late, huh Barry?
Hillary’s doing town halls in 3rd-world crapholes while Biden was given free reign to destroy goodwill among nations around the globe.
Good call, Hussein.
David2.0 on August 17, 2009 at 12:15 AM
Then try something totally different…..take government regulation out of it. Let the market decide where to go…Railroad Baron or Partner. If the former the American Public will run them out of town. If the later we have a better game. To just throw Uncle Sugar in as some kind of gawddamed Solomon is beyond naive. Never doubt the ability of the free market to find what the customer wants.
Limerick on August 17, 2009 at 12:16 AM
These idiots come here for the greatness of this country and then attempt to impose the very thing that drove them away from their own.
Kinda like when Californians move to Colorado and turn a great western state into a metrosexual nightmare.
katy on August 17, 2009 at 12:16 AM
progressoverpeace on August 16, 2009 at 9:38 PM
ITA. The only victory is for this entire bill to be dumped.
Like one of the “mobsters” said to Specter, “Just leave us alone.”
Maybe when we have a GOP majority again, they can pass something with TORT reform and allowing insurance to be bought across state lines. But anything that this current congress comes up with will be evil.
-Aslan’s Girl
Aslans Girl on August 17, 2009 at 12:16 AM
thaths sooo crazzy!
omg!
a methrosethual paradise!
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:17 AM
A reminder to all…………
……. if you read a troll’s ‘bannable’ comment,
Don’t “copy and paste” it in your reply…….
……. it might have some unintended consequences that you did not expect.
By the way…….
…….. Michelle, Allah, and Ed already warned us.
Just sayin’……
Seven Percent Solution on August 17, 2009 at 12:18 AM
You’re scaring me BB…..
katy on August 17, 2009 at 12:19 AM
Obama is a deceiver, a dissembler
His Mom trousers are alight
From what poll or banner
Shall they dangle in the night?
What infernal serpent
Has lent him his forked tongue?
From what pit of foul deceit
Have all his whoopers and all his hiding sprung?
What red devil of mendacity
Grips Carville’s sick soul with such tenacity?
Will not those he so cruelly showers with lies
Put a boot between that serpent’s eyes?
PercyB on August 17, 2009 at 12:19 AM
what can i say
ive met some homersexuals in my time
and some metrosexuals
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:19 AM
Come to think of it, there has been much upside to the Obama presidency.
1. Awakening the masses to the nature of socialism and regenerating a renewed interest in the Founders.
2. McCain thwarted from destroying the GOP by working with Dems as president.
3. Hillary closes her career doing town halls in 3rd-world crapholes.
pearson on August 17, 2009 at 12:20 AM
You may be right about that! I was just saying that there are serious problems, reflected in the extraordinary costs of our sytem, that need to be fixed. Having the price of prescription drugs driven by the costs of staffing up on hot sales reps to wink at docs and drop off free lunch for the entire office staff may not be an ideal situation
bayam on August 17, 2009 at 12:20 AM
Hrmmm…so Obama is backing off single payer, eh? Well, maybe not:
http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/08/administration_official_sebelius_misspoke.php
Well, with these lying a$$holes, only two things are certain..1) They are lying and 2) We’ve got to screw them into the ground before they screw us!
AUINSC on August 17, 2009 at 12:21 AM
What do you expect from the party that challenged a bully, got a bloody nose, and ran home to momma? I know…it is rhetorical.
Limerick on August 17, 2009 at 12:22 AM
Where is Biden lately? Does anyone think he is sleeping in the Oval Office will Dear Leader is out west? Maybe caressing the POTUS seal on the desk?
d1carter on August 17, 2009 at 12:23 AM
I was at the doggie park tonight and a guy from England was there. I asked him about universal healthcare and he said was all for it. He said “if it’s done right it will be good”. He said that the healthcare system in the UK is good except for the long waits. Then he mentioned that it was free and that in the states he’s had to pay $500 co-pays.
txag92 on August 16, 2009 at 11:55 PM
txag92: Gotta love that line,’ìf its done right’!!!
Here in Canada,if you break your leg,cut your finger
or,in my sons case,playing junior(age 16)baseball,
he took a line drive to the head,thankfully,no head
problems,but,his jaw took a whack!
After,x-rays,and four hours waiting for a specialist
his jaw was cracked in three places,and about four
hours surgery,and after recovery we went home,mind
you,that was 10 years ago!!
And no bill!:)
canopfor on August 17, 2009 at 12:23 AM
See Obama’s star slink down in the sky
Every dream he has spun is a lie
Here’s the one bitter lesson of Obama’s history
His soul should no longer remain a mystery
His many faces change
What you thought you knew grows ever more strange
And he has so many faces
His real self erases
With all those lies dancing in his empty eyes!
PercyB on August 17, 2009 at 12:23 AM
Joe Biden is still nursing his hangover from the non alcoholic beer
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:24 AM
YO VICE PREZZDENT SOOO
STUPID!!!!
HE DRANK NON-ALCOHOLIC BEER AND GOT A HANGOVER!
(repeat joke, i know)
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:24 AM
Sleeping off the brewskis from GatesGate.
Limerick on August 17, 2009 at 12:24 AM
“I happen to be a proponent of a single payer system”
Don’t ever forget his words…
KILL THE BILL!
katy on August 17, 2009 at 12:25 AM
Whoa. Sebelius was just thrown under the bus. It looks like the One can’ back off his Trojan Horse. Yet.
pearson on August 17, 2009 at 12:26 AM
You see, this is exactly the misunderstanding I mentioned. There is a difference between research and actually developing, testing, manufacturing, distribution, … and this is not just about drugs, but everything that is built for medicine. What would a research scientist know about any of this? Other than if he is interested in areas outside of his field, he wouldn’t really have a clue. Research is merely the bare beginnings of the advancement of medicine and medical treatments. We’ve seen what happens when capitalist countries and socialist countries have the same research. One builds an industry (through the massive trial and error of companies trying different approaches and succeeding or failing) and the other builds some square, government beaurocracy that never does what it was built for and is obsolete before it’s even finished.
Like I said, this is far larger than just Pharma, but even with the drug companies, taking profit out of the system will certainly change R+D. The whole industry will change, and certainly not for the better.
Oh please. Private companies’ costs are really none of your business. You don’t like a company, don’t buy indurance from them. But get your government out of my way so that I can buy insurance from them, across state lines, if I like them.
progressoverpeace on August 17, 2009 at 12:26 AM
YES!!! Finally I agree with this moron.
Dollayo on August 17, 2009 at 12:27 AM
The WH is not sure if Sebelius misspoke or not…?
d1carter on August 17, 2009 at 12:27 AM
“If it bleeds, we can kill it”
name that quote
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:28 AM
• Approximately $124 billion dollars is spent annually by the health care profession to avoid medical liability.
• About $30 billion more is spent on direct liability lawsuit costs.
• Malpractice liability cost is 1 percent of GDP and increases the cost of healthcare by approximately 7 percent.
• These added costs deny health insurance coverage to between 2.4 and 4.3 million people, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The John Edwards we know crushed [obstetrics, gynecology] and neurosurgery in North Carolina,” said Dr. Craig VanDerVeer, a Charlotte neurosurgeon. “As a result, thousands of patients lost their health care.”
It ain’t the insurance companies, dammit.
warbaby on August 17, 2009 at 12:28 AM
…….. Michelle, Allah, and Ed already warned us.
Just sayin’……
Seven Percent Solution on August 17, 2009 at 12:18 AM
Seven Percent Solution: Your right SPS,I remember that warn
ing!:)
canopfor on August 17, 2009 at 12:29 AM
That guy was great! ANd Katy Abrams, at that meeting, was truly awesome. She was taking the Constitutional approach, talking about limited government, and was really on the ball. That Specter town hall was really something, mobster-wise :)
progressoverpeace on August 17, 2009 at 12:29 AM
Whoa. Sebelius was just thrown under the bus. It looks like the One can’ back off his Trojan Horse. Yet.
pearson on August 17, 2009 at 12:26 AM
??????????????
tessa on August 17, 2009 at 12:30 AM
“If it bleeds, we can kill it”
name that quote
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:28 AM
blatantblue: Arnie said that in Predator!
And thats before the fight,when Arnie
took about 15 shots to his head,that
should of removed his skull!!:)
canopfor on August 17, 2009 at 12:33 AM
This is what I love about HA….there are a whole bunch of us who don’t see eye to eye. BB, MB4, progress, dorian, Terrye, DocZero, upinak, me, to name but a minor few. There is one thing we all agree with and that is that Uncle Sugar’s nose is tickling places it shouldn’t tickle. That is where we start. Now we just have to figure out the priorities. Barry has given us a golden opportunity with National Health sCare to swing the hammer together. Let us find more reasons to keep swinging. (Que sappy music, sunsets, sunrises, and puppies running through a field of flowers)
Limerick on August 17, 2009 at 12:34 AM
Why Government Can’t Run a Business
The Obama administration is bent on becoming a major player in — if not taking over entirely — America’s health-care, automobile and banking industries. Before that happens, it might be a good idea to look at the government’s track record in running economic enterprises. It is terrible.
In 1913, for instance, thinking it was being overcharged by the steel companies for armor plate for warships, the federal government decided to build its own plant. It estimated that a plant with a 10,000-ton annual capacity could produce armor plate for only 70% of what the steel companies charged.
When the plant was finally finished, however — three years after World War I had ended — it was millions over budget and able to produce armor plate only at twice what the steel companies charged. It produced one batch and then shut down, never to reopen.
Or take Medicare. Other than the source of its premiums, Medicare is no different, economically, than a regular health-insurance company. But unlike, say, UnitedHealthcare, it is a bureaucracy-beclotted nightmare, riven with waste and fraud. Last year the Government Accountability Office estimated that no less than one-third of all Medicare disbursements for durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs and hospital beds, were improper or fraudulent. Medicare was so lax in its oversight that it was approving orthopedic shoes for amputees.
These examples are not aberrations; they are typical of how governments run enterprises. There are a number of reasons why this is inherently so. Among them are:
- more -
KentAllard on August 17, 2009 at 12:34 AM
I agree that less government regulation is generally good but the recent meltdown on Wall Street points to the fallcy in believing that the free market solves all.
Again, look how the market has decided to run the pharmaceutical industry. Mr. Market has created a system where big pharma competes by hiring hot sales reps to drive around to med offices, drop off free lunches, and take docs and their spouses out to dinner. Why hot sales reps? Believe it or not, there’s no evidence that hot sales reps have superior medical knowlege that complements a doctor’s expertise and informs better medical decisions for patients. The industry is locked in a war of spending over $150k per doc in hot sales reps because decades of drug sales monitoring have helped the companies realize that the reps make a big impact on prescription sales.
Most doctors realize the sytem is broken, but why should you be the only doc in town to turn down all the benefits? Yet this market-driven practice has become a primary driver of costs for the entire drug industry. Maybe you believe that hot pharms sales reps are important to your health, but more likely it’s an example of the market not exactly working the way you’d hope.
bayam on August 17, 2009 at 12:35 AM
That’s completely false. It has been proven time and time again that government is the biggest obstacle to competitiveness.
Companies, no matter what their industry is, live and die by their competitiveness. When the government gets involved, I.E. GE, selective groups benefit, i.e. Unions. Then we all lose by the lack of a quality product proped up by government intervention.
Kini on August 17, 2009 at 12:36 AM
http://www.tortreform.com/
A lefty lawyer spin:
http://www.newyorkpersonalinjuryattorneyblog.com/2007/10/texas-tort-reform-and-new-york-times.html
Total Disciplinary Actions:
2002: 187
2003: 277
2004: 256
2005: 304
2006: 335
2007: 311
2008: 351
What he fails to mention is the population of Texas is exploding.
Texas population – 24,326,974 – Jul 2008
Texas Medical Board issues 672 physician licenses while reducing licensure processing time; disciplines 50 physicians
http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/news/press/2008/021508a.php
_____________________________________________________________________
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAPS WORK
http://www.healthcarebs.com/2007/10/05/medical-malpractice-caps-work/
The New York Times reluctantly reports that tort reform in Texas has produced precisely the results its advocates predicted:
Four years after Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment limiting awards in medical malpractice lawsuits, doctors are responding as supporters predicted, arriving from all parts of the country to swell the ranks of specialists at Texas hospitals …
This does not mean, as many opponents of tort reform claim, that patients have no recourse in legitimate malpractice cases. Plaintiffs can recover economic losses of up to $1.6 million and non-economic losses of $250,000 from as many as three separate providers.
If our masters in Washington would take a few minutes off from demagoguing SCHIP and pass serious malpractice reform on a national level, the distribution of medical providers would track patient demand rather than local legal climate, and the inflationary effects of defensive medicine would be significantly reduced.
___________________________________________________________________________
More Doctors in Texas After Malpractice Caps
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/us/05doctors.html?ex=1349323200&en=fa11e751e6cc98af&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
___________________________________________________________________________
After Texas Caps Malpractice, Docs Move In
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/10/05/after-texas-caps-malpractice-docs-move-in/
izoneguy on August 17, 2009 at 12:37 AM
Limerick
and despite our disagreements
we agree on mostly everything
combating islamic militancy
securing national borders
lower taxes
a more nimble and intelligent healthcare structure
etc
etc
blatantblue on August 17, 2009 at 12:38 AM
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