Showing posts with label healthcare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthcare. Show all posts

Friday, August 21, 2009

Liberal Moonbats gone wild, Astroturfing Tools Versus Grassroots Patriots

Ahh yes, even if theses videos had only sound it would be sooo simple to distinguish between the liberal 'moonbats' and those that have at least 1/2 of a brain cell. Moonbats gone wild.

Although the liberal, obama run media, continually spouts that the opposition of the health care (obamacare) bill that no one has taken the time to read are "astroturfers" it's very clear to anyone that pays even the slightest attention that the "astroturfers" are clearly the liberal moonbats that have been organized through emails etc. and even paid to attend these protest. How can the POTUS legally pay people to protest to push his agenda?

A study in contrasts outside Senator Dianne Feinstein's LA office last Friday:



Part II

VIA

Teddy Oldsmobile's Bid to Change the Rules

Chappaquiddick Ted's Bid to Change the Rules

Once again, as Senator Frank Lautenberg did in New Jersey, and Florida Dems tried to do to install the demented Al Gore in the White House, Democrats are changing the rules in the middle of the game:

Senator Ted Kennedy, who is gravely ill with brain cancer, has sent a letter to Massachusetts lawmakers requesting a change in the state law that determines how his Senate seat would be filled if it became vacant before his eighth full term ends in 2012. Current law mandates that a special election be held at least 145 days after the seat becomes available. Mr. Kennedy is concerned that such a delay could leave his fellow Democrats in the Senate one vote short of a filibuster-proof majority for months while a special election takes place.
"I therefore am writing to urge you to work together to amend the law through the normal legislative process to provide for a temporary gubernatorial appointment until the special election occurs," writes the Senator.
What Mr. Kennedy doesn't volunteer is that he orchestrated the 2004 succession law revision that now requires a special election, and for similarly partisan reasons. John Kerry, the other Senator from the state, was running for President in 2004, and Mr. Kennedy wanted the law changed so the Republican Governor at the time, Mitt Romney, could not name Mr. Kerry's replacement. "Prodded by a personal appeal from Senator Edward M. Kennedy," reported the Boston Globe in 2004, "Democratic legislative leaders have agreed to take up a stalled bill creating a special election process to replace U.S. Senator John F. Kerry if he wins the presidency." Now that the state has a Democratic Governor, Mr. Kennedy wants to revert to gubernatorial appointments.

The moonbat governor — the David Alexrod-molded Obama prototype and disastrous flop Coupe Deval Patrick — can be counted on to appoint a leftist who will vote to assure that normal Americans have no access to the first-rate healthcare Kennedy has been receiving.

You would think with death staring into his bloated red face, Chappaquiddick Ted would make some last desperate attempt to redeem his evil life. But apparently this fetid personification of everything that makes the Democrat Party vile will march straight down to hell without looking back.

ted kennedy
No need to worry about awkward encounters with Mary Jo Kopechne where he's headed.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Obama Reinstates "Death Book" For US Veterans of War

President Bush suspended the veteran's "death books" last year.
Unfortunately, Barack Obama reinstated the practice for veterans.

Is it really worth it?

The book asks veterans to decide whether their own life would be "not worth living" under certain guilt inducing scenarios.
The Wall Street Journal reported:

If President Obama wants to better understand why America's discomfort with end-of-life discussions threatens to derail his health-care reform, he might begin with his own Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). He will quickly discover how government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care.

Last year, bureaucrats at the VA's National Center for Ethics in Health Care advocated a 52-page end-of-life planning document, "Your Life, Your Choices." (pdf) It was first published in 1997 and later promoted as the VA's preferred living will throughout its vast network of hospitals and nursing homes. After the Bush White House took a look at how this document was treating complex health and moral issues, the VA suspended its use. Unfortunately, under President Obama, the VA has now resuscitated "Your Life, Your Choices."

Who is the primary author of this workbook? Dr. Robert Pearlman, chief of ethics evaluation for the center, a man who in 1996 advocated for physician-assisted suicide in Vacco v. Quill before the U.S. Supreme Court and is known for his support of health-care rationing.

"Your Life, Your Choices" presents end-of-life choices in a way aimed at steering users toward predetermined conclusions, much like a political "push poll." For example, a worksheet on page 21 lists various scenarios and asks users to then decide whether their own life would be "not worth living."

The circumstances listed include ones common among the elderly and disabled: living in a nursing home, being in a wheelchair and not being able to "shake the blues." There is a section which provocatively asks, "Have you ever heard anyone say, 'If I'm a vegetable, pull the plug'?" There also are guilt-inducing scenarios such as "I can no longer contribute to my family's well being," "I am a severe financial burden on my family" and that the vet's situation "causes severe emotional burden for my family."
Page 21 of the book asks: "What makes my life worth living?"



But, don't worry seniors... You have nothing to worry about with Obamacare.
Skip the surgery. Take a pain pill instead.


VIA

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Witch Hunt-- Dems Demand Insurance Company Records... Continue Attacks On Private Sector ...Update: Proof Dems Want Single Payer System

This video is proof positive that the democrats are shooting for a single payer system:


Congressional Witch Hunt--
Democrats have requested records from several insurance companies. Congressional leaders want to demonize insurance company executives in order to convince the American public that the government needs to control health care.
FOX News reported:

Democrats on a House committee are seeking detailed financial records from dozens of large insurance companies, officials disclosed Tuesday, part of an investigation into "executive compensation and other business practices" in an industry opposed to President Barack Obama's plan to overhaul health care.

The request included records relating to compensation of highly paid employees, documents relating to companies' premium income and claims payments, and information on expenses stemming from any event held outside company facilities in the past 2 1/2 years.

The requests were made in letters signed by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who guided a portion of health care legislation through the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month as chairman, and Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who heads the Energy and Commerce investigations and oversight subcommittee.

They wrote that the committee was "examining executive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry." The Associated Press obtained a copy.

The requests were issued at a time when Obama's health care proposal is under intense attack from Republicans and other critics, including the health insurance industry. Much of the opposition focuses on proposals for the government to sell insurance in competition with private carriers.
Maybe they should look into SEIU executives' compensation, etc., at the same time. In fact, that of ALL union execs.
And, while they're at it, they could take a look at ACORN, too.

Like that would ever happen.

The US Constitution is now considered "Hate Speech" by the liberal left.

PHOENIX (AP) — A man carrying a copy of the US Constitution was arrested while demonstrating outside President Obama’s speech to veterans on Monday.



Although Arizona law currently allows citizens to openly carry a Constitution for purposes of self-defense against tyrants and despots, such laws are usurped in the presence of the President.

“A venue is considered a federal site when the Secret Service is protecting the president and federal law applies on a federal site,” said Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan.

Because the Constitution contains language “limiting” the powers of President - and was also written by slave-owners who considered blacks to be “three-fifths” of a person and not eligible for the office of the Presidency - the document is not protected as “free speech”. Instead, it’s covered under federal hate speech laws if one is brought within 1000 feet of President Obama.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the incident was being taken “very seriously” and that the FBI was considering further action.

“The US Constitution is a violent and revolutionary document, directly responsible for at least two wars in this nation,” said Gibbs. “Insurrectionist chatter like that may require us to consider charges of treason. We’re currently investigating the possibility, which will take some time, since no one in this administration has ever actually examined the document in question.”

“Free speech is not an absolute,” explained FBI spokesman John Miller. “You can’t yell ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater. Waving a Constitution around is essentially yelling ‘freedom!’ at a crowded Obama rally. We consider this sort of offensive language a direct threat to civil order in general and the President in particular, and it will not be tolerated.”




BTW; as believable as this is, it's fake

ACORN May Impose Lifestyle Regulations Under ObamaCare

Could you imagine a nightmare dystopia where corrupt ACORN troglodytes would be charged with monitoring your lifestyle and dietary habits on behalf of an all-powerful federal Leviathan that officially owns your very body? The statist goblins that wrote the ObamaCare bill sure can. From Fox Nation:

The health care reform bill approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) would provide federal grants to state and local governments and a "national network of community-based organizations" to "promote healthy living and reduce disparities" and to monitor people's weight, eating, exercise habits and other individual behaviors that affect health at the community level. The language instituting the program, entitled "Community Transformation Grants," is on pages 382-387 of the bill as posted on the committee's Web site.

Here's the bill. From page 386:

TYPES OF MEASURES. — In carrying out subparagraph (A), the eligible entity shall, with respect to residents in the community, measure —
(i) decreases in weight;
(ii) increases in proper nutrition;
(iii) increases in physical activity;
(iv) decreases in tobacco use prevalence;
(v) other factors using community specific data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey; and
(vi) other factors as determined by the Secretary.

The appallingly corrupt and powerful Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), best known for receiving the largest bribes from Fannie and Freddie before they crashed, confirms that ACORN could be the "eligible entity" that makes sure you are taking good care of the government's property by exercising properly, eating right, and so forth.

If our radical left rulers are able to impose ObamaCare, they will know there is no limit to how far they can go in indulging their totalitarian impulses.

acorn-thugs.jpg
Coming to your house to tell you how to live.

VIA

The American Seniors Association (ASA) a better alternative

As posted yesterday AARP has lost over 60,000 members and counting. Now the ASA has jumped on board and taking advantage of the loss of members by the AARP by offering perks to new members one of the attraction is mail them your torn AARP card and receive a 2 year- for- 1 year membership with ASA.

From the ASA website:

The American Seniors Association (ASA) invites any American Association of Retired Persons member to mail us your torn AARP card and receive a 2 year- for- 1 year membership with ASA. Our organization representing hundreds of thousands of members believes we need health care reform, but we want what is best for seniors. ASA wants to cut wasteful spending in Medicare. ASA wants to see the Congress work to curb frivolous lawsuits that drive up the costs of doctor’s malpractice insurance. Our system needs an overhaul, but we do not need expensive Obamacare or anything resembling it.

ASA is looking out for seniors by fighting a health care reform bill that will cost upward of $1.8 trillion over the next 10 years and cuts in Medicare of $500 billion. ASA wants seniors to live longer, more fulfilling years of life-- not an “end of life” continuum that this bill suggests.

So please mail ASA your torn AARP card and/or visit our website www.americanseniors.org and ensure your voice is heard.

American Seniors Association, 3700 Mansell Road,Suite 220, Alpharetta, GA 30022

AMERICAN SENIORS ASSOCIATION BLASTS OBAMA AARP HEATHCARE PUSH

“President Obama must think the American people are idiots if he thinks the healthcare rationing, restrictions and regulations being debated in Congress will save money and result in better preventative medicine,” says Stuart Barton, president of the Atlanta-based AmericanSeniors.org that represents hundreds of thousands of members nationwide.

“The president told the AARP meeting that opponents are “making people scared.” ”Well, they ought to be scared at current proposals,” Barton said. “The Congressional Budget Office estimates the plan’s cost over 10 years would be $1.2 to $1.8 trillion. That’s absurd in a recession, let alone good times.”

The ASA has three major concerns: 1) a government-run plan would limit patient- doctor choice 2) there would be an employer mandate that would kill jobs and lower wages and 3) the current legislation being debated attacks baby boomer and seniors by cutting $500 billion out of Medicare over the next 10 years.

“On page 425 of the bill, a person must go to counseling every five years to basically learn how to die,” Barton says. “As I read this and hear about no preventative care, it dawned on me that Obama’s plan is to let all these baby boomers die quicker so we don’t have to care for them in old age.”






For more information or to become a ASA member visit their website @ www.americanseniors.org

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Leftist Organization AARP Loses 60,000 Members Over Obamacare

60,000 Americans have cancelled their AARP memberships over the leftist organization's support of Obamacare.
CBS News reported:

CBS News has learned that up to 60,000 people have cancelled their AARP memberships since July 1, angered over the group's position on health care.

Elaine Guardiani has been with AARP for 14 years, and said, "I'm extremely disappointed in AARP."

Retired nurse Dale Anderson has 12 years with AARP and said, "I don't wanna be connected with AARP."

Many are switching to the American Seniors Association, a group that calls itself the conservative alternative as CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.
USA Today has more.

John Hawkins adds,

"No wonder people are leaving the AARP. They're backing a plan that would ration tens of 1000s of their members to death."

Armey: We're Marching on Washington Against Obamacare


Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey is organizing a march on Washington against the Obama administration’s healthcare plan that he hopes will finally finish off the Democratic push for socialized medicine.

The march, organized by Armey’s political group FreedomWorks, is scheduled for Sept. 12 and is already generating hundreds of thousands of responses, the Texas Republican tells Newsmax.TV. The group isn’t providing transportation, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem.

See Video: Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey talks about the movement to defeat Obamacare - Click Here Now

“We had a guy the other day from Indiana that said, ‘I want to get there.’ When we explained that we don’t bus people into these things, he said, ‘No, a bunch of us are getting together and renting our own bus. We’re all coming,’” Armey told Newsmax.TV’s Ashley Martella.

“The fact is they want their voices to be heard and they are looking at a venue in which they can express it.”

Armey also told Newsmax that:

  • the agenda of Obama and the liberal leadership of Congress offers the GOP ample opportunity to take back control of the House and build ranks in the Senate in 2010.
  • Because lawmakers continually fear the charge of doing nothing, they can easily be stampeded by mass movements into crafting bad laws that can take years to fix.
  • the Democrat Party continually underestimates the public’s essential desire to be free to run their own healthcare.
  • the resistance to ObamaCare is similar to that of HillaryCare, in which voters revolted against Hillary Clinton’s attempt at healthcare reform in 1993-94.
  • The Democratic playbook is based very much on the teachings of former Obama mentor and radical organizer Saul Alinsky, who stressed that a movement must first create the impression of a crisis, then show the nation how big government and only big government alone has the solution to that crisis.

    “The public at large is dealing with the same mass of hostile takeover of the ‘heartfelt sector’ of the economy –– my personal healthcare, Armey said. “They [the government] want to take it over and they want to run it, and that is scary to the public at large.”


  • To read the rest of the story CLICK HERE

    Canada's Socialized Medicine Approaches Collapse


    As the Dems dig themselves into a hole by attempting to impose Canadian-style socialized medicine on America, Canadians are trying to dig themselves out of the hole government control of healthcare has left them in.

    The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country's health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it.
    Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made.
    "We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press. …
    "(Canadians) have to understand that the system that we have right now - if it keeps on going without change - is not sustainable," said Doig.

    The good news for Canadians is at least they are moving — if far too slowly — in the direction of freedom and efficiency:

    The pitch for change at the conference is to start with a presentation from Dr. Robert Ouellet, the current president of the CMA, who has said there's a critical need to make Canada's health-care system patient-centred. … Ouellet has been saying … "that competition should be welcomed, not feared."
    In other words, Ouellet believes there could be a role for private health-care delivery within the public system.

    Meanwhile, Comrade Obama continues his attempts to impose a type of healthcare system that all informed people know does not work, confirming that this is about expanding government power, not providing healthcare.

    ObamaCareSymbol.gif
    It's about one thing: government control.

    Monday, August 17, 2009

    Rep. Gene Green: ID for Town Halls, Not for Voting

    Incredible: Arrogant Congresscommie Gene Green (D-TX) opposes requiring an ID to vote. This actually makes sense, because the votes of illegal aliens and cheaters who vote multiple times will be for Democrats with few if any exceptions.



    His town hall meetings, on the other hand, do require ID:



    This probably makes sense too, from the point of view of a statist who would like to intimidate constituents who might oppose federal power grabs from showing up at town hall meetings to voice opposition.

    What doesn't make sense is why the people of Texas would vote for a clown who so openly despises them. I doubt they'll be repeating the mistake in Green's case.

    VIA

    Obama Wants You to Work For Your Own Tax Money

    The leftist Messiah is hiring and paying people to protest against the majority with their own money. I mean it's obvious that anyone that can do this is NOT working or they'd be at work. How ironic is it that hussein is paying people to protest the protesters and of course only the protesters that are against obamacare.



    If these folks are not employed they are obviously living off your tax dollars in some way shape or form be that welfare, unemployment, or SSI. How do you like paying these folks twice while they get everything free?


    Astroturf Is Cheap But Not Free

    Out of work? No problem, Comrade Obama et al. are hiring. The pay is probably about the same as McDonald's, but you get the added satisfaction of helping to create the impression that Dear Leader has public support for his radical agenda.





    As an added benefit, any taxes you pay will probably come back to you in future paychecks.

    VIA

    Kennedy Health Care Reform Bill Released -- Help Us Read Through It


    Dropping in at 615 pages is the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's attempt to fix the broken health care system. The HELP Committee is chaired by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). The second-ranking Democrat, Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, had a large hand in drafting the bill as well, given Kennedy's absence from the committee while he battles brain cancer.

    If you want to help read through the committee's offering, sign up here to be part of the research team!

    The bill can be read here. A HELP Committee aide cautioned that the bill is not in its final form and that part of the reason for filing it is to meet a committee rule that requires a bill to be filed seven days before a vote can be held.

    Committee Democrats will be meeting with their Republican counterparts Wednesday and Thursday to hash out the bill's details.

    "On the legislation we'll introduce later today, there are some gaps in it and done so intentionally," said Dodd at a press conference earlier Tuesday. "There are no gaps in our determination, in my determination and that of my colleagues to have a public option, to have something done with the pay or play and deal with the follow on biologics. But I left those areas open for discussion, not because they're open for some sort of decision about whether or not we ought to move in that direction. But I want my Republican colleagues to know, I want their ideas, I want to hear what they have to say. This is a bill, it's an opening step."

    Kennedy's bill will get its first hearing on Thursday and is scheduled for a committee vote on Tuesday, June 16th.

    Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Tuesday that a committee vote on a health care bill could come as early as the week after next. The battle over the future of health care in America now enters a span of several months as important as any in a generation.

    Below is a statement released by Kennedy and further down is the health care bill itself.

    For the past year, Chairman Edward M. Kennedy and Democratic Members and staff of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) have been working to develop legislation that reduces health care costs, allows Americans to keep the coverage they have if they want it, and makes health insurance affordable to those who do not have it today.

    Read More HERE

    Saturday, August 15, 2009

    Left wing Obama thugs assault a handicapped woman

    A handicapped woman with a walker cries as she tells how union members pushed her out of her seat at a town hall:




    Gee, do you think the state-run media will report on this attack?
    ...Or, will they ignore it like all of the other attacks on conservative town hall protesters?

    UPDATE: American Power found more information on the attack.
    Her name is Kimberly King and she describes it all at The 9-12 Project:

    As we all know things are getting nasty at these town halls and once it happens to you personally it shakes you to the core and the culprits are NOT the crazy right wing mob ... IT'S ACORN/PRO-OBAMA bused in THUGS DOING IT!! ....

    I am disabled. I currently have a ruptured spinal wire from a spinal implant and will be having my SEVENTH surgery since 2001 within the next week. I also have multiple health problems including little use of my left arm from nerve damage and horrible problems walking since the wire ruptured. I am in such pain it's difficult to describe, but being there today was important.

    We arrived at 4:30 pm and the Alhambra police positioned me right down front by the barricade next to the raised dais where the Congressman was to be situated. The town hall was actually to be held at 5pm but didn't begin until 7pm. At 5:30 I needed to go the restroom so my best friend went to help me (I'm in a neckbrace and using a walker) and my husband remained with our seats.

    Upon returning a group of pro-reform women were standing in front of my seat waving their ready made ACORN designed signs. My husband tapped one of them on the shoulder and courteously asked her to move as his wife needed her seat. She ignored him. I said "excuse me" THREE times and she looked at me and said, "You can sit over there where the other handicaps are sitting." (Mind you this was in the hot sun on metal folding chairs and we had brought my own chair. That area was for handicapped and elderly constituents of Mr. Schiff's ...) I told her "I need my chair NOW!" as my arm was giving out and I was about to fall. My husband finally screamed "MOVE!" She and her coven screamed, "NO! WE DON'T HAVE TO MOVE ANYWHERE!" I had no choice but to shove her aside with my walker as I was about to fall and SHE STOMPED MY FOOT! I collapsed in the chair and screamed in pain. She and her friends started screaming "She's LYING! SHE'S LYING! SHE ASSAULTED HER!!"

    Of course other onlookers immediately swept in and backed us having seen her interfere with me getting in my seat and saw her stomp my foot...
    More here.
    Look for the Kimberly to be the next smear target on the Left.

    Friday, August 14, 2009

    A Master Liar on ObamaCare and Medicare

    Liberals love Obama because of his reflexive leftism, his trendy ethnicity, and his name that reminds them of America's worst external enemies. But he does have one other thing going for him: a capacity for telling brazen lies that makes Bill Clinton look like a choirboy. Here he is on the effect of ObamaCare on Medicare:



    You could hook him up to a polygraph, he could tell you that Reverend Wright loves America, and the needle wouldn't even jump.

    VIA

    Healthcare Rationing under obamacare

    Government involvement in healthcare means political priorities will determine which diseases receive resources. The effect is rationed care:



    At least there's good news for those with AIDS; as a reward for their typical lifestyle, the government will be shoveling even more money at them at the expense of people with less avoidable diseases.

    VIA

    Glenn Beck with Hanna on Europe's existing socialized health Care

    A Warning From the Land That Made Socialized Medicine Infamous


    British MEP Daniel Hannan's first-hand experience sheds light on why America's worst internal enemies are so adamant about ramming through socialized medicine:

    Abortion Mills Already Scamming Socialized Medicine

    Here is a little foretaste of the massive fraud in store for us if Dems manage to ram ObamaCare through:

    Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest required unnecessary office visits by its poorest patients, a practice that led to excessive payments from the taxpayer-financed Medicaid program, according to a recent audit.
    The audit also uncovered troubling billing procedures and problems with unauthorized staff prescribing and dispensing birth control pills, said Doug Porter, Washington's Medicaid director. Medicaid covers the medical bills of poor people throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
    The issues amounted to excess Medicaid payments to the clinic totaling $629,143. Interest of 1 percent per month will begin accruing Aug. 20 if the clinic fails to repay the state.
    Over the three years the audit covered, the clinic collected about $7.7 million from Medicaid.

    The baby-killing industry is booming, thanks to your tax dollar. I'm sure the Planned Parenthood folks can't wait until ObamaCare turns a fire hose gushing public money in their direction.


    VIA

    The White House, Where are they getting the email addresses?

    Many people are getting emails like the one below from the white house's David Axelrod.
    Where are they getting these email addresses? I have had several people tell me they have never been to any white house website but the white house says they get the email addresses from previous visitors. This is a down right lie from the white house.
    If this had happened under the Bush administration we would be bombarded by the MSM, this is clearly illegal and a violation of our rights.
    If anyone gets one of these emails please send it to me @ the email at the top right corner of this blog.
    I really want to find out how the white house is obtaining your information. I will not disclose any of your information and you can block-out your email name if you like. I just want to put a stop to this illegal activity.

    The White House, Washington


    Dear Friend,

    This is probably one of the longest emails I've ever sent, but it could be the most important.

    Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back — even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions.

    As President Obama said at the town hall in New Hampshire, "where we do disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed."

    So let's start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you'll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now.

    Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what's below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.

    Thanks,
    David

    David Axelrod
    Senior Adviser to the President

    P.S. We launched http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck/?e=11&ref=text0 this week to knock down the rumors and lies that are floating around the internet. You can find the information below, and much more, there. For example, we've just added a video of Nancy-Ann DeParle from our Health Reform Office tackling a viral email head on. Check it out:



    8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage
    1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
    2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
    3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
    4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
    5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
    6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
    7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
    8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.
    Learn more and get details: http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/?e=11&ref=hicp

    8 common myths about health insurance reform
    1. Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It's a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
    2. We can't afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It's a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.
    3. Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It's a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.
    4. Vets' health care is safe and sound: It's a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
    5. Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It's a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.
    6. Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It's myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
    7. You can keep your own insurance: It's myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.
    8. No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.
    Learn more and get details:
    http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/?e=11&ref=myth1
    http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq/?e=11&ref=myth1

    8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now
    1. Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html
    2. Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hiddencosts/index.html
    3. Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women's reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/index.html
    4. Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes/
    5. Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline/
    6. The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/
    7. Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/diminishing/index.html
    8. The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf?e=11&ref=report
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