Howard Dean Blasts Baucus Healthcare Bill
By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers
Howard Dean, former Democratic National Committee chairman, minced no words about Sen. Max Baucus's healthcare proposal, unveiled to the public this morning. "The Baucus bill is the worst piece of healthcare legislation I've seen in 30 years," Dean said last night at a healthcare town hall and book signing in Washington. "In fact, it's a $60 billion giveaway to the health insurance industry every year," he said. "It was written by healthcare lobbyists, so that's not a surprise. It's an outrage."
The Baucus bill leaves out some of the president's goals for healthcare reform, such as the controversial public option. While more palatable to Senate moderates, the Baucus proposal also drew criticism from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, who said yesterday he would not vote for it in its current form. "I'm glad Senator Rockefeller is not going to vote for it. I wouldn't vote for it at all under any circumstances," Dean added. Instead, Dean said Senate Democrats should and would end up using the reconciliation process to pass a plan with the public option. "It can be done, and that's how it will be done," Dean said, pointing out that a majority of Senate Democrats still support a more robust bill.
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Reader Comments
THE HEALTH CARE BILL
IF WE ARE TRULLY A REPUBLIC WHERE GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE AND BY THE PEOPLE SHOULD RULE, THIS APPROACH TO HEALTH CARE REFORM SHOULD BE ABANDONNED. INCENTIVES, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD BE KEY. GIVE TAX CREDITS AND INCENTIVES TO HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AND INDIVIDUALS AND HOLD THEM TRULLY ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS. HAVE BIG GOVERNMENT STAY AWAY FROM MEDDLING IN THE PRIVAE SECTOR. SPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH CARE REFORM.
WE SEND PEOPLE TO WASHINGTON TO REPRESENT US NOT TO SPEND TIME HAMMERING OUT BILLS "TO TAKE CARE OF US". A "A REPRESENTATIVE" IS THAT AND NOTHING MORE. YET OUR SO CALLED GROUP OF "REPRESENTATIVES" ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ISLE, SEEMS TO ME, ALWAYS END UP PITTING ONE CITIZEN AGAINST ANOTHER FOR THEIR OWN POLITICAL PURPOSES. WHAT REALLY NEEDS REFORM, IS THE WAY WE THE PEOPLE ARE REPRESENTED IN WASHINGTON. OUR FOUNDING FATHERS PLEDGED THEIR FORTUNES AND THEIR LIVES TO FORM THIS REPUBLIC. I WOULD LIKE TO SE THE CHARLIE RANGELS, CHRIS DODD'S, NANCY PELOSI'S,HARRY REED'S THE PRESIDENT AND THE CABINET, DO THE SAME.
THOSE WERE TRUE PATRIOTS, GONE NOW, LEAVING US BEREFT AND DEVOID OF SELF RESPECT. IT SEEMS TO ME, THAT EVERYTHING IS BROKEN. SELF INTEREST IS NEVER SACRIFICED FOR THE GOOD OF THE MAJORITY, INSTEAD "LET US RAM THIS BILL DOWN THE THROATS OF THE MAJORITY, WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT" SEEMS TO BE THE WORD AND WHAT WE THE PEOPLE WILL BE FACING.POLITICAL REFORM SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY.
Healthcare
More money maniacs from the insurance companies who have bleeded us all dry are still trying to stop normal people from having some desent healthcare. I think the insurance companies should dive big time and expand what we already have. Medicare and medicade because its already government run and it seems that thats going bankrupt, so fix it, let the insurance companies go bankrupt we dont need them anyway. All they care about is money not us.so let them fail and not resue them. I have coverage but hate the crap I have to go through just to use it. I still have to pay out of pocket expenses that I still cant afford.I use doctors on my plan and still have to pay out. Why should I be forced to get insurance and penalized, I never go to the doc anyway. Its a big hassle, bs paper work and it feels like a meat market! Im just sick of this whole mess. Just because the President wants something better for everyone we go through this. No one wants anyone to be equal to eachother
Public Option v. Corporate Lobby
We know that legal bribery goes on 24/7/365 on Capitol Hill. We are seeing a transparent struggle between that bribery and the obvious need for the inclusion of a public option for health insurance (as promised) open to anyone who wants to choose it.
The average citizen has been used and abused by Congress and corporate greed for decades, the result being that any attempt to restrain bad behavior by the moneyed class is sliced and diced into irrelevancy resulting in no restraint at all. In the process, our plight becomes worse and worse.
I think, in the end, the only way to achieve positive results is to remove incumbents who willingly ignore the needs of their constituents over and over again in favor of the special interests who can offer a lot more in the way of tangible goodies than we can. The only power we really have is the power of the vote. We hire them and we can fire them.
We will see if any of the Democrats who now have the power to pass a health insurance reform bill that really does reform the medical-industrial complex will risk acting in our interest or not. It is a given that Republicans intend not to.
If not, we need to give them the old pink slip and make sure their replacement gets the pink slip before they qualify for their own taxpayer provided benefits. It is a given that Republican incumbents need to go en masse.
Next step: build a viable third party.
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