Why this isn’t blindingly obvious to even liberals is beyond me. They’re going to suck $400 billion out of Medicare to subsidize the addition of more people to the entitlement roles. With 40 million people on Medicare, that equates to $10,000 per person. I guess only liberal ignorance of economics explains why the recipients haven’t questioned what will happen to their standard of care when $10,000 is cut from their benefits.

Oh wait, silly me. The American people *are* opposed to the bill. Both liberals and conservatives in every opinion poll you care to cite. The elitist Democrats in DC are pushing ahead anyways because they know that once they control health care in this country they can just threaten and deny coverage to anybody that dares oppose them. Senators that thought about carrying out the will of the people were threatened and bribed until they rid themselves of that antiquated notion.

Sarah Palin, right again. No suprise there.

Maybe Ahnold should ask her to help him run California before he bankrupts the state.

Maybe Ahnold should ask her to help him run California before he bankrupts the state.
Posted by Dick_Nixon
2009-12-23 14:19:57

Ahnold is angling to join Obama’s administration – it’s obvious, and it’s disgusting.

I think any vote which requires a larger-than-normal majority to reverse should require the same majority to pass.

“I think any vote which requires a larger-than-normal majority to reverse should require the same majority to pass.
Posted by Christopher_Taylor”
2009-12-23 14:42:30

agreed. pardon my typung but i busted up my left shoulder the other night by tripping over my bassett hound because i didn’t turn on the light so i didn’t see her laying in the hallwat.

meant “typing and hallway’

“We cannot bind future generations against their will.”

The $12 trillion national debt thinks otherwise.

If you’ll look at the 2008 National Health Insurer Report Card published by the AMA, you’ll find on page five of that report some very interesting information about insurance denials, who’s doing what. I’ve cut and pasted the data below from the report. Upfront, let me say that I did do some reformatting: I put the percentages in bold to make them stand out better; I put the list of insurers in descending order of rate of denials; this is data from a table, I just used it as text:

————————————

Payer – Medicare
Count of Records – 6,938,431
Denied Records – 475,566
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 6.85%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

Payer – Aetna
Count of Records – 637,239
Denied Records – 43,317
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 6.80%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

Payer – Anthem
Count of Records – 250,070
Denied Records – 11,546
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 4.62%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

Payer – Health Net
Count of Records – 4,975
Denied Records – 193
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 3.88%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

Payer – CIGNA
Count of Records – 263,728
Denied Records – 9,060
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 3.44%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

Payer – Humana
Count of Records – 143,026
Denied Records – 4,142
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 2.90%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

Payer – Coventry
Count of Records – 20,487
Denied Records – 590
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 2.88%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

Payer – UHC
Count of Records – 1,127,691
Denied Records – 30,177
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 2.68%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

————————————

Clearly, in 2008, it was Medicare doing the heavy lifting as far as denying claims (services) to it’s members – the private insurers, not so much. Yes, every insurer has a means for denying claims; none of them would be around if they didn’t. So the argument that the private sector already has death panels, is true, to the extent that all insurers, public or private, have to be able to deny claims, or face insolvency.

So the question becomes, not whether death panels exist, but with what frequency we can expect them to be used on us as insureds. Judging by the data at hand, I’d say we’d have plenty to fear from a government-run insurance programme. Certainly as much as we have to fear from any private sector insurers.

“That is very good info. And of course, big suprise, the govt already kills more.”

Interesting leap of logic.
Let me ask you this if there was no medicare at all do you think private insurance would take care of all those folks?
I don’t think so.
You may argue otherwise but there was a need for it and somebody had to step up to the plate and provide something which btw is whole lot better than nothing.
And that someone was the government.
You can argue the constitutionality of it all you want but if someone is writhing and dying because they have no insurance and nobody but the government will step in then what choice do you have?
Would it have been better if the government mandated private insurers to take on these cases?

don’t think people quite grasp how right Sarah Palin is about this bureaucratic board. In each insurance company, a case manager can be influenced and advocate on behalf of the patient. With iron-clad bureaucratic recommendations, there will be no negotiation, no risk-taking. There will be no incentive to make the customer happy. None.
Melissa Clouthier | 12:51 pm |

I’m surprised to hear this… ‘there will be no incentive to make the customer happy. None.’

Are you sure you’re making the conservative case?

Don’t make us post what we want from health insurance again as if you haven’t seen it again, Miller. I’d hate to force you into a lie.

I’m not above admitting when I am wrong.

Accusing me of lying is a totally different thing.

Multi-day bender to prepare for the holidays, Miller?

Of course people will die. You claim far more than the amount libs claim….You claim state sponsonsored withholdin. Yet, it isn’t libs who are argueing state sponsorded withholding.

Claim? This is not a claim–

Payer – Medicare
Count of Records – 6,938,431
Denied Records – 475,566
Percent of Claim Lines Denied – 6.85%
Date Range – 03/01/2007 – 3/10/2008

–it’s records. Government healthcare is ALREADY witholding care–at a rate that is triple that of some major private insurers. And it’s doing it without the benefit of being an enforced monopoly. Think that percentage of denials is going to go down as people are dumped or forced onto the rolls?

How many of those 475,566 people died when they thought the government would pay? How many found themselves facing massive bills? What kind of damage did those denials do? That’s real.

That’s government healthcare.

Well, actually, I do want some people to die.

I have a little list. They’ll never be missed.