Health Care

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090824/sc_livescience/majorityofamericansbelievehealthcarereformmyths
Article title: "Majority of Americans Believe Health Care Reform Myths"

Hmmm.

How many of those are actually "myths"?

For example, the "myth" of government funded abortions. The story behind it is that by the wording in the bill, what will and will not get funded will be determined after the bill goes live by some executive in charge of the system. Abortion is neither on nor off the list, but it's certainly doable given the current language of the bill. The person in charge would simple have to say, "Yes, we are funding abortions" and there you'd have it.

Some Republicans have tried to insert language specifically prohibiting abortion funding but it got struck down.

Obviously "abortion" is a hot button item but they could have just as easily said "breast implants" or "penis extensions". The bottom line is that the bill doesn't enumerate what will or will not be funded and efforts to limit what CAN be funded have been struck down by the Democrats, which I find to be rather mysterious. Setting a handful of definitions on what the government health care plan must or must not cover would do a lot to ease the unpopularity.

And stuff like this:
"Five out of 10 think cuts will be made to Medicare in order to cover more Americans (66 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of Democrats, 44 percent of Independents)."

Is that a "myth"? It sounds more like a prediction of the future and the real question is whether you're optimistic about it or not. Can Democrats guarantee that Medicare cuts will NOT be made? Of course they can't guarantee that. Medicare itself ended up costing vastly more than anticipated, didn't it? So really nobody has any idea what this health care reform will cost or what financial sacrifices might have to be made to keep it on the road.

I would call the article, "Americans Easily Duped By Disingenuous Left-Wing MSM Articles".


For my 2 cents, the problem here isn't "health care reform". I think many conservatives would agree that health care has problems which need to be addressed.

However, this bill is going about it in completely the wrong way. It does nothing to address medical costs and the language of the bill itself is very difficult to read and understand. They need to burn the thing and start over from scratch with something simpler and more focused on individual problems rather than simply creating a massive bill for the sake of saying "we have government health care now".

The currently proposed plan from the Democrats is simply a non-solution, as I see it. Conservatives aren't opposed to health care reform; they're just opposed to this particular legislative abomination.

I've been seeing all these town hall meetings about the health bill. I got to wondering when my representative, Christopher Van Hollen, was going to hold one.

Here was his version of a town hall meeting, I guess:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/van-hollen-to-hold-tele-town-hall-on-health-care-with-grassroots-dem-supporters.php

Dear Friend,

After decades of struggle, we are now closer than at any other time in history to providing quality, affordable, and accessible health care for every American.

Grassroots Democrats like you are the reason we've gotten this far. Through your generous financial support and your tireless activism, you've created a force for progressive change on behalf of President Obama.

With all the fast-breaking developments this week, I wanted to gather our most dedicated supporters like you to provide an update on where we stand, answer your questions, and discuss our plan for action on health care reform.

Join me for the DCCC's Health Care Reform Tele-Town Hall Meeting this Friday, July 31 at 2:30 PM EDT. Sign-up today to participate from wherever you are.

Thank you for putting us on the verge of making history with health care reform. Let's keep up the fight against the Republican attacks and help President Obama finish the job.

Please join me on Friday.

Thanks,

Rep. Chris Van Hollen
DCCC Chairman

So. His town hall was a "tele town hall".

Addressed specifically to Democrats. Not all constituents. Just the Democrats.

I guess that's why I never heard about it.

Yyyeaah. Somehow I don't think he's getting my vote next election either.

I doubt he cares. Here in Maryland, conservatives are accustomed to just not having representation. The interesting thing is I think there's actually a lot of us, it's just that not enough of us think it's worth showing up for an election because the liberals always win (I hear people say that. Me: "You voting?" Them: "Nah. Democrats always carry Maryland. There's no point.")

Well, I voted last time. Voted against him. I'll do the same next election. We need more conservatives to do this. At least then we can say "we tried". Maybe we'll surprise these buzzards and make them realize they need to start representing their entire district and compromising between the sides rather than simply ignoring conservatives entirely. Better to lose with 42% of the vote and make him a little concerned than to let him win by a landslide and think he's got it in the bag for years to come.