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The American Medical Association (AMA) was facing a 21 percent cut in physicians' reimbursements under the current law. Obama promised to kill the cut if they backed his bill. The cuts are the fruit of a law requiring annual 5 percent to 6 percent reductions in doctor reimbursements for treating Medicare patients. Bravely, each year Congress has rolled the cuts over, suspending them but not repealing them. So each year, the accumulated cuts threaten doctors. By now, they have risen to 21 percent. With this blackmail leverage, Obama compelled the AMA to support his bill...or else!
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# The AARP got a financial windfall in return for its support of the healthcare bill. Over the past decade, the AARP has morphed from an advocacy group to an insurance company (through its subsidiary company). It is one of the main suppliers of Medi-gap insurance, a high-cost, privately purchased coverage that picks up where Medicare leaves off. But President Bush-43 passed the Medicare Advantage program, which offered a subsidized, lower-cost alternative to Medi-gap. Under Medicare Advantage, the elderly get all the extra coverage they need plus coordinated, well-managed care, usually by the same physician. So more than 10 million seniors went with Medicare Advantage, cutting into AARP Medi-gap revenues.
Presto! Obama solved their problem. He eliminates subsidies for Medicare Advantage. The elderly will have to pay more for coverage under Medigap, but the AARP -- which supposedly represents them -- will make more money. (If this galls you, join the American Seniors Association, the alternative group; contact [email protected]. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)
# The drug industry backed ObamaCare and, in return, got a 10-year limit of $80 billion on cuts in prescription drug costs. (A drop in the bucket of their almost $3 trillion projected cost over the next decade.) They also got administration assurances that it will continue to bar lower-cost Canadian drugs from coming into the U.S. All it had to do was put its formidable advertising budget at the disposal of the administration.
# Insurance companies got access to 40 million potential new customers. But when the Senate Finance Committee lowered the fine that would be imposed on those who don't buy insurance from $3,500 to $1,500, the insurance companies jumped ship and now oppose the bill, albeit for the worst of motives.
The only industry that refused to knuckle under was the medical device makers. They stood for principle and wouldn't go along with Obama's blackmail. So the Senate Finance Committee retaliated by imposing a tax on medical devices such as automated wheelchairs, pacemakers, arterial stents, prosthetic limbs, artificial knees and hips and other necessary accoutrements of healthcare.
So these endorsements are not freely given, but bought and paid for by an administration that is intent on passing its program at any cost.
Originally posted by SpacePunk
There are other way of handling it, and if we can spend billions in Iraq and Afghanistan, if we can give trillions to the banks, we can spend to keep our work force, and the people healthy.
I see conflicts with the 4th, 8th and 9th and a very flagrant violation of the 10th Amendments in the text of the Bill.
Originally posted by optimus primal
Or the government could do what they should have done ten years ago;
tort reform and making America into a producer instead of consumer nation. more jobs, more money for the people, better healthcare, more affordable healthcare.
But that's just common sense, right? right??
Originally posted by Battleline
reply to post by SpacePunk
Don't be a self martering whiner,you can always go to emergancy room get taken care of and chump the bill.No one dies in America of lack of health care(although Im sure there are some stories out there).
Just ask the illegals how they do it,I have and the illegals can be very informative if your nice about how you ask.
Originally posted by mkross1983
Originally posted by mrsdudara
Originally posted by mkross1983
Revolt. Kick out every single government figure and start over.
You can not revolt or kick anyone out the government unless there is something set up to take its place.
Another side HAS to be established.
Polititians may be the enemy right now, but Politics are a necessity.
How about we let Ron Paul lead our side?
Originally posted by badgerprints
Originally posted by KarlG
Your so-called freedom is to be selfish, to be full of ill-will, to be violently stuck to your ways of "everyone live for himself, and care not for others".
To me, I see no statement. I see the passing of a law that allows me NOT to be selfish anymore. To watch as people around the country who have problems HAVE their problems ALLEVIATED.
To watch as about 28% of this country who already have personal income from government handouts get even more is not to have problems alleviated but is to create an even bigger problem.
You and people like you are crippling society by enabling them to be useless.
There are a small percentage of this country that need and deserve to be helped but most of the parasites in this country do so by choice and have no right to take money from hard working contributors to society in exchange for votes.
It may be legal to be an intentional leech on society but it is not right.
As far as being selfish, you are supporting the most selfish abuse of power imaginable. You don't learn to not be selfish by having your livelihood stolen by thieves.
You learn to be selfless by giving to and taking care of others by your own free will.
You, by your own admission aren't capable of not being selfish.
It seems you are the one who is truly selfish. You cannot see the true fault or will not acknowledge it but you will steal from others to assauge your own greed and guilt.