CNN

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Majority Leader Harry Reid is the top cheerleader for health care reform in the Senate... and this support for the bill might just wind up costing him his Nevada Senate seat.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pauses while speaking after a meeting with Pres. Obama and other Senate Democrats as they consider their version of health care reform legislation.

That's because a growing number of Nevadans don't support health care reform...

A Las Vegas Review-Journal poll shows 53 percent of registered voters oppose the president's health care plan while only 39 percent approve of it.

Majorities of Nevadans are also opposed to a public option, believe that the reform plan would raise taxes, and that it would lead to the rationing of health care. Worse yet - ahead of his re-election bid next year, only 39 percent approve of Reid's efforts to get a bill though the Senate.

Evidence suggests that although most Democrats support Reid's efforts... that probably won't be enough to outweigh the disapproval of most independents and Republicans. One pollster says Reid is carrying the flag for this reform and "You remember what happened historically to flag bearers in war. The flag bearer gets shot first."

Meanwhile Reid managed to get both feet in his mouth when he compared Republicans' opposition to health care reform... to people who opposed ending slavery. That bit of stupidity was delivered on the floor of the senate. Republicans call Reid's comment "an ignorant moment" and they're demanding an apology.

Here’s my question to you: Could Harry Reid’s support of health care reform cost him his Senate seat?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The Senate has voted to cut almost $500 billion from Medicare as a way to help pay for health care reform. Is that an oxymoron?

Health care reform supporters participate in a sit-in inside the lobby of a Manhattan building.

Republicans tried to stop it - but failed. The esteemed senators apparently think they can cut that much from Medicare without hurting seniors. They better hope the seniors agree with them. They insist Medicare is already in trouble and needs to be fixed, "not raided to create another new government program."

Senator John McCain is recording a phone message meant for voters - urging against the proposed cuts in Medicare.

But Democrats say the Republicans are making false claims about the $460 billion in cuts and they insist there's a lot of waste, fraud and abuse that can be cut from Medicare. Keep in mind - they also need to find a way to pay for the nearly $1 trillion health care plan.

The Democrats say the bill won't reduce guaranteed Medicare benefits for seniors, and that it would extend Medicare solvency for another five years.

The AARP supports the proposed Medicare cuts over 10 years - thus giving the Democrats political cover in their push to cut back subsidies to private Medicare plans along with payments to hospitals, hospices, home health agencies and other providers.

Medicare is an extremely popular program among seniors. For some it's the only healthcare they have. Is it really a good idea to cut all this money out of a government-run health program that actually works?

Here’s my question to you: Should Medicare cuts be part of health care reform?

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FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Abortion is the political hot potato that could derail health care reform entirely.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

It caused major disagreements in the House - and the Senate is now wrestling with how to address the issue. Democrat Ben Nelson says he will introduce an anti-abortion amendment... and that he won't vote for the health care bill unless this language gets added.

Nelson and others aren't satisfied with Majority Leader Harry Reid's current plan - that is to forbid including abortion coverage as a required medical benefit - but to allow a new government insurance plan to cover abortions and let private insurers that get federal money offer plans that include coverage for abortion.

In the House - a group of anti-abortion Democrats added restrictions that would forbid any health plan that gets federal money from paying for abortions - except in the case of rape, incest or to save the mother's life. Also under the House bill, a new government insurance plan couldn't offer abortions - and women would have to buy separate coverage for abortion services.

Women's rights groups are outraged - as they should be - and vow to keep similar language out of the Senate bill, with hundreds rallying on Capitol Hill yesterday to insist the bill allow coverage of abortion. Those opposed to the House's abortion language say it amounts to "the biggest rollback in a woman's right to choose in three decades."

Others point to the existing Hyde Law - which already prevents government money from being used for abortion, except for the cases mentioned earlier.

Here’s my question to you: When it comes to health care reform, how should the Senate address abortion?

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(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The battle lines are drawn - when it comes to health care reform. Senate Democrats now say the debate has practically stalled; and they're blaming Republicans for blocking votes. The Republicans deny it.

At issue: The 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill that would require most Americans to carry insurance, expand Medicaid and require insurers to cover people regardless of their medical history.

That's what we do know about this bill... but buried in the thousands of pages of legislation are other things that people might not know about.

For starters - under the Senate's plan, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would be granted broad new powers - including the authority to decide what procedures insurers should cover and who should get them. I don't know about you, but that idea creeps me out.

Also - Critics say that despite President Obama's promise that illegal aliens won't get health coverage - hundreds of thousands of people here illegally could get just that under this legislation. That's because while the bills making their way through Congress either mandate or encourage businesses to cover all employees - there are no exemptions to screen out illegals, who usually get jobs by using fake identities.

Meanwhile a new USA Today/Gallup poll suggests that despite all the efforts of the president and Democrats to get this legislation passed, Americans are leaning against it - with 49-percent saying they would tell their member of Congress to vote against a bill - just 44-percent say they would want them to support it.

Here’s my question to you: Has your support for health care reform increased or decreased in the past 6 months?

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Do you really want the federal government more involved in health care?

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

With more Americans now saying that health care is not the government's responsibility, it's not difficult to see why some may feel that way.

All you have to do is look at the track record of government-run programs.

Here we go:

–Social Security was created in 1935. It will be paying out more money than it receives by 2016. And unless changes are made, it will be gone in 2037.

–The Medicare and Medicaid programs were signed into law in 1965. Medicare will run completely out of money by 2017. The situation for Medicaid is even worse.

–Spending on Social Security and Medicare totaled more than $1 trillion last year - or more than one-third of the federal budget.

–The U.S. Postal Service was created in 1775. It’s broke. It posted a $3.8 billion loss for this year. That's $1 billion more than it lost in 2008 - despite $6 billion in cost-cutting moves in the past year.

–How about Fannie Mae, in operation since 1938; and Freddie Mac, established in 1970? Both broke. The two home loan agencies were seized by federal regulators 14 months ago. Fannie Mae is now asking the government for another $15 billion, which would bring the tab for rescuing both companies to about $111 billion.

–And don't forget the hundreds of billions of dollars in the first round of TARP money that went virtually unaccounted for.

And now the government wants about another trillion dollars to reform health care. A trillion dollars we don't have.

Here’s my question to you: Do you really want the federal government more involved in health care?

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Senate Democrats are proposing a 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic procedures.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty

Something called "Botax" might help pay for health care reform. The name derives from a tax on Botox... which in the case of some Hollywood types could raise millions.

Senate Democrats are proposing a 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic procedures... that includes things like Botox injections, breast implants, tummy tucks, face lifts, liposuction, teeth whitening, eyelid repairs, etc.

The tax would bring in an estimated $6 billion over 10 years and wouldn't apply to cosmetic surgery meant to fix a deformity or injury.

Drug makers and plastic surgeons think this is a terrible idea. The company that makes Botox calls it an "easy target" and says the tax is "unnecessarily punitive".

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says it will hurt countless American women of every income level - that it's not just a tax on "wealthy, suburban Republican women."

They claim the tax would come at a particularly difficult economic time - when many women are trying to spruce up their looks as they search for jobs. I would offer that if you're out of work you probably wouldn't be getting Botox injections... but hey, what do I know?

It could have been worse. Lobbyists apparently succeeded in persuading lawmakers to reduce the tax from 10%, which would have brought in $11 billion over a decade.

Over the summer, many thought that Democrats weren't serious about the cosmetic surgery tax... but Harry Reid and Co. brought it back because they "needed money to make the bill work"."

SO HERE'S MY QUESTION TO YOU: Should the government tax cosmetic procedures like Botox, tummy tucks and liposuction to help pay for health care reform?

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Democratic Senators introduce their 2,074 page health care reform bill.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty

With the Senate health care bill weighing in at 2,074 pages... this means we now have more than 4,000 pages of proposed health care legislation. 4,000.

One Republican senator is threatening to read the whole bill on the Senate floor... that could take up to two days. But –some are wondering if anybody is going to read this thing at all.

Another question is, with Thanksgiving and the Christmas season approaching, are people simply getting tired of this ongoing mammoth debate?

It's been months now - with a lot of media focus on health care reform since those town meetings and tea party protests of the summer... Yet it seems like we're nowhere near the end yet. The Senate and House bills have some significant differences when it comes to taxes, abortion coverage and the so-called "public option."

And If the bill makes it through the Senate – and that's still very much an open question - the two chambers will have to merge the two bills together – and then that final bill has to pass both houses.

But experts suggest that Americans are more tuned in than ever. A Senate historian says what's unusual about this debate is that people have been following it from the beginning - watching the bills go through committees, markups, etc. He says the public has paid a lot more attention to this than almost any other piece of recent legislation.

SO HERE'S MY QUESTION TO YOU: Are you losing interest in the health care reform debate?

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What's behind new mammogram recommendations?

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty

The Obama administration now says that federal advisory board's recommendation on mammograms is not government policy and has caused "a great deal of confusion." No kidding.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was out sweeping up today–saying mammograms remain an important life-saving tool in fighting breast cancer.. and that women should talk to their doctors and make the decision that is best for them.

But the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force said Monday that women in their forties shouldn't get routine mammograms. They claimed this was meant to reduce over-treatment... and that many women experience false positives, anxiety and unnecessary biopsies.

They said mammograms saved one life for every 1,900 women screened. Turns out this panel is made up of sixteen health care experts... none of them are oncologists.

What the hell is going on? We have a federal advisory panel making recommendations about breast cancer and there is no one on the panel who is an oncologist?

And think about this: While the Preventative Services Task Force is independent, the Department of Health and Human Services Web site calls the panel's recommendations, "the gold standard."

And insurance companies look to the panel for guidance on which preventive care practices they should cover.

Is it becoming clear now what's going on here?

Cancer experts and the American Cancer Society immediately rejected these new guidelines… with some critics asking if insurance companies would use these new recommendations to justify denying mammogram coverage for women in their forties.

Republicans are pouncing on this – saying it's a sign of rationing health care.

One doctor told the New York Times: "My patients tell me they can live with a little anxiety and distress, but they can't live with a little cancer."

SO HERE's MY QUESTION FOR YOU: What do you think is behind new recommendations for mammograms?

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More and more Americans are saying health care is not the government's responsibility.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty

More and more Americans are saying health care is not the government's responsibility.

A new Gallup poll shows 50% of those surveyed say the federal government should not have to make sure that all Americans have health care coverage... while 47% say this is the government's job. This marks a big shift in attitudes from the past decade... and it's the first time since Gallup started tracking this question that more people are against the idea.

The reason for this shift is unknown... although it's possible that the current debate has increased Americans' skepticism about the role government could play in health care.

A poll by the Associated Press seems to back this up as well... it shows that Americans are worried about the hidden costs in reforming health care. Although most people agree that major changes are needed... the current Democratic bills are not getting strong support.

This poll suggests the public is now onto the fact that when it comes to these pieces of legislation, the devil is in the details.

Meanwhile - don't hold your breath for health care reform to happen any time soon. Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate won't rush the legislation... and that lawmakers can count on a lot of amendments.

McConnell says the only way to guarantee that all of the senators and the American people can really understand the bill is to –quote - "delay the process."

SO HERE'S THE QUESTION:
Should health care be govt’s responsibility?

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Bill Clinton is accompanied by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) (L) as he heads into the Senate Democratic Caucus luncheon in Washington, DC. Clinton was on the Hill to talk to lawmakers about passing health care reform legislation through the Senate. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

The Democrats are sending in the big guns to try and make health care reform a reality.

Former President Bill Clinton told Senate Democrats earlier today that there's no perfect bill and that the worst thing to do is nothing, adding: "It's important to act, to move, to start the ball rolling."

After the closed-door meeting, Clinton said he told the senators that the U.S. economy won't be able to survive much longer without health care reform.

If one person knows what's at stake for President Obama and the Democrats, it's Bill Clinton. His administration's failure to pass health care reform back in the early 90s is seen as one of the big reasons for the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994.

And now that the House has passed its bill, there's no question the Senate Democrats will need to find some consensus when it comes to things like the public option and abortion funding.

Meanwhile a new poll suggests it's not just members of Congress who need some persuading here.

The Gallup poll shows 41 percent of Americans say a new health care bill would make the U.S. health care system better in the long run; but 40 percent say it would make things worse. The poll suggests people are even more negative about reform when it comes to their personal situation.

What we don't know yet is how much the public's opinion matters. The insurance companies, large pharmaceutical companies and other powerful forces have a vested interest in defeating this legislation. And if the vote was taken today, they would probably win.

Here’s my question to you: Can Bill Clinton save health care reform?

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