What are the chances health care reform happens?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
It's turning out to be a piece of legislation that nobody wants - not the public, not a consensus among the members of Congress. Nobody. Except maybe the pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
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Amid dire warnings from Senator Chris Dodd that the health care reform bill is quote "hanging on by a thread" comes news from a major poll that the public has lost interest.
After months of debate - a couple of 2,000-page monstrosities passed the House and Senate - and our illustrious political leadership has dragged those documents behind closed doors, out of sight of anyone, in an attempt to reconcile them into a single law.
Apparently it's not going so well.
CBS news found only 36-percent of Americans approve of the way the president is handling health care - an all-time low. 54-percent disapprove. Congress' numbers are even worse.
But the bulk of the political damage, whichever way this goes, is likely to accrue to the president. He has spent most of his first year in office obsessed with health care reform - many say at the expense of other pressing issues. Now that he's on the verge of getting something, the appetite for what was once a grand idea has soured considerably.
Here’s my question to you: After months of debate, what are the chances health care reform happens?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Mike from Denver writes:
I can only hope the chances are slim. By the time the compromises and payoffs are concluded, what was once a noble idea will be just another government agency that costs billions and does nothing.
G. writes:
On the surface, it seems it doesn't matter. It's been so stripped down that it's practically useless. It adds cost to the poor and will likely increase the bankruptcy rate. All in all, seems the Obama leadership is crumbling. "Yes we can" has turned to, well, "I thought we could."
Kyle from Vermont writes:
A health care bill will pass but it will not be real reform. Mandatory health care without a public option is nothing more than a windfall for the insurance companies.
Dave writes:
Yes, Jack. There is no way the Democrats will pass up the opportunity to ruin the best health care delivery system ever known to humankind and place the American people under the control of the government. Know anyone who is alive today because their health emergency occurred while in the United States? I do.
Vivien from New York writes:
Only thing to now do is push the bill through and go back later and make changes needed to make it a good bill. Perhaps people will wake up one day when their insurance rates are so high to realize a public option would have been a good thing.
Dave from Peterborough, New Hampshire writes:
Jack, I believe that the bill will pass, but calling it reform is a little over the top. The only thing it does is solidify the strangle hold that the insurance companies have over us. Will costs go down? No! Will the quality of health care improve? No! Will insurance companies grow richer? Yes, with new customers forced to buy insurance that they can't afford. Where does the reform come in?
Mark writes:
There was a good health reform bill
That Republicans swore they would kill
They ranted and raved
Until Democrats caved
And now it's a bunch of hog swill
@jackcafferty on Twitter
This health care bill was written by big insurance for big insurance, who will be getting milluons of new paying customer's with years before any regulations will cut into their profit margins, who's kidding who.
Healthcare reform will happen. And if you read the right polls, people overwhelmingly want healthcare reform when it is broken down by the benefits, i.e. can't be denied coverage if you're sick or your policy cancelled when you get sick. Bottom line, 30 million more people will be insured and everyone will enjoy more protections that the insurance companies previously denied. It ain't perfect and the process to get to this point was certainly ugly. But it is a great start that no president since Teddy Roosevelt wanted to reform healthcare was able to accomplish. So lighten up Jack.
Jack, the blame for this attrocity lays squarely on the shoulders of the Republicans, who fought tooth and nail to keep a system that disenfranchises everyone below 6 figures. These charge that Obama is distracted by healthcare reform is just another of their talking points, which shows just how easily the media play into them.
I'm not sure if it matters. Everyone seems to be focused on solving a symptom and not looking at the problem.
The problem is that health care costs are out of whack – from insurance to doctors and drugs to hospital care. Why don't we address the problem rather than putting another layer (of cost) over everything.
Sure... people with existing conditions will be able to get insurance. At what cost to them and to the rest of us.
Has anyone stopped to think that in the midst of the worst economic market we've seen in decades, the people who are still making money are in health care. Actually, all the job reports point to BIG hiring in the health care biz.
We need more doctors & nurses. We need to rationalize US drug prices vs. the rest of the world. We need to cap malpractice. We need to stop paying 20-30% of our healthcare dollars on administration. We need to understand that obscene profits in health insurance needs to be studied. We need to fix the problem – not throw another blanket of spending over it.
It had better pass! Because, if it doesn't, then the Republicans had better hope for legalized euthanasia Laws to be passed in ALL the States, and get off the pro-life kick. Otherwise, they'll be stepping over the dead and dying more than they already do, to get to work up there on the Hill, where they have all the healthcare any of them need, pensions fit for kings, and if they get voted out of Office, they can even file for unemployment benefits. And this goes for all the Blue Democrats, too.
If this doesn't pass, just watch the 2010 elections... It won't be pretty, and the outcomes won't benefit ANY of us.
Healthcare reform is like Global Warming. It is important and necessary but the government is not going to fix it.
A bill of some sort will pass, and it will contain provisions that insure the people will get screwed over royally while the insurance cartels achieve massive profits as usual. This whole circus is nothing but a bailout-in-advance for corporate America. Until We-The-People take our country back from the fat cats, nothing will change.
Susan
Tuscaloosa AL
Yes, Jack.
There is no way the Democratics will pass up the opportunity to ruin the best health care delivery system ever known to humankind and place the American people under the control of the government.
Know anyone who is alive today because their health emergency occurred while in the United States?
I do.
Jack Jack Jack
You're still blaming ONE person for all our problems.
Truth is, the Health Care Bill (good one) should have been passed in August, but the Party of NO was and is too busy dragging that out and pushing everything else back because of it.
Point the finger at the Obstructionists that want this past year to be "Obama's Waterloo".
I wish that CNN would do another report on who exactly in congress is taking contributions from the prescription drug industry in any way. That way we can put the pressure on them. With the mid terms coming up this information would be helpful in order for voters to make a sound choice. If we take the talking points away from these politicians with the truth they cannot hide behind the walls of congress.
I hope it fails because what little is known to the public seems like a royal mess to me. Right now the only ones who seem to benefit are the health insurance companies. When Mr. Obama was a candidate, he stated that if someone couldn't afford to buy a house, he wouldn't mandate that person buy a house. But that's exactly what he has done with this current version of the bill which forces people who can't afford insurance to buy it or face fines and jail time if they don't. That's not health care coverage for those currently uninsured; that's extortion. It's pure nonsense that even a bad bill is a good bill. That's what happened with income tax - Congress is always fixing the mess they created and look where that's gotten us.
"Reform" to the corporations and corporate-bought lawmakers means more money to insurance and drug companies. Real reform doesn't stand a change in hell. We voters are just the little people to be screwed over.
I do not believe that health care reform will happen because the AMA does not want its membership to have to give up their six-figure incomes and practice medicine responsibly. Doesn't surprise me, I have been a nurse for thirty years and rarely have met a doctor that is more interested in patients then financial statements. Is anyone surprised that most doctors in this country are card-carrying Republicans?
Once again, Republicans are muddying the waters with quarter-truths and outright misinformation (shades of Communist Russia's disinformation campaign!) in order to get the less-then-well-informed components of society worked into a frenzy.
Shame on the GOP for the relentless drive to erase the middle class and on the AMA for being more interested in perpetuating a dysfunctional health care system for their own profit then truly following the Hippocratic Oath.
Jack–
It will happen, but it will not be the reform that Americans want and need. But, it will be a place to start, and hopefully it can be improved in the years to come.
Hopefully, none. This has entirely been a special interests bill to serve them, not the American people. AARP, Hospitals, Insurance Companies, PHRMA, etc.., have all had a seat at the table to get reform done, unfortunately there were no seats left for the average citizen. It's no surprise that approval ratings are so low on the bill, they didn't survey the special interests.
I'm not sure if it matters. Everyone seems to be focused on solving a symptom and not looking at the problem.
The problem is that health care costs are out of whack – from insurance to doctors and drugs to hospital care. Why don't we address the problem rather than putting another layer (of cost) over everything.
Sure... people with existing conditions will be able to get insurance. At what cost to them and to the rest of us.
Has anyone stopped to think that in the midst of the worst economic market we've seen in decades, the people who are still making money are in health care. Actually, all the job reports point to BIG hiring in the health care biz.
We need more doctors & nurses. We need to rationalize US drug prices vs. the rest of the world. We need to cap malpractice. We need to stop paying 20-30% of our healthcare dollars on administration. We need to understand that obscene profits in health insurance needs to be studied. We need to fix the problem – not throw another blanket of spending over it.
I can only hope the chances are slim. By the time the compromises and payoffs are concluded, what was once a noble idea will be just another government agency that costs billions and does nothing.
As much as I would like to see health care reform take affect NOW for everyone , I don't believe it really will happen anytime soon. The monster that some believe the bill is as it is now probably needs to have a stake driven through it's heart and then RECREATED honestly!!! And if you think it can be done honestly then you need more mental health care than I do !!!!!!!
I call the House Bill: The Real Health Care Reform Bill.
I call the Senate Bill: Favoring the Insurance Companies Bill.
If there was a way to do it, I would insist that our Government Pass the House Bill of the Health Care Reform the way it is currently written along with the Public Option.
And I would insist that our Government Burn the Senate Bill and pour the asses over a garbage dump where it belongs.
"Slim to none". Us...the American public, citizens, you know, the, 'electorate' have been trying to tell the Washington Bozos
we do NOT want it. It is not contstitutional, and if you want to keep your phoney-bologna jobs, do not vote for it. Stop making taxes after
taxes after taxes. Staunch republican businessmen like myself are seriously looking at the Tea Party Agenda.
Jack.....its going to happen.....the reason the Democrats are merging the Senate and House bills in private is transparent–and this silly standing on one foot and then the other wanting to get in is childish...does anyone believe the final bill will not get a full airing before it is voted upon? The only reason our healthcare "profiteers" and Republicans want to get in is so they can sabotage healthcare reform......the scurrilous dogs!
Health reform will probably happen, if you can call it that. The senate watered it down to the point that it is meaningless, thanks to our illustrious senators being pawns of the insurance and drug industry. So thanks to all you wonderful elected officials, who already have socialized medicine, for nothing except a lot of hot air and taking care of your own self interests. No wonder congress' popularity rating is close to zip.
I think you've asked this before, and I know I've answered before: Real Reform – like the proverbial snowball. Overt, abundant, and unhelpful government meddling – more like what melts that snowball, inescapable.
Jack,
If our so-called "leaders" would listen to the people that they are supposed to SERVE, instead of being insurance company whores, this "yellow snowball" of a bill wouldn't have a chance in Hell!
Rory Murray
San Bernardino
Jack,
The probability is 100%. As to any political damage, let's wait for November to see who gets punished.
Jim
Reno, Nevada
By hook or by crook, mostly crook, they will make sure it passes no matter what the American people think. How about the Democrats in Massachusetts stating that they will halt the swearing in of the Republican, who is sure to win, until after the voting on this monstrocity to ensure they have the 60 votes for passage. What is this country coming to?
If it does happen, it's not reform, it's deform!
We will get a bill but it will not resemble anything like what was promised by Obama. And I dare not count how many deaths will take place before the bill goes into effect......plenty of time to slip things into other bills to water it down further. If it is true that money talks, then American voters ought to make sure these elected officials walk all the way to the unemployment line.
Useful reform,not likely,but more government control likely.It is their plan all along to have more control of our lives and put us more at governments beck and call.
Zero...no matter what they pass at this point.
Here in NC, Blue Cross Blue Shield has used robo-calls and mass mailings to urge policy holders to contact Congressional representatives and demand they vote NO on health care reform - is this even legal???? It certainly speaks to who benefits from reform!
it will happen or the country will fail or become part of china.
JACK: IF WE FIRED 10% of our congressmen they would feel the pain thank, you and not elect any replacements BILL PETTIT Nashua, NH
Jack, I have been telling you for months, Health Care WILL happen. It makes absolutely no difference to Obama or Congress what the American people want, how much it is going to cost, or the damage it will do to Seniors & middle class workers, Health Care "Reform" is a done deal. SOMETHING will pass, and I guarantee everyone, it won't be good, but it will be PERMANENT. They won, get used to it.
Healthcare reform will happen, a weak and watered down version will happen, as the insurance execs. laugh their way to the bank.
slim to zero. congress is lining their pockets with special interest's money and have no concept of the plight of the people theyvare supposed to be representing. the "bill" passed is win win for special interests while the taxpayer again gets stuck with the bill.
About the same as winning the Mega Millions Lottery.
50% chance. Somwetging will probably be passed. It remainds to be seen if this amounts to worthwhile reform.
Since the #1 reason for Americans to declare bankruptcy is healthcare costs, we need the Healthcare reforms & bill to pass. Especially to help the 10% who is unemployed and adding to the numbers of uninsured.
If the vote can be delayed until the Nov. election the chances will be slim to none.
I hope it does not pass, but if it passes, does it mean that my lazy fat cousin who basically is a family free loader and never had a job, will get free health insurance on my account?
H.C. Reform Bill Passing Will Happen, Out of Desperation by DEMOCRATS. Democrats Working Behind Closed Doors + Passing the Darn Thing Leaves No Excuse for a LOUSY BILL & Gives Democrats the GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY That They Need to Redeem Themselves & President Obama in 2010 & 2012! SIMPLE POLITICS??
You don't give people hope and then fail to carry though without paying a huge price. The Democrats better hope health care reform passes. Otherwise, they will be flushed down the toilet for years to come.
"It will happen! You will have your Hospitals over-crowded, and all kinds of epidemics raging the country"
Jack,
An initial bill that can be adjusted, changed and improved is better than no bill at all. It is crucial to us and our country that Health Care Reform be passed. We cannot continue with the status quo.
Unfortunately, many politicians are putting personal gains, goals and self interests over what our country needs. Ths could have been a wonderful bill but with big business, the republicans spending billions of dollars, fear mongering, spreading lies to destroy any kind of health care, regardless of benefits and merits, it has become an
inadequate reform, but it is a start.
Jack,
Without a public option, there is no health care reform, just a reform of how insurance companies can operate.
Without ceilings on premiums and caps on out of pocket expenses for major medical expenses, the Insurance folks will just pass the bitter pill on to the consumers, a no gain exercise in futility.
Chris
Benson, AZ
I'll tell you the truth Jack and I know a man of your callibor can handle the truth! I don't really care about health care reform without the public option, this bill in the Senate is a joke and doesn't make any sense, without a public option included in a health care bill there can be no real affordable health care and I hate the fact that President Obama who campaigned so hard in 2008 while running for President on getting a affordable health care plan with a public option passed gave up so easily and let down the American people and his own party including me. Iam one liberal Democrat who will be voting in 2012 for Mitt Romney, I hope and pray you run Governor because the Obama administration is nothing but a circus and its time for them to go.
Scott Stodden (Freeport,Illinois)
Jack, I believe that the bill will pass, but calling it refom is a little over the top. The only thing it does is solidify the strangle hold that the insurance company's have over us. Will cost go down, NO! Will the quality of healthcare improve NO! Will insurance companies grow richer, YES! With 30 or 40 thounsand new customers, which will be forced to buy insurance that they can't afford. Where's the reform come in?
Dave from Peterborough, NH.
It will happen. It will not be perfect. And do not let Republican spin fool you into forgetting that lots and lots of Americans want health care reform. Are you aware that during ad breaks from your show, there is a continuous stream of advertising telling viewers to tell the government we don't want health care reform? The words in the ads change as the months go by, but, We the People are being lobbied right now.
I for one hope it's nil since the way it is written in both bills is nothing near reform. They totally missed the boat on this one and should go on to bigger and better bills.
You left out the word MEANINGFUL...
I'm sure that Congress will throw us a bone, I DOUBT that there will be much meat on it.
If you use the Medicare drug bill produced under the Bush administration, I don't hold out much hope that ANY of those self serving "representatives of the people" will do much to alienate the lobbyists who hold the purse strings for their campaign war chests.
I was wrong. I never would have believed that either party could be so out-of-touch that they would pass a monster bill without any bi-partisan support. How dumb. Don't they see that most Americans want to feel that there is some middle road discussion so that all Americans would feel that their needs are recognized ?Democrats have lost so much face in this absurbity called health care reform that something is bound to pass because there is no face left anyway. Obama will sign anything – anything that is "unprecedented" and "historical" – good grief!!!.
They'll pass something to try and save face. It will probably be a gutted version of what they wanted and it probably won't help any of us, but it'll get passed. The problem here is that they've spent all their time trying to fix the wrong problem. So instead of lower prices we're getting added confusion and a new system that might one day through a series of indirect actions lower a few prices while skyrocketing the national debt. To use a medical analogy; the country has a broken hand and Congress wants to cut it off and replace it with a hook.
Hi Jack,
Health care reform has the same chance it did all along: zippo.
And it's all Obama's fault, too, for not going door to door in DC, beating each senator and representative into submission, kicking out each and every lobbyist, and immediately putting Sarah "death panel" Palin and her cronies in their place. Is that too harsh?
It is important to note that the people who disapprove of the President's handling of the issue are divided between those who never liked the idea and those who feel that the bill has been weakened too much. It does not follow from this poll that 54 percent don't want health care reform. Many of those 54 percent want a stronger bill. In a recent CBS poll, pluralities expressed the view that the current bills do not go far enough in "Covering Americans," "Controlling costs," and "Regulating Health Insurance Companies." If you combine those who responded "About right" and "Not far enough"–the two pro-reform responses–the percentages were 67%, 60%, and 61%. The people who oppose health care reform always did. The growth in disapproval of the President's handling of it probably comes chiefly from those who wanted him to fight harder for a stronger bill.
Being a nation that keeps the Ritalin manufacture in business, it is time we double up the dosage and complete this extremely necessary legislation so that it benefits all Americans. With insurance companies running amok, medicare headed towards the tank, we cannot, we must not, let this opportunity slip by once again.
Hell has a chance of freezing over before this happens. If this congress passes anything close to health reform, what will it be? As usual it will be far too little and much too late. How many people have to die or go bankrupt waiting for a doctor to see them? Or just plain go without. This just goes to show congress does not have it in them to help the poor and elderly. I'll bet they have stalled on how they are going to "pay" for this. Maybe we will all die before they pass anything and they can use their new legislation for their pets.
Only thing to now do is push the bill through and go back later and make changes needed to make it a good bill. Perhaps people will wake up one day when their insurance rates are so high to realize a public option would have been a good thing. Maybe one day they will wake up to the fact Europe enjoys good health care and also health care that is alot cheaper than ours and the government is not the bad guy.
We have two choices take care of the American people with health care or continue to feed the rich with more tax loopholes and corporate bailouts (as they rob us) with government revenue.
I don't believe the American people have lost interest they have lost HOPE.
Instead of listening to the polls listen to your neighbors, where you have breakfast or lunch or dinner. The heart and souls of the people are losing HOPE. Neither party is a party of the people. Eight years of the Republicans VS one year of fighting with the losers. Brings nothing but a lack of HOPE.
I hope, NIL....
Jack,
The health care bill will pass and it won't be a disaster for the President or Congress. Most of the people who object to the legislation are also worried about "death panels," think the government should not get involved with MEDICARE, and did not vote for a Democrat in 2008. However, I suspect they will become blissfully ignorant of those objections once they start to benefit from the legislation. I can't recall any incidents where large numbers of citizens refused their MEDICARE or Social Security benefits on ideological grounds, why would this be any different.
Yes it will definitely pass this month , however it will not be the bill everyone want it to be.Hopefully there will be some people that will be able to benefit from the bill that do get passed.
David
Martinsburg,WV
A health care bill will emerge from the conference cocoon– the democrats have slogged too long and far to abandon it now - but I fear that the metamorphosis of two two-thousand page behemoths will result in a legislative creature worthy of Franz Kafka rather than meaningful health care reform.
O-None, Jack! We are being systematically sold-out with all the "compromise" that passes for negotiations among these elites who can buy their way into power. This is NOT what our founding fathers envisioned for this Nation! The buying and selling of all things, including lives is not what We The People want or need. As Thom Hartmann (Author/Radio host) has pointed out: Our bodies ARE our Homes. Why must we have all manner of Insurance for cars, homes, etc, but our bodies are NOT a Priority under this current system? Capitalists just are going way too far with this greedy profit motive, Jack. Go on Stephanie Miller's show again soon, please?
The Democrats and Republicans are glued at opposite ends of the spectrum.
The public debate rarely seemed to deal with important individual issues, but got bogged down in contrasting philosophies.
It is stunning that something so clearly in need of reform, and so essential is improving the quality of American life, is seemingly going nowhere.
Thanks Congress. Is that why you earn the big bucks? Two thousand pages of drivel.
The health care reform Congress is working on has lost its momentum, the interest of the American people, and its usefulness. Everything that might have helped the average American citizen was stripped away as lobbyists found their way through the halls of Congress. The Republican party helped stall the passing of the legislation so that their rich friends in the pharmaceutical and insurance companies would have time to make their deals. The Democrats must now carry the blame if they pass this mess they call health care reform. Congress can't get anything right because they are too busy finding what's right just for them individually.
Jack –
Will we see health care reform? No way – that went out the window 6 months ago. What we will see is a bloated bill, worked out in secret behind closed doors (guess the C-Span cameras are out of commission) filled with payoffs to some politicians for their support, loopholes for big pharm/AMA/insurance industry & staggering debt. Pelosi/Reid & Obama will declare victory for delivering a bill, but we won't have health care reform.
In my lifetime, (I'm 61), slim to none. We are the most backward, so-called progressive nation on Earth when it comes to how we care for our sick citizens.
If the past is prologue to the future, the Democrats will beat their chests and brag about protecting consumers while leaving backdoor loopholes open that will allow the scummy insurance companies and the filth who run the pharmaceutical industry to continue dirty business as usual. The GOP and the corporate lawyers and lobbyists that Bush packed the courts with will do whatever they can to make sure that nothing good happens for workers and consumers. We will get the bill and the system will still be geared toward obscene profit. If you don't believe me then look at what happened to cable (or energy or pollution) bills after the Congress bragged about deregulation as a boon to consumers. We do not have a democracy in America anymore. cy from arlington, va
Reform will happen, to the benefit of big insurance and pharma, with input from the Catholic bishops just for a good swift kick in our teeth. The real problem, staggering costs, won’t be reformed. We’ve been taken yet again by a congress that has theirs and a white house that apparently couldn’t care less, but who will all pat themselves on the back, just the same. Cake, anyone?
JACK;
Healthcare reform may or may not be good for everyone. however, we know at the present time health care is a huge, ongoing mess that will never be straightened out.
Not any reform that's worthwhile and we can thank the Republicans for that. Our elected representatives have spent the last year more concerned about their own issues rather than the ones the country is facing. The unfortunate part is we probably will never have a better chance to pass health care reform that was meaningful. So nothing changes except the spin, Americans continue to get screwed by the insurance companies while paying higher premiums and co-pays and we have to look outside the country for cheaper health care. All in all, a normal days work for our Congress, thanks guys!!
Even if we get it, it's not what we needed. Single-payer system – gone. Anti-trust issue still here!
Chances might be better if legislators addressed cost of drugs more than cost of insurance. If they would institute a ban on pharmaceuetical advertising (for which they spend more than research and development), as was done on cigarettes in the 70's, the cost of drug prodution would go down and thus the cost of the drugs would go down. I guess this hasn't been considred because they are such huge contributors to campaign funds.
Slim to none, and slim has left town
On the surface it seems it doesn't matter. It's been so stripped down that it's practically useless. It adds cost to the poor and will likely increase the bankruptcy rate.
All in all, seems the Obama leadership is crumbling. Yes we can has turned to well... I thought we could.
If we allow Americans attention span to determine our national policy direction we would never get anything meaningful accomplished!
we would have to wait until the last book was wrote on every politician our the climate stabilizes.Then maybe just maybe they will think about it next election.
When you have a loved one uninsured with illness and unable to buy insurance at any cost, you WILL care about healthcare.
Healthcare reform? No way.
But, healthcare deform?
Unfortunately and sadly, likely.
Jack,
Sarah Palin said that she will not support the health care bill. I guess that just kills it.
Health care reform is an imperative and even though Obama is not showing any publicly seen efforts, it does not mean he isn't fighting for it. remember it is one of Obama's most voiced promises
The Congress and the Senate have sold their souls to the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, etc.. They never really did plan to come up with something that was affordable, accessable and would cover all americans.....The President took on something bigger than what he ever imagined....
After all the debating, haggling, back-room deals, and bribery for votes, our best hope is that enough will gain their senses and kick this can so far down the road that they will have to start all over again!
The chances of meaningful healthcare reform that lowers costs, covers all if not the majority of Americans and that doesnt make America broke is as likely as Congress voting to taking a paycut.
I watch and listen every day of the things that our government does wrong. They try to blaim one another for the problems. It's not their fault. It's ours, WE THE PEOPLE (WTP). We watch and listen and still put them back in office. Until WTP says now more, the problems will continue. It's time that WTP stand up and remove them and elect those that will vote as the people they represent want. I believe that is the way it started in the beginning.
Something that will be labeled 'health care reform' will probably come to pass. Whether or not anything really changes- whether people with no access get access, whether costs can be contained, or whether any meaningful competition to provide health care ever comes about- that is another question altogether and it's pretty hard to be optimistic about the answer.
Robert
San Francisco
A healthcare bill will pass but it will not be real reform. Mandatory healthcare without a public option is nothing more than a windfall for the insurance companies.
Its a great chance jack but its going to be watered down and half done,
Lets face it, this is america and we dont do things right the first time we will pass something and have to improve on it over the years.
Scott
Aberdeen, Md
I think the Dems are so set on passing a health care bill that they will pass anything, even if it hurts the people they are trying to help, just so they can say they got it done and pat themselves on the back.
Tom in Iowa
Jack,
the bill, no doubt will pass because the democrats have a majority; at the expense of the American people and especially our seniors.
Brent
from Idaho
I for one hope healthcare reform doesnt happen It will just more burden those who are already overburden.
Unfortunately, I am sure we will get a bill–not the bill that anyone wanted, but a bill nonetheless. The only reason the public opinion has gone south is because Republicans have gone out of their way to block this thing, throwing out absurd objections and spinning the facts.You know, I have to take my hat off to the Republicans. They are masters of breaking things–particularly good things that the people need. My heart simply goes out to those in need of this reform.
if our government cares about the majority of the american people, they will get some sense and stop this health care bill. i know how the president feels about this bill and that is his opinion, however he should care more about the people than the bill. this should not happen and i pray to god that our government stops it. thanks
There was a good health reform bill
That Republicans swore they would kill
They ranted and raved
Until Democrats caved
And now it's a bunch of hog swill.
As usual, you pose your question with your usual conservative leaning blind sided agenda slant.
The answer is yes!
Without the Public Option, any notion that health care is "reformed", is only politicians pandering to the health insurance and pharma lobby. I think it is time for a system of public financing so that our elected officials can aptly represent folks at home, instead of the deep pockets of Washington lobbyists.
Seth, South Carolina
I'm sure it will pass. The Democrats are still in control and they will pass it. It has too past. . .not so much to help the American people but as a symbolic victory for the President
I'm also sure it won't change a thing; except maybe make it more difficult to obtain quality health care at a higher overall price.
Real reform? Or the crap now before the House and Senate?
Real reform does not have a snowball's chance! The current bills, with their self-serving issues, will happen pretty quick. After all, hasn't everyone in Congress feathered their own nest with the current bills?
Jack this should have been done back in September but still congress is dragging their feet once again! Having a choice few congressmen to block delay or kill the process. The last year has said it all with the republicans saying no to every issue that comes up and will continue to do so throughout President Obama's term. Let's not be delusional about that!! I believe it will pass but not with the public option and that is not acceptable to the American people.
rich
This is one where the Dems have to think for all of us. All the GOP has done is obstruct, obfuscate, and drag their feet, while offering no acceptable alternative what so ever.
EVERYONE in this country deserves to have themselves and their clhildren covered. Almost every other civilized country in the world does this. It makes appear to be a third world country. We should be embarrassed.
Hopefully, the Dems have the votes to get this done. Fine tun it after it's passed. Anything less is completely unacceptable.
GD in Escondido, Ca.
Healthcare reform will happen only if its in favor of the Drug and Insurance companies. We need the plan that the idiots representing us have!
health care reform is very much needed in this country. and yes it will pass this year,however i truly feel like we need to applaud the president for his determination to get this bill passed.i if we all should just give the president the support and aid he needs to do his job,rather than always criticizing him
Honestly Jack- I supported the President and I'm an African American male who isn't a felon or ne'er do well- with NO HEALTHCARE -but I don't care for this health care monstrosity. Insurance companies love it? The pharmaceuticals love it all their stocks going through the roof? No public option (for real) no single payer.
What is different between Obama and Bush for real.... not much from the 'hood in Philly that I can see. Obama really wasn't change we could believe in. Not teh incompetent Bush was- but no real change from the status quo for Ins Co's and Pharma.... better no bill than making a sweeter deal for tehm and more of the same garbage health care.
Obama completely lost me with his hohum stance on these issues. No single payer? No public option- this black man won't be getting up standing in the rain for him next time he's up for re-election. He's a phony.
Hello Jack,
If nothing happens – we're going downhill fast! We can't sustain the big Pharma and their prices for drugs. Since Rx Drug coverage was put in place drug costs have gone up 4 times what they were before Rx Drug coverage. Who pays that??? We pay all the way. No ability to question the costs, thanks to GW Bush!
Transformative healthcare just isn't going to happen. I believe the bill now in consideration will pass, but it is merely a shadow of the original plan for healthcare. It is watered down and will not help everyone who desperately needs help. Without a public option this bill is just sad. The bill will pass and will do some good, but not nearly enough. The chances of a first-rate, top-notch healthcare system coming out of this are slim to none.
-Lily Des Moines, Iowa
What a tragic waste of time and effort if it fails!! What do we pay these folks for anyway? I doubt they can get anything done.
Be careful what you wish for. Because we are going to get it.The Democrats pretend to be compromising with the GOP who wouldn't vote for National Apple Pie Day if the Democrats proposed it. They do that so that they can pander to their corporate overlords and deliver a watered down bill that no one will thank them for. Real reform would've helped them at the polls. It looks like they are going to pass something that will do more to help the GOP, the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry and every evil bastard this side of Snidely Whiplash.
cy from arlington, va
Jack I do not believe in fairy Tales and I do not believe that this Health Care reform is anything more then a Fairy Tale. If this piece of crap bill does become law it will have no value for the tax payers that have to foot the bill from now to enternity.
I certainly hope this country finally grows the cahonies to pass real health care reform. Even Republicans must balk at the current health insurance rates that keep rising, while at the same time coverage is falling. All because the health insurance industry is FOR PROFIT, and their goal is to make as much profit as possible without any regard for the patients' health. Similar to "leaving the financial industry alone" with de-regulation, we cannot trust the health insurance companies to do right by us. We need some kind of federal government intervention. If they just get rid of "pre-existing condition" clauses and offer self-employed and underemployed individuals access to PAY for their health insurance at competitive rates, then we will FINALLY have achieved what EVERY OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY has already achieved.
It has slim chances of passing and rightly so. President Obama has squandered the People's support by capitulating on Single payer "Medicare For All." He has sold out to Big Pharma and the Health Insurance interests that have spent millions on lobbying. The current bill is worse than no bill at all!
Healthcare reform WILL pass and the benefits of the bill for the American people will greatly contradict the distortion, misinformation and pure lies spread by opponents. And the party of "no", the Republicans, will find themselves on the wrong side of history once again.
James Allen
Euless, TX
Indeed, Jack, what are the chances that the United States will leave the Middle East, truly revitalize an ailing economy, balance a budget, or mind its own business? All prior transgressions indicate the chance of progress from congress is very, very slim.
Of course we will have a healthcare reform bill. Princess Pelosi will see to that. And guess what? The middle class will pay for it, as usual. Oh well, another day on capital hill.
Healthcare reform will definitely happen. It will only be a starting point and subject to significant and regular modifications thereafter!
Let's start with something and move!!!
We have a catastrophic umemployment situation that needs the focus of all of the inept Federal legislators in the Congress.
They cannot handle one thing at a time, let alone 2 or more. WE MUST MOVE ON IMMEDIATELY!!!!
Richard Knapp
Oldsmar
I'm 100 % sure it will pass, God forgive us if we fail. Those of us with insurance are selfish and self centered. This is all the hope many of my friends and family members have to hold onto and their last chance before many of them die. Another 15 years is a death sentence to them. Perfect or not get it done so they can at least see a doctor.
IS it possible that obama's health care reform and george bush's so called tax cuts have something in comin? yes , a bunch of smoke and hype to disguise the bottom line. hidden taxes and more tax for the middle class.
Health care reform was gutted weeks or even months ag when Rahmobama gave away the public option, Medicare extension, and drug reimportation. Something will probably pass, but it won't be real reform. It will be a gift to the lobbyists, Big Pharma, and the insurance companies, just as rahmobama planned from the beginning.
It has slim chances of passing and rightly so. President Obama has squandered the People's support by capitulating on Single payer "Medicare For All." He has sold out to Big Pharma and the Health Insurance interests that have spent millions on lobbying. The current bill is worse than no bill at all!
When in the course of human events-will congress pass anything that will help the working class, the ones who keep this country afloat ? If healthcare does pass, It will be just as bad as every other bill they seem to be passing , Including Bush's era. What can we do to stop them from running our country into the ground? We cannot wait for election time. Fire them all, and let the country takes it course!!!
Come on Jack!!! The Congress is so busy fighting over every little issue that comes up they are very unlikely to have the "time' to work for real reform. If one of them got a terminal illnessd they have nothing to worry about. The longer they wait and fight the "quicker" people will put this issue on a back burner and go one living their lives with the risk of bankrupcy, mental stress and broken families caused by serious illness and the medical bills that they can't be paid.
Congress is once again setting the American people on a one way trip to national destruction and want.
It will pass. We have to think positive because we need it very bad. If only the party of NO would quit working with the drug and insurance companys, it would already be on the way. They could care less for anyone who isn't wealthy. Let's vote them all out in 2010 and 2012. Get rid of the bigots.
I haven't lost interest in health care reform and know we have to start somewhere. Is this legislation going to be perfect?? Far from BUT no major legislation is – Medicare wasn't and still isn't but 40 million uninsured people are slowly killing those of us with insurance. The insurance companies are picking and choosing who they want to cover and our premiums are sky-rocketing, not to mention the cost of health care itself. The system is badly broken and we would be foolish not to take the first step to reforming this system, especially when it controls so much of our economy. I don't know how these polls are conducted but I do know that a sampling of 2,000 or less people cannot represent the views of millions.
50/50 at this point Whatever they do, they need to do it before the senate race in Massachusetts. Because if therepublican Brown gets in there, it won't get passed and neither will nothing else.
People are mad now. Just wait when there there are 59 Democrats and 41 Republicans. They'll have the majority but can't pass a thing because the party of 'NO" will be in the way. And it will be our own doing for letting this happen.
Let's tell the truth. The thruth is that both houses of congress have watered and dumbed down a viable health care plan to the point that no one gives a poo poo. What is before both houses right now is worthless. Both houses of congress are out of touch and all of them should be retired. Talk about arrogant, immoral, selfish, stupid–I could go on. Let's look at the French plan and try to emulate sanity. People have a RIGHT to healthcare. It is a moral obligation. Insurance companies don't have the right to profit from suffering. And that is where we are right now and that is where our government is trying to keep us. Where is our President? Why isn't he out fighting the valient fight? I voted for this guy and I expect him to stand up for what is right. I don't need lip service.
49 States should be in the process of getting their names changed to Nebraska and THEN we vote! It is supposed to be the United States of America with EQUAL rights for ALL but we have gone so far past political correctness that I am not sure any of the supposed leaders of this country remember that. As it stands now the "reform" bill should die from choking on the Bill of Rights!!
Jack,
Your question is predicated on the bill in its current form being actual reform of our health care; it is not. Therefore, the answer is 'zero'.
This bill is nothing more than a profit protection plan for the health care cartel, in particular the insurance and pharmaceutical companies, whose investments in our "public servants" have paid off handsomely (though not as much as the financial services industry's investments have).
Until we Americans take this dirty money out of politics across-the-board and make the competition for elected office a truly level playing field, nothing will change – except for the worse.
This bill is not reform. It is the Congress once again protecting the corporations from the citizens. America has one of the worse health care systems in the industrialized world, and one reason, I would never give up the great health care system I have in Europe to go back to the US. Even if this law passes it will leave America with an inferior system.
I believe that "something" will pass, but by the time it does, it's going to be so muddled that nobody will know what it actually says. Maybe Goldman Sachs could publish a "Healthcare Reform for Dummies" book that can be sent to every American instead of giving bonuses.
Absolutely "0" Jack. Neither of the two bills are health care reform, though at least the House bill has a public option. These bills are a conglomeration of compromises, abandoned ideals, Republican hypocrisy, and insurance industry handouts that have come together through backroom deals and under the table bribes. They are just a reflection of what happens when members of Congress put something together for the sole purpose of furthering their stay on Capitol Hill, rather than to solve a problem.
Jack,
Some kind of health care reform will pass whether you like it or not.
This country has to be pulled out of the status quo which is getting worse every year and padding the pockets of BIG insurance and drug companies.
These big bonuses would insure all of us.
It will pass despite your efforts to denigrate it by calling it a monstrosity because of its length. With a ten year cost of 900 billion, is it too much to have one page for each 500 million dollars. You could have used the neutral word gigantic. Remember that estimates are that 30,000 people die each year because they don't have health insurance and they cannot afford the medical care required to save their lives. We are the only industrial country without universal health care. Even Colombia in South America has it.
They'll keep doing their circle-jerk until they have enough votes to get something passed because this isn't about healthcare. It's about their socialist agenda which they've been trying to implement since Woodrow Wilson failed 100 years ago. In 2005, only 15% of the uninsured were US citizens. 53% were illegal aliens. This is about avoiding sensible immigration policy, law enforcement through eVerify and cross-checking IRS and Social Security databases, and job creation. Our "fundamental transformation" to socialism and greater governmental control over our lives is more important to them.
Hello, Jack,
Of course we need health care reform, including prescription drug
cost control. We consumers need a break; the drug companies
can afford to make a smaller profit.
Thanks for discussing the problemU.B.
The voice of the majority of the American people should be heard and respected by the Dems! This healthcare bill should not pass!
Too the demize of the American people it will pass as the out of touch people in Washington are pocessed with passing something, that's sad. This bill has so many finger prints of special interest groups and deals in it that the winners are definatly not the American people.
The health care bill now being debated in Congress is not what Obama outlined during his campaign. Instead of reforming health care and reducing costs, it it already overly expensive and costs are increasing. My insurance costs have gone up in anticipation of a possible plan being passed. I do not see any reform of our system but a cumbersome government controlled fiasco pending. My hope is that this bill does not pass, though I am in favor of a true overhaul of our health care system, making it affordable for everyone. This can only come about when medical providers and facilities, insurance companies and non-profit analysts come together to make these reforms without government interference.
And why has it soured, Jack?
The republicans and big business, lobbtyists etc have spend billions in trying to destroy any kind of Health Care Reform.
Our country desperately needs Health Care Reform and we cannot continue on with the status quo. Conditions as they are now are a disgrace to our country.
This bill will be a start that can be changed, adjusted and improved.
It is crucial that it be passed.
We live in a country that runs on a cycle giving birth to the seed of the opposite of what we elect. We wanted change and he is doing what we elected him for. It makes me vomit to see how fast we forget.
If a company like Walmart can get away with out giving its employees health care, if the republicans are in bed with big hospitals and are against you getting a lawyer when they mess up and when pharmaceutical companies can sell a pill the same pill one for a dog and one to you ; we pay more and then the insurance companies .God help us.
Sorry, Jack. No moderation. A viable public option is imperative. It is too hurtful for too many to go on the same way that we have been. It is not right. Somewhere, sometime, someone is going to find the courage to do the right thing. I just hope that it is soon.
While I'm in favor of health care reform (particularly true universal coverage), the squandering among the washington elite sours my belief that a truly proactive bill could be instated as law. Lawmakers need to overcome their partisan beliefs, and produce something worthwhile. Given the current geopolitical climate, any attempt to ensure a safe and healthy posterity appears fleeting at best. ...Another sad day of american politics.
Peace.
This dont look so good for Obama was this also George Bushes fault .
Jack
I know public opinion is down on this subject but I have great hope that health care reform will pass maybe not in the form I would like but close and it will be a very good start we can build upon. Some of us are not sounding off about how much we still care about health care and I hope there are many more like minded like myself that realize how much the economy depends on the health care system being on good ground. We need these congressmen to sell this to us like a new car.
John Donaldson, Albuquerque
Jack,
The healthcare reform baby will not be aborted, but delivered stillborn! A tragedy for the American public, who believed that change was coming to Washington!
Jack. I love ya man.
Dude, its OVER. The health care bill was the last hurdle to save america (yep, small a), and, we (they) failed. Obama, was my last, final hope. He is just another loser in washington (yep small w)
Huge bonuses for the rich fat cat bankers? HEH! They better use that cash for big, thick bars, on their windows and doors. The end is HERE!
We NEED to start stealing, to EAT! I am looking at 2 days of firewood for HEAT! Bonuses?! Myself , and my wife, both have bonus, college degrees. They will keep us warm for a minute (when we burn them), then we go to jail, for robbing other poor bastards, I guess. I bet those BMWs and Hummers will make a lot of heat to keep warm. The rich have borught us to the end. So sad.
Excuse me, I need to go shine my shotgun....
Sincerely,
Walt (Unemployed electronic technician, construction business owner, carpenter, draftsman, mechanic.)
PS my wife is an unemployed accountant...soon (2011) to have her bachelors degree. Yeah! We can burn that too!
100%!
My Grandbabies will get health care back after their Dad was laid off in the Bush Recession over a year ago.
My daughter and son-in-law are “working their butts off” to hold things together but cannot afford health insurance for my grandbabies.
Yes we can!
And we will!
Grampa Tom
Health Insurance in America is not a God given right.
Equal rights to the best care is. Whether born with a birth defect or in great health, you as and America citizen has a right to the best health care ion the world without filing for bankruptcy. The republicans are the ones responsible for the watering down of this health care bill. They have fought change since 1994.
Little I hope. I've never understood the terms and how they are used. Calling this joke health care reform insinuates we have a problem with providers ie Doctors, nurses etc.
We don't need that kind of health care reform. What we need is control of cost associated with health care. I have no issue with the health care system as it is. I know I need insurance so I have a job the offers insurance. If all the pork in this bill were removed what would it look like?
What I have a problem is with pharmecutical companies that spend billions in advertising and their expenses trying to buy doctors support. Ever notice all the gadgets in the Doctors office with a drug or drug companies name in them? Is that money well spent by them? In the end we pay for that with sky rocketing drug cost. Why not eliminate the frivalous lawsuits for malpractice? Why not get control of insurance cost? Set up a pool for hospitals and clinics to buy from to get a better price? I am more in facoir of 1st things 1st. Get control of drug cost and insurance cost and how to reduce expenses for Doctors, clinics and Hospitals. Then let's see if anything else needs to be done!
Depends on which version you're talking about. If it's the House Bill, sure let's move forward. But if it's the Senate's "Insurance Company Profit Protection and Enforcement Act", Hell NO! It was written by Insurance Lobbyists and then mutated even further by Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman. The Senators from Aetna and Mutual Of Omaha have taken a good idea and turned it into a nightmare. They will be responsible for thousands dying needlessly every year and that's if this bill passes. If it doesn't, the number will be Tens of Thousands, but at least we won't break the country, just to make Insurance Executives even richer than they are. I didnt' donate to Obama and Congressional Democrats, just to give Insurance Companies 20 cents of every health care dollar. If Obama's one and done, over this–so be it. He forgot that change was supposed to benefit the average American and not the average corporation.
I think it's a reality, and Thank God. I have good health insurance and am tired of paying for people to go to ER when they can't pay their bill. If people are going to have children, they need to insure them so I don't have to pay for them. Time to step up and insure yourselves and your family. You'll be able to afford it soon.
By the way... I think it's plain evil to screw with the minds of the sick and dying. The GOP and Big Insurance is putting scare commercials on T.V. Hidden taxes in my health care? BULL. I'm a middle-class American. I don't have a Cadillac plan. And it's high time the rich paid their share in taxes. Get Over It. It's a done deal.
If we took out all the special interest items that we have been blackmailed into including in the billl, it would probably only be 100 pages long. I am so tired of our congress making the American people bribe them into voting for legistation that is so desperately needed. None of them have ever almost died simply because they couldn't afford to go to the doctor. Our Congress is supposed to take care of ALL Americans, not just the few who will put more money in their election bankroll.
If people don't want it, it's because they listen to people like you and the greedy GOP. I don't believe what they're selling, Jack.
Hey Jack: with Pelosie and all of these politicians @ the helm, what we will get will not be worth a crap anyway. perhaps we should stop paying our taxes and mabe just mabe they will learn what to do on the hill and learn to spend our money the wright way.
I think that it will pass. The American people are in favor of it, finally after 60 years. This is just the beginning, it will be up to us to make this bill better. This plan will ensure millions of Americans, like myself whose employer does not offer health insurance.
No it won't pass, because if it doe's it will bankrupt America, It is the worst legislation yet coming out of Washington. Think about it Can Washinton do anything right or on time, No any legislation that is passed is already too late or prehistoric. Jerry/Iowa
There is a high probability that we will have health care reform, but it will better be called health care rewarm. This will happen because our lackey lawmakers in the service of big pharma. and big ins. will do what they've been paid to do.
It's a shame. We could have had real reform. We need a universal care single payer system.
"Socialized medicine" cry the wingnuts. How is it that socialized medicine is good enough for the elderly (Medicare), our poor people (Medicaid) and the military, but not good enough for "Regular Americans?" I call B.S.
Who benefits from this Health Care Reform Act? It was supposed to be the "less than obscenely paid" income earners, instead it looks as though the "more than obscenely paid" will benefit immensely from this huge chunk of crap legislation. It is simple Congress and Mr. President. REDUCE THE COSTS! Cap or Tax those who are "obscenely paid".
Jack ,The Republicans have set the GOLD STANDARD for INCOMPETENCE. Where is there any worth while solution for health care from that side of the aisle? It’s easy to carp but difficult to do something. The Dem's will pass health care good or bad. It will be good for 30 million uninsured and probably good for the current insured.
I watched Jack Cafferty when he was a TV News person in New York. I always enjoyed his reports but it was News reporting, not opinion. I've been living outside the US for some time, mostly in Asia, Australia and Ohio, so I lost touch with him. Over the past few years I have caught him on CNN and was surprised by his new persona. His attacks on the right were scathing and in some cases unreasonable. I stopped watching him. I am happy to see that his scathing reports are now pointed at Pelosi and the Left wing proponents of the Health Insurance Reform debacle. Coincidently, his reports now appear to be more reasonable, as well. Thanks Jack; I'll look in again from time to time.
Jack -
"People are losing interest in health care reform" -
Please tell us about all the other things that the American people are losing interest in.
Sick people, poor people, people about to retire (before being eligible for Medicare) are not losing interest in health care reform. We only wish that it was actually addressing the exploding costs of healthcare.
Jack , odds of health care reform passing appear the same as my chances of winning the lottery - zero. Coach Bill Clinton tried this trick back in 92, by letting his quarterback Hillary call the plays. She fumbled on the 50 yard line. Obama's done the same thing using his running backs Reid and Pelosi as ball carriers. But Reid's just dropped it on the 45 - well out of field goal range. And, it's 4th and 10.
Gary H. Boyd, Scottsdale, Arizona
Phase one will pass. And when Health Ins/Pharmacuticals industry greed and abuse become more obvious as a result, phase two will begin.
Jack, I'll believe it when I see it.
Public Option is the key word, however, while we are all looking at the tragedy in Haiti because it is literally earthshaking, what about the thousands who die quietly here in our own country because they can't afford insurance? Why don't you folks in the news media concentrate on the millions of lost limbs of folks who couldn't afford to get their diabetes or circulation problems diagnosed? Talk about who is in bed with Big Pharma, I see the ads on your station for pharmaceuticals!
If we don't have compassion on our own people, the news reports on troubles elsewhere ring hollow. Anything that will insure more of the needy among us is worth the effort to be passed.
I have never been involved much during my life politically, but since the Democrats have tried to push their liberal agenda, I have sent a ton of emails, telephone calls, etc., but our representative ignores what the people want from his district. I don't think he will be back.
I sometimes feel powerless because of the non-responsiveness of my representative, but I have looked into getting involved. I love this country too much to see it go down the tubes for my children and grandchildren.
I pray that God with help us, kill it.
Dear Jack,
I believe this whole health care debate is a disaster. It is nothing more than a welfare check for the insurance companies and drug manufacturers. This is not reform for the American people, this is Congress responding to the needs of their real constituents – the fat cats who will make a killing if this bill is passed. As a voter I feel that my voice is never listened to, I feel totally disenfranchised from the whole idea of democracy. We no longer live in a country where "We the People" count. The Congress of the United States is nothing more than Club Med for the millionaires who populate it.
P. S. I am Democrat in Massachusetts who is voting for Scott Brown in the special election. I so want to send a message to the thugs on Capital Hill
Jack,
Let the members of congess be the first ones to buy into this plan, make them do away with what they have now and put their money where their mouth is. If this plan is so great, I'm sure they will gladly change what we pay for them to have now to the new and improved coverage. We the people lose again. United Corporations of American Lobbyists win again.
Dear Jack,
The chance appears to be slim,Thank God.
Despite all the great talk and promotion, we do not have the money to
fund Health Care Reform.
It needs to die off, and we need to spend our money more smartly.
Mike from Tennessee
I sincerely hope health care will pass–even if it is not the bill that we hoped it would be, we do have to start somewhere and can fine tune it in the future. I remember when our son was unable to get a job, yes a job, because the insurance business had determined that he had a pre-existing condition. Also, millions of uninsured people will be insured so it will be good–as far as passing as a burden on our seniors, not true. People need to research for themselves instead of relying on being spoon-fed information.
Affordable health care. I thought the key word in this phrase was "Affordable". Why does everyone overlook the fact that insurance companies and healthcare administrations are making way too much? When was the last time you heard of an insurance company going broke, or when was the last time you saw a poor doctor? Do they really have to make so much? It seems to me, the logical thing to do, is to reign in these costs so the public can afford health care. Isn't that what this whole uproar is about? If the government wants to get involved let them allot a certain amount for each taxpayer to coushion the cost and let it go at that. I favor a public option and don't see why anyone should be thrown in jail if they can't afford to buy government healthcare. That violates freedom of choice. They have been playing with this for over a year now and haven't come up with anything to show for it except an increase before they can even get it to pass. And we have been paying good money for them to waste a whole year on it and I don't see it passing till at least mid summer. And if and when it does pass, will they be able to vote for an increase like they do every time they want a raise? By the way Jack, I love the way you tell it like it is.