Friday, April 22, 2011
Health Care Keep your hands off our Medicare
Posted by Max Brantley on Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 1:20 PM
New polling isn't much of a surprise. Call it privatizing or call it shifting responsibility for medical care from the government to the private sector, the majority of people in the U.S. don't like it.
The House Republicans' endorsement of a plan to end single-payer Medicare looks like a real loser, unless the big-lie message war can turn the tide for them. It has happened before. That's what U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin did for a living before he went to Congress, conspire with Karl Rove and Co. on political hatchet jobs and disingenuous catch phrases. Here, the Republicans have endorsed a pathway to end Medicare as Americans have known and loved it. And that's fact, not sloganeering.
Other polls numbers don't bode well for any politician, from Obama on down, by the way.
Speaking of Medicare, Tim Griffin
-
Riverfest eve open line UPDATE
May 24, 2012Tomorrow will be kind of crazy as Riverfest takes hold of my office's corner of downtown. /more/
-
Congress sinks to 10th grade level
May 23, 2012Have you seen the stories about the Sunlight Foundation's study of Congress? The one that showed, based on Congressional Record entries, that the grade level of members' remarks has declined by a full grade, to the 10th-grade level, in seven years, thanks particularly to conservatives and new members. /more/
-
Flash — Tim Griffin exaggerates
May 22, 2012What a shock. U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin caught taking liberties with the truth again. /more/
-
The afternoon line
May 17, 2012Suddenly, all went dead. So how about I fire up the evening line early? /more/
-
Tuesday topics
May 15, 2012Line is open. You go anything. /more/
-
Even (some) Republicans get the equality message
May 12, 2012Still I wait by the phone for a call-back from U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin's office on where he stands on marriage equality — or even civil unions with other legal protections for couples of the same sex, if not the "M" word. /more/
-
Friday night line
May 11, 2012It's done. Slow day. /more/
-
Herb Rule, 2nd District candidate, supports marriage equality
May 11, 2012Herb Rule, the Little Rock Democrat running for Congress from the 2nd District, sends a statement in support of marriage equality. /more/
-
Retreat, hell
May 9, 2012It's still "no quarter" in the Republican Party's war on women, and Congressional Republicans from Arkansas, eager for commendation, aren't missing any licks. "Kick 'em while they're down, and they'll stay down longer," seems to be the idea. /more/
-
Pipelines over people
May 8, 2012Meet Julia Trigg Crawford, a Texas farmer. She doesn't want the Keystone XL pipeline to cross her property and imperil her water supply. /more/
- More »
Comments (8)
Showing 1-8 of 8
Medicare Republicans learned long ago not to trust insurance companies.
Good luck Griffin.
like
dislike
.
"A recent Cornell University poll found that 44% of those on Social Security and 40% of those on Medicare don't even realize they're using government programs -- let alone ones that consume a third of the federal budget."
Some of these survey results seem contradictory, but poll after poll shows a common thread: Very few actually want entitlement spending cut. It turns out people like getting checks in their mailbox, something that affects them directly, more than they like balanced budgets, an abstract concept."
(note to astute readers, when they say "one third of the federal budget" you know the BIG LIE is on. That is WITHOUT figuring the amount of money S.S.and Medicare take in. It just measures the expenditures. )
http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/24602…
Dammit, read my lips! It is not "privatzing," it is "profitizing."
When we profitize medical services, we guarantee that 30 cents out of every health care dollar comes off the top and goes to Wall Street before a single penny goes to a doctor's office. So much of American health care has already been profitized that the World Health Organization ranks us 31st in the world for health care. Why not go for 100% and 100th?
Keep in mind that, while Ryancare proposes to give Granny a monthly check to subsidize the insurance industry's premiums with tax dollars (can you say Medicare Advantage?), it also proposes to eliminate the Obamacare prohibition on exclusion of pre-existing conditions.
What could possibly go wrong?
""A recent Cornell University poll found that 44% of those on Social Security and 40% of those on Medicare don't even realize they're using government programs"
Include in that blank knowledge President W. Bush.
Want to parse UnitedHealth Group's latest financials (released yesterday). Go to:
http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/Investors…
and click on the "Earnings Release" PDF link.
At the top of page 3 it reads: "The first quarter 2011 medical care ratio of 81.4 percent ... ". I take that to mean that 81.4% of income (primarily premiums received) went to actually pay for medical care with the remaining 18.6% going for overhead and profit (net profit is listed at 5.3%, leaving 13.3% for overhead expenses).
So, someone please explain to me again how our government run Medicare and Medicaid with 3% overhead and zero profit can't compete with private industry? Unless UnitedHealth Group's earnings report math is wrong, it's the other way around by a mile- private industry can't compete with the government, unless you are in favor of wasting hundreds of billions in taxes.
Another thing Griffin did for a liviing before he went to Congress was to engage in voter caging in Florida. He should be in a Federal Pen somewhere, instead of getting to vote on whether to end single-payer Medicare.
There is a certain faction of the populous that is oblivious (or just down right stupid) that will swallow the crap the GOP dishes out.
They are the type that voted for Tim Griffin - and will do so again.
More by Author
-
Republicans, Pryor defeat "Buffett rule"
Needing 60 votes to stop a filibuster, the Obama administration could only muster 51 and thus failed on the Buffett rule to put a higher tax on millionaires — 30 percent minimum on those making that amount in taxable income, which means a good deal more income for most after deductions and adjustments.
- Apr 16, 2012
-
Behind partisan posturing, a bottom line
Ernie Dumas' column this week says both parties are guilty of posturing in calling the roll on tax and spending measures with no chance of passage.
- Apr 24, 2012
- More »
Event Calendar
-
Re: Little Rock can do better than ditches
simply embarrassing.
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Riverfest eve open line UPDATE
I have to disagree with you Durango. They weren't pathetic papers. They were quintessential local…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Surgeon general strikes deal on disturbance charges
“Conviction or no conviction, Thompson has paid a heavy price in publicity alone.”
Undeniably…- on May 24, 2012
Top Commenters
Blogroll
Slideshows
-
Police close the Occupy Little Rock camp, perhaps the last Occupy encampment on public land.
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
