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August 05, 2009 07:07 PM UTC

Club for Growth Targets Colorado Delegation on Health Care

  • 29 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE:

This just up on CNN’s Political Ticker:

The anti-tax Club for Growth is launching a $1.2 million ad campaign in four states pressuring Democratic members of Congress to “oppose government-run health care.”

The spot makes the claim that in England, the government-administered health care system makes decisions about when patients should die…

According to the Club, the ads will run throughout the August congressional recess.

The group said the campaign is aimed at Nevada Sen. Harry Reid; Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall; Arkansas Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor; and North Dakota Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad.

Targeted members of Congress include Arkansas Reps. Marion Berry, Vic Snyder, and Mike Ross; Colorado Reps. Diana DeGette, Jared Polis, John Salazar, Betsy Markey, Ed Perlmutter, and North Dakota Rep. Earl Pomeroy.

Comments

29 thoughts on “Club for Growth Targets Colorado Delegation on Health Care

  1. Effects on Private Coverage and the Uninsured

    1) 48 percent of privately insured Americans would transition out of private insurance. Of the estimated 172.5 million people with private health insurance, there would be a decline of 83.4 million people with private coverage.

    2) 56 percent of Americans with employer-based coverage would lose their current insurance. Of the estimated 158.1 million Americans with employer-based coverage, 88.1 million people would be shifted out of their current employer-based plan.

    3) 80 percent of Americans in a health insurance exchange would end up in the public plan. Of the estimated 129.6 million people who would obtain coverage through an exchange, 103.4 million people would be covered by the public plan.

    4) 34 percent of the uninsured in America would still lack coverage. Of the estimated 49.1 million people without health insurance, the legislation would only reduce the uninsured by 32.6 million people, leaving 16.5 million people without coverage.

    Effects on Physicians and Hospitals

    1) Physicians would see their payment levels decline by $31.7 billion as a consequence of the new public plan. While physician net income may increase under the bill primarily due to other Medicare changes, a public plan with Medicare-based payments would lower reimbursements. Today, Medicare physician payments are, on average, 81 percent of private payments.

    2) Hospitals could see their net annual income fall by $61.9 billion, which roughly eliminates hospital total margins. This significant loss in hospital income is also overwhelmingly attributable to the public plan using Medicare-based payments. Today, Medicare hospital payments are, on average, 68 percent of private payments.

      1. The stats above appear to have been lifted from the Heritage Foundation:

        http://www.heritage.org/news/o

        The report was based on a study by the Lewin Group, described by Heritage as  “a highly respected health care policy and management consulting firm.”

        But as the Washington Post reports, “Generally left unsaid amid all the citations is that the Lewin Group is wholly owned by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest insurers.”

        More details here:

        http://www.washingtonpost.com/

    1. “Today, Medicare physician payments are, on average, 81 percent of private payments.”

      does not reflect the situation as described to me by my son-in-law, the primary care physician.

      I, like Ralphie, would like to know where you got these numbers.

       

    2. …..when there isn’t even a defined program in place.

      OTOH, it sounds like your making a case for market forces.  Better program (the public one), people leaving private insurance in droves.  

    3. Here are some facts.

      1. Only individuals and employers with fewer than 50 people (still being negotiated) would be allowed to purchase the public option.  Half of American workers are employed by “small” businesses – 500 employees or less; far fewer work for companies that could purchase under the small business provision.  And even fewer take their insurance from small companies, because their spouses work for government or large companies which get better rates.

        In contrast, “large” employers – anyone with more than 50 or so employees – will be required to offer private health insurance to their employees.

        And, all insurance purchasers – employers and employees alike – will be purchasing plans as part of the insurer’s total risk pool.  This will help small employers get the same lower market rates that big companies now enjoy.

        This means your 48% figure is a complete fabrication.

      2. There is no data to suggest that ANYONE would lose their employer-based coverage.  Large employers would be forced to offer health coverage from a private insurer, which will almost certainly increase – not decrease – the number of insured employees.
      3. No-one knows how many people and small employers would choose a public option over private insurance, because no-one knows what the private insurers will offer in response to these reforms.
      4. It is estimated that insurance rates under the new law would rise to greater than 98%, leaving fewer than 13% of those currently uninsured without coverage.  Of those, many choose to be without coverage (because they do not believe they need it, or otherwise).  It would also improve the coverage levels of many currently under-insured citizens.

      As for the effects on physicians and hospitals, no agreement has been reached on rates yet.  The plan I think is most likely ties public option rates to Medicare for the first few years until market rates could be negotiated, but does not tie them irrevocably to Medicare.

      And one final statistic:

      99.999% of all statistics from Libertad are pulled out of his ass – or from someone else’s.

  2. on a hard 12. If they can scare people enough, they might be able to coax a 9 out of the shoe and knock off health care reform.

    All they have are the tools of the Bush administration: fear and lies.

    What they don’t have are any actual ideas, or some sort of alternative that would actually provide a change to the broken health care system. Instead of trying to have a reasonable dialog, they have seen this as their opportunity to derail Obama’s presidency and maybe open up some sort of window to regain power in 2010.

    This is their last stand, because they know if Democrats actually provide an entitlement like this to the American people, they will be on the outside looking in for years–if not decades.

    What they’re worried about isn’t cost, or expanding the size of government, or having a more socialized health care system; they are worried about not only losing power (that happened last year) but losing power for a generation.

    The GOP leadership has called this issue “Obama’s Waterloo”. Well, it could just as easily end up as the GOP’s Little Big Horn.

              1. If a plan isn’t available in your own state, where do you think you’re going to get in-plan coverage under an out-of-state plan?

                And, by allowing consumers to buy out-of-state, Republicans can go after state regulations because it now constitutes interstate commerce…

                Finally – if this bill was introduced before the Democratic plan by Sen. DeMint, why can’t I find it?

                1. And, by allowing consumers to buy out-of-state, Republicans can go after state regulations because it now constitutes interstate commerce…

                  That’s the Trojan Horse in this legislation

  3. and Obama is MacArthur.  How the hell did the dems not see this coming?  How the hell were they asleep on the watch???

    Who the fuck was in charge of protecting the perimeter???

    Flush with their own success, the dems are goners on the health care issues…..and all the opining from Keith and Rachel…will not touch the money and the brilliant strategy from the money boys…

    I am livid.  I have family members with the pre-existing stigma….who would be up shit creek if they lost their jobs…a  daily possibility for most Americans….I blame the dems…those soft spoken, decent, “come let us reason together” “one-term charlies” wimps for letting this happen….

    1. It is the Republicans who are on the defensive and they have shown their true colors by not only refusing to offer any alternatives, aside from policy drift, but also from their not so nuanced statements about defeating health care reform for the sake of political power.

      They aren’t even in the least bit interested in providing Americans with health care. Their only concern is defeating Presidnet Obama’s health care proposal for the sake of the 2010 campaign. Nothing else.

      Over the next month to six weeks we will see one of the greatest political battles in the history of the United States but in the end a health care reform bill will pass.

      The limited number of senators and representatives who have been targeted by the Club for Growth suggests that they have very limited options because the members they can persuade are very limited. In short, they are loosing the war.

      There is also one foundational fact the Republicans can ignore but can never overturn. At the end of the day, no matter how clever or misleading their TV ads or other forms of sophistry, there are tens of millions of Americans who are uninsured or are woefully underinsured, and the number continues to grow. That fact will determine the outcome of this debate. The Republicans and their allies can ignore it but it just sits there as reality.

      When health care reform passes, the Republicans will again be the party that voted no and they will suffer politically because, like the stimulus package, they are betting on failure. Failure, that in this case, leaves a huge number of Americans exposed to illness and financial ruin.

      Next year in the election campaign, the Republican Party and Republican candidates will be endlessly explaining why they favored a do nothing policy toward the economy that would have resulted in systemic economic failure and why they remain in favor of their fellow citizens suffering from disease or other health risks. Without proposing rational alternatives, Republicans will be tagged with this next year.

      1. But, that is not how you win elections, nor control the agenda.  All the repubs have to do is knock down that 60  majority in the Senate and they can block eveything.  Club for Growth is targeting vulnerable seats.

        These are extraordinary economic times.  We will not be out of the woods for years – nor will be know if the plans of the Obama administration are working or not…..problems will continue and that will be “owned” by the dems….

        The repubs are about winning, at any cost…..the dems don’t have that blood lust for power…they are just tooooo nice.

        I am very pessimistic because I listen to gd talk radio and I have heard this planning for months…..the mob is indoctrinated and angry….and now we have phase two…..the goal is to defeat health care reform….and I do think they are going to win.   I can’t be real objective but the cost in my family will be great.

        1. You too are logical and lucid and I must admit the funding of naitonal health care is a concern, especially when federal tax revenues have plummeted this year due to the recession but, in the end, even if we loose this battle, the war will go on until the public realizes that premiums and copays continue to rise and coverage continues to decline while health insurance company profits continue to rise.

          The health insurance companies are spending $400,000 per day lobbying against the President’s plan for one simple reason – they can’t compete with national health insurance which should make the public realize they are paying too much now.

          I have an adult child with a severe chronic condition and he can’t buy health insurance except at premiums he can’t afford and even then the deductable is so high he would end up paying for almost all of his health care. In short, someone like my son becomes a profit center for the health insurance industry. He would only have the facade of insurance.

          Also, one third of all personal bankruptcies in the United States are related to overwhelming health care bills. In short, we are providing health care and managing (or not managing) payment for that care to a large extent through the bankruptcy courts.

          A decade ago, 60% of the small businesses in the United States offered their employees health insurance. That has declined to 38%.

          In short, the Republicans are in favor of the present system where coverage is being steadily eroded, premiums and copays are being steadily increased and those most vulnerable are simply told – good luck, hope it all works out.

          The insurance companies may win this battle but in the end they will loose the war. A majority may not realize it yet but the Republicans want us to go down a road where health care is steadily reduced and placed out of reach for millions of people. Having health insurance no longer means you are really insured.  

    1. lets throw out some facts.( I know they’ll just deny them anyway, so it’s actually for everyone else.)

      *TriCare has the HIGHEST customer satisfaction rating of ANY health care insurance in the US.

      http://www.allbusiness.com/com

      “Wilson Health Information, a leading healthcare consumer insight firm, names TRICARE the highest rated Health Insurance Carrier in overall member satisfaction for the sixth consecutive year in the 2008 WilsonRx[R] Health Insurance Satisfaction Survey[TM]. TRICARE also rates highestin most of the 28 insurance and 29 pharmacy benefit related topics covered in the survey.”

      “The report contains member importance and satisfaction ratings on coverage, quality, costs services and overall satisfaction on the largest health insurance carriers including: Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Illinois, BCBS of Michigan, BCBS of Minnesota, California Blue Shield, CareFirst BCBS, CIGNA, Coventry, Empire BCBS of New York, Federal Employee BCBS, Health Care Services Corporation (HCSC), Health Net, Horizon BCBS of New Jersey, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Medicaid, Medicare, Regence BC BS, TRICARE, UnitedHealthcare, Veterans Administration, WellPoint, Inc.”

      *TriCare is 2nd most effective in controlling costs of any health insurance in the US, short of the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. (can’t link to article, must pay for PDF here: http://www.stormingmedia.us/74

      *TriCare is most popular in the South of the US – that area filled with RIght-Wing Republicans who hate everything the gov’ does:

      http://www.southernstudies.org

      Y’know, if the public option can get into the final healthcare bill, and it looks like TriCare, I think we’ll do pretty well…

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