Reid says health care reform won’t happen before the August recess.
From Politico:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today that the Senate would not attempt to pass sweeping health care reform until after returning from the August recess.
“It’s better to get a product that’s based on quality and thoughtfulness than on trying to just get something through,” Reid told reporters.
What he said.
It will drag on a long time now, I suspect.
Might change the tone of this rally a bit…
Huh? The Obama plan is that there would be no ‘pre-existing conditions.’ As it is now I cannot get health insurance because of two or three.
And to add to your list there is the idea of head of Mayo Clinic to promote a ‘value index.’ (See my comment on the Mayo Clinic thread).
…
Tort reform. I second that.
“Sweeping” Healthcare Reform I could support:
1. Stop the discriminatory practice of taxing employees on the insurance provided to their same-sex spouse, but not to opposite sex spouses. Gay couples whose employers provide insurance can end up paying thousands extra in income tax over what straight couples pay.
2. Fix the stupid and counter-productive policies that won’t let self-employed people fully deduct health insurance that a corporate employer could deduct.
3. Disallow health insurance companies from receiving premiums from customers for their entire lives but dumping them once they get sick.
4. Allow heath costs to be fully deducted from taxable income instead of only in excess of 7.5% of AGI and only after meeting the standard deduction. The current system give tax benefits to those with higher income and who own a home or who are execs at a company with insurance that covers everything without co-pay or deductible. It’s grossly unfair.
5. Limit “pre-existing conditions” to those which are fraudulent, i.e. those which the patient knew about before buying insurance. My nephew was denied coverage for a birth defect he knew nothing about until he was a working adult with insurance coverage.
6. Allow emergency rooms to deny non-emergency services to persons without health insurance.
7. Remove the Undocumented preference. Currently a US citizen who goes to the hospital is required to provide documentation. This means that any non-covered service or any care for uninsured persons can be tied to this person’s assets, home, credit, etc. Undocumented persons cannot be denied emergency care and need not provide anything that would endanger their assets. Many, if not most, of the hospitals in Los Angeles’ lower income neighborhoods have closed their ER. Not because of poor Americans, but because of persons who use the ER as their regular doctor but who cannot pay and don’t have to.
8. Tort reform, tort reform, tort reform and tort reform.
I’m sure there are many more. But these quick and easy steps could go a long way to helping while we all debate the merits of government-provided health care.
Canada or Netherlands looks better every week. I can’t afford to live in this country anymore, it’s killing me.