Frank, Dodd, Grassley speak their minds

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Jun 21 2009

News outlets are searching out interesting quotes from players in the health reform debate.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, remains on the fence about several provisions in a Democratic plan, The Washington Post reports: "Winning over the Senate Finance Committee's ranking Republican would represent a major coup for Democrats and a rare defection from the GOP party line for Grassley, a populist at heart but a loyal Republican according to his voting record. … Not even Grassley can tell where he eventually will end up, but he is making the most of the attention he is getting from the White House. Over lunch with Obama last month, the senator complained that certain Environmental Protection Agency pollution policies were harming Iowa farmers. He has since met with several senior White House officials and is negotiating a visit to his state by EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson" (Murray, 6/19).

CongressDaily focused on Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn: "As the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee wrapped up a second day of public wrangling over a 600-page health overhaul, the panel's Democratic leader said bipartisanship isn't his top priority. 'My goal here is to write a good bill. My goal is not bipartisanship,' said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who is chairing the markup proceedings while HELP Chairman Edward Kennedy undergoes treatment for brain cancer. 'That can help you write a good bill, but it is not an end in itself'" (Hunt, 6/19).

"'Certainly, stalling it is not helping it at this point,' Dodd said. 'My job is to be fair and to keep the process moving forward,'" Dodd told Dow Jones Newswires (Yoest, 6/18).

On the House side, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said he agrees with Obama that there are some places in Europe where single-payer systems work, CNSNews.com reports: "As prime minister of Britain, 'Margaret Thatcher considered it a great attack on her when people said she was trying to pick apart health care,' said Frank. 'Britain goes way beyond a single-payer. That's socialized medicine. Scandinavia, much of Western Europe,' have a single-payer system that works" (Lucas, 6/19).

Even as the interim communications director for the White House, Anita Dunn is focused on health care, The Washington Post reports in a separate story. "'As we like to say, if it was easy, somebody else would have done it,' Dunn says. Dunn started out in Democratic politics in the late '70s, and she is well liked by the media and politicians for her no-nonsense, self-effacing style" (Romano, 6/19).

This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Posted in: Healthcare News

Tags: Brain, Brain Cancer, Cancer, Cardiology, Education, Health Care, Health Insurance, Health Reform, Heart, Labor, Medicine, Pollution

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Seize Control of Healthcare

jacksmith says:

June 22, 2009 at 1:34 PM

It’s official. America and the World are now in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. A World EPIDEMIC with potential catastrophic consequences for ALL of the American people. The first PANDEMIC in 41 years. And WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES will have to face this PANDEMIC with the 37th worst quality of healthcare in the developed World.

STAND READY AMERICA TO SEIZE CONTROL OF YOUR NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.

We spend over twice as much of our GDP on healthcare as any other country in the World. And Individual American spend about ten times as much out of pocket on healthcare as any other people in the World. All because of GREED! And the PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare system in America.

And while all this is going on, some members of congress seem mostly concern about how to protect the corporate PROFITS! of our GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT NATIONAL DISGRACE. A PRIVATE FOR PROFIT DISGRACE that is in fact, totally valueless to the public health. And a detriment to national security, public safety, and the public health.

Progressive democrats and others should stand firm in their demand for a robust public option for all Americans, with all of the minimum requirements progressive democrats demanded. If congress can not pass a robust public option with at least 51 votes and all robust minimum requirements, congress should immediately move to scrap healthcare reform and demand that President Obama declare a state of NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY! Seizing and replacing all PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance plans with the immediate implementation of National Healthcare for all Americans under the provisions of HR676 (A Single-payer National Healthcare Plan For All).

Coverage can begin immediately through our current medicare system. With immediate expansion through recruitment of displaced workers from the canceled private sector insurance industry. Funding can also begin immediately by substitution of payroll deductions for private insurance plans with payroll deductions for the national healthcare plan. This is what the vast majority of the American people want. And this is what all objective experts unanimously agree would be the best, and most cost effective for the American people and our economy.

In Mexico on average people who received medical care for A-H1N1 (Swine Flu) with in 3 days survived. People who did not receive medical care until 7 days or more died. This has been the same results in the US. But 50 million Americans don’t even have any healthcare coverage. And at least 200 million of you with insurance could not get in to see your private insurance plans doctors in 2 or 3 days, even if your life depended on it. WHICH IT DOES!

Contact congress and your representatives NOW! AND SPREAD THE WORD!

God Bless You

Jacksmith – WORKING CLASS

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