WHAT HE SAID

Perhaps I should expand this title to “…AND WHAT HE DIDN’T SAY.” I think most people would agree, our President is a pretty darn good orator. He says the things his supporters want to hear, or at least appears to. He has the power to call out his detractors and calm others.

I needed time to allow the emotional reaction to fade so I could study just what the President did and did not say before firing off yet another email to my representatives on Capitol Hill and the White House.

I know I said in an earlier post I was going to leave the speech analysis to more knowledgeable minds than I, but I just can’t help myself – I must add my two cents! I have included here excerpts from the President's speech along with what I see and what I don't. I look forward to your feedback.

“Since health care represents one-sixth of our economy, I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn't, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch.”

So this is where a single payer system gets tossed away. Chalk one up for the insurance companies who represent a big chunk for that 1/6 of our economy.

“The plan I'm announcing tonight would meet three basic goals. It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance for those who don't. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.”

Here is the promise we have all been waiting for but will he deliver?

“Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a preexisting condition. As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it the most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or in a lifetime. We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick. And insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies.”

Sounds good so far – aren’t these the very points we have been arguing endlessly about on the blogs?

“Now, if you're one of the tens of millions of Americans who don't currently have health insurance, the second part of this plan will finally offer you quality, affordable choices…We'll do this by creating a new insurance exchange -- a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices. Insurance companies will have an incentive to participate in this exchange because it lets them compete for millions of new customers. As one big group, these customers will have greater leverage to bargain with the insurance companies for better prices and quality coverage. This is how large companies and government employees get affordable insurance. It's how everyone in this Congress gets affordable insurance. And it's time to give every American the same opportunity that we give ourselves…And all insurance companies that want access to this new marketplace will have to abide by the consumer protections I already mentioned. And that's why under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance -- just as most states require you to carry auto insurance.”

This is a long bit of quote and I just picked portions out of the longer version for the sake of space. Nothing I omitted changes the message and anyone who wants to read the speech in its entirety can do so just by googling it but there is something here I want to point out – While insurance companies will have to play by the rules in order to get MILLIONS OF NEW CUSTOMERS (hostages), no where in all this grand verbiage do I see where, unlike said car insurance companies and public utilities, THERE WILL BE A GOVERNMENT REGULATED CAP ON THE PREMIUMS INSURANCE COMPANIES CAN CHARGE!
It gets worse – read on…

“But an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange… the insurance companies and their allies don't like this idea. They argue that these private companies can't fairly compete with the government. And they'd be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public insurance option. But they won't be. I've insisted that like any private insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects.”

A government backed public option? No so fast. This ambiguous passage calls for what is being touted as a “public option”, but the wording simply states a not-for-profit option. This is NOT the same thing!

It is time to put in the effort to write, call or email your representatives and demand they ONLY back:

* A single payer plan or, at the very LEAST, a government supported public option. Without a government sponsored plan, millions will STILL be left without health insurance and that is unacceptable.

* Along with that government mandate for health insurance coverage, they also include government regulation and caps on insurance premiums – if utilities and car insurance can be capped because they are considered essential services, then health insurance certainly can be!

* Lastly, remind them, strongly, just who they are working for and that the cost
of betraying the public trust will be a sound defeat in the voting booth!

This is too important to all of us to sit back and wait to see what happens. If you need links to contact your government representatives, I’m providing them here and asking everyone to stand up and be counted now!

For the White House:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

For Senators:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

For State Representatives:

http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/index.html

UPDATE:

w-dervish has left a comment bringing up yet another negative aspect of the President's plan:

"This will still leave millions (not sure how many exactly, but I confidently guesstimate it will be millions) uninsured. And showing up in emergency rooms with health problems they should have had treated a lot earlier. And it means people will still die due to lack of insurance."

I quite agree with this assessment and think it should also be a bullet point for representative correspondence so I have added it above.

H/T to w-dervish for this additional information. His excellent post on the speech can be found at his blog "Sleeping With The Devil" HERE.

H/T to Elizabeth from The Middle Of Nowhere who provided a link to a call-in campaign (to your congressman) being spearheaded by Firedoglake which you can access HERE.