On this date in 1965, the last great President from Texas, Lyndon B. Johnson, signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, providing medical care for senior citizens and some of the neediest members of our society. In the 45 years since, these programs have helped decrease the poverty level amongst seniors by two-thirds, and have only improved over time in order to meet the needs of those it is designed to help.
Bad-ass defender of our social safety net and all-star legislator Representative Garnet Coleman had this to say about today's auspicious historical date:
"It's hard to believe that a program so essential to the health of our seniors and individuals with disabilities was once controversial and decried with shouts of socialism.
"Forty five years ago, many seniors and Americans with disabilities were given an opportunity to continue to live with dignity. When President Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law, he gave a safety net to seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low income children.
"The new health care law is closing the Medicare doughnut hole. No thanks to the 'just say no camp', seniors have received $250 checks to help to pay for their medications. Our country needs to keep looking forward and continue to improve Americans' access to quality health care. We can't let Republicans take us backwards."
Coleman has been an unstoppable advocate for the health reforms passed into law and signed by President Obama. These reforms make Medicare and Medicaid work even more effectively for those who desperately rely, who literally live or die based on their access to care through these programs.
Specifically, the health reform bill phases out the Medicare prescription coverage gap known as the doughnut hole. In July, seniors began receiving $250 checks to help offset high prescription cost. By January, the health care law will close the doughnut hole by 50 percent, and by 2020 it will close the gap in coverage completely.
It's great to know that our Seniors are one step closer to not having to choose between paying the electric bill and buying their medications, or forced to cut pills in half to try and stretch out the time between refills.
Of course, to this day Republicans have tried to weaken or block these reforms, lower reimbursement rates, and make it increasingly difficult for Americans to access the health care they need. It is unfortunate that the Republicans continue to care more about the big insurance companies' profit margins than working Americans' ability to see a doctor.
So an extra thanks to Garnet Coleman for championing health reform, and thanks to the late, great LBJ for having the wisdom and foresight to implement these programs so that Americans can be one step closer to having reliable, affordable access to quality health care.
Former New York Governor went on Fox 7 Austin's morning show to discuss his opposition to health care reform. Sitting opposite him was State Representative Garnet Coleman. It's almost not a fair fight, as the video below shows:
For those who don't have time to watch the whole thing, here's what happens: Pataki starts off with two minutes straight of talking points. They are the same as every member of the Party of No says every day. Then Rep. Coleman got to speak. Here's what he said, along with Pataki's immediate affirmative response:
Garnet Coleman: This bill stops the prevention of people having health care coverage for their preexisting conditions. And clearly Texas benefits, because we get $190 billion over the next ten years. Our costs within the 10-year period of the authorization of the bill is $1.5 billion, and less than $13 billion in the next ten years after the Medicaid expansions start in 2014. So this is a good bill for Texas and a good bill for America.
Clearly, if you are a parent and you have children, your children can stay on until your own health coverage until they are 26 years old, and many families like that. And the other pieces that are extremely important are that people will have an opportunity to have insurance that have never have, and that's clearly a benefit. Plus, there's something called recision, where people are working, they have health insurance at their company, and all of a sudden they are kicked off their health insurance only because they have an illness that supposedly costs more money than the employer or the insurance company is willing to bear, and that's just not right.
Interviewer: Governor, let me ask you -- is it not fair to say get the bill through and tweak it as they go, the basic provisions seem to be sound?
George Pataki: No, the basic provisions are not sound. The Representative just very eloquently laid out three very good provisions in this bill, and that's why we're saying repeal it and replace it with real health care reform. Pre-existing conditions should be dealt with -- you are correct about that. The ability of an insurance company to just drop someone because they might all of a sudden become expensive is wrong -- that should be contained in health care. Having children stay on logner is a good provision that should be a part of health care reform as well.
Well which is it, Governor? You can't say none of the provisions are good -- and then go through and list all of the provisions Rep. Coleman laid out and agree with them. I know hypocrisy is the strong suit of Republicans and their talking points, but I mean -- wow!
Meanwhile, after his morning interview, Pataki joined almost all of Texas' most prominent Republicans -- including Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Attorney General Greg Abbott, Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, and Senator Dan Patrick -- for a "Repeal and Replace" health care reform rally.
The crowd -- with all those prominent Republicans -- was in the tens of tens:
There they go again. The GOP clown shows complete with its outrageous signs are out in full force this week. Health care reform has Republicans and its teabagger wing in a state of hysteria.
Too bad most do not understand that they will actually benefit from health care reform legislation. But oh well, I've given up on expecting rational thought and reason to prevail among a bunch of misled and manipulated extremists.
Glenn Beck must have spiked U.S. Rep. Gohmert's iced tea. Or maybe the weather has been so cold in Washington that most of Gohmert's brain cells have frozen. Or perhaps the fact that over 30 million uninsured Americans will now be able to afford health coverage and the insurance companies will no longer be able to hand out death sentences to patients is simply too much for Gohmert to bear.
Speaking shortly after he riled up a crowd at Tuesday's Tea Party protest, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) declared that "demons" - yes, demons - have invaded the capital (and likely the souls of Democrats), forcing lawmakers to mislead the public about the content of the health care bill.
After over a year of Republican obstruction, whopping lies, Halloween type driven fright frenzies, hate fests, death panels, clown shows, biased news coverage, tea parties, Dick Armey and his Freedom Works and other shills for the health insurance industry,the American people will finally be able to realize a long and overdue life line known as health care reform.
Thirty three million Americans will soon be able to afford health insurance coverage.
Wow. What a step forward for a first world country that does third world access to affordable health care.
Unfortunately for Texans the ruling GOP here is totally on board with third world health care.
Yesterday I had emailed Senators Cornyn and Hutchison in a hopeless attempt to prevail upon them to work with President Obama on passing health care reform. I knew that my plea was very likely a useless exercise in both the hopeless and the impossible.
At the very least, I thought, the horrible statistics I presented would perhaps grab the attention of one of their staff members.
Surely, I thought, both U.S. Senators would put aside their partisan differences, at least for a few hours, in order to serve the needs of those who elected them to office.
23 million folks will lose their insurance this year, 930,000 will file bankruptcy and 45,000 more people will die.
As we know Texas has the highest number of uninsured resident. Folks can learn about the appalling state of our health care system here and here.
Below is Senator Hutchison's response.
Hint: My efforts were a miserable failure. I did not get through. Senator Hutchison, it seems, has received $619,450 from the insurance industry and she is obviously working overtime to protect it.
None of the above statistics had any impact on her whatsoever. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison could care less about the plight of hard working Texans.
Texans are particularly aware of the need for health care reform, but it cannot come with a trillion dollar price tag and a government takeover of our health care system. Our state has over 6 million uninsured residents, the highest percentage of uninsured in the nation. This number poses a huge challenge for our hospitals, taxpayers, and many working individuals and families who cannot afford the health care coverage they need.
Lie 1: Several months ago, Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC challenged Senator Hutchison's assertions that the current proposals for HCR are a government takeover of health care. HCR is not a government takeover of the insurance industry. Mitchell is correct, Hutchison lied.
As far as 6 million uninsured residents in Texas are concerned, all have been posing problems 24/7/365 for doctors, hospitals and taxpayers. Senator Hutchison has been in the U.S. Senate since 1993. If she was so concerned about affordable insurance for Texans she would have done something about it by now.
In a political turnabout that may indicate what lies ahead, Cornyn abandoned his long-standing support of federal spending for NASA and for the Johnson Space Center.
In the pre-Christmas legislative rush, he joined Senate Republicans, with fellow Texan and NASA champion Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison among them, in opposing a government-wide, $448 billion spending package that included $18.7 billion for the space agency.
Toughest part to come
"Clearly because you end up voting against a bill because it has excessive spending doesn't mean you don't support a lot of the underlying components of it," Cornyn explained. "But there needs to be a little restraint - particularly during the time of high deficits and runaway debt."
Where were the Senators fiscal restraint when they voted to fight a completely unnecessary war? Where was their fiscal restraint when they voted for huge tax cuts for the wealthy during a time in which our nation waged war on two fronts? Where was their so-called fiscal constraint in 2003 when Republicans voted for an expansion of Medicare, putting all of the above on the nation's credit card?
Democrats are troubled by the inconsistency of Republican lawmakers who approved a major Medicare expansion six years ago that has added tens of billions of dollars to federal deficits, but oppose current health overhaul plans.
All current GOP senators, including the 24 who voted for the 2003 Medicare expansion, oppose the health care bill that's backed by President Barack Obama and most congressional Democrats.
The Democrats claim that their plan moving through Congress now will pay for itself with higher taxes and spending cuts and they cite the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office for support.
By contrast, when Republicans controlled the House, Senate and White House in 2003, they overcame Democratic opposition to add a deficit-financed prescription drug benefit to Medicare. The program will cost a half-trillion dollars over 10 years, or more by some estimates.
With no new taxes or spending offsets accompanying the Medicare drug program, the cost has been added to the federal debt.
Some Republicans say they don't believe the CBO's projections that the health care overhaul will pay for itself. As for their newfound worries about big government health expansions, they essentially say: That was then, this is now.
Six years ago, "it was standard practice not to pay for things," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. "We were concerned about it, because it certainly added to the deficit, no question." His 2003 vote has been vindicated, Hatch said, because the prescription drug benefit "has done a lot of good."
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said those who see hypocrisy "can legitimately raise that issue."
You betcha we can and you betcha we are.
Senators Hutchison and Cornyn have been standing on hypocrisy and bringing home lumps of coal to Texas for far too long.
Once again, let's raise our glasses to a new decade of change, more change, hope and recovery.
Yesterday I received an electronic newsletter from John Cornyn that rather surprised me. In his letter to his so-called constituents, Senator Cornyn informed us that he agrees with the uber liberal/progressive former chair of the DNC and governor of Vermont on the health care reform bill.
Wow. This is a new and interesting twist in right/left politics.
In what way, Senator? Please do explain.
My colleagues and I picked up an unlikely ally in our quest to stop the Reid health care bill. Gov. Howard Dean pleaded for his fellow Democrats to "kill this bill" in a Washington Post op-ed on Thursday morning, saying that it "will do more harm than good to the future of America." Despite the vocal protests from Liberals, Conservatives, and Independents, Democrats remain determined to force the bill through by Christmas. I assure you that my fellow Republicans and I remain resolute in stopping the Reid bill dead in its tracks.
As usual, Cornyn is full hot air. The Republicans are screaming about expanded government, as usual, and a health care program that will be affordable and will include millions of uninsured Americans. Republicans are obviously perfectly pleased with the status quo of nearly 50 million uninsured folks who use emergency rooms for their primary care needs. When this happens, the expense is passed along to taxpayers. As W. said during his Administration, everyone has access to health care. Everyone can go to the emergency rooms. Taxpayers shoulder this burden as we do W.'s war in Iraq and his tax cuts to the wealthy. Republicans hate taxation except when it comes to sticking the middle class with taxes.
Progressive Democrats are very unhappy about the lack of a government run public option that would introduce competition into the health insurance market. Many are also worried about the mandates if there is no real competition in the insurance market. Folks have every right to fear that the insurance sharks will take advantage of them if there are no checks and balances. They would do it in a New York nanosecond. Cornyn and the Republicans, by the way, have been enabling these sharks for decades.
If Cornyn had paid attention to the news yesterday he would have known that Dr. Dean now believes the bill should pass. Are you still on board with Dr. Dean, Sir?
I didn't think so.
If John Cornyn and his Republican Party were so concerned about their constituents they would have engaged in this debate a long time ago. They failed to. And now the spineless cowards are trying to align themselves with Dr. Dean and other Progressives who are rightfully upset about the absence of a public option.
Cornyn also writes:
As Texans are well aware by now, the Senate is coming to the end of its third straight week in the debate over health care reform. I think many of you have seen that as this debate progresses, we've learned two important things. First, with each passing day we have more questions than answers about the Reid bill, and secondly, the more the American public learns about it, the more they don't like it. The most recent Washington Post / ABC News Poll says that a solid majority of Americans are opposed to the Reid bill, with a CNN estimate pegging opposition as high as 61% among Americans. I met recently with a group of San Antonio firefighters in my Washington office who echoed this sentiment to me, telling me they could not afford the new taxes they would be saddled with should the bill pass. The President's own chief cost analyst recently became the latest expert to sound alarms over the Reid bill. The Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Rick Foster, issued a report last week concluding that the Reid bill would increase health care costs, threaten access to care for seniors, and force people off of their current coverage. In other words, the Administration's own expert conclusively demonstrated that the Democrats' rhetoric does not match the reality of their bill and that passing the legislation would be worse than doing nothing. You can read the CMS report for yourself here.
Dude, the public is against a health care reform bill that lacks a public option.
Reform with public option or medicare expansion won 59% to 31% support.
Now tell me Sir, are you going to embrace a public option if it is present in the final bill?
I didn't think so.
Folks might be interested to know that John Cornyn has accepted millions of dollars in donations from the insurance, health professionals and pharma sectors. He has received:
$576,878 from insurance, $1,371,928 from health professionals and $288,165 from pharma.
Cornyn has also taken $362,390 from lobbyists. Banking and oil & gas are his biggest contributors.
Recently, Houstonians for Health released it's latest video providing viewers their opinion of what's wrong with the health care system in Houston. Houstonian's' for Health is an unknown group, that I still can't identify. The very detailed video shows how Dan Wolterman, CEO of the powerful Memorial Hermann Health System, tried to "dump" one of their hospitals on tax payers. What's scary about it is the reason that Dan gave for trying to get the Harris County Hospital District to bail him out.
When asked by the Houston Chronicle reporter, Wolterman said he wanted to get rid of it because there was a "demographic decline" in the area. According to the video, the area is 31% Hispanic, 23% African American, and 12% Asian. I'm not sure what Dan doesn't like about those demographics, but he better get comfortable with them given the changing face of Texas.
After seeing the video, I spent some time calling around to learn more about this ground and Wolterman. The information people were willing to give about Wolterman was interesting.
Apparently Wolterman is facing two civil law suits alleging antitrust violations, he threw his doctor's under the bus during the sale, he upset most of the Harris County officials to the point he was compared to a "car salesman," and then had a "political pep rally" with Kay Bailey Hutchison opposing health reform--upsetting local Democrats, probably, Rick Perry as well. With that many powerful enemies.
What's scary about Mr. Wolterman's statement is that it creates the perception, rightly or wrongly, that he would rather serve patients living in the suburbs who are rich/insured patients, rather than underserved patients in the inner city.
You may remember the the first video from Houstonian's for Health Care. You can see Wolterman, front in center, celebrating Kay Bailey Hutchison and pleading for her and her party to slow down the process in reforming health care. Now we see the latest video and understand why.
Texas can't stand for this kind of reckless attitude and "leadership." The problem in health care is less about the system, and more about greedy guys like this who run our institutions. Perhaps it is time to create a system that limits the negative influence of men like Wolterman
