It's no secret that the House version of health reform is a stronger, more progressive bill. That's what happens in a body with strict majority-rule, and none of this Nelson and Lieberman courting needed to get to 60 cloture votes.
The bill now moves to conference committee, where leaders from the House and Senate work to resolve differences between the two bodies' legislation. The House version has better cost controls, as well as a public option. It is imperative that we keep the pressure on and keep pushing for a better bill that can pass both bodies and be signed into law by President Obama.
Congressman Doggett, TX-25, sent out the following statement after the vote:
"Opening up this Senate health care package reveals much good wrapped up with unwise taxes on employer plans and too little competition for insurance monopolies. Let's take time for a little Christmas cheer now that the Senate finally acted, but make and keep a New Year's Resolution in the House demanding at least a little more consumer and taxpayer protection."
Come Monday, let's keep the pressure on. Folks in Texas can volunteer with Organizing for America to make calls into swing-vote Senators' states, encouraging their constituents to call in favor of a stronger bill to come out of committee. Folks in Blue Dog Congressional districts can call their Representatives in favor of an even stronger bill.
And folks in Austin can remind our one Democratic representative, Congressman Lloyd Doggett, that even though this bill is far from perfect, it goes a long way to insure the 24% of Texans who lack access to care. This bill may well become the greatest social achievement of our time, normalizing access to quality, affordable care for all Americans. There is room to improve, but so it was with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and many other government programs that are now viewed as the fabric of our society.
Two years ago, despite our majorities in the House and Senate, Democrats could only dream of one day passing sweeping health insurance reform legislation. Today, a Democratic president makes that reform not only possible but probable. We must all keep working to expand those majorities and elect more and better Democrats, in order to have the votes to pass the legislative changes we need.
Very, very early this morning, the Senate took an historic vote to pass sweeping health reform. This version of the bill--while far from perfect--will help insure millions of Americans who currently lack access to affordable, quality care. President Obama sent the following email following the vote:
In all the back and forth, it's easy to lose sight of what this incredible breakthrough really means. But consider this: This Christmas, there are millions of Americans without health insurance who risk losing everything if they get sick.
There are mothers and fathers who wonder how they'll provide for their children because an illness has wiped out their savings. There are small business owners who worry that they'll have to lay off a long-time employee because the cost of insurance is rapidly rising.
If we finish the job, all this can change. We will have beaten back the special interests who have for so long perpetuated the status quo. We will have enacted the most important piece of social policy since the Social Security Act in the 1930s, and the most important health reform since Medicare in the 1960s.
Success of the final bill means that within the near future, millions of Americans will have affordable insurance coverage. Millions will be spared the fear of medical bankruptcy, and millions will no longer have to choose between taking their child to the doctor and paying the light bill. This change is a holiday gift we can all be thankful for, no matter what we celebrate.
President Barack Obama continued:
There is still more to do before I can sign reform into law -- a last round of negotiations and final votes in the Senate and the House -- and I'm counting on your help every step of the way. But for now, I hope that as you celebrate this holiday season, you remember that the work you are doing is making our union more perfect, one step at a time. For that, I am grateful to you.
After this holiday weekend, we all need to keep the pressure on, contacting our officials in the House and Senate. A stronger bill can emerge from committee, but we the people need to advocate for it.
The President's email thanked everyone who called and organized in support of health reform, and asked us to sign a letter of thanks to those Senators who voted in favor of the bill. After all, it is just as important to thank our elected officials for doing the right thing as it is to challenge them when they do not.
I signed the letter, and I left a note:
"Thank you. As a citizen of Texas, my Senators do NOT want me to have access to affordable, quality care. They do not believe that we need reform, and are satisfied with the status quo. Those of us in Texas--where we average 24% uninsured--are depending on this reform to give us access to care and coverage. Thank you for doing what our own Senators would not--standing up for change, and standing up for the American people."
We're one step closer to historic health reform. There are still a few important steps to go, we should all be happy with today's progress.
As the House of Representatives continues debate on health reform, we've heard appalling untruths from Republicans and heart-wrenching stories from the Democrats. One of our great Texas Democratic representatives stood up tonight to oppose the Republican "alternative," that won't insure the 37 million Americans who lack coverage, and won't cut costs as well as the Democratic bill.
To help cover huge medical bills in Bastrop, Texas, they hold a Main Street pancake supper, an American Legion auction. Essential health care shouldn't depend on the kindness of strangers, the goodness of neighbors, and certainly not the just say "No" of Republicans or the weak tea parties brewed up by the insurance lobby.
Now, belatedly, they offer a scheme as skimpy as a hospital gown. They do nothing to help seniors. Their proposal is inefficient, ineffective, and wasteful. Masquerading as reform, their bill authorizes insurers to continue denying coverage for pre-existing health conditions, such as acne or a C-section. Republican obstructionism has, itself, become a giant pre-existing condition to any meaningful change.
This is a typical old time Republican medicine show--do a little for 5% of the uninsured, do nothing for the other 95% and leave the portion of American families uninsured largely unchanged. The only thing they propose more of is more insurance policy loopholes. Freedom? The only freedom they offer is the freedom to go broke from medical debts - the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.
24% of Texas residents are uninsured, the highest rate in the nation. We have the most uninsured adults, and the most uninsured children. Tonight, all Texans are lucky to have Rep. Lloyd Doggett fighting for our access to quality, affordable healthcare on the floor of the House tonight.
If you can't follow along at CSPAN, I've been live-Tweeting the highs and lows: @KathTX. I'll have some of the better comments from our Texas delegation tomorrow.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul is working hard in D.C. to make sure that Texans in the 10th District receive no meaningful health reform. With efforts to block President Obama's proposals at every turn, the unremarkable incumbent has now taken to touting bogus polls and whining about not being included in the process. And what does McCaul have to show for it? A Republican bill that will leave 17 million Americans uninsured, and won't cut the deficit nearly as well as the Democratic bill.
Last week, Michael McCaul went on KVUE to complain about health insurance reform, touting an oh-so-scientific poll from his own website. From KVUE, October 31, 2009:
"In my view, the majority of the American people don't support [the Democratic health reform plan]. Certainly in my district, on my website I have a poll, and it's about 85% against this, it's what's called the public option, the government-run option, the government takeover of our healthcare, it's one sixth of our economy."
Michael McCaul is wrong about health reform. In August, 77% of Americans supported the public option, according to a SUSA poll. That's even higher than it was in June. According to an ABC News poll conducted last week more Americans prefer the Democrats' public option than a watered-down, bipartisan compromise.
McCaul continues on with a series of bogus Republican buzz-words against health reform: "government-run takeover," "getting in between you and your doctor" and "health czar!" Funny, last time I checked, the only person coming between me and my doctor was some insurance company bureaucrat trying to decide if I really need that M.R.I., or visit to a specialist, or blood test, or not. And what's with their czar fetish?
To provide justification for his position, McCaul sites a bogus poll conducted on his website. (How does he know the folks voting on his website are only constituents? Hmm?) On his Facebook Feed, McCaul also published the results of another bogus poll conducted during his own tele-town hall, with 65% opposed to the public option.
Whaaat? You mean to say the small sample of folks who bother to visit his website or join a tele-town hall happen to overwhelmingly agree with his views on the public option?! What's extra irritating here is how the newscaster just takes the bogus statistic as God-given fact. Then she has the gall to suggest that health reform is actually moving too fast. As anyone who has actually been following the legislative process can tell you, things are definitely NOT moving too fast, especially for the 9.3 million Texans who were uninsured for all or part of last year.
Then, just this week, McCaul continued whining in a call-in press conference that Obama and the Democrats have "left out" the Republicans in the health reform process. This is disingenuous, for three reasons.
First, the Republican bill championed by McCaul is widely considered to be a dismal failure. From Ezra Klein:
In 2019, after 10 years of the Republican plan, CBO estimates that ...17 percent of legal, non-elderly residents won't have health-care insurance. The Republican alternative will have helped 3 million people secure coverage, which is barely keeping up with population growth. Compare that to the Democratic bill, which covers 36 million more people and cuts the uninsured population to 4 percent.
According to CBO, the GOP's alternative will shave $68 billion off the deficit in the next 10 years. The Democrats, CBO says, will slice $104 billion off the deficit. ... The Democratic bill, in other words, covers 12 times as many people and saves $36 billion more than the Republican plan.
McCaul describes the Republican bill as better, because it "incentivizes the free market and the private sector to provide coverage." Except that's the same idea that has failed Americans since World War II. It's no change in policy, and it will do very little to change the rate of uninsured Texans.
Second, Republicans--teabaggers and members of Congress alike--are deliberately trying to obstruct the reform process for ideological and political gain. They spent all summer yelling about death panels and insuring undocumented immigrants and shouting "YOU LIE!" during joint sessions of Congress. Republicans are too busy trying to prevent meaningful reform and coverage that will extend to all Americans, in order to support their buddies in the insurance industry. All they want is for President Obama's plans to fail--they don't care about meaningful reform, they only care about their own electoral prospects in 2010 and beyond.
Third, while McCaul complains about not having a seat at the table, he made it nearly impossible for his own constituents to share their views on health reform. He complains that the Democratic bill was written "behind closed doors in Washington," despite the many open town-halls held by Democratic Representatives and constant stream of news coverage about every single step of the process and constant updates from Democratic Congressional leaders.
Meanwhile, it's McCaul who is largely operating behind closed doors, having private meetings with folks who seem to unanimously oppose reform. According to his website, McCaul held only one in-person town hall, at 9:00 a.m. on a Friday, in Katy, the day before Labor Day weekend. He waited until the final day of the Congressional District working period to solicit real input from his constituents. It was only posted to his campaign website three days before the event. Sounds as if Rep. McCaul doesn't want to hear what his constituents have to say. In a district that spans 150 miles from Austin to Houston, he holds only one event, off in one of the most Republican parts of the district. There sure was no event in Travis County, because if there was, McCaul would have heard an earful from his constituents who are tired of losing coverage for pre-existing conditions, being dropped from their plans, and watching premiums rise as access to quality care drops.
To conclude, let's sum up the many ways in which Michael McCaul is wrong about health reform:
Elections have consequences. Barack Obama won, and Democrats have significant majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats are supposed to set national policy. That's what people voted for. (N.B.: Olympia Snowe is not a Democrat and should not be setting health care policy.)
If Republicans want a seat at the table they need to offer real solutions backed by their party, not just vitriol and obstruction. A bill that leaves 17 million people uninsured and doesn't cut costs as well as the Democratic bill is not a real solution.
Congresspeople can't conduct bogus polls on their websites and conference calls and tout it as scientific fact. Anyone who actually has a say in our nation's education funding should know better. The thought makes me shudder.
Michael McCaul is yet another out-of-touch Republican in Congress working hard to prevent the people of the 10th Congressional district from having access to quality, affordable health care. He needs to go.
The Republican Party will release its alternative to President Obama's plan for health insurance reform this week. In true "Party of No" fashion, it offers no solutions, no meaningful expanded coverage, and no guarantees that Americans can finally receive access to the care they need.
In particular, the Huffington Post states that the GOP bill of No Reform would not end discrimination on the basis of pre-existing conditions:
The health legislation authored by House Republicans and set to be unveiled in the next few days reportedly would not prevent health insurance companies from discriminating against patients with pre-existing conditions.
That's not just a stark contrast to Democratic-produced legislation; it puts Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his co-authors at odds with many members of their own party.
Many of the most respected health care voices in the GOP have historically treated the idea of eliminating pre-existing condition exclusions as an obvious plank in any reform effort.
The fact of the matter is, conservative ideology and the influence of the far-right fringe have pushed even "moderate" Republicans into siding with the insurance companies instead of the American people. Seems like a Boehn-headed move.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a champion of real reform for all Texans, issued the following statement on the bill:
After months of delay in offering any proposal, Republicans have been as revealing as a hospital gown regarding why we lack a bipartisan health insurance plan-they have speeches, but no real solutions to offer our families.
Sadly, Republican obstructionism is a recurrent pre-existing condition to any meaningful change. Masquerading as reform, their new bill authorizes insurers to continue denying coverage to Americans with 'pre-existing health conditions,' such as acne, a C-section, or any other prior medical treatment. The GOP Leadership again sides with insurance monopolies over struggling middle-class families.
Under their proposal, competition does not increase and health insurance coverage remains little more than a receipt for premiums paid and likely denial of coverage when families need it the most.
Here in Texas, 24% of our residents are uninsured, the highest rate in the country. We desperately need real reform on the federal level to help Texans receive access to the care they need. Unfortunately for the people of Texas, it looks like the Republican Party just doesn't care.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced today that the Senate version of the health reform bill will include an opt-out. This will allow states that want to hurt their constituents and deny them access to health care to reject participation in the national public option.
The opt-out clause should be of some concern to folks like us living in Red States. Republicans in the House and Senate are almost unilaterally opposed to any sort of health insurance reform, choosing to stick up for the insurance companies instead of the 46 million uninsured Americans.
Texas has the highest rate of uninsured residents in the country, as the chart at right demonstrates. Between 2007 and 2008, 9.3 million Texans were uninsured for part or all of the year. It is imperative that Texans have access to real insurance, in order to receive the care they need.
Here are some early specifics about how the opt-out would work, should it make the final bill signed by President Obama. In his press conference, Harry Reid said that states could not opt out before 2014. (Yes, it's a crappy transcript, but that's the best link I can dig up right now.)
2011-2012: National insurance exchange is phased in; consumer reforms begin taking effect.
2013: Public Option goes into effect. Americans are mandated to have insurance coverage.
2014: States can opt out, exact process to be determined.
Apparently, the opt-out will require a 2/3 vote of the state legislature, with the governor able to veto an opt-out. We don't have a link for this yet, but that's what folks close to the process are suggesting to Burnt Orange Report.
Under this scenario, Texans would be able to participate in the public option (if they qualify) in 2013. Legislatures would then have to intentionally deny their constituents insurance by opting them out of the public option.
Importantly, states CANNOT opt out of the consumer reforms that will lower costs, prevent rescission, and stop insurers from denying you coverage for a pre-existing condition. These reforms are huge in making the insurance companies work harder to provide care, rather than just pile up profits.
Other questions that need to be resolved as we work through the sausage-making process:
As governorships and legislative control pass between the two parties, can states opt out later on?
Can a state opt in if it previously opted out?
Are there different processes for states with unicameral and/or bicameral legislatures?
Can states pro-actively pass legislation to opt out before 2014?
Access to the public option is key to creating real competition with the private insurance companies in terms of lower premiums and better quality of care. Any state that does not have the public option will see its constituents paying more for care than their neighbors across state lines. Texans need real reform, and deserve the choice of a public option. Now, let's make sure that our Legislature knows it.
Update 4:26 p.m. -- Rep. Garnet Coleman released the following statement on Sen. Harry Reid's press conference today:
Today, Senator Reid presented a bill that includes a public option, something the American people overwhelmingly support. I commend the Senators for their tireless efforts, and for pushing legislation that will significantly help people in America, and Texas in particular.
The Senate bill includes a provision for states to opt out of the public option. A public option will increase competition and provide more quality, affordable options for middle-income Texans and Americans.
All the more reason we need to make sure Texas stays opted in to the public option.
The GOP is supporting, and promoting, the extreme elements of their Party which encompass secession motivated Teabaggers, and conspiracy theorist radicals known as Birthers, to actively organize and disrupt congressional town hall meetings designed for feedback from constituents on Health Insurance Reform. Congressman Lloyd Doggett was the latest target of these extremists as he and his constituents were shouted down at the end of an hour-long weekend town hall in South Austin.
The extremists could be heard shouting "just say no," which has become the platform of the Republican Party since President Obama has taken office. Instead of offering anything constructive to the conversation on Health Insurance Reform, or any other pressing issue of the day, the Republican Party is being led by Rush Limbaugh and his legion of extremists who simply believe in gotcha, destructive politics versus real constructive reform. "No," is far more important to the Limbaugh-led GOP than real reform for the American people.
Congressman Doggett had this to say after being cornered by Teabaggers and Birthers this past Saturday:
This mob, sent by the local Republican and Libertarian parties, did not come just to be heard, but to deny others the right to be heard. And this appears to be part of a coordinated, nationwide effort. What could be more appropriate for the "party of no" than having its stalwarts drowning out the voices of their neighbors by screaming "just say no!" Their fanatical insistence on repealing Social Security and Medicare is not just about halting health care reform but rolling back 75 years of progress. I am more committed than ever to win approval of legislation to offer more individual choice to access affordable health care. An effective public plan is essential to achieve that goal.
What Congressman Doggett is referring to when he mentions a "coordinated, nationwide effort" is the fact that lobbyist run think-tanks such as Freedom Works and Americans for Prosperity, both of whom were responsible for taking over much of the underwhelming Tea Bag parties held earlier this year, are behind organized efforts to disrupt town halls of mostly Democratic House Representatives. A leaked memo by a Freedom Works supported Teabagger website details how their extremist members should disrupt town halls.
Thankfully the aggressive and extreme actions of this small minority of GOP fanatics are having the opposite effect on members of congress like Representative Lloyd Doggett. He is now more motivated then ever to pass Health Insurance Reform on behalf of the vast majority of Americans who need it. Little does this small population of fanatics know, but Health Insurance Reform will benefit them too by making health care truly affordable.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced today that the Senate version of the health reform bill will include an opt-out. This will allow states that want to hurt their constituents and deny them access to health care to reject participation in the national public option.
