HEH

[brinstar]

HEH.

[ClakarEQ]

I just wish it was more aggressive, too much was given up for the sake of "compromise"

[Arlos]

Oh, I wanted universal single payer, for sure. You could even sell it well as "Medicare for Everyone."

That said, I'm quite pleased that almost the entirety of the health care law was upheld. I was actually quite nervous, especially with the idiocy of the Citizen's United ruling (and the follow-up one that screwed Montana), but the striking down of all of the important parts of the Arizona law (the 1 part left allows checking the immigration status of someone they arrest for an actual crime. Which, you know, police ALREADY could do...) earlier this week gave me a glimmer of hope.

And now, to listen to the delicious wailing and gnashing of teeth from the GOP... Ahhhhh, their tears, they taste so sweet....

-Arlos

[brinstar]

Billo the Clown acts like a reeking anus and then tells his guest "if i'm wrong on the SCOTUS decision i'll invite you back on and apologize for being an idiot"

[Zanchief]

Is Obama still not left enough for you Brin? I feel like Obama is actually doing the best he can to make this a bit more progressive, which is why I wonder why he gets such a bad rap for being "more of the same".

[Tossica]

I think the war on drugs, corporate hand outs and letting the insurance companies write the health care bill are part of the reason why.

[Narrock]

Figures I would see nothing but idiotic comments about this debacle. If you morons think this bill is going to do ANYTHING that obama claims it does, you've got another thing coming. Your first reaction should have been "Oh... another tax" but seeing as you ignorant indoctrinated fucks are so short-sighted, I can't say that your happiness about this bill passing is a surprise. Thank God almighty, this piece of shit is going to be repealed as soon as Romney kicks obama's ass out of the white house by a landslide. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07 ... al-effort/

You think in this economy people want (or need) yet another fucking tax? Let alone, giving the fucking government yet another stranglehold over us... wake up idiots. Really.

And another thing... America is NOT a socialist country and never will be. We the people will NOT let it turn into that, NO MATTER WHAT we have to do to prevent that from happening. If you want to live in a socialistic society, then move to Canada or Europe. Stop stomping on the constitution. Get the fuck out.

[Arlos]

Um, I think you are overstating things quite a bit.

As a "tax", it's $95 a year to anyone who can afford health insurance and doesn't have it. I don't think that's exactly a overwhelming burden to anyone who isn't near the poverty line. (who aren't subject to the tax anyway.) Also, you know there are quite literally no criminal OR civil penalties to NOT paying it? How, exactly, is that giving government a stranglehold over anyone?

Also, I fail to understand how expanding Medicare to cover the entire population somehow suddenly makes us a socialist nation. That's all going to a single payer system IS. Sorry, but Medicare was ruled to be constitutional a long time ago. If it's constitutional as it is, I fail to see how expanding it to cover people who aren't 65+ years old would somehow suddenly become unconstitutional.

In all seriousness, look at the numbers. The US pays twice as much as any other western industrialized nation, yet overall we have far worse public health numbers than any of them. Infant mortality, life expectancy, etc. All much much worse. That indicates to me that the system is completely broken. There are things I don't like about Obamacare, but it's a start, and if it moves us to a single payer system, I'm all for it. Sorry you think that would somehow make us a socialist country, but it's simply not true.

-Arlos

[brinstar]

Is Obama still not left enough for you Brin? I feel like Obama is actually doing the best he can to make this a bit more progressive, which is why I wonder why he gets such a bad rap for being "more of the same".

toss is on the right track. corporate pandering, whistleblower prosecution, total disregard for states' rights re: the drug war, assassinating US citizens without trial, continuing a FAT lot of W's policies, expanding war efforts (he takes credit for ending gulfwar2, but the real reason it ended is that the iraqi govt told him that once 2012 kicks in, US forces would no longer have legal immunity so we GTFO in a hurry to avoid inevitable scandal and blowback from a mountain of suddenly-prosecutable human rights and/or geneva violations), failing to close gitmo, etc etc etc

that being said, it's true that lately the clouds of this administration's authoritarianism have parted a little more often and allowed some semblance of actual progressivism to shine through - but then again it's also an election year, and as any incumbent knows, he has to take a few steps away from the center in order to re-energize voter drive efforts. so it's mostly a wash IMO


lol, and way to continue to be a parody of yourself, mindia. storm in here with melodramatic bluster and self-righteous shit-headed indignation, right on cue, and pinch out a nice steaming coil of faux noise linkage to "validate" your butthurt? what a joke

PS you do know the roads you make a living on are made possible by socialist principles, right? oh, and when your meth lab explodes make sure you tell the fire department to go home since you don't believe in socialism lol

[brinstar]

also, i just learned about this:

That would be the provision of the law, called the medical loss ratio, that requires health insurance companies to spend 80% of the consumers’ premium dollars they collect—85% for large group insurers—on actual medical care rather than overhead, marketing expenses and profit. Failure on the part of insurers to meet this requirement will result in the insurers having to send their customers a rebate check representing the amount in which they underspend on actual medical care.

but how will they make their billionz?

[Tossica]

Figures I would see nothing but idiotic comments about this debacle. If you morons think this bill is going to do ANYTHING that obama claims it does, you've got another thing coming. Your first reaction should have been "Oh... another tax" but seeing as you ignorant indoctrinated fucks are so short-sighted, I can't say that your happiness about this bill passing is a surprise. Thank God almighty, this piece of shit is going to be repealed as soon as Romney kicks obama's ass out of the white house by a landslide. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/07 ... al-effort/

You think in this economy people want (or need) yet another fucking tax? Let alone, giving the fucking government yet another stranglehold over us... wake up idiots. Really.

And another thing... America is NOT a socialist country and never will be. We the people will NOT let it turn into that, NO MATTER WHAT we have to do to prevent that from happening. If you want to live in a socialistic society, then move to Canada or Europe. Stop stomping on the constitution. Get the fuck out.

It's already helped millions of people, dummy.

[Kaemon]

I just don't like it in it's current form.

I can give a rat's ass about "the tax", it's less than a $100 per year.

If the United States is going to have Socialized Healthcare....at least do it right.

[Arlos]

I just don't like it in it's current form.

I can give a rat's ass about "the tax", it's less than a $100 per year.

If the United States is going to have Socialized Healthcare....at least do it right.

See, I can agree with this, to a point, even if we normally disagree. I would MUCH rather have copied the UK/Canadian system, or even the German system. But, for whatever reason, the Democrats abandoned that before they even started. Idiocy, IMNSHO. You know, Medicare has something like a 3-5% overhead. 95-97 dollars out of every $100 spent actually go towards health care, as opposed to overhead. Yet we had to include a law forcing private insurers to have no more than a 20% overhead. Yet people scream the government is inefficient... Excuse me? Ah well...

That said, I think Obamacare, as it exists, is not perfect, by any stretch, but it is certainly an improvement, even in such things as the pre-existing conditions change, the children staying on parents plan until 26, no lifetime caps, min 80% of income to actual health care, etc.

-Arlos

[leah]

That said, I think Obamacare, as it exists, is not perfect, by any stretch, but it is certainly an improvement, even in such things as the pre-existing conditions change, the children staying on parents plan until 26, no lifetime caps, min 80% of income to actual health care, etc.

-Arlos

i also think it's great that preventive care will be covered now. makes me feel gloat-y that my former employer will now have to insure its employees' yearly lady-doctor exams, which weren't covered at all while i was there. suck it, misogynists!

[Gypsiyee]

..they didn't cover annual exams at your old job? wth?

[Lyion]

I just don't like it in it's current form.

I can give a rat's ass about "the tax", it's less than a $100 per year.

If the United States is going to have Socialized Healthcare....at least do it right.

The individual mandate is actually a good idea. We already do have socialized health care in that any ER room has to treat anyone.
The problem with this bill is it's implementation due to the rush to get it done when the Dems had a filibuster proof Senate required way too much bureaucracy and too little cost control and real reform on the medical side.

Government spending isn't bankrupting America, entitlements are. The bureaucratic system and red tape that promotes ridiculous prices for medical care and a lack of good oversight, as well as the costs of covering end of life care need to be addressed. The other issue is the vast majority of these entitlements go to the AARP seniors community which remains the most powerful voting bloc in the country, and is currently sucking the life out of the middle class.

It's a shame it is such a terrible bill, as the ideas behind it are sound and several pieces of the puzzle are needed reforms.

[leah]

..they didn't cover annual exams at your old job? wth?

nooope. keep in mind this is a place that requires women to wear skirts and pantyhose every day! man i'm glad i got out of there. new job's insurance is aces!