The August health care debate - both the raucous town hall meetings and the more sedate private sessions with special interests groups - haven't caused any fundamental shifts in the views of South Hampton Roads' federal lawmakers. // As the three U.S. representatives and two senators who represent the region join their colleagues in the Capitol today to reconvene Congress, they remain split on how best to address health care issues.
All still agree that major changes are needed to get the rising cost of medical care under control. But there isn't strong support among them to approve major health care legislation this year and prevent the debate from spilling into 2010, when House members will be focusing on their re-election campaigns.
"I really still feel that the policy should drive the clock rather than the other way around," said U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye. "I want to continue to try to get the best bill possible. I think that should determine how long it takes."
The Norfolk Democrat has not taken a stand on a House bill, HR3200, that would set up a government health care insurance plan to compete with private insurers. Backers say the plan would force lower prices
through competition. Opponents say it would have an unfair advantage over private plans.
The bill would also require everyone to have insurance, require most employers to offer coverage, and raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to help insure the poor.
Nye, who met with several private groups during the month long recess, said he wants to make sure any health bill doesn't overburden small businesses or their owners.
The House bill, particularly the government option idea, may be in trouble after being assailed by opponents at town hall meetings in Virginia and across the country.
Senior officials in the Obama administration said last week that the president may not support the government option as Democrats try to restart the debate on health care overhaul. Ensuring choice and sparking price competition are more important than having a government plan, they said.
"We're entering a new season," senior adviser David Axelrod told the Web site Politico last week. "It's time to synthesize and harmonize these strands and get this done. We're confident we can do that."
The president is scheduled to address Congress about health care Wednesday.
U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, a Newport News Democrat whose district includes parts of Norfolk and Portsmouth, said that without a lower-priced public plan, he doesn't see why private insurers would be motivated to cut their rates. There are some places where one insurance company controls 70 percent of the market, he said.
"In a capitalistic society without any countervailing force, I don't see how you can address the issue of affordability," said Scott, who held two town hall forums where he heard both strong criticism and support for his views.
U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, a Chesapeake Republican, has been a consistent critic of the health overhaul legislation. Forbes has said having a government plan to compete with private industry would be disastrous. He argues that private companies can't compete because the government can write the rules any way it wants.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, who opposes a government plan, said he's convinced some other approach can be found to drive down costs and also get under control the rapid increases in Medicaid and Medicare spending.
Warner said Congress can "take a giant step forward" with some kind of legislative action in 2009. "But even if there had been a perfect bill... you would have to come back and fix and amend the bill. This is going to be an ongoing process, but we've got to get started."
Warner, who hosted a boisterous town hall forum in Fredericksburg on Thursday, said he's been surprised by the level of anger and misinformation in the public debate.
The former governor said he takes offense at opponents who have said his proposal and others that discuss end-of-life care amount to establishing "death panels."
Warner has proposed expanding Medicare's hospice care for the terminally ill. Among other things, it would provide relief for family caregivers and offer more counseling on establishing living wills, which advise families on the wishes of incapacitated patients.
"The misinformation about that has been outrageous," he said. "I don't know if some of those comments are based on ignorance or just plain malice, but they're so far from the truth."
U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, who favors a government insurance plan, has been critical of Democratic legislative leaders for failing to hold public hearings on specific bills before bringing them up for a final review.
Webb said he'll ask Democratic leaders to slow down the debate and attempt to dissipate some of the public anger. Warner agreed.
"I guess the vehemence has been a bit surprising," Warner said. "I think if we calm down we would find a lot more common ground."
Have questions about health care reform? Submit questions by sending an e-mail to healthcare@pilotonline.com.
Bill Bartel, (757) 446-2398, bill.bartel@pilotonline.com
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Of course their..
'views' remain unchanged. The only ones who CAN change their individual 'views' are the special interests who own and operate these people. As they say, "to the highest bidder"!
HR 3200
If Medicare and Medicaid and the rest of the government run programs are bankrupt and totally inefficient what makes anyone believe the government can run our health care program. In a nutshell it can't. One of the many things I don't understand about congress is why they will not take a single section of our health plan, digest it and rewrite and then VOTE on that piece of legislation. Why do they feel they have to redo the entire package with one vote. From my view point that is the major problem with the health care reform, not ONE PERSON IN CONGRESS has read or knows what is in these 1000+ pages of legislation. How can any sane person vote yea or nay on a blank piece of paper. That's what voting on this bill amounts to. It is high time our representatives listen to us the people who put them in office and can also take them out of office. They need to consider our needs and desires over the lobbyist and special interest groups.
Its All About Obama
If what you say is true,that no one has read this 1,000 page bill,then why is it that everyone can go to these town hall meetings and protest about what is in it? Its all about the man in the White House.
I read it...
It needs to be rewritten in simple english, instead of trying to confuse the reader. Honest, it's like, Section 6, par.1 refers to par. 3 & 6 of section 8, and par.2 refers to par. 4 thru 7, Section 15. If it is written in simple english everyone could read it.
Second, you get penalized if you do not have insurance, up to 2.5 of your wages. If you're successful in life, then you have to pay more then the "average" citizen, starting with 1.5%, then it goes up from there, of course it states that if could change after the first year to a higher amount, depending on how much the Gov't plan takes in...
Ok...so who controls what? If I remember right, 19 ppl are appointed by the President out of 28. So, who controls what is based on whomever is president at the time. Furthermore, a separate department from the Executive Branch will be set up to Administer the Gov't Programs, not the Health Department. There are too many things wrong with this bill, but those are a good start...
Lots of people..
have read these bills in their entirety, and have made many elements of them available. I have read much of it, but not all of it. The post pointed out how our elected officals who will decide this have been (admittedly) absent when it comes to actually reading all of the legislation they consider, be it for health care or any other endeavor. Much of the dissatisfaction and protests over the health care proposals come from the stimulus package that was voted for several months ago, and the resulting confessions from many a Congress person that they didn't read the contents before they voted, or they didn't read that much of it! That's why people aren't convinced that anyone in Washington knows what's going on. And that 'man in the WH" ceded his input to the Congress to get this thru, now he's (deservedly) paying a price for that.
I'm sure the usual suspects will just blow it all off as racism. They don't have anyhing else to go on..
Healthcare Reform
I haven't changed my mind either; anyone in Congress or the Senate who votes for Obama's (Pelosi's) HR3200, will NOT have my vote in November. Glenn Nye is as inexperienced as Obama, he doesn't know what to do about it either; hence, sitting on the fence. Obama is WAY over his head in this, as in his other policy decisions (Cap & Trade, the Bailouts, Taking over GM, etc., etc.). This is not "change I can believe in". The change I DO believe in will happen in November! This is what we meant when we said Obama didn't have any experience in running anything, except for maybe Acorn. Despite what some think, experience does account for something.
Your Vote Ment Nothing
I don't think we have to worry about your vote because if we did we would not have Obama or Nye in office.
Your vote
Like your vote went any way but for Thelma last election.
Your point of view is exposed with your statement:
"This is what we meant when we said Obama didn't have any experience in running anything..."
I guess along with not voting for Glenn Nye, you did not vote for Obama either. Now we are expected to believe you are an indignant voter? You are indignant alright, you are indignant that your candidates lost the election.
We Cannot Afford This - Literally
Why doesn't anyone talk about this? I keep hearing terms like "deficit neutral" or "reducing the deficit" or "something needs to be done, now"; however, if we are to pay back the $13 trillion we already owe in the national debt (just today Obama is asking that this number be increased), we need surpluses and large surpluses, not deficits or even reduced deficits. Cut spending, create a large budget surplus, pay off the national debt, and then come back and ask the taxpayers to pay for everyone's medical insurance. Paying down the debt needs to be top priority. Heck, I would even be willing to accept tax hikes for it. Until then, nobody trusts you with fiscasl responsibility so go away. Until then, I have a novel idea: if you want health care, pay for it.
Vote Webb Out
I cannot wait until he is voted out of office.
The other option...
commonly cited by the Limbaugh and Hannity gang is the HSA. That's fine, if you have the cash on hand. I have been with two companies offering the HSA as an option to regular HMO and PPO plans. Guess which of my employees took the HSA option? In the first company, those with $12k (yes, that twelve thousand dollar) bi-weekly paychecks. They were looking for another investment vehicle! In the second company, absolutely none! The stumbling block was the $3k single and $6k family deductibles. Not so surprising, those from the first company who enrolled in the HSA were not too happy when medical treatment rendered that kicked in the requirement to pay the deductible. So, any other options out there?
I don't think you understand HSA's
HSA's are pre-tax accounts similar to IRA's or 401K's attached to a high deductible insurance plan. Both employers and individuals can contribute (up to unrealistically low limits under current law) on the same tax basis as current employer sponsored insurance options.
The insurance portion protects you against unexpected catastrophic costs, and you pay routine expenses, tax free, from the spending account.
If your employer is currently spending $12K on insurance for your family, he could as easily put about $8K toward the high deductible insurance and the remainder into the spending account, along with whatever contribution you might make, pre tax.
If you don't spend it, it carries over to future years and if you don't use it till you qualify for Medicare, you can with withdraw the balance as regular income just like an IRA. What's not to like?
Too many assumptions...
1. You are assuming that the employer will kick in. In many plans they are not required to do so.
2. Americans are knee-deep in debt. Their credit cards are maxed out; they don't have jobs; they are losing their houses; the wages for jobs they do have are stagnate. Where are they going to get the extra cash to contribute to a health savings account? Most experts agree that unless a person make $125,000 or more, a HSA is not a viable option for health care.
3. Many health savings accounts also do not cover pre-existing conditions.
4. If you invest in the wrong account, your money may be gone when you need it.
A HSA could be one option, but it should only be an option.
So, you want it free, and a guarantee too?
1. Employers are not required to contribute to your current insurance either, but they do to compete for your labor. Contributing to an HSA costs them no more than contributing to your insurance, and has less paperwork.
2. An HSA costs less than typical employer insurance does now, so if insurance is affordable now, it will be more so through an HSA.
3. No insurance covers pre-existing conditions, so again, how is that changed? But if you have an HSA, you can take it with you when you change jobs with no lapse in coverage.
4. Even if you were to lose a portion of the spending account(even the last stock market tumble only lost a quarter,) you would still have the backup insurance.
In every way, at every income level, HSA's offer at least equality with employer sponsored plans and many advantages. See http://wp.me/paM4C-dx for the proposed enhancements that would make them even more flexible.
3K Deductible
This sounds reasonable to me. It's a good amount of money, but you won't go bankrupt if struck by serious illness or hospitalization. Isn't that what insurance is for anyway? Do you really want to pay (or have someone else pay) an extra $500+ per month so your $100 visit to the doctor to get antibiotics for your cold is covered? Personally, I would love it if my employer offered an HSA that cost me $30 per paycheck instead of $130 per paycheck that my PPO cost me. Insurance is nice to have in case of unexpected hospitalization, but I have only been to the doctor twice in the last 5 years. I really don't need those visits covered.
Say Goodbye, Glenn
I supported Glenn Nye in 2008 because I thought he would be a refreshing change from Thelma "George's Lapdog" Drake, but his refusal to engage on the health care debate has been a huge disappointment.
yes say goodbye
There's no room for independent thinking in the democrat party. Toe the party line or make room for someone who will. Bye, Glenn.
He'll fall under Nancy's spell......
before all is said and done.
Sounds good, feels good, but rotten to the core health care
What about car insurance, you mean everyone with a car can afford over price car insurance? Or Want to talk about a crime,what about civil attorneys who receive more in a settlement than the victim?
The problem is that the public has read the bill, it's the pro-Obama news media and the democrats who has not read the bill. The people have spoken and they do not want the health care to be control by government. Big government is trying to make private companies under the control of the government,unless you're a liberal or socialist,you know that's not right. Obama studied the U.S. Constitution to know how to take it apart, and mode it into his form of government. Karl Marx would be proud of Obama. This would be a good topic for a Va. Pilot reporter, What does Obama have in common with Karl Marx.
Really?
Our founding fathers were so stupid that they formed a country that can be undone by one liberal. Wow. We have the legislative branch and that certain branch called the judicial that serve as checks and balances to our system. The writers of the Constitution were pretty smart. According to this post we have to fear any liberal who studied the Constitution. What about a conservative who has not studied it? Both positions are ludicrous. Please call Oliver Stone he might want to make a movie with all this conspiracy stuff. Where is this junk coming from? Just what in his background gives so much pause to think Obama is a communist or socialist or whatever the title of the day is? This has become a feeding frenzy with no common sense or reasoning to it, just a hatred and distrust because of a man's liberal leanings. If one hates liberal, or conservative, views so much than reject all aspects including any benefits derived from their respective efforts, otherwise one has to admit there is good and not so good in both sides.